Today?s episode is about one of the most interesting pieces of research I?ve read in the past year. It's an idea called "need for chaos," and the truth is that I literally cannot stop thinking about it as I follow American culture, politics, and media. Very briefly, it is the observation that many Americans today embrace conspiracy theories and nihilistic burn-it-all-down messages, not because they are partisans of the left or right, but rather because they've become hopelessly cynical (sometimes for very good reason!) about all elite and all major institutions of power. Today?s guest is the Danish political scientist Michael Bang Petersen, who coauthored the paper that introduced this idea. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Michael Bang Petersen Producer: Devon Baroldi Links: https://politicalsciencenow.com/the-need-for-chaos-and-motivations-to-share-hostile-political-rumors/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/02/need-for-chaos-political-science-concept/677536/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is about the extraordinary decline in face-to-face socializing in America?and the real stakes of the country?s hanging-out crisis. From 2003 to 2022, American adults reduced their average hours of face-to-face socializing by about 30 percent. For unmarried Americans, the decline was even bigger?more than 35 percent. For teenagers, it was more than 45 percent. Eric Klinenberg is a sociologist and the director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. He is the author of several books on the rise of living alone and the decline of social infrastructure. His latest is _'_2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed.' And he's not afraid to challenge the popular notion of an epidemic of loneliness in America. ?There is no good evidence that Americans are lonelier than ever," he has written. Today, Eric and I talk about teens and parenting, the decline of hanging out, why America sucks at building social infrastructure, and why aloneness isn?t always loneliness. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Eric Klinenberg Producer: Devon Baroldi Why Americans Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/02/america-decline-hanging-out/677451/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is about arguably the most important economic statistic out there: real (or inflation-adjusted) wage growth. For much of the last few years, many people's real wages have declined. But for the last few quarters, real wages have been growing. In fact, they've grown so much for the poorest workers that several key measures of inequality are falling, and the Black-white wage gap is shrinking. But many Americans still don't seem to buy the idea that things are getting better. Today's guest is Dr. Arindrajit Dube, a professor of economics at University of Massachusetts Amherst?one of the world?s top researchers on minimum wage policies and pay. He says things are happening in this economy that we haven't seen since the 1950s or 1960s. "We're seeing a fundamental reorganization of work in America," Dube said. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Dr. Arindrajit Dube Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Life is a series of conversations. Our relationships, friendships, marriages, breakups, makeups, hirings, promotions, and firings are mostly the story of two people talking. And many of these conversations are hard or uncomfortable. Sometimes we spend years refusing to be honest with the people we know the best because we?re afraid of telling them how we feel. What if we all had such confidence in our own powers of communication and understanding that we didn?t fear these hard conversations at all? What if we welcomed them? Charles Duhigg, the author of 'The Power of Habit,' has a new book out this week. It?s called 'Supercommunicators.' Duhigg?s book is about how to talk when talking is hard. Today we talk about the art and science of difficult conversations, from romantic relationships to political persuasion, and what he discovered to be the most important principles of having a great and emotionally resonant discussion. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Charles Duhigg Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is about the science of slowing down the aging process ? and why one biotech company has found some success with dogs. Last November, the New York Times reported that a company called Loyal had reached a milestone in the development of safe life extension drugs for our pets. This drug, which is called LOY-1, works to slow the aging process in large breeds. But Loyal's work holds major promise for helping all dogs live longer. It could even crack open some of the mysteries of mammalian aging, which could lead to discoveries that extend the lives of humans. Today's guest is the CEO and founder of Loyal, Celine Halioua. We talk about her experience as a female biotech founder, the weird economics of pharma, the ethics of life extension, the science of why big dogs die young, her theories for how to slow down the aging process in dogs big and small, and the possibility spillover benefits for humans who would like a few more years with their family and friends. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Celine Halioua Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We?ve done several shows on America?s anxiety crisis. This one asks several questions that might get me in trouble. Have we overcorrected from an era when mental health was shameful to talk about to an era where people talk about anxiety so much online that it?s worsening our mental health crisis? Is the very design of algorithmic media engineered to increase rumination and mental distress? Is there a dark side to all this media about trauma, anxiety, and depression? (Yes, the irony of us asking this question is not lost on us.) Today?s guest is Darby Saxbe, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Southern California. We talk about anxiety as identity, why talking about anxiety on the Internet is such a mess today, how the architecture of the internet unhelpfully shapes our discussions of mental health, and what a better conversation about mental health online might look like. