The Most Important Question

This week:

I’m back today to share my 2023 wrap-up. It’s a pretty stream-of-consciousness endeavor, but I think it sums up where I was right in my 2023 preview, where I was very wrong, how the world …

How will the universe end?

That's today's big question, and my guest is Sarafina El-Badry Nance.

Sarafina is an NSF graduate research fellow, astrophysics Ph.D. candidate, and Forbes 30 Under 30 Scie…

Why does it matter who reviews our video games?

That's today's big question, and my guest is Swapna Krishna.

Swapna and I recorded this conversation in 2022, and as gaming and the entire media ecosys…

How do we get our attention back?

That's today's big question. I think about it every day, and my guest is Johann Hari. Johann and I recorded this conversation in 2022, and with the Internet in gener…

How's your mental health around climate change?

That is today's big question, and my guest is Britt Wray. Britt and I recorded this conversation in 2022. It is an all-time favorite of mine and of our…

Has there ever been a more important time, a more consequential time, to lead with ethics?

That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Susan Liautaud. Susan is the author of The Power of Ethics …

What are the best holiday gifts that aren't privacy nightmares?

That's today's big question, and my guest is Jen Caltrider.

Jen is the lead researcher for Mozilla's Privacy Not Included program where…

This week:

How the hell does the brain work? And what does it have to do with lemonade stands and school supplies?

Here's What You Can Do:

• Donate to support The Markup’s invaluable work examining the w…

I think about time a lot. Some days I feel ancient, some days I can’t believe how old I am.

I’ve got kids, too. I can’t believe how fast they’ve grown up already. They love so many things. Swimming. C…

How did the female body drive 200 million years of human evolution? And why the hell are we just finding out about it now?

That's today's big question, and my guest is Cat Bohannon.

Cat is the author…

This week:

Will coffee survive climate change?

Here's What You Can Do:

• Donate to support African farmers by increasing incomes and improving food security through the Alliance for a Green Africa.
• Volunt…

Can your gut composition predict Alzheimer's?

That's today's big question and my returning guest is Gautam Dantas.

Gautam heads up the Dantas Lab at the Washington University School of Medicine in St…

This week:

How I think about how to think about what’s next

Here's What You Can Do:

• Donate to help the BlueGreen Alliance unite labor unions and environmental organizations to create clean jobs, develo…

Content Warning

We're going to be talking about stress and anxiety, depression, suicide, and more today.

If any of this could be triggering to you in any way, please feel free to just skip over this on…

This week:

Exactly why the youths are so pissed off.

Here's What You Can Do:

• Donate to the Steve Fund to support the mental health of young people of color.
• Volunteer with Everytown so youth can grow up…

This week:

It can be difficult as hell to understand when we don’t actually have a choice — and when we’ve got more options than we think. Deciphering the two is the key to the good stuff getting bui…

Every single one of us needs air, water, food, shelter, and energy. So why are the infrastructure that provides them, the systems we are most reliant on hidden in plain sight?

How can we reconnect wi…

This week:

Why was this year so hot? Will it keep getting hotter, and for how long? It’s not an easy read, but it’s important you know and keep in mind the inputs and externalities.

Here's What You Ca…

This week:

Tolkien described life (and often, his stories) as a "long defeat", where evil frequently, inevitably wins. But he allowed for "eucatastrophe" - sudden joyous turns, just like breakthrough…

What are microplastics doing to us? And how do we stop putting them into our water, and our bloodstreams, and our food?

That's today's big question, and my guest is Julia Yan. Julia is the co-founder…