Episode Archives

Filter episodes by the year they originally aired.
AOC, Bernie, and the young socialists

Look around the political landscape and you see something we haven’t seen for decades — politicians proudly identifying as socialists. Has their moment arrived?Read more

Original Air Date:

April 06, 2019

into the internet

They say "don't feed the trolls" — but why should sexist and racist trolls get to own the web? Was it built for them, or for all of us?Read more

Original Air Date:

March 23, 2019

Closet attack

Whether you know it or not, your closets are filled with personal information. Do you think about what are you saying with your clothes?Read more

Original Air Date:

March 16, 2019

border

Today, borders are a political flashpoint. But in a highly connected world, does the idea of a national border even make sense anymore?Read more

Original Air Date:

March 02, 2019

The wonderful human body

Sometimes, we take our body for granted. But even the everyday things it can do – keep our heart beating, fight off illness – are pretty extraordinary. Do you know what your body can do?Read more

Original Air Date:

February 23, 2019

The flurry of creative forces around the brain.

Where does creativity come from? And what exactly is going on in your brain when the Muse descends?Read more

Original Air Date:

February 09, 2019

ice up close

Low temperatures don't have to get you down — stay indoors and celebrate our collective triumphs over frigid conditions with this collection of conversations about embracing the cold.Read more

Original Air Date:

January 29, 2019

Writing the future

Every so often, a new literary movement coalesces. A new generation of writers finds a voice. This time they’re young, gifted, and Native American.Read more

Original Air Date:

January 26, 2019

Delete your account

You're thinking about hitting “delete” on all of it — Facebook, Twitter. But is that the answer, or should we resolve to stick around and make things better?Read more

Original Air Date:

December 22, 2018

a gift

Even the most welcome gift can spark guilt, resentment, obligation or vulnerability. This hour, unwrapping the tangled emotions behind giving — and getting.Read more

Original Air Date:

December 08, 2018

We’ve been taught to ignore, stifle, or just get over anger for many years — but what if we embraced it?Read more

Original Air Date:

December 01, 2018

What's the essence of religion? God? Scripture? Moral codes? Or is it really about something more unexplainable — primal spiritual experiences?Read more

Original Air Date:

November 24, 2018

It's a long walk from the truth to the whole truth. A biographer, a poet, a memoirist and a filmmaker describe the moral struggle and personal cost involved.Read more

Original Air Date:

November 10, 2018

Pick Your Poison

Covert spies painting nerve agents on doorknobs? It's not the only way to poison someone. We hear stories of radioactive paint, formaldehyde-spiked baby formula, and a beautiful garden full of plants that could kill you.Read more

Original Air Date:

October 13, 2018

Headphones in the city

Cities can be cacophonous and loud, a chaos of sonic discord. If, that is, you don't really focus your listening. People who’ve trained their ears to hear urban soundscapes in new ways hear something different.Read more

Original Air Date:

September 29, 2018

The first birth is when you arrive here, as a wet, wiggling newborn. But there may be other transitions in your life that feel just as difficult and profound. Some people actually call those passages rebirth. Read more

Original Air Date:

September 15, 2018

David Foster Wallace

Fifteen years ago, David Foster Wallace died at a tragically young age. He was one of the most brilliant writers of his generation, but he now faces renewed criticism over his treatment of women, in his life and his books. Read more

Original Air Date:

September 08, 2018

Workers of all stripes

It's not easy in America today to find work that matters, that’s meaningful, and that pays enough to live on. Which is the one thing we don’t talk about. What’s wrong with work — and how do we fix it?Read more

Original Air Date:

September 01, 2018

Albert Einstein and Mileva Marić-Einstein

There are the female scientists you can name, and the ones forgotten by history. Like Mileva Marić-Einstein. She might just have been more brilliant than Albert was — but we'll never know. Read more

Original Air Date:

August 23, 2018

From our narrow vantage point on Earth, how can we see what's out there, beyond our skies?

 Read more

Original Air Date:

August 18, 2018

A ray of hope

Why is the world so damn cynical? Rather than surrendering to corrosive, hopeless snark, we look to some unexpected sources to make the case for sincerity.Read more

Original Air Date:

August 11, 2018

A Medicare for all rally

It was a dirty word 25 years ago. But now, more and more people are identifying as Socialists…in America and on the ballot.Read more

Original Air Date:

August 04, 2018

Bee collecting pollen

Bees are endangered, but all over the world, people are stepping up to save them — in backyards, science labs, and the abandoned lots of urban Detroit.Read more

Original Air Date:

July 28, 2018

The spiral of the edges of belief

Jeff Kripal is a highly original, even maverick, historian of religion. In this conversation — part of a collaboration with the LA Review of Books — Kripal takes Steve to where all the weird stuff we can’t explain lives ... or hides.Read more

Original Air Date:

July 26, 2018

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