Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchWhat's Next for the Middle East: War, Peace, or Revolution?
Season 4 Episode 41
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Donald Trump rose to power in the Republican Party as a critic of the neoconservative tradition and was o…
1 year ago
NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani on Abundance, Socialism, and How to Change a Mind
Season 4 Episode 40
Before today’s show, a personal announcement. After almost 17 years at The Atlantic, I have just officially moved my writing full time to Substack, t…
1 year, 1 month ago
A Grand, Unified Theory of Why Americans Are So Unhealthy
Season 4 Episode 39
Americans are unusually overweight and chronically ill compared to similarly rich countries. This episode presents a grand, unified theory for why th…
1 year, 1 month ago
Why Are Americans So Unhealthy? Part I: Is Ultra-Processed Food Killing Us?
Season 4 Episode 38
Americans die younger and faster than the residents of almost every other rich country. Why? There's gun violence, drug overdoses, and car crashes. Y…
1 year, 1 month ago
What Experts Really Think About Smartphones and Mental Health
Season 4 Episode 37
I'm very concerned about the relationship between smartphone use and America's mental health crisis. But many researchers don't see things my way. Th…
1 year, 1 month ago
Plain History: How Adolf Hitler Destroyed German Democracy in Six Months
Season 4 Episode 36
In November 1932, Germany was a republic. By the spring of 1933, it was a dictatorship. How did it all happen so quickly?
Fascination with Adolf Hitl…
1 year, 1 month ago
Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill Is Great for the "Stealthy Wealthy"
Season 4 Episode 35
The tax and spending bill passed by House Republicans last week is the sort of bill that does so many different things that even budget experts could…
1 year, 1 month ago
The Gene-Editing Breakthrough That Saved a Baby’s Life
Season 4 Episode 34
Last year, Kyle and Nicole Muldoon welcomed their baby KJ into the world. Almost immediately, doctors realized something was wrong. KJ had been born …
1 year, 2 months ago
The Rules of Attraction and the Psychology of Romance
Season 4 Episode 33
Psychology is hard, even when you’re just trying to understand what’s going on with one impossibly complex person. Romance psychology is particularly…
1 year, 2 months ago
Plain History: How Norman Borlaug Stopped the Apocalypse
Season 4 Episode 32
In every generation, important people predict that the end is near and the apocalypse is coming. In the 1960s, the fear was that population growth wo…
1 year, 2 months ago