This hour we’ll talk with linguist John McWhorter about how we use profanity, Anna Sale of the “Death, Sex and Money” podcast about strategies for having difficult conversations and psychologist Katherine Kinzler about how the actual sound of our voices affects how people hear what we’ve got to say.
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Jaya Saxena is a staff writer at Eater, and she joins us to talk about what it’s like to feel like an outsider simply because of what your well-meaning parents packed you for lunch.
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Melissa Febos joins us to talk about the flawed ways we ask children to shape their identities from puberty and her own coming-of-age story as she worked to find her voice and set boundaries.
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George Packer, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins us to discuss what he sees as four separate narratives dividing the country, and what each story says about the health of our nation as a whole.
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Roya Hakakian joins us to talk about her instruction manual for newcomers to this country, acting as tour operator for all the wonder of American sights and sounds.
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Ian Manuel joins us to discuss his crime, his quest for forgiveness, and why, he believes, we should not judge an entire life based on one’s worst day.
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Martha C. Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, and she joins us to talk about how pride, narcissism and toxic masculinity are hallmarks of abusers, and how these men have created a world that largely shields them from responsibility.
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Science journalist Lauren Aguirre joins us to talk about the amnesia opioid addicts sometimes suffer from, new breakthroughs in understanding Alzheimer’s, and her own experience with temporary memory loss.
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Author Bryan Burrough joins us to talk about arguably the state’s most famous story – The Alamo – and why its role in preserving slavery is often written out of Texas lore.
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New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow joins us to talk about his ideas for how to create lasting social change, honor culture and memory, and fight back against systemic racism.
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William H. McRaven joins us to talk about what we can all learn from those who acted with valor when the moment required it.
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Education Week reporter Madeline Will joins us to talk about how learning gaps will be addressed, how schools are planning to fully reopen, and which Covid safety measures will remain even after students can be vaccinated.
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