エピソード

  • Fatherhood

    Fatherhood
    2026/06/04
    George Tzamaras fancies himself as a “connoisseur of fine dad jokes.” I have him rate a few of my own dad jokes as a rite of passage as I start my journey into fatherhood. His new book is called It’s Dad Joke Friday: The Collection (2018-2025). Also: Being a dad is a huge responsibility. And as my wife and I get closer to our due date, I’m starting to feel the nerves kicking in. I sat down with Santo Coleman to talk about the power of fatherhood and share my own anxieties about being a first-time dad. And: Back in the day, the stereotypical dad would come home from work and plop themselves on the couch, while the mom toiled with dinner and the kids. But now fathers are more involved in the family than ever before. Scott Grether studies the household division of labor in hetero couples. Spoiler alert: us guys still have a long way to go. Later in the show: We’ve known for a long time that moms have an increased risk of depression during and after pregnancy. But what about dads? James Paulson breaks down the understudied field of paternal depression and shares a fact that’ll probably blow your mind: new or soon to be fathers experience similar rates of depression as mothers.
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    52 分
  • A Crack in the System

    A Crack in the System
    2026/05/28
    I’ll admit it, I’m not very good at dealing with conflict. In fact, I’d rather avoid conflict altogether than tackle it head on. It’s not something I really love about myself. So I sat down with Emily Gerst to learn how to do conflict better and maybe even overcome my conflict avoidant ways. Later in the show: Mongolia, China, Israel, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and even the United Nations. These are just some of the places Tay Keong Tan’s globetrotting anti-corruption work has taken him. Plus: Arnold Westbrook recently helped his hometown HBCU - Virginia State University - earn the prestigious recognition as a “Partner in Peace” by the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway.
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    52 分
  • What Air is to Fire

    What Air is to Fire
    2026/05/22
    A life steeped in literature fueled the rise of the nation’s first Muslim woman elected to a statewide office. Ghazala Hashmi discusses the power of storytelling and why she believes a well-worn novel is her secret weapon for navigating the high-stakes drama of government. Later in the show: James Baldwin’s writings challenge the traditional democratic narrative. Pamela Reed discusses Baldwin’s views on the costs of maintaining a racial hierarchy within America’s democratic framework. Plus: Former Bush White House speechwriter Mary Kate Cary dives into the transformative power of voices like Margaret Chase Smith, who stood up to McCarthyism, and Harvey Milk, who ignited the gay rights movement.
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    52 分
  • Teacher's Pet

    Teacher's Pet
    2026/05/14
    Teacher's Pet by With Good Reason
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    52 分
  • 2026 Summer Reading Recs

    2026 Summer Reading Recs
    2026/05/08
    It’s time for our annual summer reading recommendation round-up! From a book that traces the Cold War history of our “Made in China” goods, to a witchy novel about an old woman in the woods, we’ve got suggestions for every kind of summer. We even threw in a few podcast recs! You’ll hear from Megan Doney on reading translated fiction and Austin Jersild on international history. Later in the show: Michael Carhart on understanding pre-history and Matt Brent shares a speculative Japanese novel.
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    52 分
  • Music That Speaks

    Music That Speaks
    2026/04/30
    If you’re looking for new music, you might turn to youtube, spotify, social media–basically, the internet. In Cuba, internet access is so limited that music is passed through a USB network called Sneakernet. Mike Levine explains how Sneakernet helps spread the rhythms–and politics–of reparto music. And: What does it sound like when trees sing? Or rocks? Or city waterworks? Sara Bouchard is a sound artist who often works with data from objects and nature to make music. Later in the show: As a young kid music brought meaning to Donald Sorah’s life–and it kept him in school. Now as a teacher, he brings the joy of music making to students who don’t think of themselves as musicians. He’s been named an Outstanding Faculty Member by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Plus: There’s nothing quite like sharing your favorite songs with the people you love. But Kevin Caffrey says that kind of shared musical experience can also be a way to connect with strangers.
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    52 分
  • Eye in the Sky

    Eye in the Sky
    2026/04/23
    There’re over 10,000 active satellites orbiting Earth. And they do more than just power our phones and GPS, they’re giving us a whole new perspective on who we are. Dan Runfola sifts through countless satellite images to learn more about our human footprint and the evolution of society. And: Michael Shingledecker uses the James Webb Space Telescope to study ice layers that freeze in clouds of stardust. He says this cosmic ice is a key ingredient in the formation of the universe. Later in the show: At first glance, plankton might seem unimpressive. They’re tiny little brainless micro-organisms that drift with the tides and currents. But they play a huge role in the ocean carbon cycle. Scott Doney tracks plankton - from the Antarctic to the Caribbean - by using satellites to observe ocean color.
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    52 分
  • Love in the Time of Hubots

    Love in the Time of Hubots
    2026/04/17
    In the German novel “I’m Your Man” a couples therapist and her robot partner Tom explore the limits of post-human love. Holly Yanacek wrote the English translation of the novel about what happens when our perfect partner is a machine. And: An after-school philosophy club has elementary school children discussing deep ideas with undergrads. Anne van Leeuwen says readings of Frog and Toad and Shel Silverstein are giving rise to conversations about bravery and infinity. Later in the show: In The Historical Mind, Ryan Holston argues that our biggest political problems can be traced to a "thinning" of the human character, and that without self-restraint even the best Constitution becomes useless. Plus: State and local candidates are drowning in the national political divide. Jesse Richman says the polarization nationally is driving voters in state elections to make choices based on the letter next to a candidate’s name.
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    52 分