Harvard historian Annette Gordon-Reed grew up in Texas, and she joins us to discuss the history of Texas exceptionalism, an economic model based on slavery and race, and the legacy that remains today.
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Why it’s good to spill your secrets
Columbia University’s Michael Slepian joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why secret-keeping isolates us – and who we should tell our secrets to.
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Should all #MeToo violators be punished the same way?
New York Times columnist Pamela Paul discusses if unacceptable workplace conduct should always be equated with sexual harassment.
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Unboxing Shein: The real cost of cheap fashion
Wired contributing writer Vauhini Vara talks about Shein, a fashion brand that’s part of an “ultra-fast fashion” market that negatively impacts both environmental and labor practices.
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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.
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Hello, sobriety influencers. Goodbye, Alcoholics Anonymous?
Writer Virginia Heffernan discusses our changing relationship to alcohol, from “soberinfluencers” to Dry January, and the new methods of recovery that eschew the 12-step method.
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The trait mass shooters have in common
Journalist Seamus McGraw joins us to discuss the pattern of American mass gun violence – from the 1966 massacre at the University of Texas at Austin to today.
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This is a show about sex robots
Harper’s Magazine contributor Sam Lipsyte joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his trip to Las Vegas to visit a sex robot and to explore the morals and ethics of what might be the next phase in sexuality.
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The number one killer of creativity is fear
New York Times science reporter Matt Richtel talks about creativity and what awakens it, the conditions where it thrives and what happens when it’s blocked.
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Why we’re all a little afraid of the dark
Harper’s Magazine contributor Suzannah Showler discusses the night sky, how light is polluting it and the effect that has on all animals, and the profound connection humans have to darkness.
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Has the digital world broken American democracy?
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt discusses how tech companies have sowed rifts and how the communication breakdown means we are now being ruled by mob dynamics.
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It’s not just you — starting to exercise is hard
Amanda Mull from The Atlantic talks about the people who want to get fit but not in extreme ways, the trainers who advocate for physical activity without pushing limits, and why they are often left behind.
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