Boston Globe staff writer Billy Baker joins us to talk about his realization that, at 40, his full life was missing a cadre of close buddies and how that lead to his quest to rebuild those intimate connections outside work and family.
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David Sedaris’ Greatest Hits
David Sedaris joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his essays on family, falling in love, relationships, aging, and the weird ways life’s struggles make us all the more rich.
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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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Where Do You Go For Advice – Novels Or Self-Help?
Beth Blum, assistant professor of English at Harvard University, joins us to discuss how classic authors talked to audiences about themes of self-actualization, and how writers today still draw from that well of tips and tricks for better living.
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QAnon: A Game That Plays People
Reed Berkowitz, director of Curiouser LLC, a media, fiction and games research group, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how QAnon could be thought of as “a game that plays people.”
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A Novel Plumbs An Immigrant Family’s American Dream
Simon Han joins host Krys Boyd to talk about his story about assimilation and the struggle for immigrants to reach that fabled “shining city upon a hill.”
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Toxic Patriotism
Mychal Denzel Smith is a fellow at Type Media Center, and he joins us to talk about his thoughts on how he wrestles to understand the current moment studied against the long lens of American history.
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Latter-Day Saints In A Modern Day World
McKay Coppins, a staff writer for The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about his own faith, the model of assimilation it tries to capture, and the changes it must wrestle with to fit into the modern era.
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Where Are Wonder Woman’s Sister Superheroes?
Journalist Soraya Roberts joins host Krys Boyd to talk about developing new women superheroes – and about some problems with the few woman superheroes we do have.
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How Crowd Psychology Played Out At The Capitol
Rob Henderson studies human behavior at the University of Cambridge, and he joins us to talk about the psychology of why people follow a crowd.
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The Day Extremists Stormed The Capitol
SMU presidential historian Sharron Conrad joins us to talk about this unprecedented event in American history – and about the role presidents play in American race relations.
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