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Darby Saxbe Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You could make the argument that last year was the worst year in human history for climate change. The Earth experienced its hottest day on record over and over and over again. Air surface temperature anomalies set a record in September. Ocean heat set a record too. The number of wildfires in Canada? Another record high. But you don?t have to squint too hard to see the good news. U.S. and European carbon emissions have actually declined this century. The rate of global deforestation is going down. And investment in clean energy technology?particularly solar and batteries?is smashing records and changing the world. Those glimmers of hope come from an epic annual report from Nat Bullard, an independent, Singapore-based climate researcher who spent several years at Bloomberg. In today?s episode, Nat and I discuss the twin pillars of the global clean energy revolution (solar and storage), how these two technologies have consistently beat expert predictions, how they?re reshaping energy generation around the world, and what stands in the way of a clean energy future based around sunshine and batteries. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Nathaniel Bullard Producer: Devon Baroldi Links: Nat's presentation on the clean energy revolution: https://www.nathanielbullard.com/presentations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Something mysterious is happening in the politics of young men and women. Gen Z women?those in their 20s and younger?have become sharply more liberal in the past few years, while young men are shifting subtly to the right. This gender schism isn't just happening in the U.S. It's happening in Europe, northern Africa, and eastern Asia. Why? And what are the implications of sharply diverging politics between men and women in our lifetime? Alice Evans, a visiting fellow at Stanford University and a researcher of gender, equality, and inequality around the world, joins the show to discuss. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Alice Evans Producer: Devon Baroldi Links: https://www.ft.com/content/29fd9b5c-2f35-41bf-9d4c-994db4e12998 https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-gender-gap-young-men-women-dont-agree-politics-2024-1 https://www.ggd.world/p/what-prevents-and-what-drives-gendered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you love food and also consider yourself a good person, you probably care about where your food comes from, how it?s grown, and whether it's part of a system that is destroying the planet. After all, if you study just about any problem related to the environment, sooner or later your study will make solid contact with our food systems. Our food is responsible for 25 percent of the world?s greenhouse gas emissions. But not everybody who claims to care about the environment knows what they?re talking about. Eating local? Eating organic? Counterintuitively, these behaviors aren't as ecologically beneficial as many people claim. These facts and more come from Hannah Ritchie, a data scientist, the deputy editor of Our World in Data, and the author of a new book 'Not the End of the World.' As Ritchie argues at length in her book, a lot of liberals assume that anything that sounds like pastoralism and natural living is better for the planet. But in fact, it is technological progress that allows for highly efficient farming, high-quality foods with less land consumed by agriculture, less water wasted, and more forests spared. Many times, our pastoralist instincts to appear virtuous when it comes to food and the planet don?t actually achieve virtuous outcomes. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Hannah Ritchie Producer: Devon Baroldi Links mentioned: "Environmental Impacts of Food Production," Our World in Data https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's just a steel tumbler with a straw and side handle. But the Stanley cup is a social media phenomenon and an incredible business success story. How did this thing come out of nowhere? What lessons can we learn about its success? And, more broadly, what do cultural phenomena like this say about marketing trends, social media tastes, and the role of randomness in our life and economy? Joining the show are Amanda Mull, staff writer at The Atlantic, and Brian Klaas, author of the new book ?Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters.? If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guests: Amanda Mull & Brian Klaas Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sports Illustrated layoffs. The demise of independent Pitchfork. Hundreds of millions of dollars in losses at major newspapers like the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. The state of the U.S. news industry is dire. How did we get here? Who knows the way out? The Ringer's Bryan Curtis joins the show, with contributions from an interview with NPR's David Folkenflik. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guests: Bryan Curtis & David Folkenflik Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today is the third and final episode in our miniseries on this unique moment in global war and conflict. In the first episode, we looked at the turmoil in the Middle East. In the second episode, we offered explanations for the historic rise in global conflict between states and within states, from Eastern Europe to Central America. Now, we come home to the U.S. By just about any measure, the U.S. southern border is facing a historic crisis. Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 2.5 million encounters at the border?an annual record. In December alone, border officials processed some 300,000 migrants?a monthly record. This surge has created chaos in parts of southern Texas and Arizona. It has also created a humanitarian crisis and a political headache for liberal governors and mayors in Chicago, Denver, and New York, where shelters are bulging with migrants and tents are strewn across the streets. Meanwhile, in Washington, lawmakers are haggling over a bill to secure the border but making little progress. Today?s guest is Dara Lind, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council who has been covering immigration policy for many years. We talk about why the border crisis is happening, who or what is to blame for it, what is to be done, and why immigration is such an impossible issue for American politics to solve. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Dara Lind Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is the second episode in "World on Fire," a series on the historic levels of global violence and conflict in the Middle East, the Americas, and beyond. Listen to Part 1 here: "World on Fire, Part 1: The Houthis, Israel's Impossible War, and Worsening Middle East Chaos." You and I are living through an extraordinary period of global conflict. In Europe, Russia, and Ukraine are engaged in one of the continent's deadliest hot wars since 1945. In Africa, the last few years have seen devastating wars in Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. In the Middle East, of course, there is Israel's record-breaking bombing of Gaza and the unfolding crisis in Yemen. In Central Asia, Azerbaijan launched a brutal attack against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. In Central and South America, cartel and gang violence has surged. The Jalisco Cartel New Generation and its affiliates in Mexico and Columbia, were responsible for more than 11,000 deaths in 2022. Last week, the state of Ecuador arrested 900 people in a security operation to stop gang violence, following the prison escape of one of the country's most powerful drug lords. According to researchers at Uppsala University, this might be the most violent period of the 21st century, with more total conflicts than any year since World War II. Why is it all happening at once? Paul Poast is a political scientist who studies international relations and conflict history at the University of Chicago. In an essay for The Atlantic, he said we are in the midst of ?not a world war, but a world at war.? And in this interview, we consider five theories for why global conflict seems to be surging around the world. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Paul Poast Producer: Devon Baroldi Mentioned in this episode: The Uppsala Conflict Data Program [link] "Not a World War But a World at War," by Paul Poast [link] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The chaos in the Middle East is getting worse. It?s not just in Gaza. It?s not the spasms of violence in the West Bank. It?s not just the northern border with Lebanon, where Israel is braced for the possibility of a new war. It?s not the Houthis in Yemen, disrupting Red Sea trade. It's not just Iran urging on these groups. It's all of it, all at once. Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, joins to break this all down and offer several big-picture explanations for why so many long-standing problems in the Middle East are getting worse at the same time. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Natan Sachs Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 'New York Times' bestselling author and contrarian self-help writer Oliver Burkeman joins the show to talk about his new audio essay series on work, focus, and interruptions?and how, too often, our emphasis on eliminating distractions ironically takes us away from the most important things in life. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Oliver Burkeman Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Derek shares what he considers the most important narratives of the moment, including the return of normalcy in economics, a big shift in sports media, Big Tech's 1890 moment, and ... aliens. Host: Derek Thompson Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you're looking for a hopeful and mind-expanding conversation to round out the year, this one is for you. It's our breakthroughs of the year episode, covering 2023's biggest achievements in science and tech, including space technology, life extension, fusion, gene editing, vaccines, and, of course, GLP-1s. It has become a 'Plain English' tradition?after weeks of stories that often take us into sad areas, like anxiety, depression, and war?to close the year with a nerdy conversation about the most important developments at the frontier of science and technology. Today's frontier guide is Dr. Eric Topol. He is the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and a bestselling author on the future of medicine. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Eric Topol Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One week ago, Matthew Perry?s autopsy report came back, finding that the ?Friends? actor died from the acute effects of ketamine overdose. His death has sharpened focus on the popular and controversial drug. Ketamine has been hailed as a miracle cure for depression and anxiety, criticized as a VC-fueled fad, and investigated as a placebo. But what is ketamine, what is its history, what do we know about how and why it works, and how could it help hundreds of millions of people with depression and anxiety? Today?s guest is Boris Heifets. He is an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Stanford University and the author of a much talked about and utterly fascinating study on ketamine that came up with a brilliant way to test the effects of ketamine. The study's surprising results raise big questions about not only ketamine, but the curative power of belief. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Boris Heifets Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is about 2023 in media?from TV to film, from the miracle of Barbenheimer?s to the superhero drought, from Netflix?s show of strength to Taylor Swift?s invincibility, from the podcast purge to so much more. Our guest is Matt Belloni, the host of Ringer podcast ?The Town? and a writer with Puck. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Matthew Belloni Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is our second in a series on the weight-loss drug revolution of the last two years. On Tuesday, we talked to endocrinologist Beverly Tchang about the science of glucagon like peptide 1 receptor agonists?also known as GLP1s, also known as Ozempic, Wegovy, Moujargo, and Zepbound. If you haven?t listened to that show, I think you?ll feel safe and entertained within the bounds of this episode. But if you want to know more about how these drugs work, their effect on insulin and glucose and the brain?s reward center, or the questions they raise about obesity and the nature of willpower and free will, I?d encourage you to queue up that show.  