The climate crisis is unfolding very day, with many inevitable consequences looming in the near future. While we may hope for clean energy or fossil fuel alternatives to save the day, climate change is more than just a technological issue—it's fundamentally a social problem. When tend to view climate change only from an ecological or technological perspective, but we require a sociological view to understand how we can collectively solve it. This week, Adam discusses these complexities with...

The term "socialism" has gained prominence in today's political discourse, yet it hasn't fully entered the political mainstream apart from moments like the Occupy Wall Street movement or Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. Unlike the fervent following of MAGA, there's no socialist movement of comparable size and far-right politicians outnumber their left-leaning counterparts a hundred to one. Why is this the case, and does socialism actually have a shot at shaping future policy? To...

When we talk about racism in America, we tend to focus on the harm inflicted upon people of color, while rarely focusing on the ways that white people indirectly benefit from a racist culture. Author Tracie McMillan explores this concept of The White Bonus in her latest book, exploring the tangible financial benefits associated with being white in America. In this episode, Adam speaks with Tracie about white Americans reckoning with their privilege, the interconnectedness of racial and class...

The American prison system is in shambles. Rehabilitation efforts fall short, recidivism rates soar, and the numbers show that our incarceration system fails to actually make us any safer. While the notion of abolishing prisons might sound radical, entertaining its principles could help cast light on the shortcomings of our current system and steer us toward a more just society. This week, Adam sits down with Tommie Shelby, a philosopher and professor of African-American studies at Harvard,...

There's been a surge in discourse around medications such as Ozempic, prompting understandable skepticism—Is this another weight loss fad, or the beginning of something new? While it is primarily used to treat diabetes and promote weight loss, there's mounting evidence that shows drugs like Ozempic can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and potentially be instrumental in treating addiction. In this episode, Adam speaks with Dr. Dhruv Khullar, a physician and assistant professor of...

The climate crisis is undeniably real, but it won't be the end of the world. Tomorrow, the planet will still be here, whether it's better or worse, and we'll all have to live in it. While it's understandable to feel hopeless, surrendering isn't an environmentally responsible choice. In this episode, Adam talks with Dr. Hannah Ritchie, author of "Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet," about striving for a future that not only averts...

Widespread denial looms over the 2024 presidential election. Will Biden be replaced due to his age? Could a conviction halt Trump's ambitions? While enthusiasm is scarce for this exhausting rematch, it's going to happen whether we like it or not. Adam and Semafor political reporter David Weigel set aside concerns about old age and criminal trials to dissect the state of both campaigns, and what it will actually mean come November.

The profession of journalism is facing a crisis. Recent years have brought devastating layoffs to nearly every major news outlet, with local newspapers shuttering daily. As these institutions crumble, we're faced with a question: what does a world without journalism look like? This week, Adam is joined by journalist Matt Pearce, who recently experienced large-scale layoffs at the LA Times. Together, they discuss the industry's apparent demise, the irreplaceable role of boots-on-the-ground...

The internet once felt novel and exciting, with new mysteries waiting to be discovered around every corner. These days there's a different mystery: who is actually deciding everything that you end up seeing? Journalist Kyle Chayka, author of Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture, has been watching how platform algorithms have been invisibly been guiding culture, and how they've been failing us. In this episode, Adam and Kyle discuss what algorithms get wrong about what people want,...

Express skepticism about technology and you might be labeled a "Luddite." However, the true story of the historical Luddites offers a fascinating perspective on the relationship between workers and technology. In this episode, Adam chats with tech journalist Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech, about the historical Luddites and their fight against wealthy elites replacing the working class with machines—a struggle made only more...

The conversation about trauma is everywhere, and it seems like our culture is finally grappling with the concept openly. But here's the thing: if we don't get what trauma really is, on a psychological or biological level, it can be hard move past it. In this episode, Adam sits down with Dr. Edith Shiro, the author of The Unexpected Gift of Trauma: The Path to Posttraumatic Growth, to talk about what trauma truly means, the misconceptions around it, and the tools required to grow from it.

Is free will a scientific fact? Dr. Kevin Mitchell, neuroscientist and the author of Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will, certainly thinks so. While some, like recent guest Robert Sapolsky, argue that biology and physics can explain away free will, Kevin begs to differ. Join Adam and Kevin in this episode as they dive into how evolution paved the way for free will and unravel the common misconceptions surrounding the "I" that makes choices.

