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Nicholas Wright: When Ancient Brains Meet Modern War Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

Neuroscientist Nicholas Wright explains why big powers "lose" wars they dominate on the kill ratio—and why counterinsurgencies (Vietnam, Afghanistan, maybe Iraq) reliably punish the side with less at stake. His new book, Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, argues that identity, surprise, and revenge are ancient brain features, while metacognition—the mind watching itself—can be the thin guardrail against strategic self-harm. Along the way: post-1945 German polling as a reminder that political "reconstruction" happens on a years-long timetable, not on an American attention span. Plus, a Trump "warrior dividend" of $1,776 per service member—tariffs funding patriotism, one numerology check at a time.

Produced by Corey Wara

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James Clyburn: "The World Would Much Rather See a Sermon Than Hear One." Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

Clyburn discusses The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation, explaining how Reconstruction-era Black lawmakers navigated power, compromise, and backlash—and why their choices still resonate. He reflects on faith as action, not rhetoric, and on history as a guide rather than a museum piece. Plus: Maryland lawmakers override Gov. Wes Moore's veto of a reparations study, and The Spiel turns to a new report on how white men have been squeezed out of cultural institutions—and what that shift means.

Produced by Corey Wara

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Mikhail Zygar: From Glasnost Whiplash to Social-Media Smog Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

Russian journalist in exile Mikhail Zygar traces an information system so sealed even Gorbachev couldn't get the facts in The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia's Short-Lived Victory Over Totalitarianism. He draws a straight psychological line from late-Soviet overload to our current tech-firehose, arguing humans don't change much; institutions do (and the Soviet Union didn't have many worthy of the name). Plus: a quote-counting tour through Chris Whipple's Vanity Fair Susie Wiles interviews: "an alcoholic's personality," "conspiracy theorist," "ketamine user," "right-wing absolute zealot."

Produced by Corey Wara

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Chris Dalla Riva: "Billboard's become a Christmas chart." Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

Data journalist Chris Dalla Riva brings charts, facts, and plenty of fight to Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us About the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves, a tour through every Billboard Hot 100 #1 and the strange incentives that pick our "popular." They debate whether streaming makes the charts more accurate or just more boring—why Christmas songs now squat in the Top 10, why covers almost always slow songs down, and what the early "wilderness years" of the Hot 100 were missing. There's also a detour into the power of platform kings (hello, Sean Parker) and how a playlist can turn "Royals" into destiny. Plus: Trump's ghoulish Rob Reiner post, a reminder of Reiner's unreal directing run, and a weekend that managed to be both pointless and ugly.

Produced by Corey Wara

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Finding the Next Terry Gross with Daniel Oppenheimer Dec 13, 2025

Show notes

In this special Saturday edition, Mike sits down with Daniel Oppenheimer of Eminent Americans to tackle a high-stakes question: Who is worthy of the Fresh Air throne? They dissect the craft of interviewing, critique the "unprepared celebrity" podcast trend, and evaluate potential successors ranging from Colin McEnroe to Jon Ronson.

Produced by Corey Wara

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Shadi Hamid: The Left Should Learn to Love American Power Dec 12, 2025

Show notes

Shadi Hamid joins to discuss his new book, The Case for American Power, arguing that progressives' retreat from global engagement is a mistake. He contends that while the Left often views U.S. hegemony as intrinsically immoral—citing the legacy of Iraq and the tragedy in Gaza—the alternative of withdrawal often leads to greater atrocities, such as the unchecked devastation in Syria. Hamid makes the case that moral righteousness without power is toothless, and that ceding the global stage to bad actors or rival superpowers creates a more dangerous world. Plus, Mike critiques the Sunday show trend of grilling Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the price of bananas and Tonka trucks, arguing that "gotcha" questions about specific items ignore the reality of inflation as a composite number.

Produced by Corey Wara

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Not Even Mad: Anthony Weiner & John Ketcham Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Anthony Weiner and John Ketcham break down a Congress being flayed by its own fringes, where the "crazies" sometimes deliver the sharpest institutional critiques. They then assess Pete Hegseth and the possible release video of a lethal Caribbean boat strike, the challenges reshaping New York politics, and what it really means to govern a city you once nearly ran. Goat Grinders takes on Waymo running over a dog , taxing pet food and fare-evasion crackdowns.

Produced by Corey Wara

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Holiday Suicides: Is That BS? with Sadie Dingfelder Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

Holiday dread is real enough—fraught family gatherings, forced merriment, and the persistent myth that December is the peak month for suicide. In truth, it's the lowest month for suicides, even as the season brings elevated risks of car crashes, cardiac emergencies, and alcohol-related ER visits. Sadie Dingfelder joins for an Is That Bulls**t? to explain why winter depression rises even as suicide rates fall, and how the "holiday spike" myth keeps circulating. Plus: Trump's tariff rhetoric collides with economic reality, and Texas politics gets reshaped by counter-mobilization.

Produced by Corey Wara

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Mark Rowlands on Memory and the Stories We Tell Ourselves Dec 09, 2025

Show notes

The philosopher discusses The Book of Memory: How We Become Who We Are, exploring how recollection constructs identity, coherence, and the personas we inhabit. He explains why memory is less an archive than an act of ongoing authorship, shaped by emotion, imagination, and the stories we rehearse. The conversation traces the boundary between what we remember and what we invent. Also: art-heist incompetence from Brazil to France and in The Spiel a reckoning with how visual framing distorts our understanding of the Venezuelan airstrike scandal.

Produced by Corey Wara

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Daniel Zoughbie: The Mightiest Turns an Enemy into a Friend Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

Daniel Zoughbie discusses Kicking the Hornet's Nest: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East from Truman to Trump, arguing that Truman's one-sided recognition of Israel and decades of U.S. overreliance on defense distorted the region's trajectory. He traces missed off-ramps from Oslo to the Olmert–Abbas talks, explaining why partition remains the only durable framework for satisfying both nationalisms. Zoughbie recounts how polarization, trauma, and mistrust—along with U.S. missteps—undermine peace efforts even when viable plans emerge. Plus: Biden's rejected immigration tools, the inflation legacy of the American Rescue Plan, and a Spiel on Zohran Mamdani as the mispronounced word of the year.

Produced by Corey Wara

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