Podcast Episodes

War Crimes

On today's episode, we travel from the battlefields of the U.S. Civil War, through the rubble of two world wars, to the hallways of the Hague, to see how the modern world has tried to define — and pr…

Published on 3 months ago

The Tax Collector

Episode 342

Gangsters, banksters, and politicians. Today on the show, how the hunt for Al Capone helped turn the IRS into one of the U.S. government's most powerful tools — and most effective weapons.

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Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

California's 'Bum Blockade'

The story of the Los Angeles police chief who, faced with one of the largest internal migrations in American history, tried to close California's borders to stop it.

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Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

Motherhood

Episode 340

Baby bonuses, childless cat ladies: the rhetoric around motherhood is politically charged right now. And the fantasy of an ideal mother remains powerful, even as real-life parents struggle to reconci…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

The Deadly Story of the U.S. Civil Service

Episode 339

When James Garfield won the Presidency in 1880, Charles Guiteau got ready to accept his new government job. No one had actually offered him a job – but he'd campaigned for Garfield, so he assumed he'…

Published on 4 months ago

The Alien Enemies Act

In March 2025, President Trump issued an executive order invoking a centuries-old law: the Alien Enemies Act. The Act allows a president to detain or deport citizens of foreign adversaries to the Uni…

Published on 4 months, 1 week ago

When Things Fall Apart

Episode 337

Climate disaster, political unrest, random violence: Western society can often feel like what the filmmaker Werner Herzog calls "a thin layer of ice on top of an ocean of chaos and darkness." But is …

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Get Rich Quick: The American Lottery

Episode 336

Want to get rich quick? You're not alone. Right now, Americans spend over $100 billion, yes billion, every year on lottery tickets. Today on the show, in collaboration with Scratch and Win from WGBH,…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

We the People: The Right to Remain Silent

Episode 335

The Fifth Amendment. You have the right to remain silent when you're being questioned in police custody, thanks to the Fifth's protection against self-incrimination. But most people end up talking to…

Published on 5 months ago

Sesame Street

Big Bird, politics, and the ABCs: how a television show made to represent New York City neighborhoods like Harlem and the Bronx became beloved by families around a divided country. This episode origi…

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago