Jia Tolentino on what happens when life is an endless performance
The introduction to Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, hit me hard. In her investigation of how American politics and culture had collapsed into “an unbearable supernova of pe...
26 Aug 20191h 42min
The original meaning of “identity politics” (with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor)
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is an associate professor of African-American Studies at Princeton University and the author of multiple books, including most recently How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the ...
22 Aug 20191h 22min
Are bosses dictators? (with Elizabeth Anderson)
Imagine a society whose rulers suppress free speech, free association, even bathroom breaks. Where the government owns the means of production. Where the leader is self-appointed or hand-selected by a...
19 Aug 20191h 28min
The Constitution is a progressive document
“The Constitution must be adapted to the problems of each generation,” writes Erwin Chemerisnky, “we are not living in the world of 1787 and should not pretend that the choices for that time can guide...
15 Aug 20191h
Matt Bruenig’s case for single-payer health care
The Democratic primary has been unexpectedly dominated by a single question: Will you abolish private health insurance? Wrapped in that question are dozens more. Why, if private health insurance is su...
12 Aug 20192h 2min
Can Raj Chetty save the American dream?
I don’t ordinarily find myself scrambling to write down article ideas during these conversations, but almost everything Raj Chetty says is worth a feature unto itself. For instance: - Great Kindergart...
8 Aug 20191h 20min
Astra Taylor will change how you think about democracy
Astra Taylor’s new book has the best title I’ve seen in a long time: Democracy May Not Exist, But We’ll Miss It When It’s Gone. I talk a lot about democracy on this show, but not in the way Taylor tal...
5 Aug 20191h 19min
Is big tech addictive? Nir Eyal and I debate.
“How do successful companies create products people can’t put down?” That’s the opening line of the description for Nir Eyal’s bestselling 2014 book Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. Hooked...
1 Aug 20191h 17min
