Podcast Episodes

Ibram X. Kendi on What Conservatives—and Liberals—Get Wrong About Antiracism

“What if instead of a feelings advocacy we had an outcome advocacy that put equitable outcomes before our guilt and anguish?” wrote Ibram X. Kendi in…

5 years ago

How Octopuses Upend What We Know About Ourselves

I’ve spent the past few months on an octopus kick. In that, I don’t seem to be alone. Octopuses (it’s incorrect to say “octopi,” to my despair) are h…

5 years ago

Critical Race Theory, Comic Books and the Power of Public Schools

Eve Ewing’s work as a sociologist, poet, visual artist, podcaster and comic book writer manages to do two things that are often in tension: it gives …

5 years ago

Best of: What ‘Drained-Pool’ Politics Costs America

In February, I spoke with Heather McGhee. I’ve been thinking about the conversation ever since. 

“The American landscape was once graced with resplend…

5 years ago

Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy Wants You to Be Bad at Something. It’s for Your Own Good.

Recently, I picked up Jeff Tweedy’s “How to Write One Song.” It was a bit of a lark. Tweedy is the frontman for Wilco, one of my favorite bands, but …

5 years ago

Why Do We Work So Damn Much?

Historically speaking, we live in an age of extraordinary abundance. We have long since passed the income thresholds when past economists believed ou…

5 years, 1 month ago

Republicans Are Setting Off a ‘Doom Loop’ for Democracy

The insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 failed. Donald Trump is not the president. But at the state level, the Republican war on elections is posti…

5 years, 1 month ago

Sarah Schulman’s Radical Approach to Conflict, Communication and Change

Sarah Schulman’s work — as a nonfiction writer, novelist, activist, playwright and filmmaker — confronts the very thing most people try to avoid: con…

5 years, 1 month ago

Welcome to the ‘Take This Job and Shove It’ Economy

This is a strange moment in the economy. Wages are up, but so is inflation. Jobs are growing, but maybe not fast enough. Quit rates are at a 21st-cen…

5 years, 1 month ago

The Freeing of the American Mind

Free minds. Freedom fries. Free speech. The Freedom Caucus. Freedom from. Freedom to. What do Americans really mean when they talk about freedom?

Loui…

5 years, 1 month ago