Writer Jaime Green discusses the science, even science fiction, that inspires astronomers to look for life in the cosmos and what it means for those of us living back on Earth.
Read more
Are we deluding ourselves about the value of travel?
Philosophy professor Agnes Callard discusses why our wanderlust might be just a panacea for staving off the hands of time and how we may need to rethink our global adventures.
Read more
Holding onto humanity in an A.I. world
Atlantic executive editor Adrienne LaFrance discusses why we must set aside places that no computers can touch to remind ourselves that we are fully human.
Read more
How South Korea became the beauty capital of the world
NPR correspondent Elise Hu discusses K-beauty – which prioritizes perfection – its reach across the globe, and the consumerism that has crept into our very skin.
Read more
Loathe small talk? You’re not alone
Julie Beck, senior editor at The Atlantic, discusses how we can regain our pre-pandemic confidence in social situations.
Read more
Art was easy to steal. Why’s it so hard to give back?
Fulbright scholar and editor Elizabeth Kadetsky discusses the theft of revered stone deities in India and what they say about the ways the art world traffics prized items.
Read more
A conversation with U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo
The member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation joins us to discuss how she reckons with the loss of ancestral homelands, her personal story, and the rituals that provide her with inspiration.
Read more
How to have police reform and lower crime rates, too
Sociology professor Neil Gross joins us to discuss how three police departments have taken on reform efforts, trying to change police culture from the inside.
Read more
Why emotions don’t translate across cultures
Social psychologist Batja Mesquita talks about why feelings differ from culture to culture — and why shame can be good.
Read more
What it’s like being a Black mom in a white community
Senior culture writer at The Washington Post Helena Andrews-Dyer talks about raising a Black child in a predominately white, upper-middle-class world, where her concerns about race led her to consider larger themes of belonging.
Read more
The Bachelor and Real Housewives say more about us than we think
Sociology professor Danielle J. Lindemann discusses all the ways reality TV addresses race, gender, sexuality, and why everything from Cops to Below Deck shines a light on what America continues to hold dear.
Read more
Who we build monuments to and why it matters
Paul M. Farber of the National Monument Audit joins us to discuss a recent study of 50,000 monuments across the U.S. and what the research shows about who we memorialize and who we leave out.
Read more