Radio Atlantic

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Why Do Happy People Cheat? Oct 20, 2017

Show notes

"Infidelity," Esther Perel writes in the October issue of The Atlantic, "happens in bad marriages and in good marriages. It happens even in open relationships where extramarital sex is carefully negotiated beforehand. The freedom to leave or divorce has not made cheating obsolete." Adultery is as ancient as marriage, and as contemporary relationships have evolved, Perel writes, the causes and consequences of infidelity have much to teach us about the nature of commitment. In this conversation, Perel talks with our hosts about some of those lessons, culled from numerous sessions counseling couples as a psychotherapist.

Perel is the author of Mating in Captivityand the host of "Where Should We Begin?"—an Audible original series entering its second season on October 24th. Her new book, The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity, is now available in bookstores.

Links:

- "Why Happy People Cheat" (Esther Perel)

- "You Need Help to Help Her" (Esther Perel, "Where Should We Begin?")

- "Muto" (Matt Thompson, Snarkmarket)

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Derek Thompson and the Moonshot Factory Oct 12, 2017

Show notes

Few journalists have gotten a peek inside X, the secretive lab run by Google's parent company Alphabet. Its scientists are researching cold fusion, hover boards, and stratosphere-surfing balloons. Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic, spent several days with the staff of X. In this episode, he tells Matt and Alex all about what he found, and what it suggests about the future of technological invention.

Have thoughts or questions? Leave us a message! (202) 266-7600. Don't forget to leave us your contact info.

Links:“Google X and the Science of Radical Creativity” (Derek Thompson, 2017)“The Promise and Peril of Universal Internet” (Dominic Tierney, 2015)“The Physics Nobel and the Fate of Bell Labs” (Edward Tenner, 2009)“How Should the U.S. Fund Research and Development?” (Robinson Meyer, 2016) “Google Glass” (William Brennan, 2014)The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo (Brian Jordan Alvarez and collaborators, 2017) — N.b.: Parental discretion is advised.

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The Miseducation of Ta-Nehisi Coates Oct 06, 2017

Show notes

In his new book, We Were Eight Years in Power, The Atlantic's national correspondent Ta-Nehisi Coates writes about the past eight years of his career—his pursuit of an understanding of America, and his route to becoming a celebrated author. In this episode of Radio Atlantic, our cohosts Matt, Jeff, and Alex each conduct an interview with Ta-Nehisi about what he's found.

This is a longer episode than our usual, so if you'd like to skip around, here are the three segments, for easy fast-forwarding:

[00:00] Matt's interview, focused on the questions that infused Ta-Nehisi's early writing at The Atlantic, and the answers that he's found

[32:46] Jeff's interview, focused on the two administrations Ta-Nehisi has chronicled, and his political outlook

[59:52] Alex's interview, focused on Ta-Nehisi's community, family, and life

Links:

- The Mis-Education of the Negro(Carter G. Woodson, 1933)

- “Black People, Culture and Poverty” (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2009)

- "The Math on Black Out-of-Wedlock Births" (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2009)

- “The Radical Critique of Obama” (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2009)

- “On Jewish Racism” (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2009)

- “Still More…” (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2009)

- “Why Do So Few Blacks Study the Civil War?” (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2012)

- "The End of White America?" (Hua Hsu, 2009)

- "The Issues: Race" (Hua Hsu & Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2009)

- “A Plea for Straight Talk Between the Races” (Benjamin Mays, 1960)

- "The First White President" (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2017)

- "This Is What European Diplomats Really Think About Donald Trump" (Alberto Nardelli, Buzzfeed, 2017)

- "Donald Trump's Race Wars" (Jonathan Chait, 2017)

- "Tyranny of the Minority" (Michelle Goldberg, 2017)

- Elizabeth Kolbert's author archive (The New Yorker)

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Russia! Live with Julia Ioffe and Eliot A. Cohen Sep 29, 2017

Show notes

According to the U.S. intelligence community, this much is settled fact: Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. But beyond that basic consensus, much remains unknown, the subject of multiple investigations by FBI director Robert Mueller and Congressional intelligence committees.

