Podcast Episodes

Why 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 showed an amazing nose for interesting questions. Stat…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks 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 familiar IP. In visual art, critics bemoan the strai…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks 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 unemployment rate for recent grads is higher now than in any…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks 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 Health and the National Science Foundation. Billions of…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks 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 essay in the journal Foreign Affairs by Rush Doshi and…

Published on 3 months, 4 weeks 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 amphetamine, that is a stimulant, called Benzedrine,…

Published on 4 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 extraterrestrial life. The source did not come from Mars or…

Published on 4 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 legacy of American protectionism. We've spoken to…

Published on 4 months, 1 week 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 to us? How is each country dependent on the other…

Published on 4 months, 1 week 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 generational anxiety—a familiar cocktail (albeit, from…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago