logo
episode-header-image
May 2024
1h 12m

Your Mind Is Being Fracked

NEW YORK TIMES OPINION
About this episode
The steady dings of notifications. The 40 tabs that greet you when you open your computer in the morning. The hundreds of unread emails, most of them spam, with subject lines pleading or screaming for you to click. Our attention is under assault these days, and most of us are familiar with the feeling that gives us — fractured, irritated, overwhelmed. D. Gr ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
Our Tax System Should Make You Furious
Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Warren Buffett are three of the richest people in the world, but they pay little in income tax relative to their wealth. In 2021, ProPublica published an investigation built on leaked tax documents that reveal what some of the richest Americans r ... Show More
1h 5m
Apr 14
Reckoning With Israel’s ‘One-State Reality’
For decades, most discussions of Israel and Palestine were framed around the eventual creation of a two-state solution. That effort has been dead for years. What has emerged in its place is what the political scientists Marc Lynch and Shibley Telhami call the “one-state reality.” ... Show More
1h 27m
Apr 10
Fareed Zakaria on the Moral Cost of Trump’s War
When President Trump didn’t annihilate “a whole civilization” on Tuesday, as he had threatened to do, much of the world exhaled. But the damage of his statements — a U.S. president, the commander in chief of the world’s most powerful military, threatening to commit war crimes — c ... Show More
1h 7m
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2024
220. Is Your Attention Span Shrinking?
tail spinning
37m 11s
Feb 2025
Agnotology (WILLFUL IGNORANCE) Updated Encore with Dr. Robert Proctor
<p>Yes, there is an -ology for that. And yes, we’re airing this episode -– with a ton of 2025 updates -– because it’s never felt more relevant. Dr. Robert Proctor is a Stanford professor of the History of Science and co-edited the book “Agnotology: The Making & Unmaking of Ignora ... Show More
1h 20m
Jun 2025
Are We Headed For Another Endless Middle Eastern War?
<p>The Times Opinion columnist Nick Kristof weighs in on the uncertainties following the United States’ surprise bombing of Iran and Tehran’s retaliation. “President Trump thinks that this is going to be successful and worth it, but the enemy gets a vote as well,” Kristof caution ... Show More
13m 24s
Nov 2023
Revolting Doors: The Cruella and Cameron Show
Complete our listener survey for a chance to win an OGWN t-shirt or mug: https://www.patreon.com/posts/92531764 Suella Braverman’s out (finally) and former PM David Cameron’s in – what on Earth is going on?! The panel reflects on Braverman’s sacking and the latest reshuffle. Plus ... Show More
57m 3s
Sep 2025
Screaming Into the Void
<p>In August we performed a live taping of the show from a theater perched on the edge of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River, overshadowed by the wide open night sky. Three stories about voids. One about a fish that screams into the night – and the mystery of its counterpart ... Show More
57m 16s
Sep 2025
Charlie Kirk's killing: A dangerous moment for America?
Charlie Kirk, the right-wing influencer and trusted ally of Donald Trump has been shot dead while speaking with students at a university in Utah.Kirk was one of the most prominent conservative activists and media personalities in the United States, and a trusted ally of Donald Tr ... Show More
34m 19s
Feb 2025
Who's Running America... Trump's Defence Chief (Pete Hegseth)
Our latest mini series is here and this time we're profiling some of the key players in Donald Trump's presidency, who are now running America. Over the next few weeks, new profiles will drop every Sunday.Pete Hegseth is the new Secretary of Defence, overseeing America’s military ... Show More
28m 10s
Jul 2025
Is ChatGPT hurting our critical thinking skills?
Are AI chatbots dulling our brains? A new MIT study suggests critical thinking skills are at risk from tools like ChatGPT. What does the science say happens to brains that rely on AI? And how can you use AI tools while protecting your ability to think for yourself? In this episod ... Show More
22m 2s
Apr 2022
Pandora's Box
Is some knowledge too dangerous to possess? Covid-19 has put cutting-edge research on pandemic germs under the spotlight. We Meet: Rowan Jacobsen, journalist Gigi Gronvall, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and associate professor Kevin Esvelt, profes ... Show More
35m 55s
Feb 2025
The War on Science
U.S. science is in turmoil. Amid agency firings and confusion over federal funding, researchers are freaking out. Many can’t do their work, and they have no idea what the future holds. Plus, we’re hearing that all of this could jeopardize medical treatments for people in the U.S. ... Show More
34m 43s