Larry Olmsted joins us to talk about the health benefits of rooting for your favorite team brings and why it might even make you smarter.
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What Drives Indian Parents To Push Their Kids
Pawan Dhingra is a sociologist and Professor of American Studies at Amherst College, and he joins us to discuss the rise of the competitive student, the industry of tutors and activities built up around the idea, and how class and social status play into the phenomenon.
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Is Appropriation In Art Always Wrong?
Paisley Rekdal, Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Utah and the state’s poet laureate, joins us to discuss the places where identity intersects with politics, and why it’s important to confront the language we use when defining cultures.
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A Conversation With John Grisham
John Grisham joins us to talk about his prolific pace of writing a book a year – and about the art of the legal thriller.
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What It Was Like To Be Mr. Rogers’ Friend
Tom Junod joins us to talk about an interview that turned into an unlikely, lifelong friendship with a quiet man who possessed a special power to deeply empathize with children and adults alike.
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Talking Back To A Culture That Doesn’t Value Gay Black Men
Former Buzzfeed LGBT culture editor Saeed Jones joins us to discuss his coming-of-age growing up black and queer in a Texas town.
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Modern Man Vs Cave Man: Why We Might Be Losing That Battle
Christopher Ryan joins us to talk about how our ancestors might not have enjoyed some of the perks of the 21st Century, but they also didn’t have some of the worries that we do today.
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Refusing to Be Defined by Disability
Journalist Keah Brown joins us to talk about how she moved beyond self-pity to become an advocate for people with disabilities.
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Why Debutantes Are Still A Thing
Kristen Richardson joins us to talk about what it is to become a debutante – and if the ritual still has a place in the 21st Century.
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What Our Clothes Reveal About Us
Shahidha Bari, professor of fashion cultures and histories at the London College of Fashion, joins us to talk about what we’re telling the world when we put on a ballgown – or a pair of worn-out jeans.
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Queen Latifah, Lil’ Kim And The History Of Women In Rap
Music journalist Kathy Iandoli joins us to talk about the contributions of Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa and other woman artists – and why the contributions of women in rap are so often overlooked.
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Disneyland: From Disaster To Overnight Success
Richard Snow, former editor-in-chief of American Heritage magazine joins us to talk about the huge gamble Disney’s amusement park was in 1955, and about how it turned the entertainment industry on its head.
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