Engagement Party

Capitol Hill has a new kind of journalist: TMZ, the tabloid news powerhouse known for its scoops and celebrity paparazzi coverage. Audie sits down with Jacob Wasserman, co-managing editor of TMZ DC, to discuss his first few weeks on the job—and why both government insiders and legacy media can’t look away.  Producers: Lori Galarreta, Jesse Remedios, Graelyn Brashear Senior Producer: Dan Bloom Tech...

Ramy Youssef has spent the past decade building a career that spans TV, stand-up, film and has even landed some big awards. Now, with the release of his third comedy special, In Love, he joins Audie to reflect on what it means to tell Arab American stories today vs seven years ago and why aiming to make everyone laugh is both a choice and a challenge. Then, Audie’s longtime friend and soon-to-be-c...

Artemis II returns from its historic mission to the far side of the moon, inspiring millions during an otherwise tense news cycle. Astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi joins Audie to unpack the mix of awe, hope, and unease shaping this new era of space exploration.  Oluseyi is the author of ‘Why Do We Exist? The Nine Realms of Universe that Make You Possible.’  Producers:  Lori Galarreta, Jesse Remedios,...

The manosphere isn’t fringe anymore. It’s mainstream, political and hard to ignore. Louis Theroux’s latest Netflix documentary “Inside the Manosphere” arrives after a decade-long rise, from the gamergate controversy to personas like Andrew Tate. Audie speaks with New York Times Opinion writer Jessica Grose, who’s followed the movement since its beginning. They explore the state of the manosphere,...

From birth charts to astrology apps, we have an enduring fascination with what the stars can tell us.  Audie sits down with Astrologers Jennifer Freed and Chani Nicholas to talk about why this obsession has turned into big business. And, what we’re really looking for when we look up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One man’s journey from suburban dad to self-described “degenerate gambler.” The Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins joins Audie to recount how he spent $10,000 of his employer’s money betting on the NFL over the course of a season. They discuss how online sports gambling reshaped his habits, what it reveals about a rapidly expanding industry, and how betting has seeped into everyday culture. Plus,...

From Camelot-era glamour to RFK Jr.’s viral moments, the Kennedys have a way of reflecting the cultural mood of any given time. That pattern is resurfacing again—with a buzzy FX series on JFK Jr. and a fresh wave of online fascination. Audie Cornish sits down with comedian and The United States of Kennedy co-host George Civeris to unpack how the family evolved from political dynasty into cultural...

This year’s Oscars race has been great for film and weird for discourse. There’s the friendly Best Picture duel between two crowd-pleasing films from the same studio. The acting categories are stacked with talent. And yet the final week of campaigning has been dominated by talk about Timothée Chalamet’s apparent disrespect to opera and ballet. Audie sits down with film critic and influencer Megan...

Are work spouses actually a thing? And what turns a desk-mate into a ride-or-die?  In this special episode of The Assignment, Audie Cornish reunites with former work husband and longtime co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered, Ari Shapiro. They dive into the stories that defined their careers, the push and pull of competition in the newsroom, and the ways creative collaborators develop shared lang...

Actor Ken Leung is no stranger to the toxic male archetype. He embodies it as Eric Tao, the ruthless baseball-bat-carrying trading floor bully he plays on HBO’s “Industry.” Leung talks with Audie about what pushes characters like Eric—on screen and in real life—over the edge from family man to a name you could see in the Epstein files.  They also discuss why women of color don’t get the “anti-hero...

Let’s talk about professional sex. Audie sits down with Yehuda Duenyas, a SAG-AFTRA Hollywood intimacy coordinator, to go behind the scenes of how physical romance is choreographed, why stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Sean Bean are skeptical of the position, and what depictions of sex on screen reveal about our culture. -- This episode was produced by Sofía Sanchez.  Senior Producer: Matt Martinez...

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show is still resonating as fans celebrate his history-making rise from Puerto Rico to global dominance.  Audie is joined by journalist Suzy Exposito to talk about the power of Benito's unique brand of authenticity--and how he's wielding it in the culture war. Exposito has covered Bad Bunny from the beginning. She is an editor at De Los, the Latin culture wing of...