Today, in Part 2, we have two guests: Zach Reitano is the CEO and cofounder of the telehealth platform Ro. He is here for a couple reasons. He has a bird?s-eye view of the GLP1 marketplace, the rise in demand, the supply chain, the economics of pricing and insurance. He?s also written several revelatory essays, pulling in research from think tanks, medical experts, and investment banks, that have helped shape my understanding of these drugs and the effect they could have on the population and the economy. Our second guest is Dr. Robert Lustig, an endocrinologist who spent years as a pediatrician and researcher at the University of California-San Francisco. As you?ll hear, he is much less optimistic about the ability of these drugs to revolutionize obesity medication in America. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guests: Zach Reitano & Robert Lustig Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s podcast is about the weight-loss drug revolution?which I believe might be one of the most important stories in the world right now. Despite all the attention weight-loss drugs are receiving, it?s possible that they might soon affect the world even more than we realize as they teach us about the science of human metabolism, decision-making, and even free will. Beverly Tchang, an endocrinologist at Weill Cornell, explains how these drugs work, what they mean for people with diabetes and obesity, and how to wrap our minds around their stranger and spookier side effects. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Beverly Tchang Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we?re examining the U.S. housing market, starting with a specific question: Should you look to rent or buy your next home? By some metrics, this is the worst time to buy a house in 40 years. Housing prices are near record highs, especially compared to local rents. For many young people, the dream of homeownership might seem completely impossible right now, thanks to huge national demand colliding with short supply, especially in high-income areas. Meanwhile, high mortgage interest rates have failed to reduce home prices, as owners are rate locked into their old mortgages. When will this sorry state of affairs turn around? Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody?s Analytics and host of the Inside Economics podcast, joins the show to answer our questions. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Mark Zandi Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is about the controversial life and legacy of Henry Kissinger, who died last week at the age of 100. First as Nixon?s National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, and then as an author and diplomacy whisperer in almost every subsequent administration, Kissinger's life is overstuffed with achievements and disasters and breakthroughs and catastrophes?many of which continue to shape the world we live in. Today?s guest is George Packer, an Atlantic staff writer and the author of several books, including ?Our Man,? a biography of Richard Holbrooke: another towering American diplomat who was Kissinger?s rival and partner in diplomacy. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: George Packer Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is a wide-ranging one, from breaking news in tech to the philosophy of social media. The Atlantic's Charlie Warzel joins to discuss Elon Musk's bizarre and crude comments at The New York Times DealBook Summit, the corporate meltdown of X, whether its demise would make the world better off, the fragmentation of the social media landscape, and its implications for audiences and news-makers everywhere. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Charlie Warzel Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This month, President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China (PRC) met in San Francisco amid trade wars and even the prospect of a catastrophic hot war over Taiwan. Their meeting took place during a nervous period in the history of China. After decades of spectacular growth, the Chinese economic miracle has sputtered, with huge implications for its own population and the world. And yet, even as the most dire aspects of the Chinese economy make headlines, it remains the case that China is the foundry of the green energy revolution, making more solar panels and wind turbines and electric vehicles than any other country. To help us understand how China thinks about economics, technology, and America, we welcome back to the show writer Dan Wang. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Dan Wang Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is about whatever the hell just happened?is still happening?at OpenAI, where CEO Sam Altman has been fired, almost rehired, and then shipped off to Microsoft, while the most famous startup in artificial intelligence self-immolates for reasons that the company refuses to explain. Our panel has some theories. Charlie Warzel is a staff writer at The Atlantic who has been texting and talking with OpenAI employees for the last few days. Karen Hao is a contributing writer at The Atlantic who is writing a book about OpenAI and knows many of the main characters from this past weekend. Ross Andersen is a staff writer at The Atlantic who wrote a big magazine feature on Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the messy quest to build artificial general intelligence. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guests: Ross Andersen, Karen Hao & Charlie Warzel  Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is about the question of the moment in politics: the meaning of Joe Biden?s terrible polling numbers. Today?s guest is Nate Cohn, chief political analyst at the New York Times, where he does public opinion, polling, demographics, and politics. We talk about the notorious New York Times poll that showed Donald Trump trouncing Biden in the swing states. We talk about why it?s not crazy to take presidential polls seriously right now?even though we're 300 days out from the election. We talk about the multi-layered problems of Biden?s age. And we talk about why the new "engagement gap" might be the most important, under-discussed phenomenon in American politics today. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Nate Cohn Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is about thinking practically about the AI revolution. Yes, it may one day usher in some now unthinkable utopia or dystopia. But in the meantime, our imperfect world exists, and your imperfect job exists, and you face a forced choice: Should you use this technology? And if so, how do you make it work for you? Kevin Roose, a tech columnist for The New York Times and the host of the podcast 'Hard Fork,' talks about how generative AI tools are already changing his job and others, including in medicine, consulting, and software development. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Kevin Roose Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Morgan Housel, the author of 'The Psychology of Money' and a partner at Collab Fund, talks about his new book, 'Same as Ever,' on the virtues of ancient truths in a world where everything seems to be changing. We also talk about why so many successful people are miserable, why great ideas don't scale, the difference between happiness and contentment, the wisdom of a Snickers bar, the downsides of fully optimized culture, and how to write. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Morgan Housel Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the last few weeks, our coverage of this conflict has tried very hard to see the problem from as many angles as possible. In our first episode, we considered the political motivations of Hamas?s October 7 attack. In our second episode, we considered the behavior of Israel?s government from a critical perspective. In a third episode, we asked whether Israel?s military objectives made sense by speaking to a counter-terrorism expert. And last week, we told the 150-year history of Israel, Palestine, and the origins of Hamas by speaking to two historians, one who was clearly more sympathetic to Israel and another who was clearly more sympathetic to Palestine. There is a voice we haven?t heard from in this series: a Palestinian voice. Today?s interview is with Sally Abed, a Palestinian-Israeli, who is an activist with the group Standing Together. We talk about the "psychosis" and "impossibility" of being Palestinian in Israel, what happens after a ceasefire, and how to build a coalition for peace. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Sally Abed Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One year ago, it was a matter of conventional wisdom among experts that the U.S. was on the brink of a recession. They were wrong. The latest GDP report showed America?s real output growing at a 4.9 percent annualized rate. That's huge. But just as we zagged a year ago, when we criticized recession predictions, I want to zag again today. It is a matter of broad conventional wisdom that the U.S. economy right now is doing really well. And, for now, it is. But challenges abound, including "higher-for-longer" interest rates, a recession in the apartment construction market, and ongoing global mayhem. Bloomberg columnist Conor Sen counts the five biggest risks to economic growth in the next year?and makes his official economic prediction for 2024. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Conor Sen Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The eminent Israeli historian Benny Morris walks us through the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from antiquity to October 7. And the excellent historian of Palestine, Zachary Foster, digs into the often misunderstood history of the rise of Hamas. Finally, both share their thoughts on Israel's military response, the future of the conflict, and the "missing moderate middle" on both sides. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guests: Benny Morris & Zachary Foster Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we?re taking a break from war to talk about the science of human potential and a new book on that subject from the psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant. In 'Hidden Potential,' Grant shares stories and studies across sports, religious history, coaching, and economics to explain why we're bad at cultivating our own potential and identifying ability in others. We talk about education and affirmative action, scouting quarterbacks, coaching Steph Curry, and, for reasons that will soon become apparent, the spread of Protestantism. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Adam Grant Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two things seem true: First, Israel has a profound moral right to defend itself from terrorism. Second, its current strategy could kill thousands of civilians, destroy its international reputation, breed even more terrorist cells, and obliterate any chance for peace in our lifetime. Is it possible to keep both ideas in our head? Today's guest is Georgetown University professor Daniel Byman, one of the world's leading researchers on terrorism, counterterrorism, and Israel?s military. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Daniel Byman Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is our second episode on the war between Israel and Hamas. Today?s guest is Peter Beinart. Peter Beinart is a professor at CUNY of journalism and political science, the editor at large of Jewish Currents, and the author of The Beinart Notebook newsletter. I don?t know another Jewish author who writes and speaks with as much eloquent anguish over this issue. Israel is an idea and a country so worth defending, and also the way Israel defends itself is so often inexcusable. It is almost impossible to keep both ideas in one?s head. We?re going to try. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Peter Beinart Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The former golden boy of crypto is on trial for one of the most lurid corporate fraud scandals of the century. What's happening at the trial? What are the most compelling pieces of evidence against him? Does he have any chance of winning? Zeke Faux, the author of the new book 'Number Go Up,' takes us inside the courtroom where SBF is facing charges that could put him away for decades. