Remember the Chinese spy balloon? Since then, we’ve seen leaked Pentagon spy documents on Discord and the discovery of fake Chinese police stations used for surveillance in the U.S. The line between espionage and everyday surveillance/data collection is more blurred than ever, thanks to the integration of technology into our daily lives. All of us are walking pieces of data being gobbled up and analyzed by spy agencies around the world. All of this spy news is a reminder of how high the...

Are we cycling through fashion trends faster than ever? Cores, aesthetics, and those big red boots! Our Assignment this week is a deep dive into how the social media algorithm is turning each of us into mini-fashionistas, and whether fashion trends can help us understand the state of the economy. Audie’s guests are trend forecaster Agustina Panzoni and culture critic Terry Nguyen.  To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Can Country music help lead the U.S. out of the gun debate? There is a long history of famous country musicians using their platforms to comment on social and political issues. But since the lead singer of The Chicks, Natalie Maines, was ostracized after criticizing then President George W. Bush, country music stars have felt safer keeping their political views out of the public eye. Musician Ketch Secor of the band Old Crow Medicine Show is trying to change that. After the shooting at...

Why is everyone talking about their “attachment style” or “boundaries” and “triggers”? Therapy speak, both online and IRL, has become a normal part of our daily discourse – especially since the pandemic brought mental health issues to the forefront. Audie talks to two psychologists, Dr. Arianna Brandolini and Dr. Luana Marques, about how widespread use of the language of their profession can both increase access to certain resources, and at the same time be a poor substitute for...

We have trained a generation of people how to think about, respond to, and survive a mass shooting, including children. Educators and law enforcement officials have developed curricula for schools to help teachers and students survive a shooting. The foundation for this teaching comes in large part from the work of Katherine Schweit. She is a former FBI Agent, author of the book, “Stop the Killing: How to End the Mass Shooting Crisis,” and co-host of the podcast Stop the Killing. At the time...

The past few weeks have been head spinning: U.S. job numbers? Solid... except for those layoffs in the tech sector. Inflation? Slowly dropping... but still high. Not to mention the bank failures...   It all has made us wonder: Why was it so hard for economists to predict this? What will happen next? And what does it mean for folks caught in the middle of high inflation? Audie gets an assignment from a listener and asks economists Gary “Hoov” Hoover, Executive Director of the Murphy Institute...

The Assignment is returning with new episodes every Thursday, and we're taking some of our assignments from you, including: trying to figure out our baffling economy, the rise of therapy speak online and in our daily lives, and delving into the world of absurdist fashion trends.  New episodes start dropping March 23rd. Thanks for listening!    To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

The Assignment is hard at work reporting more stories about the people living the headlines. We’ll have new episodes in the feed starting March 23rd. In the meantime, here’s a special episode of another podcast that we think will bring a smile to your face. It’s called Story of the Week. Each week, journalist Joel Stein chooses an article that fascinates him, convinces the writer to tell him about it, and then interrupts a good conversation by talking about himself. In this episode, Choire...

The Assignment is taking a short break, we’ll be back with new episodes on March 23rd. In the meantime, we want to highlight the good work of some our colleagues and partners. This week, Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. In this sixth season, he explores how technology has disrupted our lives, the ways we interact with each other, work, learn, and even grow up. This season looks at the impact all this technology is having on young people. Like many parents, this topic is personal for Dr....

Can puppets help us bridge the political divide? Probably not. But there’s one guy in Arizona who’s trying. If you saw Audie on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, you might have heard her mention a listener who called in about his R-rated puppet theater. His name is Shaun McNamara, and he’s the director of the All Puppet Players in Phoenix. His pitch: doing political humor in a red state. But with puppets. So, we called him up for chat.   We’re taking a short break with this episode. We’ll...

Do new unions need “Big Labor”? There is a new generation of labor organizers in the United States: baristas, warehouse workers, and grocers. They are organizing shop-by-shop and relying less on traditional big labor unions. Audie talks with longtime labor activist Erica Smiley, executive director of Jobs with Justice, and Nabretta Hardin, a Starbucks union organizer in Memphis, about legacy unions and their place in the new labor movement. Also: what can this new generation of activists...