In this episode of Radio Atlantic, recorded before a live audience at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue, Atlantic staff writer Julia Ioffe and contributing editor Eliot Cohen join hosts Jeffrey Goldberg and Matt Thompson for a wide-ranging conversation about what Russia has wrought.

We’d like to hear your questions about Russia: Call us up at (202) 266-7600 and leave us a voicemail. Don't forget to leave your contact info.

For links and other show notes, go here.

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What Are Public Schools For? Sep 22, 2017

Show notes

The idea that public schools are failing is one of the most commonly heard complaints in American society. But what are they failing to do? Surveys of American parents—and the history of the nation's public education system—tell a more complicated story. In this episode, The Atlantic's education editor Alia Wong joins Jeff, Matt, and Alex for a conversation about how we define and measure success in public education.

We’d like to hear your stories about education: public, private, school-of-hard-knocks, you name it. Call us up at (202) 266-7600 and leave us a voicemail with your story and your answer to the question, “What is public education for?” Don't forget to leave your contact info.

For links and other show notes, go here.

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Will America's Institutions Survive President Trump? Sep 15, 2017

Show notes

Eight months into the Trump administration, we're taking stock: What is shaping up to be President Trump's effect on America’s institutions? Will subsequent presidents preserve or disregard the norms he's tossed aside? What are his political allies and opponents learning from his actions?

Jack Goldsmith, author of The Atlantic's October cover story, explores these and many other questions with editor-in-chief Jeffrey Golberg. Then, Matt Thompson and Alex Wagner discuss Trump's impact on the GOP with longtime Republican strategist Mindy Finn and The Atlantic's politics and policy editor, Yoni Appelbaum.

For links and other show notes, go here.

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A Memo to the Huddled Masses Sep 08, 2017

Show notes

Immigrants flock to the U.S. in pursuit of the American Dream. But does the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program mean a wake-up call for millions of undocumented Americans? In this episode of Radio Atlantic, reporter Jeremy Raff and editor Priscilla Alvarez join Jeffrey Goldberg and Matt Thompson to discuss what the suspension of DACA means for those directly affected ... and what it means for America as a whole.

For links and show notes, go here.

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News Update: The Questions After Harvey Sep 02, 2017

Show notes

If history is any guide, the biggest problems for residents of the Houston area will come into focus only after the nation's attention has already turned elsewhere. In this Radio Atlantic extra, Matt Thompson talks with Atlantic staff writer David Graham about the questions we should be asking now, while Harvey remains in the headlines. As the recovery gets under way, what should we be watching? Plus, a Houston-area resident talks about what she's seen over the last week that she wants to hold on to in the months and years ahead.

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What Game of Thrones Has Taught Us About Politics Sep 01, 2017

Show notes

"Winter is coming," they warned us, and the seventh season of Game of Thrones might have proved them right. But no one mentioned that winter in Westeros would coincide with so many troubling events in real-world politics. In this episode, Megan Garber, staff writer for The Atlantic, joins Radio Atlantic cohosts Alex Wagner and Matt Thompson for a conversation about lessons from the show, and other recent pop culture.

- If you're not a Game of Thrones fan, or don't want to be spoiled, worry not: the second segment of our conversation (around the 16:30 mark) turns beyond the show to discuss recent movies, books, and TV shows with political lessons to offer.

- If you are a Game of Thrones fan, be forewarned: we discuss spoilers up to and including the final episode of season 7.

For links and other show notes, go here.

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Are Smartphones Harming Our Kids? Aug 25, 2017

Show notes

It's been ten years since the iPhone came out, and now the first generation to grow up with smartphones is coming of age. Jean Twenge, a psychologist who has studied generational behaviors, has found troubling signals that these devices seem to be taking a visible toll on the mental health of post-Millennials. In the September 2017 issue of The Atlantic, Twenge shares her findings in a story adapted from her new book, iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood—and What That Means for the Rest of Us.

In this episode, we talk with Twenge about her findings, hear from a few members of the post-Millennial generation about their relationships with their devices, and discuss what the research means for parents.

For links and other show notes, go here.

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