Gabrielle Glaser joins us to tell the story of how a system of closed adoptions across the nation operated on shifty moral ground and separated mother from child in the name of a wholesome environment.
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Can someone else own your DNA?
Law professor Jorge L. Contreras joins us to discuss a landmark case brought when the U.S. government issued patents to biotech companies to use human genes, and the field of human genetics law it created.
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A Black scholar’s contrarian take on antiracism
Columbia University’s John McWhorter joins us to make the case that people of color are sometimes harmed by well-meaning antiracists who sometimes lose sight of the thing they are fighting against.
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What qualifies you to be life coach?
Journalist Rachel Monroe joins us to talk about the for-profit Life Coach School, the students who chose that path, and the pitfalls they encountered upon entering the largely unregulated profession.
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His mom left the Phillippines for his sake–was it worth it?
Albert Samaha of BuzzFeed News joins us to tell the story of his family who left a middle-class life in the Philippines only to question whether leaving was the right decision after all.
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Plants have much to teach us
Beronda L. Montgomery joins us to discuss what plants “know,” how they overcome obstacles, and what we humans can learn from them.
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How a tuba saved a life
Richard Antoine White joins us to talk about how music gave his young life purpose and allowed him to dream big enough to become the first African American student to earn a doctorate in music for tuba performance.
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A conversation with U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo
The member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation joins us to discuss how she reckons with the loss of ancestral homelands, her personal story, and the rituals that provide her with inspiration.
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Phoebe Robinson is one dope queen
We’ll talk with the co-creator and co-star of the hit podcast-turned-TV-show “2 Dope Queens” on HBO and the WNYC Studios podcast “Sooo Many White Guys.”
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The numbers are in: A look at the 2020 census
NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang joins us to explore what the latest numbers say about the country’s racial makeup – and how this snapshot of America drives everything from federal spending to representation in Congress.
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How Reggaeton Conquered Pop Music
Katelina Eccleston is a producer of the Spotify podcast “Loud,” and she joins us to tell the story of reggaeton’s humble origins and how it spread from Panama to Puerto Rico, Jamaica and now the U.S.
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Our 2,000-Year Obsession With Makeup (from 8/3/21)
Rae Nudson joins us to discuss the power of the powders and creams with which we adorn our skin, and how they’ve created the powerful beauty standards currently being challenged.
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