Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchWhy Do Americans Pay So Much for Drugs?
Season 4 Episode 31
On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order telling drugmakers to slash the prices of their medicines. Once again, the president show…
1 year, 2 months ago
Is Pop Culture Worse Than Ever?
Season 4 Episode 30
In music, billion-dollar investments in old catalogues are squeezing out new music. In film, Hollywood has become addicted to the regurgitation of fa…
1 year, 2 months ago
The Job Market for Young Grads Is Flashing Red
Season 4 Episode 29
Last month, the unemployment rate for recent college grads surged to nearly 6 percent. Compared to the overall economy's jobless rate, the unemployme…
1 year, 2 months ago
Megapod: The Crisis in American Science
Season 4 Episode 28
Today, we are witnessing an unprecedented assault on American science. Thousands of workers have been dismissed from the National Institutes of Healt…
1 year, 2 months ago
Is This the Chinese Century?
Season 4 Episode 27
In the last few weeks, for the first time in my life, I’ve seriously thought about the 21st century not being another American century.
A recent essa…
1 year, 2 months ago
What Americans Get Wrong About ADHD
Season 4 Episode 26
In 1937, a Rhode Island psychiatrist named Charles Bradley ran an experiment on 30 child patients who had complained of headaches. He gave them an am…
1 year, 2 months ago
An Astrophysicist Explains the "Strongest Evidence Yet" of Alien Life
Season 4 Episode 25
Last week, a team of astrophysicists from the University of Cambridge announced that they had discovered the “strongest indication” ever of extraterr…
1 year, 3 months ago
A Toy Manufacturer Explains How Trump’s Tariffs Could Crush His Industry
Season 4 Episode 24
In the past three weeks, we've spoken to economists about the tariffs. We’ve spoken to a historian about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and the 100-year…
1 year, 3 months ago
Why America Will Lose Its Trade War With China
Season 4 Episode 23
The U.S. is in the opening innings of a full-blown trade war with China. What does that actually mean? What do we sell to China? What does China sell…
1 year, 3 months ago
Plain History: The Smoot-Hawley Tariff and the Great Depression
Season 4 Episode 22
The 1920s and the 2020s share a special kinship. One hundred years ago, the U.S. was grappling with a mix of growth, technological splendor, and gene…
1 year, 3 months ago