In college admission, trauma is shorthand for Blackness
At most elite colleges and universities, affirmative action is a thing of the past. But admissions offices are still interested in building racially diverse incoming classes — which can mean looking a...
25 Apr 27min
Hate it or love it, is DEI a distraction?
The Trump administration has been very candid about their disdain for all things DEI. But it's not just conservatives who have critiques. On this episode, we're talking to Jennifer C. Pan, author of S...
22 Apr 35min
Is the U.S. 'empire' beginning to show cracks?
The Trump administration's recent military actions have had certain observers asking... are we going full empire? But Daniel Immerwahr, a historian and the author of How to Hide an Empire, argues that...
18 Apr 28min
Gaza commanded our attention. Why hasn't Sudan?
What makes people pay a lot of attention to some wars and crises, but not others? And what does that attention actually do for the people in those situations? We're looking at Sudan, which has entered...
15 Apr 36min
How your vote became your identity
Do you vote Republican or Democrat? And why does that answer reveal so much about the rest of who you are? We talk to political scientist Lilliana Mason about how party affiliation has become a “mega-...
11 Apr 31min
As the definition of “terrorist” expands, so does state violence
The Trump administration has called more and more groups “terrorists,” from “narco-terrorists” in Ecuador to people who protest ICE to the entire Democratic party. But it’s also nothing new. We talk t...
8 Apr 28min
From the Confederacy to the White House: How Southern beauty traditions went MAGA
What do the women in Bama Rush, beauty pageants and President Trump's orbit have in common? Their look traces back to the beauty traditions of the white, antebellum South. We talk to Elizabeth Bronwyn...
4 Apr 19min
'Mar-a-Lago face:' MAGA's aesthetic loyalty test
The MAGA look — you know the one: dramatic eyeliner, long, wavy hair, sheath dresses — is a defining feature of President Trump's Republican Party. And it's about a lot more than appearances. Journali...
1 Apr 27min
