Today Dr. Zandria Robinson drops in to talk about Sinners and why it might be the best movie of the 21st century. We have a spoiler free introduction, a pause, and then a spoiler filled conversation about the Jim Crow South, the Great Migration...

News broke yesterday of Pope Francis' death at the age of  88. Matt Gabriele joins in to talk about the man, the history of the papacy, and what comes next.About our guest:Matthew Gabriele is a professor of medieval studies i...

Today astrophysicist Dr. Mario Livio and Nobel-winning chemist Dr. Jack Szostak drop in to talk about the search for extraterrestrial life.About our guests:Dr. Mario Livio is an internationally known astrophysicist, best-selling a...

We're a couple days removed from yet another on campus shooting. Sasha, Cari, and I ask what the hell is wrong with America and how did we get here.About our guests: Sasha Abramsky is The Nation's Western corresponde...

Talking about Bobby Sands, the Troubles, the Irish Republican Army, and the Good Friday Agreement with John M. Burney and Andrew J. Auge.

Today Sasha Abramsky joins in for the first time to talk about why small towns are so susceptible to far right rhetoric and if there is hope for the future.About our guest:Sasha Abramsky is The Nation's Western correspond...

The gang is back together as we return to Indiana Jones franchise to talk about archaeology, British imperialism, representation of India on film, and why Harrison Ford never looked cooler than he did on the bridge. 

Physicist Matt Strassler drops in to talk about the origins of the universe and how we how what we know.About  our guest:Dr. Matt Strassler is a  theoretical physicist and writer. His research over the past thirty years ...

This week Kevin Smokler drops in to talk about The Breakfast Club, the Brat Pack, John Hughes, and the legacy of 80s teen movies. About our guest:Kevin Smokler is a writer, documentary filmmaker and event host focused on our ...

April 1 marks the beginning of Autism Awareness Month in the U.S. and the U.K. so I invited neuroscientist Dr. Gina Rippon on the pod to talk about what autism is, the history of its diagnosis, and how women and girls have been overlooked in au...

Talking today about why we have to keep fighting and why we must move forward. Because it's not about us.

This week Dr. Kit Heyem visits from across the Pond to talk about their new book, Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender. This was an awesome conversation to talk nonbinary histories through...

In 1992 Bill Duke teamed up with Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum to create one of the best film noirs ever made and a masterpiece of Black cinema. Walter Greason and Tim Fielder join in to talk about it, the rise of hip hop, and the early ...

In the early 20th century, the New York Times dubbed French philosopher Henri Bergson as "the most dangerous man in the world." Bergson scared a lot of people in how he brought philosophy to the masses but he also won critical acclaim, receivin...

Imagine John Wick. Only instead of losing his puppy, he's lost his entire family because the British let them freeze to death. And imagine now that they're all in Ireland and it's the middle of the Famine. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you B...

Let’s talk about sex, baby. And food too. And while we’re at it, let’s talk with Dr. Rachel Hope Cleves about how conceptions of food and sex informed one another in the minds of Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries. Plus, we get into the i...

Thinking about the elders who have guided me in my life and career. 

It's time for a critical reappraisal of President Carter. Joining me this week is Jim Barger, Jr., coauthor of the new book Jimmy Carter: River & Dreams, Rods, Reels, and Peace Deals, Plus the One that Got Away. Jim knew the late P...

This morning I talk about why Hoosiers has been banned from HATM and why as a Kentuckian I am legally required to hate Indiana.

This week Dr. Surekha Davies joins in to talk about a different way of seeing human history--through monsters. According to her, Monsters are central to how we think about the human condition. So our conversation reveals how people have defined...

This week Dr. Will Tosh drops in to talk about the many complexities of Shakespeare's relationships, Shakespeare's role as a working writer, and the competitive landscape of playwrights of the time, along with Will's new book, Straight...

Happy birthday Mr. President! Today for George Washington's birthday we invited Washington scholar Craig Bruce Smith to talk about why we still don't have a biopic of the First American, plus Craig's top five presidents ever.About our gu...

This week Dr. Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Dr. Derek Silva drop in to talk about 1993's The Program, starring James Caan, Omar Epps, and Halle Berry. This movie was way ahead of its time in its discussions of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), concussi...

Forester Dr. Lauren Oakes joins in today to talk about the urgent need for effective reforestation efforts and the complexities of understanding the state of the world's forests. Plus, we talk about the dual narrative of loss and growth in fore...

This week we dive headfirst into discussions over the Fourteenth Amendment, birthright citizenship, racial discrimination, families, hope, and love with Dr. Kathryn Schumaker as we talk about 2016's Loving and her new book Tangled ...