When Buffalo Bills tight end Damar Hamlin collapsed of cardiac arrest after making a tackle, it set off a flurry of think pieces and debates about the safety and future of football. But with over 100 million viewers expected to watch the Super Bowl this year, it seems like football’s future is pretty clear. So, if a player almost dying on the field isn't enough to stir a longer, sustained debate about safety in the sport -- then, what is? Audie sits down with former NFL player Nate Jackson...

What is it like to survive a violent police encounter? As the world processes the beating and death of Tyre Nichols, we hear from two men whose encounters with police changed their lives: Leon Ford is an author, speaker, and co-founder of The Hear Foundation. He was shot by Pittsburgh police in 2012 after being pulled over for a traffic stop. And Tim Alexander is a lawyer, politician, and former Detective Captain for the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. He was “shot at, assaulted, and...

The pandemic, along with the rise of streaming services, shifted the way we experience movies. Theater ticket sales are still down, and many folks prefer to watch from the comfort of their own home. Is staying home bad for the movies? Will studios simply bombard us with sequels and superhero movies to get us back? We hear from Franklin Leonard, founder of The Black List, about the state of cinema and the cultural necessity of going to the movies. And he tries to convince a very reluctant...

In the last few years, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have traded their broken relationship with the UK press system for the celebrity industrial complex of the US. This week on The Assignment, Audie turns to two insiders from each media ecosystem to discuss how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are using the press to reshape their narrative. We hear from Los Angeles Times culture critic Mary McNamara and Newsweek’s Chief Royal Correspondent Jack Royston. To learn more about how CNN protects...

Millions of people are now disabled because of a long Covid, leading to what some are calling a “mass disabling event.” In this episode, Audie speaks with Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, who has been diagnosing and treating patients with long Covid, to unpack this new terminology. Audie also hears from Imani Barbarin, a disability advocate, and Alexis Misko, who is struggling with long Covid, about what it means to be disabled in the United States and discusses whether long Covid could change...

Happy New Year! We’re still on our holiday break but wanted to take a moment to reflect and set some new goals. In this episode, Audie listens to your voicemails, feedback, and ideas for future assignments. Thank you for being part of this community, and we can’t wait to keep the conversation going. We are reading all your assignments – so please keep them coming. You can leave us a message in a voicemail at 202-854-8802. Or record a voice memo on your phone and email that to us:...

The Assignment is taking a short, holiday break. We’ll return with new episodes in January. Today, we invite you into a warm, gracious conversation between CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Late Show host Stephen Colbert. It’s from Anderson’s podcast All There Is, a deeply personal exploration of loss and grief and finding community. Download the entire season of All There Is wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

The debate among journalists over how to regain the public’s trust is increasingly centered around the idea of objectivity. In this episode, Audie turns the spotlight on herself and the media. She invites journalists to help her reckon with the idea of objectivity: what it is? Does it still work? And, what’s the way forward for both the press and the public? You’ll hear from Jelani Cobb, Dean of Columbia Journalism School; Margaret Sullivan, former media columnist at the Washington Post, and...

Protests following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 set the stage for people across the country to demand change within the criminal justice system. Calls to “defund the police” gained mainstream attention and paved the way for the election of “progressive prosecutors.” But more than two years later, the momentum for the movement has slowed down and some of these prosecutors are facing backlash and, in some cases, even recall efforts. This week, we hear from Sarah George, Chittenden County...

After Roe v. Wade legalized abortion 50 years ago, abortion clinics and providers saw waves of violence, protests and lawsuits. Recently, a new group of healthcare providers has come under attack— the doctors providing gender affirming care for transgender kids. With politicians passing anti-trans bills, states blocking medical care altogether, and hospitals and doctors now facing vitriol and threats, is this care on the line for trans kids? In this episode, Audie speaks with two gender...