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Zeke Faux Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What motivated the Hamas terrorist attack? How did Israel fail to stop it? What role is Iran playing in this conflict? What should Americans know about the state of Israel's chaotic internal politics? And what comes next? Today's show has two guests. Dan Raviv is the author of several bestselling books on Israel, Israeli-American relations, and Israeli intelligence. He was a CBS News national and international correspondent for over 40 years. He?s here to provide context on Hamas and Israeli politics. To help us understand some of the regional political dynamics, we have Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who has been an adviser for several accords and peace talks in the Middle East in the past decade. He is also the president of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guests: Dan Raviv & Jeffrey Sonnenfeld  Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hollywood has been decimated by the rise of streaming. At Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and Sony, profits on TV, film, and streaming went from $23 billion in 2013 to about zero in 2023. Nothing tells this story more clearly than a brief history of Disney. In the early 2000s, Disney under CEO Bob Iger went on one of the most extraordinary runs in modern business history. ESPN was the most valuable network in the cable bundle. They acquired Pixar, Marvel, LucasFilms, and Fox. As the company shifted to streaming, it seemed set up to lap Netflix and eat the box office at the same time. But today, Disney?s stock is at a nine-year low. Operating margins are down 75 percent. Disney+ lost $4 billion last year. What happened to America?s greatest entertainment company? To discuss, we have two great guests: Julia Alexander, director of strategy for Parrot Analytics and a writer with Puck News, and Matthew Ball, a writer and investor and author of the book ?The Metaverse.? If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guests: Matthew Ball & Julia Alexander Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twenty years ago, higher education was one of the most trusted institutions in America. Today, confidence in higher ed is falling among every demographic: young and old, men and women, Republicans and Democrats, those who didn't finish high school and those with framed PhDs on their wall. And it?s not just attitudes. In the fall of 2010, there were more than 18 million undergraduates enrolled in colleges and universities across the U.S. Last year, there were about 15 million undergrads. That?s a decline of roughly 16 percent. In a recent essay for the New York Times, author Paul Tough, who?s published several excellent books about college in America, wrote: ?Americans have turned away from college at the same time that students in the rest of the world have been flocking to campus. Why?? Today?s guest is Paul Tough. We talk about why a noxious stew of economics, culture, and inequality has turned a surprising number of Americans against college. Who?s to blame, and what happens next? If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Paul Tough Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since the 1970s, the General Social Survey has asked thousands of Americans the same question: ?Taken all together, how would you say things are these days?would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?? In the past few decades, our well-being seemed to take a nosedive. According to researchers, the decline of marriage seems to be the single most important explanation. Why is marriage the best predictor of happiness in America? Does marriage turn unhappy people into happy people? Are happier people just more likely to get married? Or is something more complicated happening? We welcome back Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz, the director and associate director of Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest-running study of adult happiness ever conducted and the authors of the book 'The Good Life,' to discuss. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guests: Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're in the midst of a great affordability crisis. It's not just the inflation crisis. It's a greater cost crisis of the last few decades. Everything that matters most in life?health care, housing, education?is getting more and more expensive. Why? One way to investigate this question is to look at the cost and speed of building physical things in America. We build urban transit more slowly than we used to, we build highways more slowly than we used to, we build energy infrastructure more slowly than we used to, we build skyscrapers more slowly than we used to, and we build housing more slowly than we used to. Brian Potter, the author of the newsletter 'Construction Physics,' explains the forces behind the great slowdown, why it matters, and how to turn things around. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Brian Potter Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Derek is back, and ... he's a new dad! After several weeks of parental leave, he talks about what's surprised him about new fatherhood. Brad Stulberg, the health and science writer, returns to the show to discuss the psychology of major life transitions, why westerners?and, in particular, Americans?are so bad at dealing with challenges to their identity, and his new book, 'Master of Change.' If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Brad Stulberg Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s show is about what I consider the biggest mystery of the U.S. economy. Last year, economic experts predicted a recession in 2023 with more confidence than they?ve predicted any recession in decades. We ended up with what some people are calling immaculate disinflation: an economy with low unemployment, falling inflation, rising real wages, and narrowing inequality. Harvard economist Jason Furman joins the show to talk about why so many economists were so wrong and what their wrongness teaches us about how the economy works. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Jason Furman Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Less than 1 percent of college students attend Ivy League colleges and equally selective schools, like Stanford and Duke. But these schools have an outsize influence on American life. Practically every Supreme Court justice of the last 40 years, 25 percent of the U.S. Senate, and one in eight Fortune 500 CEOs went to these schools. A new study on their admissions programs finds that they are heavily biased toward children from rich families. For applicants with the same SAT score, kids from families in the top 0.1 percent were more than twice as likely to get in compared to the average student. A coauthor on that paper, Harvard economist David Deming, talks to Derek about what his landmark study tells us about college, fairness, and the American Dream. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].  Host: Derek Thompson Guest: David Deming Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Richard Rhodes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'The Making of the Atomic Bomb,' discusses the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, the history of nuclear weapons, and the new film on his life by Christopher Nolan. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. You can find us on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@plainenglish_ Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Richard Rhodes Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The trouble brewing in the media and entertainment industry has become one of the most interesting?and truly perplexing?business stories in the world. How does everything seem so bad at the same time? The domestic box office is still in a recession. Pay TV is a nightmare. Streaming is a money pit. And actors and writers are on strike. How did this happen? And could it get worse before it gets better? Today?s guest is Julia Alexander, director of strategy for Parrot Analytics and a writer with Puck News. We discuss a brief history of Hollywood, how we got to this point, how Disney?s plight in particular tells a story of how streaming has roiled this town, how the strikes fit into this picture, and what these companies should do now. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. You can find us on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@plainenglish_ Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Julia Alexander Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By many measures, this is one of the best times to find a job in decades. And by many measures, Americans are locked in a state of extreme glumness about the country. Jordan Weissmann, Washington editor at Semafor, rejoins the show to talk about why the economy is much better than many Americans?and many economic commentators?think, and whether "Bidenomics" can fix what ails us. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. You can find us on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@plainenglish_ Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Jordan Weissmann Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calvin Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University and the author of, among other books, 'Deep Work' and 'A World Without Email.' At the heart of so much of Newport?s work is this incredibly rich mystery: Why hasn't the internet produced more geniuses? One possibility is that the productivity tools ironically inhibit our productivity. The average white-collar worker in marketing, advertising, finance, and media now spends up to 60 percent of the workweek engaged in electronic communication. In a recent survey, Microsoft found that video meetings had taken up so much of the day that a significant share of its workforce was logging online between 9 and 10 p.m. to finish their actual non-email, non-meeting work. In response to this relentless need to loop back and back and back, Newport came up with what he called the Deep Work Hypothesis: He said to learn hard things quickly, you must focus intensely without distraction. But the ability to perform this kind of deep focused work is becoming rare at exactly the same time it is becoming most valuable in our economy. In this conversation, we talk about deep work and shallow work, how our productivity tools make us less productive, and how to actually get things done. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. You can find us on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@plainenglish_ Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Calvin Newport Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

University of Chicago professor Paul Poast breaks down Yevgeny Prigozhin's rebellion, Vladimir Putin's weakness, Russia's military incompetence, and the long-term implications of Saturday's bizarre 36-hour rebellion. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. You can find us on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@plainenglish_Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Paul Poast Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today?s episode is the first in a new miniseries about getting stuff done. This episode in particular is about NOT getting stuff done. I consider myself an exceptional procrastinator. There are many times when I sit down at my computer to accomplish one task?say, answer my email; write five paragraphs?where I?ll immediately get swept into a text conversation, which will lead to some snooping around ESPN, which will remind me I should check The Atlantic homepage, where I?ll open three articles in separate tabs, and those articles will birth even more tabs, but they?re long articles and I want some coffee as a companion so maybe I should make some coffee, so I listen to a podcast while I do that, and I might as well check Twitter while I?m listening to the show, and three hours later, I?ve written absolutely nothing. I?ve spent way too much time thinking about procrastination, which is why it was such a pleasure to think out loud about it with an actual scientist: Tim Pychyl, a retired professor of psychology at Carleton University and a long-time productivity researcher. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. You can find us on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@plainenglish_ Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Tim Pychyl Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices