America's Biggest Car Companies Are in Trouble
Today, the media vibes around electric vehicles are all bad. But if you lift up and take in the big picture, electric vehicles and hybrids are taking over the market. Gas-powered cars are as much in s...
26 Mar 202450min
Should the U.S. Ban TikTok?
Derek shares his thoughts on the question of the moment in tech and tech politics. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek...
19 Mar 202433min
How Hollywood’s Hit Formula Flopped—and What Could Come Next
Today, we’re talking about movies, the philosophy of hits in Hollywood, and why we might be at a fascinating inflection point in how the entertainment industry thinks about popularity and prestige. We...
12 Mar 202451min
What Many Economists (and I) Got Wrong About This Economy
One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2024 was to do more episodes with people who think I'm wrong about something. For example, I've done several episodes about how the U.S. economy is doing much bett...
5 Mar 202429min
Why the "Need for Chaos" Is Eating American Politics
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 i...
1 Mar 202435min
Why Americans Stopped Hanging Out—and Why It Matters
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 aver...
27 Feb 20241h 10min
"We’re Seeing a Fundamental Reorganization of Work in America"
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...
23 Feb 202438min
How to Have the Hardest Conversations—in Marriage, Politics, and Life
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 conversa...
20 Feb 202440min