The fashion season is officially underway. Celebrities are strolling the award show red carpets and models are strutting the runways in Paris and Milan. CNN Senior Style Reporter Rachel Tashjian joins Audie to talk about the complicated politics in the fashion world, fashion vs style, and which designers are getting the most notice for dressing celebrities. Producer: Lori Galarreta Senior Producer...

This year marks a milestone for Millennials: the youngest of the cohort finally turns 30. So what comes next for the first generation of true digital natives now that they have achieved “unc” status? Audie talks with Sam Sanders, host of KCRW’s The Sam Sanders Show, about the generation that watched media transform from Buzzfeed quizzes into AI slop. They also discuss Millennial activism taking ov...

The Winter Olympics kick off Feb. 6 in Northern Italy—and the politics may steal the show. The U.S. may face boos, especially as it squares off with Denmark in hockey amid Trump’s Greenland threats. But there’s joy, too: Lindsey Vonn is back, and the U.S. figure skating team is stacked. New York Magazine’s Will Leitch breaks down the geopolitics and must-watch storylines from Milan and Cortina. Le...

Audie is joined by longtime friend and former NPR colleague Ari Shapiro for a special episode they’re calling Engagement Party – a chance to finally talk on-mic about the culture stories they’ve been obsessing over. They kick things off with the question of the moment: Can the Heated Rivalry boys, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, turn their meteoric rise into lasting careers like other breakout...

Arguably the first viral moment of 2026 is an essay about a “toxic” group of mom friends. Actor and singer Ashley Tisdale French wrote an essay for New York Magazine’s The Cut about being iced out of her circle of fellow moms and – celebrity intrigue aside – it struck a nerve. Dr. Noelle Santorelli is a mom and a clinical psychologist who tells Audie there’s deep suffering wrapped up in establishi...

It may be a new year, but one of 2025's most unexpected hits isn’t done with us yet. Heated Rivalry, the TV adaptation of a spicy romance novel about two hockey players, has turned two unknown actors into overnight stars and sparked outsized conversations about sex on screen, queer representation, and masculinity in sports. Writer and culture critic Ira Madison III joins Audie to talk about how a...

After a head-spinning year in the worlds of health and technology, Audie invited Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the host of Chasing Life, and Clare Duffy from Terms of Service, to break down the stories that ended up on all their podcasts this year. Producer: Dan Bloom Technical Director: Dan Dzula Executive Producer: Steve Lickteig Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As families gather for the holidays and political differences resurface, we revisit Audie's conversation with psychologist Joshua Coleman, who breaks down why partisan divides are driving family estrangement, how generational dynamics intensify the conflict, and what it looks like to navigate, or repair, these fractures from either side. --  This episode was produced by Lori Galarreta.  Senior Pro...

What was this year in pop culture like? A scrappy Canadian gay hockey romance becomes the internet’s obsession while big-budget, star-packed shows are dwindling. AI rage-bait memes (some from government accounts) keep hijacking the national conversation. These are just some of the pop culture moments that defined 2025. Audie and New York Magazine staff writer Rebecca Alter break it down.  --  This...

Audie talks with CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan about how people are reshaping their spiritual lives -- from Wicca to aliens -- and searching for new sources of meaning. Donie is exploring all of this in a new docuseries called “Devoted.” It’s available on CNN All Access. --  This episode was produced by Lori Galarreta.  Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer: ...

Will an uncertain economy lead to less charitable giving this holiday season? And what if you want to give back but don’t have a lot of money? Audie talks with Sara Herschander, who covers philanthropy for Vox’s Future Perfect, about all the ways you can help. Producer: Madeleine Thompson Senior Producer: Matt Martinez Technical Director: Dan Dzula Executive Producer: Steve Lickteig Learn more abo...

Missed car payments, crowdfunding for groceries, prices rising on everything from rent to hummus — everyday signs that something in the economy feels...tense. But the official numbers, and even the White House, keep insisting things are steady. Audie unpacks the strange gap between how the economy looks and how it feels with CNN Business’s Senior Writer, Allison Morrow. This episode was produced b...

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern led her country through some of its greatest crises: the Christchurch mass shooting, a deadly volcano eruption, and a global pandemic. A new CNN documentary takes an intimate look at Ardern’s political career, filmed over seven years. Audie met Ardern at Oxford University to talk about the film, parenting in the spotlight, empathetic leadership, and...