Alexis Coe, host of the Audible series “Presidents Are People Too!” and “No Man’s Land” podcasts, joins us to take a 21st Century look at a figure we all think we know.
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Robert Gates On America’s Post-Cold War Path
Robert Gates, served as secretary of defense under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, former officer in the United States Air Force and worked for the CIA before being appointed director of the agency. He joins us to talk about the government’s use of power.
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Colson Whitehead Visits The Jim Crow South
Colson Whitehead’s latest novel is based on a real juvenile detention reformatory in 1960s Florida. He joins us to talk about his story of two boys, bound by the trauma around them as they swing between hope and cynicism.
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Beyond Borders: What Makes A Nation
Thomas Meaney, a fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Göttingen, Germany, joins us to talk about the history of military intervention, citizen uprisings, and the ideas around citizenship that define belonging in our world.
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What Happened The Last Time We Tried To Cut Off Immigation
Jia Lynn Yang, deputy national editor at the New York Times, joins us to talk about the lawmakers at the forefront of the push to change the law and the immigrants at the center of the fight for equality.
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The Remarkable Materials That Changed The Way We Live
Ainissa Ramirez joins us to talk about eight inventions we often overlook – including an accurate clock – and how they changed the way we live.
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How Universities Contribute To Inequality
Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, joins us to talk about how our higher education system contributes to inequality.
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We Ask A Lot Of Police — Here’s What We Can Outsource
Patrick Sharkey, professor of sociology and public affairs at New York University and founder of AmericanViolence.org, joins us to talk about strategies for offloading elements that stand in the way of effective policing.
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How Shakespeare Spun Tragedy And Comedy From An Epidemic
Stephen Greenblatt, John Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, joins us to talk about how an epidemic influenced Shakespeare.
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Busting The Myth Of The Texas Rangers
Doug J. Swanson, writing teacher at the University of Pittsburgh, member of Texas Institute of Letters and previous finalist for Pulitzer Prize, joins us to talk about separating legend from fact when it comes to the Texas Rangers.
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A Practical Guide To Fixing Our Democracy
David Litt, a speechwriter for President Obama, joins us to talk about how we became so disenfranchised and polarized – and about how we can address these issues.
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Madame Speaker: The Political Life Of Nancy Pelosi
Molly Ball, Time magazine’s national political correspondent and a political analyst for CNN, joins us to talk about Pelosi’s journey to becoming arguably the most influential woman in American political history.
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