How Is This Better?

Latest Episodes:

Gambling took over sports. Now what? Oct 10, 2026

Show notes

Denny Carter joins me to break down the wave of gambling in sports – from the scores, to the stats, to the moment-to-moment plays. We also talk about prediction markets and celebrities who are getting in on the action. We're looking at you Lebron James and Sydney Sweeney.

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The Dystopian World of AI Relationships is Here Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

What happens when AI starts to feel like something you can talk to... confide in even?

Akilah Hughes talks to tech and culture podcaster Bridget Todd about the surprisingly common phenomenon of AI intimacy, and why laughing at people with AI boyfriends might mean we're missing the bigger story.

Check out Bridget's new audiobook, Love at First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacyand her amazing podcast, There Are No Girls on the Internet

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I Was Right About Yosemite. Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

After you watch/listen to this, check out this video from Aidin Robbins.

Original description:

Last year, Donald Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sent a letter to 1000 probationary National Parks staff – firing them – only to reinstate them weeks later. Pretty INefficient…

But that wasn’t just a distraction. It wasn’t just a fumble. It was the opening salvo for a plan, laid out in Project 2025, to dismantle protections for National Parks.

It’s all got Akilah Hughes wondering – if she wants to cross going to Yosemite off her bucket list…is it now or never?

Guests:

Kristen Brengel, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, ⁠National Parks Conservation Association ⁠
Steven Beissinger, Professor of Conservation Biology and A. Starker Leopold Professor of Wildlife Ecology, UC Berkeley
⁠Adam Auerbach⁠, conservation non-profit leader, former RMNP Ranger

Follow this show wherever you get your podcasts. ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠COURIER YouTube⁠

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Ariana Grande, Ozempic, and the End of Body Positivity Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Ariana Grande has asked everyone to stop talking about her body. But now everyone is just talking about… how we shouldn’t talk about her body. Perhaps we’re missing the larger discussion. Have GLP-1s reinforced a beauty standard we thought we had overcome with the body positivity movement?

Akilah examines.

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Inside Hollywood's Not-So-Secret Hideout Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

Hollywood used to feel like a place where anything could happen. Akilah Hughes talks to Stinson Carter about the strange magic of 2000s Hollywood, the Chateau Marmont, Entourage, and whether the Hollywood dream still exists.

Check out Stinson's piece for Esquire, "Bartending at the Edge of Fame."

And subscribe to How Is This Better? wherever you get your podcasts.

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How Love Island Exposed the American Literacy Crisis Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

Face it: Americans have a literacy problem. Host Akilah Hughes is joined by Oliver Speaks, author of the memoir Unread and literacy advocate, and Lauren Coffey, a journalist with EdSurge, to get to the bottom of why no one wants to read anymore.

If you're inspired to pick up a book, start with Oliver's! You can find it here.

Remember to subscribe to How Is This Better? wherever you get your podcasts.

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Does Shaming AI Users Actually Work? Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

It seems like everyone is talking about AI. Because they are.
Across both sides of the aisle, whether you support it or you loathe it, AI is one of the most talked-about hot-button issues of 2026. It's everywhere — in our phones, on our computers, at our jobs, and even in our backyards thanks to data centers and flock surveillance cameras. Hell, even the Taco Bell drive-thru isn't safe anymore. Understandably, a lot of folks want AI gone, but are they actually convincing anyone to put down Chat GPT?
Our guest Dr. Fatima is an Astrophysicist-turned-creator who made a video about "how to anti-AI better". According to her, shame isn't the most effective method to get people to turn on our new robot overlords. The question is: what is?

Sponsors
This episode is brought to you by Mint Mobile. To get your new wireless plan for only $15 a month, go to https://www.mintmobile.com/courier/ — that's it, there's no catch.

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We Stopped Talking About Gun Control – The Shootings Never Stopped Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

When students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School launched March For Our Lives after the Parkland shooting, they helped spark one of the largest youth-led movements in American history.

But nearly a decade later, gun violence remains the leading cause of death for American children and teens—and the issue no longer commands the same national attention it once did.

This week, Akilah Hughes talks with March For Our Lives Executive Director and Parkland survivor Jaclyn Corin about what comes after the marches, how activism has changed since 2018, and why the organization is shifting its focus toward culture, media, and the battle for attention itself.

Support March for Our Lives: https://marchforourlives.org/

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Erasing Jackie Robinson (REPLAY) Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

Today, we are sharing an episode we first-aired a year ago (nearly to the day). Back then, Trump and his administration would not stop saying "DEI" as if it were a slur. Their efforts to white-wash history have not gone away, so we wanted to share this episode again, today, on Juneteenth.

Guests:

Roy Wood, Jr., actor and comedian
Kali Holloway, columnist, The Nation
Jeremy Taché, Miami-based sports reporter and host

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The Real Reason UFC at the White House Matters Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

A UFC fight on the White House lawn sounds like satire. But it's real.

Before Ryan Broderick and Grant Irving of Panic World travel to Washington to attend the event, Akilah Hughes talks with them about what they expect to find there, who they're hoping to talk to, and what this bizarre spectacle might reveal about American politics.

Ryan and Grant will be reporting from the event itself, but first, they're helping us understand what this moment says about the country before the first punch is thrown.

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