Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about:
Why we need to write about difficult topics.
Four American towns trying to save themselves.
The structural processes behind poverty.
A discussion of the book The Fight to Save the Town.
Today’s book is: The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America (Avid Reader, 2022), by Mich ... Show More
Yesterday
John E. McDonough, "America's Wrong Turn: US Health Care in the Neoliberal Era" (Johns Hopkins UP, 2026)
How can a nation with unmatched wealth and medical innovation also have the highest health care costs and the poorest health outcomes among its peers? In America's Wrong Turn: US Health Care in the Neoliberal Era (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026), Dr. John E. McDonough offer ... Show More
1 h
Aug 9
Beyond Free Speech: Why AI Governance Demands Freedom of Thought
Are we driving our technology, or is it starting to drive us? In this thought-provoking conversation, Eli Karetny sits down with researcher and author Eduardo Albrecht to explore the invisible, rapidly encroaching frontier of AI governance and data surveillance.Moving far beyond ... Show More
58m 4s
Jan 2024
SILENT STORM: DARK FORCES, MILITARY TRIBUNALS, AND THE PATH TO REDEMPTION
<p>In this episode, we tackle the impending border crisis, the heartbreaking struggles of homeless veterans, and the pervasive drug epidemic plaguing our cities. Discover the calculated attacks on traditional values and the erosion of our society's foundation. Uncover the mot ... Show More
5m 48s
Jul 2023
Chapter 8: Sometimes You Win
Stevevonna announces her candidacy for mayor, challenging a former ally for the top spot on the city council. But as the election nears, a new issue takes center stage – not weed – but the city’s water supply. For early, ad-free access to episodes, join ‘Friends of the Pod’—Crook ... Show More
49m 13s
Feb 2024
Miami Ain’t No Sanctuary City
Welcome home, y’all! We are back with episode 4 of the Native Land Pod, co-hosted by Andrew Gillum, Angela Rye, and Tiffany Cross. They kick off the conversation with an exploration of Sanctuary City policies, dissecting the economic realities and social responsibilities at play ... Show More
1h 51m
Dec 2020
149. The After Time: The Future of Civilization After COVID-19
<p>In this special episode of the Science Salon podcast, the last of 2020, Dr. Michael Shermer offers some reflections on 2020, starting with race and the Black Lives Movement, putting it into perspective from other books he read this year, along with podcast guests who appeared ... Show More
43m 35s
Jul 2024
Amanda McMillan Lequieu, "Who We Are Is Where We Are: Making Home in the American Rust Belt" (Columbia UP, 2024)
Half a century ago, deindustrialization gutted blue-collar jobs in the American Midwest. But today, these places are not ghost towns. People still call these communities home, even as they struggle with unemployment, poverty, and other social and economic crises. Why do people re ... Show More
41m 40s
Aug 2025
#429 — The New World Order
<p dir="ltr">Sam Harris speaks with Anne Applebaum about the erosion of democracy at home and abroad. They discuss the Sudanese civil war and the outside forces involved, America's retreat from global leadership, the impacts of USAID cuts, gerrymandering, the integrity of U.S. el ... Show More
26m 52s