Yesterday

This Is Your Brain on Pollution (Update)

As the Trump administration rolls back environmental regulations, we revisit a 2022 episode that explored the hidden cost of an invisible threat: air pollution. SOURCES: Angela Duckworth, psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Michael Greenstone, economist at the Univers ... Show More

47m 24s

Jun 5

676. Has America Lost the Plot?

Another war in the Middle East. A retreat from the international order. A presidency built on self-dealing and arbitrary power. It’s enough to make you think the U.S. is in a steep decline — but Fareed Zakaria thinks otherwise. SOURCES: Fareed Zakaria, journalist and author. RESO ... Show More

1h 5m

May 29

The Vanishing Mr. Feynman (Update)

In his final years, Richard Feynman's curiosity took him to some surprising places. We hear from his companions on the trips he took — and one he wasn’t able to. (Part three of a three-part series originally published in 2024.) SOURCES: Alan Alda, actor and screenwriter. Barbara ... Show More

1 h

Sep 2020

3. Kerwin Charles: “One Does Not Know Where an Insight Will Come From”

<p>The dean of Yale’s School of Management grew up in a small village in Guyana. During his unlikely journey, he has researched video-gaming habits, communicable disease, and why so many African-Americans haven’t had the kind of success he’s had. Steve Levitt talks to Charles abo ... Show More

39m 29s

Feb 2023

Henry Louis Gates Jr. on 'Finding Your Roots'

Larry is joined by professor, historian, and host of the PBS series 'Finding Your Roots' Henry Louis Gates Jr. They begin their conversation by discussing how Henry's upbringing and the parental influence fueled his passion for storytelling and education. Henry then details how t ... Show More

1h 15m

Jun 2020

The Joys & Challenges of Black Fatherhood

Glen Henry loves everything about being a Black dad – and he’s eager to show others why. On his YouTube channel, Beleaf in Fatherhood, he turns the stuff of everyday life in the Henry household – with his wife, Yvette, and their four kids – into artful, loving, and insightful vid ... Show More

17m 32s

Mar 2020

The Oprah Show on Race In America - A 25-Year Look Back

<p>From January 17, 2011: To commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Oprah looks back at “The Oprah Winfrey Show” episodes that centered around race. The moments include a visit to Forsyth County, GA, where no black person had lived since 1912, the reunion of seven of ... Show More

37m 33s

Jun 2018

Phil Samba: I Am Not a Stereotype

At just 28, Phil Samba is already a legend. When he writes, we read and when he speaks, we listen. His openness about both his sexuality and his sexual health means he’s often inundated by other young Black men who want to know more about him — how he’s cultivated his openness, h ... Show More

1h 7m

Sep 2021

EP72: Letting Your Daughter Grow Up, The Great Chicago Fire and Cars As Material Culture

On this episode of Our American Stories, Stephen Rusiniak shares his story of watching his daughter grow out of her old toys and into a teenager; Chicago's cultural historian, Tim Samuelson, tells us how this city was rebuilt after disaster; and car collector Miles C. Collier exp ... Show More

38m 18s

Dec 2023

In Conversation with Author Charles Harding

Charles Harding was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, but attended preparatory and public school in the UK. He obtained an economics degree from the University of Sierra Leone followed by an LLB honours degree at what is now University of West London. In this episode Charles Hardin ... Show More

57m 54s

Feb 2024

James Baldwin's Shadow (Throwback)

James Baldwin believed that America has been lying to itself since its founding. An insightful commentator on Black identity, American democracy, and racism, he saw something deep and ugly and stubborn in American culture, and never hesitated to call it by its name — to bear witn ... Show More

44m 24s

“One Does Not Know Where an Insight Will...