Waves of Black progress have historically been accompanied by waves of significant backlash. Anthony Walton is a poet, professor and the writer-in-residence at Bowdoin College, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why gains in Black life have so often come with periods of reckoning, why racial trauma in this country so often repeats itself, and w…

What exactly are we missing out on when we only experience something online rather than IRL? Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a columnist for Commentary magazine, senior editor at the New Atlantis and fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. She joins host Krys Boyd to…

For years, we worried about overpopulation, but the reality is now there aren’t enough babies being born to replace a greying population across the globe. Nicholas Eberstadt is Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss depopulation occurring on five continents, why pro-natal prog…

Jasmine Rashid is a financial activist and Director of Impact for Candide Group. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why taboo discussions about wealth and money need to happen for social change, how shopping small businesses can put pressure on multi-national corporations, and her easy how-to guide for a budding activist that starts with pinching …

There’s a difference between hearing and listening, and there’s an art to cultivating the latter. Elizabeth Rosner, novelist, poet, and essayist, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how listening is the skill of interpretation, how she learned to hear the important things left unsaid in her own upbringing, and what science can teach us about the sounds…

Think of students who made it into the Ivy League — can you believe some of them made it there without ever actually finishing reading a book. Rose Horowitch, assistant editor at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why top students are complaining about having to read books for college classes, how testing culture has contributed to this …

It’s Election Day, and the votes are being tabulated. So how can we know the counts are accurate and the data is safe? Derek Tisler, counsel in the elections and government program at the nonpartisan Brennan Center, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss election tabulation and security, why we might not know the official winner on election night, and wha…

Helen Phillips a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her novel about a near-future techno-dystopia, where escaping to nature is the only way to heal – and how her characters make difficult decisions to find solace away from looming technology. The novel is called “Hum.…

Holidays and elections mean tough conversations – it’d be great to have some tools to navigate them. Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt are counselors who specialize in creating safe spaces for conversations, and they join host Krys Boyd to discuss why you should avoid negative comments at all costs, how to grow with your partner to better und…

From the famous “Psycho” shower scene to “Poltergeist” and Chucky, America has a fascination with horror. Jeremy Dauber, professor of Jewish literature and American studies at Columbia University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how horror reflects worries of a collective culture, how the genre helped the fight against slavery and how changing gend…

To root out inefficiency and corruption in government, we turn to inspectors general. Glenn A. Fine served as the Inspector General of the Department of Justice and the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense. He’s now a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School and has taught at S…

The history of sexuality in America is not as straightforward as it might seem. Rebecca L. Davis, professor of history at the University of Delaware, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how gender has determined roles regardless of someone’s sexuality, why the Puritans weren’t so prude, and how our views changed in the 21st Century. Her book is “Fierce…

Vladimir Kara-Murza is so dedicated to bringing democracy to Russia that it’s nearly cost him his life on multiple occasions. Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian prison colony for disparaging the invasion of Ukraine but was released as part of this summer’s historic prisoner swap that also freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gers…

Ronald Reagan is an icon for conservative thought in America — but he didn’t always deliver on his lofty ideals. Max Boot is a historian and foreign-policy analyst, a senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a columnist for the Washington Post. And he’s a lifelong conservative. He joins guest host John McC…

Author John Grisham is known for his legal thrillers – but he’s recently turned his attention to real-life stories of justice that are often just as gripping. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss cases of wrongful convictions, miscarriages of justice and common oversights that permeate the justice system. His book, co-written with Jim McCloskey, is “…

The zoning debate between NIMBYs and YIMBYs is fueling a housing crisis felt nationwide. Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why she feels decisions about land need to be accountable to the public, why zoning boards and preservationists are hurting home affordability, and why the buck should stop at elect…

Along with dealing with airport security and disruptive passengers, flight attendants must also battle low wages. Natalie B. Compton, travel reporter for the Washington Post, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why even though being deemed essential workers, flight attendants struggle with living paycheck-to-paycheck. Plus, we’ll hear about the surpris…

Lost in the current conversations about reproductive rights and the value of motherhood are the voices of those who didn’t choose to be childless. Eugenia Cheng joins host Krys Boyd to yearning to be a mother while not being able to, why she feels pinned in by stereotypes and labels, and what she wants a broader public to understand. Her recent ess…

The concept of death can trigger an existential crisis in humans. Do animals face the same fears? Susana Monsó is associate professor of philosophy in the Department of Logic, History, and Philosophy of Science at the National Distance Education University (UNED) in Madrid. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what animals know about dying – from mo…

The bodies and genes of organisms can be thought of as a history book detailing how other creatures lived long ago. Richard Dawkins, inaugural Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the bodies of animals resemble their environments from thousands of years ago, and …

One method for combating harmful CO2 emissions in the environment is to suck it right out of the air. Climate journalist Alec Luhn joins host Krys Boyd to discuss “direct air capture,” the challenges for pulling it off, and why it could offer an excuse for some of our biggest polluters to go on polluting. His article in Scientific American is “Can …

If everything happens for a reason, and those reasons are beyond our control, maybe we don’t have free will after all. Robert Sapolsky, professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his case against free will, which he says is the logical choice if you look at the ways our lives are shaped by forces that…

In the national conversation about abortion rights, the voices of actual abortion providers are often unheard. Dr. Curtis Boyd was involved in establishing the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and is a founding member of the Federation’s board of directors; and Glenna Boyd, RN, is a counselor, trainer and consultant. They join host Krys Boyd to d…

Nobody actually enjoys feeling down in the dumps – but there’s a lot we can learn about ourselves when we’re not at our best. This hour, host Krys Boyd talks about how we can find fulfillment in experiencing the bittersweet parts of life, how sensitive people can use their temperament as a strength, and why being positive all the time isn’t actuall…

After a long day when we lay down to rest, that’s when our brains really fire up to help us dream. Dr. Rahul Jandial is a neurosurgeon and neuroscientist who oversees the Jandial Lab at City of Hope Cancer Center in Los Angeles. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how dreams help or brains function, why they are essential to memory and why dreams ac…