Episodes

  • The `Blood Populism’ Driving Political Violence in America

    The `Blood Populism’ Driving Political Violence in America
    May 12 2026
    A 2025 study found political violence is shifting from a primarily right-wing phenomenon to one now more common on the left (fueled partly by a significant decrease in right-wing attacks during President Trump’s second term). And it’s increasingly accepted across the political spectrum, with about a fifth of Americans saying they’d support violence to achieve political goals. The Atlantic’s Adrienne LaFrance calls this dangerous attitude “blood populism,” and we’ll talk to her about why she believes people with these opinions should be seen not as partisans but extremists. Plus, a violence prevention researcher explains why political violence is a public health issue. Guests: Adrienne LaFrance, executive editor, the Atlantic Garen Wintemute M.D., M.P.H. , director, Centers for Violence Prevention at UC Davis; he also practices and teaches emergency medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • Project Homekey Is CA’s Ambitious Plan to House Homeless People. Is it Working?

    Project Homekey Is CA’s Ambitious Plan to House Homeless People. Is it Working?
    May 12 2026
    California launched Project Homekey after the pandemic to quickly create new housing and get homeless people off the streets. Over the last few years the state has spent $3.8 billion converting existing properties such as old hotels and apartment buildings into housing that could be built fast and at a lower cost than ground-up construction. But the program has had mixed results according to a CalMatters investigation that found that about half of the development projects in the program either came in late, went over budget or were never built. We’ll talk about how well Project Homekey is working, and what we can learn from its successes and failures. Guests: Marisa Kendall, homelessness reporter, CalMatters Ryan Finnigan, associate research director focused on homelessness in California, Terner Center for Housing Innovation, UC Berkeley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Tested as Tensions Rise in Persian Gulf

    U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Tested as Tensions Rise in Persian Gulf
    May 11 2026
    Tensions remain high in the Persian Gulf as the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire late last week, calling into question whether an already fragile ceasefire still holds. Meanwhile, President Trump called Tehran’s response to an American proposal to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz “totally unacceptable.” We’ll talk about the latest diplomatic efforts, the risk of escalation and the impact of the war in the region and at home. Guests: Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft; author, "Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy;" former president, National Iranian American Council Joshua Keating, senior correspondent, Vox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • Mac Barnett on How Kids Can Teach Us to Be Better Readers

    Mac Barnett on How Kids Can Teach Us to Be Better Readers
    May 11 2026
    Mac Barnett is a bestselling children’s book author and, since last year, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He has a new small book out for adults, Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children, that is a rousing defense not just of children’s books but of children themselves, as people and as readers. “If you’ve read good books to kids, you’ve probably been surprised when they noticed a detail in the pictures that you didn’t see, or been humbled when they understood something about the story you couldn’t. That’s because children tend to be better readers — more open-minded, more diligent, and more passionate — than adults. (No offense.)” We’ll talk to Barnett about how kids make us better readers and the enduring power of children’s books. Guests: Mac Barnett, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature; author, "Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children;" his children's books include "Circle," "Square" and "Triangle," "Extra Yarn", "Sam and Dave Dig a Hole" and the "Terrible Two" book series among others Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • How Did You Find Your Life’s Work?

    How Did You Find Your Life’s Work?
    May 8 2026
    How can we find and start our life’s work? That’s the question Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Jodi Kantor tried to answer for Columbia University’s seniors last spring in a graduation speech that went viral. She urged graduates facing a brutal job market to focus on two things: need and craft. Kantor encouraged graduates to use that lens to assess what services, products or information society will most need in their working lives and what expertise they can develop to bring them to fulfillment. We talk to Kantor about her new book “How to Start.” Guests: Jodi Kantor, investigative reporter, The New York Times; author, "How to Start: Discovering Your Life's Work" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • Tracy Clark-Flory’s “My Mother’s Daughter” Tells the Story of Finding Her Long-Lost Sister

    Tracy Clark-Flory’s “My Mother’s Daughter” Tells the Story of Finding Her Long-Lost Sister
    May 8 2026
    When she was 16, journalist Tracy Clark-Flory found out that she had a long-lost sister. Her mother shared that as a teenager, she had given up a child for adoption, and the grief of that act had sent her to a mental institution. There was not much more that her mother shared, and Clark-Flory did not ask. But years after her mother’s death, Clark-Flory set out to find her sister and learn more about why her mother could not keep her child. She tells that story in her new book, “My Mother’s Daughter.” Guests: Tracy Clark-Flory, journalist and essayist; author, "My Mother's Daughter: Finding Myself in My Family's Fractured Past" and "Want Me: A Sex Writer's Journey into the Heart of Desire"; her newsletter can be found at tracyclarkflory.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • We're Living Online. Our Bodies Are Paying the Price

    We're Living Online. Our Bodies Are Paying the Price
    May 7 2026
    We’re spending too much time sitting behind screens. First we’re at our desks for eight, maybe ten hours. Then, all too often, we get home and plop onto the couch for a few more hours of screen time. But what is the actual harm, and what can we do to limit—and maybe even reverse—the damage? We get answers from TED Radio Hour host Manoush Zomorodi, author of the new book “Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being.” Guests: Manoush Zomorodi, host, NPR's "TED Radio Hour"; author, "Body Electric: The Hidden Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • Low-Income Adults with Disabilities Stand to Lose SSI Benefits Under Proposed Trump Administration Rule

    Low-Income Adults with Disabilities Stand to Lose SSI Benefits Under Proposed Trump Administration Rule
    May 7 2026
    A proposed rule change for obtaining Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits could reduce or eliminate income for some 400,000 adults with Down syndrome, dementia and other disabilities who live with low-income relatives, according to a new analysis from ProPublica. It’s a change that advocates worry will further burden disabled people and their families — and could make it harder for disabled people to stay in their homes instead of institutions. We talk with disability rights advocates about the proposed changes and the shifting landscape for people with disabilities under the Trump Administration. Guests: Eli Hager, reporter, ProPublica; his recent article is, “The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live With Their Families” Kristen Pedersen, executive director, The Arc San Francisco Eric Harris, associate executive director of external affairs, Disability Rights California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins