Scientific American contributing editor George Musser discusses how the open-office plan took off, the downsides its designers didn’t anticipate, and what a better office layout might look like.
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You don’t need the best of everything
Writer and critic Rachel Connolly discusses the best-of lists we consume to make sense of our lives and how we use them to gain a false sense of control over a world with limitless choice.
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When bad people make great art
Claire Dederer discusses the lens #metoo has put on work created by flawed men, and how we balance our sense of morality and ethics with a love of what are widely considered masterpieces.
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When social movements march into your relationship
Clinical psychologist Orna Guralnik talks about what she’s seen in her practice, where couples are bringing to the table issues of race and privilege and trauma like she hasn’t seen before.
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The devilish decade: A look back at the 2000s
Critic Kristian Vistrup Madsen makes the case that the aughts were marked by sexualization, obscenity and war – and why we ate it up.
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Gun sellers peddle more than just weapons
Jennifer Carlson joins Krys Boyd to discuss her in-depth interviews with gun sellers to better understand how they market a certain brand of American individualism.
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The superpowers of sensitive people
Jenn Granneman talks about the joys of sensitivity, from creativity to intelligence, and offers ways for the sensitive to navigate through a harsh world.
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The backstory of Clarence and Ginni Thomas
Filmmaker Michael Kirk discusses the backstory of the justice and his wife, how they are reshaping U.S. politics and law, and his connection to billionaire Harlan Crow.
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Why do we still judge women who don’t have kids?
Peggy O’Donnell Heffington joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the many reasons women live childless.
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It’s giving linguistics: How young people slay English
Linguistics professor Valerie Fridland discusses why she thinks we should embrace our changing language — slang, vocal fry, and all — and celebrate its ingenuity.
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Public policy is worthless if people don’t have hope
Professor Carol Graham joins host Krys Boyd to discuss factors that go into measuring well-being, and why public policy problems can’t be solved without a good dose of optimism for the future.
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The myth of American self-reliance
Alissa Quart, executive director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, discusses why we’ve put so much effort into the ethos of DIY independence, and the need for a larger social safety net to address poverty.
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