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Black women in their 30s: Then vs. Now Jan 19, 2026

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We're taking a trip back to the 90s and exploring the lives of single Black women and how their stories still show up in media 30 years later.
This episode comes from NPR's Books We've Loved podcast series. Brittany joined hosts Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker to revisit Terry McMillan's classic novel, Waiting to Exhale. The three get into how the book was a blueprint for Sex & The City and how it depicts the complexity of Black women's lives - and echoes the lives of Black women today.
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The difference between losing weight & being "healthy" Jan 16, 2026

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What are we missing something in the conversation around obesity and GLP-1s?
Oprah Winfrey’s new book, Enough, co-authored by endocrinologist Dr. Ania Jastreboff is one of many new narratives attempting to reframe how we think about obesity and diet culture. But host Brittany Luse thinks we’re just scratching the surface.
She’s joined by Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson, Chair of the Africana Studies Department at Wellesley College and co-host of the podcast This Day, and Dr. Mara Gordon, family physician and NPR's Real Talk with a Doc columnist to unpack fatphobia, the GLP-1 craze, and what it really means to be ‘healthy.’
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Protest is going viral on TikTok Jan 14, 2026

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There's a new sound of protest going viral on TikTok. What is being said, and how much impact could it have?
We're just two weeks into January, but this year has already been eventful. There's Trump's incursion into Venezuela, and last week’s ICE shooting in Minneapolis, which led to protests all across the country over the weekend. And these protests on the street are connected to some of the music we’re hearing online: artists like Jensen McRae and Jesse Welles are responding to current events with their own musical takes on the news with bitesize songs on TikTok. But why is folk protest music having revival, and who is listening?
Brittany sits down with NPR Music reporter Isabella Gomez Sarmiento to get into why this folk-y protest music hasn’t been popular in decades – and why it’s going viral now. You can read Isabella's story here.
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Will Renee Good's death be a turning point? Jan 12, 2026

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Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minnesotan mother, is just one of several victims of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violence in recent months. But her death marks a turning point in the discourse around state violence.
How will her name and story be used by politicians and protestors? And how does her story line up with other moments of government violence throughout American history?
Brittany is joined by Abené Clayton, the lead reporter for the Guns and Lies in America series at The Guardian. Brittany and Abené unpack the importance of this moment, how Good's death compares to other deaths at the hands of the federal government, and how the narrative around her death is already messier than it should be.
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Peptides & the pursuit of the "perfect" body Jan 09, 2026

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Ozempic and other GLP-1s have changed how we think of our bodies. Now, some are searching for other quick fixes for their body - far beyond weight loss.
In some Silicon Valley circles, 'Chinese peptides' are taking so-called biohacking to the next level. These unregulated injectables promise to help people who struggle with sleep, losing weight, or even making eye contact. One person even said they were searching for the "Ozempic for autism." Sound ethically dubious? Brittany thought so, too.
To get into it all, Brittany is joined by independent journalist Jasmine Sun, who writes about Silicon Valley culture; and, Karen Maschke, editor-in-chief of Ethics and Human Research. Jasmine and Karen break down the peptide subculture of Silicon Valley and what it means to be human in rapidly self-optimizing world.
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Enough is enough. Is it time to leave America? Jan 07, 2026

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Young women, more than any other group, say they would leave America. Their list of reasons is long and plentiful.
Have you ever thought about leaving the US, and starting over somewhere else? Maybe living the hygge lifestyle in Denmark, or soaking up the sun in Costa Rica? According to Gallup – a surprising number of women are considering it. In a poll released in November, 40% of women between the ages of 18 and 44 said they’d move to another country permanently if they had the chance. That’s four times higher than it was a decade ago – and this sentiment among women is unique to the US. But what’s behind young women’s willingness to imagine life elsewhere? And what does that say about the future of this country?
Brittany breaks it all down with Constance Grady, senior correspondent for Vox’s culture team who covers gender, and Scaachi Koul, senior writer at Slate and co-host of the BBC podcast Where to be a Woman.
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Feeling depressed? Build a SAD routine. Jan 05, 2026

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Is the lack of sunlight in the winter months really getting to you? Do you find yourself fighting tooth and nail to keep up with life's demands every winter? You may be dealing with seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.
Brittany has developed her own morning routine to combat this type of depression. Today, she's joined by Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal, psychiatrist and scientist who first described seasonal affective disorder in the 1980s, to get feedback on her SAD routine, and learn about how we all can think differently about the rough winter months.
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2026 Predictions: Beyoncé retires, AI busts, Democrats lift weights Jan 02, 2026

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What's in and what's out in 2026? Let's set the stage for what to watch out for in the new year.
As you fill out your own bingo card for what will or will not happen in 2026, join Brittany, NPR's tech correspondent Bobby Allyn, and NPR's political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben. They are laying out the puzzle pieces of 2026 - from the politics of masculinity to the bubble of artificial intelligence to the end of Queen Bee - and piecing them together, so you know what to set your sights on for the next calendar year.
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Beware the Wellness Industrial Complex! Dec 31, 2025

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From CBD leggings to Soulcycle, wellness is reshaping our relationships to our bodies and souls. But what even is "wellness?"
Well, for one, it's a global industry worth 6 trillion dollars. And it encompasses all kinds of things – including spirituality: from the spirituality of wellness practices like yoga and reiki, to treating wellness itself like a religion. As spirituality, self-care, and capitalism swirl together, what is missing from the story?
Brittany is joined by Alyssa Bereznak, GQ's Wellness Director, and Rina Raphael, author of the book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care, to get into what people get out of a wellness-based spiritualism and consumerism.
This episode originally aired on March 17, 2025.
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The privilege of being "skinny" Dec 29, 2025

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If society privileges "thin" people, should you aspire to conform? And at what cost?
Last year, online influencer Slim Kim went viral for a TikTok where she said she loves "being skinny." It sparked a debate that continued throughout 2025: how do we talk about bodies without falling into "body fascism." And with drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy flooding the market, how are the ways we talk about bodies shifting and changing?
Brittany is joined by authors Emma Specter and Kate Manne to find out: what's so wrong with loving being skinny?
This episode originally aired on December 6, 2024.
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