Podcast Episodes

The beliefs AI is built on

There’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to artificial intelligence. Technologists love to talk about all the good these tools can do in the world, all the problems they might solve. Yet, many of t…

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago

Stop comparing yourself to AI

Why do we keep comparing AI to humans?

Jaron Lanier — virtual reality pioneer, digital philosopher, and the author of several best-selling books on technology — thinks that we should stop. In his view…

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

Democrats need to do something

American government has a speed issue. Both parties are slow to solve problems. Slow to build new things. Slow to make any change at all.

Until now. The Trump administration is pushing through sweepin…

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago

How to live in uncertain times

Humans hate uncertainty. It makes us feel unsafe and uneasy. We often organize our lives to avoid it. When it's foisted upon us, we don’t always know how to act.

But writer and journalist Maggie Jacks…

Published on 5 months, 4 weeks ago

How to sink into silence

How often do you find silence? And do you know what to do with it when you do?

Today’s guest is essayist and travel writer Pico Iyer. His latest book is Aflame: Learning From Silence, which recounts h…

Published on 6 months ago

How to change your personality

If you could change anything about your personality, anything at all, what would it be?

And why would you want to change it?Writer Olga Khazan spent a year trying to answer those questions, and docume…

Published on 6 months, 1 week ago

Is ignorance truly bliss?

Are you ever happier not knowing something?

As Aristotle famously claimed, “All human beings want to know.” But denial and avoidance are also human impulses. Sometimes they’re even more powerful than …

Published on 6 months, 4 weeks ago

Is America broken?

What do you think of America’s institutions?

Alana Newhouse, founder and editor-in-chief of Tablet Magazine, says that may be the most important political question in America.

In an essay published mor…

Published on 7 months ago

The cost of spending time alone

Americans are spending an historic amount of time alone, a phenomenon that is often referred to as an "epidemic of loneliness."

But are we actually lonely? Or do we prefer being by ourselves? And if w…

Published on 7 months, 1 week ago

Attention pays (with Chris Hayes)

Where is your attention right now? Where was it a minute ago? A second ago? Where will it be a minute from now?

One of the primary features of this age — the age of the internet and smartphones and al…

Published on 7 months, 2 weeks ago