Sean Illing talks with neuroscientist Gregory Berns, author of The Self Delusion. Berns claims that the idea of a unified, persistent self is a kind of illusion, and that we are better understood as multiple selves at different moments in time, tied together by a story — which is what […]
Worried about the spread of the diarrhea-causing illness cyclosporiasis? A healthier gut might better prepare your body to deal with it. With all the noise of wellness experts and coaches, we decided to go directly to doctors and researchers who have been studying gut health and the human microbiome for […]
Birth rates are dropping and global population growth is slowing. Why? We’re heard all the different speculation: It’s the economy. It’s housing costs. It’s the feminists. But what if the biggest driver is that thing we all carry in our pockets? Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO In today’s episode, guest […]
AI was supposed to make our lives better. Instead, it’s made many of us scared and angry. Communities are protesting data centers across the country, and polling shows most Americans think AI is moving too fast. Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO In today’s episode, guest host Miles Bryan talks with […]
Sean talks with writer Liz Bruenig about faith, doubt, and the experience of believing in God in a modern, skeptical age. They discuss religious experience, the limits of science, the appeal of cynicism, Dostoevsky, beauty, mystery, and whether belief is ultimately a choice. They also explore why religion persists and […]
Young men are no longer happy with Donald Trump. His net approval rating among the group that famously helped propel him to the White House in 2024 has dropped by 56 points. But is this shift real, or just noise? Vox’s Astead Herndon recently went to an event billed as […]
Who are America’s heroes? Who deserves our admiration and a place in our nation’s story? Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO In today’s episode, guest host Jonquilyn Hill talks with constitutional law professor Kermit Roosevelt about his book The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America’s Story, which argues that America’s most […]
Sean talks with Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy about the crisis lurking beneath America’s political dysfunction. Murphy’s new book “Crisis of the Common Good” argues that the country is suffering from a collapse of connection, belonging, and purpose. They discuss loneliness, powerlessness, liberalism, democracy, Trumpism, corporate power, social media, and why […]
Sean talks with Atlantic writer Charlie Warzel about the increasingly weird experience of being online. They discuss AI-generated content, bots, algorithms, the “dead internet theory,” and why so much of the web now feels artificial, manipulated, or unreal. They also explore psyops, conspiracy culture, social media, and the deeper question […]
Sean talks with journalist Jordan Ritter Conn about his book “American Men,” an intimate look at four men trying to figure out what manhood and masculinity have given them versus what they have cost them, and what to do with the gap between the men they think they’re supposed to […]