Capitalism has changed. A century ago, capitalists amassed untold wealth by manufacturing goods, but today, our economy appears to be dominated by massive tech corporations that don't actually produce anything. Instead, these tech giants offer platforms—such as search engines, AI, or marketplaces—through which they extract profits from users. Adam speaks with Yanis Varoufakis, former finance minister of Greece, about his book Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, exploring how this new...

Does free will truly exist, or are we merely sophisticated meat machines running our biochemical programming with sentience as a byproduct? Stanford University neurologist Robert Sapolsky, having extensively studied the topic, asserts that not only is free will a myth but also that our insistence on its reality adversely affects the world we inhabit. In this episode, Adam speaks with Dr. Sapolsky about how choice is an illusion and the impact this has on our society, from workplace...

For as long as there's been comedy, there have been people lamenting that "you can't do comedy anymore". This sentiment feels more prevalent than ever, but is it actual censorship or a shift in our culture? Adam talks with Kliph Nesteroff, a historian of comedy and author of Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars, about the history of censorship in comedy, and how the idea of audiences being "too sensitive" is propaganda pushed by the very same people who censored comedians in...

Gaza has been decimated by atrocious violence. Since the war erupted in October, 1 in every 100 Palestinians has been killed, and nearly all of those who survive have been displaced. In order to imagine what could possibly happen next, we have to look back at a century of history leading up to this moment. This week, Adam is joined by Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East and Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, to discuss what led to the...

Recently, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was ousted and then reinstated in a matter of days. No explanation has been made public, which is unsettling considering just how quickly OpenAI, ChatGPT, and DALL·E have become household names. What's actually happening behind closed doors at OpenAI? Adam is joined by tech journalist Karen Hao to discuss the history of this massively influential company, how they've struggled with the identity of being a non-profit, and how the future of AI is ultimately at...

While the rise of fentanyl may seem like it emerged out of nowhere, it has a long and complicated history dating back hundred years. The pharmaceutical industry, the illegal drug trade, and government response all have roles in the ongoing epidemic of overdoses. This week, Adam speaks with Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, an epidemiologist and street drug scientist at the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center, to explore why the opioid crisis is so frequently misunderstood and the multi-faceted approach...

In recent years, the number of young people identifying as trans has doubled. However, a common misinterpretation arises, suggesting that this surge implies a new phenomenon of being trans or gender non-conforming. Modern Western culture has strongly insisted on the conventional belief that the gender binary is natural, fostering the false assumption that human culture and history have always revolved around this binary. In reality, humans worldwide have expressed gender concepts outside that...

Social media is just media now. It has irreversibly changed how we engage with our world, yet it is often disregarded as frivolous. The dismissal of social media can be dangerous, as it minimizes not just the benefits but the dangers of our current media landscape. This week Adam is joined by Taylor Lorenz, an internet expert and author of "Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet," to track the evolution of social media, from the birth of mommy...

Over 34 million disabled Americans, but despite the commonality of having a disability, there's still a social tendency to want to "solve" disability out of view with technology. As useful as robotic limbs or exoskeletons for walking might seem on paper, they don't always consider the practicalities of living with a disability. In this episode, Adam speaks with Ashley Shew, author of "Against Technoableism," about how technology is best suited to make an impact for the disabled and when it's...

When we donate to charity, we aim to have the most significant impact possible, yet it's easy to feel like our giving makes zero difference. The rise of effective altruism, a philosophical model designed to achieve the most substantial potential impact with giving, seemed poised to combat this, but does treating people like data help? Or does it exclude the dimensions of life and what actually makes us human? In this episode, Adam is joined by Amy Schiller, author of "The Price of Humanity:...

What is the appeal of conspiracy theories, and how is it that they entrap our friends, coworkers, or family members? Political polarization and the rise of social media have generated an unprecedented amount of seemingly absurd misinformation, yet many real people fall for it, and a seemingly endless supply of grifters are ready to exploit them. In this episode, Adam speaks with award-winning author Naomi Klein about what led us to this moment and what hope we have of extricating loved ones...

It's easy to caricature those on the political far right as outlandish, cartoonish, and bizarre, and easier still to dismiss their agendas as irrational or uninformed. This, however, can be a tremendous mistake. Assessing political rivals requires not just learning the history of their influences and principles, but also remembering that they are real people. In this episode, Adam speaks with Corey Robin, Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College, to learn the history of where the...