Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchRoss Douthat and I debate American decadence
Episode 336
In his new book, The Decadent Society, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat diagnoses America’s core problems as decadence: “a situation in which re…
5 years, 8 months ago
A serious conversation about UFOs
Episode 335
You may have been following — I hope you are following — the New York Times's recent UFO reporting. Videos that the Navy confirms are real show pilot…
5 years, 9 months ago
A former prosecutor's case for prison abolition
Episode 334
In 2017, Paul Butler published the book Chokehold: Policing Black Men. For Butler the chokehold is much more than a barbaric police tactic; it is als…
5 years, 9 months ago
Why Ta-Nehisi Coates is hopeful
Episode 333
The first question I asked Ta-Nehisi Coates, in this episode, was broad: What does he see right now, as he looks out at the country? “I can't believe…
5 years, 9 months ago
Are humans fundamentally good? (with Rutger Bregman)
Episode 332
Dutch historian and De Correspondent writer Rutger Bregman got famous for the lashings he gave Tucker Carlson and the assembled plutocrats of Davos. …
5 years, 9 months ago
From politician to priest
Episode 331
I first met Cyrus Habib at a conference a few years ago. You don't forget him. He's a Rhodes scholar. Iranian-America. As lieutenant governor of Wash…
5 years, 9 months ago
Robert Frank's radical idea
Episode 330
I’ve known Cornell economist Robert Frank for almost 15 years. And for as long as I’ve known him, Frank has been trying to convince his fellow econom…
5 years, 9 months ago
Why “essential” workers are treated as disposable
Episode 329
Grocery store clerks. Fast food cashiers. Hospice care workers. Bus drivers. Farm workers. Along with doctors and nurses, these are the people who ar…
5 years, 9 months ago
"The world’s scariest economist” on coronavirus, innovation, and purpose
Episode 328
The Times of London called Mariana Mazzucato “the world’s scariest economist.” Quartz describes her as “on a mission to save capitalism from itself.”…
5 years, 9 months ago
A mind-bending conversation about quantum mechanics and parallel worlds
Episode 327
While you read these words, the universe is splitting into countless copies. New realities, all with a version of you, exactly like you are now, but …
5 years, 9 months ago