What Happens Next in 6 Minutes

Latest Episodes:

How High-Stakes Chinese College Exams Can Change Your Life Oct 17, 2026

Show notes

Our speaker is Stanford Economics Professor Hongbin Li who will discuss his new book The Highest Exam: How Gaokao Shapes China.

I want to find out why a high stakes exam is critical for the Chinese in their college admission as well as getting a job. I want to learn why this exam is believed to be the one thing in Chinese society that cannot be corrupted.

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AI and Human Connections Oct 10, 2026

Show notes

Our first speaker is Allison Pugh who is a Professor of Sociology at John Hopkins and the author of a new book entitled The Last Human Job: Seeing Each Other in an Age of Automation.

Our second speaker is Eddie Monroe who I met on my first day of college and is a very close friend. He is working on teaching AI to love. He is the lead for building artificial intelligence for the Loving AI Research Project.

I want to learn about AI and human connections. I want to find out why Allison is worried that AI will undermine human relationships and risk greater loneliness. And I want to learn why Eddie is optimistic that AI can teach us to love.

Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe

How Your Politics Affects Your College Experience Oct 03, 2026

Show notes

Our speaker is Neil Gross, a Professor of Sociology at Colby who will discuss his book What Happened to College, How Politics Broke Higher Education and What We Can Do to Fix It.

I want to learn from Neil how college students’ political affiliations impact their friendships and dating, their classroom interactions with the faculty and other students, and their choice of major and career decisions.

Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe

Why All Cities Grow Alike Sep 26, 2026

Show notes

Our speaker is Shlomo Angel who is a Professor of City Planning at NYU and the author of the book entitled Planet of Cities.

I want to learn why all the world’s cities look nearly identical from space, and why we should embrace sprawl and not fight it.

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Cape Fear Won’t Die Sep 19, 2026

Show notes

Our What Happens Next Culture Critic Darren Schwartz will be leading us in conversation. We also have a special guest my good friend Ethan Holland who has been a state prosecutor for the past 27 years.

This week’s episode is on Cape Fear. It started with John MacDonalds’ novel the Executioners that was written in the 1950s. The story was adapted into two movies and now a newly released Apple TV series.

The main character is Max Cady an ex-con who is pissed off at his defense attorney. Cady is played by Robert Mitchum in the original 1962 movie and Robert De Niro in the 1991 remake.

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Can Evolution Explain Our Feelings? Sep 12, 2026

Show notes

Our speaker is Rob Kurzban who is the author of a new book entitled All the Feels: The Evolved Function of Every Human Emotion and Sensation.

I want to learn from Rob about how our basic sensations like hunger, pain, and sense of awe can be explained by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe

I Love Your Accent Sep 05, 2026

Show notes

Our speaker is Valerie Fridland who is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Nevada at Reno. She is the author of the new book entitled Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents.

I want to learn from Valerie why accents develop and if there are rhyme and reason for their differences. I grew up in Chicago and I don’t think I have an accent, yet I hear that the Chicago accent is the most difficult to understand. How is that even possible.

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Unsafe at MIT Aug 29, 2026

Show notes

Our speaker is Yossi Sheffi who is a Professor of Engineering at MIT and is a leading scholar in supply chain management. He is the author of a new book entitled Unsafe at MIT: A Chronicle of a Campus War on the Jews.

I want to hear from Yossi about MIT’s failure to protect its Jewish and Israeli students from violence. I want to learn why MIT’s Administration managed the situation so poorly, and why MIT’s disregard for its own rules and regulations resulted in chaos.

Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe

Appreciating George Orwell Aug 22, 2026

Show notes

Our speaker is Robert Colls who is the author of the Orwell biography entitled George Orwell: Life and Legacy.

You know his novels 1984 and Animal Farm but there is so much more to enjoy. I look forward to discussing with Robert about Orwell’s other major novels as well as his essays like Shooting an Elephant and a Hanging.

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Is Nolan’s Odyssey a Masterpiece? Aug 15, 2026

Show notes

This episode is -- Is Nolan’s Odyssey a Masterpiece?

Our speakers are Scott Turow the author of Presumed Innocent and Darren Schwartz the What Happens Next Culture Critic.

Get full access to What Happens Next in 6 Minutes with Larry Bernstein at www.whathappensnextin6minutes.com/subscribe