Rina Bliss, associate professor of sociology at Rutgers University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her work in epigenetics, working to understand how human intelligence grows and changes in response to our surroundings.
Read more
Lessons on leadership from a commander of the Navy SEALs
William H. McRaven served as commander of all U.S. special operations forces and later as chancellor of the University of Texas System. He and guest host John McCaa discuss the tenants of great leadership.
Read more
The year before your kid moves away to college is a big deal
Mary Louise Kelly, host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” shares her memoir, which centers on her sons’ final years of high school and her realization that once they graduate, their daily family time spent together is likely at an end.
Read more
We all hate open-space offices, so why are they still around?
Scientific American contributing editor George Musser joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the open-office plan took off, the downsides its designers didn’t anticipate, and what a better office layout might look like.
Read more
The trauma of slavery did not end with Emancipation
Kidada E. Williams, a history professor at Wayne State University, tells the stories of people trying to rebuild their lives after slavery, and how for many, life was still extremely difficult in the years that followed.
Read more
The global clocks that absolutely must be right
Harper’s contributor Tom Vanderbilt joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the science of timekeeping, why official clocks are just a forecast — not an absolute — and the people who keep us all on schedule.
Read more
How the AR-15 became a political and cultural weapon
Washington Post investigations editor Peter Wallsten joins us to discuss the AR-15’s outsized role in mass shootings and the marketing campaigns that brought its power to the masses.
Read more
Why do you care so much about your job?
Derek Thompson from The Atlantic talks about how everything from mass automation to a global pandemic has many of us rethinking how we spend those 40+ hours a week.
Read more
We’re doing the wrong things to fix poverty
Sociologist Matthew Desmond won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for his book “Evicted,” and he joins us to discuss his follow-up investigation, which centers on the idea that affluent Americans keep poor people poor.
Read more
The story of a recovering foodie
Stand-up comic and restaurateur Dan Ahdoot talks about how his foodie obsessions took a toll on his happiness and relationships and how he finally learned to let go of the pursuit of perfection.
Read more
Will new weight loss drugs change fat-shaming culture?
Jia Tolentino, a staff writer for The New Yorker, talks about how – with enough money – it’s easy for anyone to get their hands on these drugs – and how people who take them might underestimate the health risks.
Read more
Ari Shapiro on journalism, music and being human
Ari Shapiro, host of NPR’s All Things Considered, joined Krys Boyd to discuss his new memoir, a collection of essays that tell poignant stories ranging from his time on Air Force One to singing for Bono.
Read more