Factually! with Adam Conover

Is it really possible to upload your mind to the cloud, or is the entire idea fatally confused? Philosopher Susan Schneider joins Adam to explain how your brain differs from a computer, the limits of AI, and why philosophy must be an essential part of the study and development of artificial minds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.co...

Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch joins Adam to break down how technology has changed the way we write, reveal the hidden truth about what your texting style says about you, and finally solve the mystery of why boomers can’t stop using… ellipses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https:...

Just in time for the 100 year anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, author and professor Ellen Carol DuBois joins Adam to discuss the history of the women's suffrage, the movement’s difficult history with the issue of race, how the temperance movement helped the cause, and the winding path America took to win women the power to vote. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

So many charities try to fix poverty by giving away goods, services, and training. But why not address the actual problem and give away… money? Michael Faye, President and co-founder of the charity GiveDirectly, joins Adam to explain the evidence behind direct cash giving, and wrestles with the question of whether philanthropy can ever create systemic change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Philosophy isn't exactly a science; so what is it? In this fascinating interview, Georgetown philosopher Quill Rebecca Kukla argues that it's more like comedy than you might think, and explains what being an amateur competitive boxing has taught them about how to think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Pri...

Journalist Ted Conover joins Adam to talk about his experience becoming a prison guard to report on Sing Sing Prison, and how his unique form of immersion can help develop empathy in his audience and encourage real change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-...

How does COVID-19 affect men and women differently — and what the heck is a virus in the first place? Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health microbiologist Sabra Klein joins Adam this week to explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Former Baltimore City police officer Larry Smith joins Adam to dig deep on the causes of police violence and racism, what stops fellow cops from speaking up about it and what needs to change about policing in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-...

Author of Secondhand and Junkyard Planet, Adam Minter, joins Adam to talk about the hidden world of globalized recycling, where our trash actually goes, and the trash, recycling and secondhand economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

States, stores, and workplaces are reopening. But how can we tell which spaces and activities are safe, and which aren’t? UMass Dartmouth immunologist Erin Bromage joins Adam to reveal what situations to avoid, how to protect yourself, and which risky-seeming form of transportation is actually surprisingly safe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at h...

Writer and reporter Adam Serwer joins Adam to talk about why the protests of the past two weeks go way beyond Trump, why the system behind racist police abuse is the problem and how recent events could affect the November election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privac...

In this special edition of Factually!, UPenn political scientist Daniel Gillion joins Adam to discuss the role that violence plays in protest movements both historical and present-day, the truth about what “the right way to protest” is, and gives an optimistic analysis of what’s going on in America right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at http...

James Forman Jr., Professor of Law at Yale Law School and author of the book Locking Up Our Own, joins Adam this week to discuss the history of how mass incarceration became so distorted, juvenile court, confronting problems in the criminal justice system, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

American economist, professor and chief economist during the Obama administration, Michael Greenstone, joins Adam this week to discuss transitioning our economy during a pandemic, balancing safety with the economy and what the costs and benefits truly are, and how economics can clarify policy disputes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art...

All of us care about equality. (At least, most of us do.) But how do we achieve equality, when the nation is so divided? And how can advocates for equality best make their case in the courts? American University law professor Robert L. Tsai joins Adam to discuss his book “Practical Equality” and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art1...

We're two months in to the pandemic, and some states are starting to reopen. Are we anywhere close to where we need to be to do so safely? Dr. Josh Sharfstein, current Vice Dean for Public Health Practice at Johns Hopkins and former principal deputy commissioner of the FDA, joins Adam to discuss the state of our fight against the pandemic, the importance of public health to our communities, and re...

The Grey Lady is the success story of the digital media age, but is it coming at the expense of other publications around the country? Veteran of online media, founding Editor-in-Chief of BuzzFeed News and now New York Times media columnist Ben Smith joins Adam this week to discuss the shockwaves that have rocked the media industry, and future prospects for the local journalism we desperately need...

For generations, American life expectancy has only improved. Then two economists discovered that for one group in particular, it’s actually falling: White Americans without a college degree. Nobel Prize winning economists Sir Angus Deaton and Anne Case join Adam this week to explain the causes of what they call “deaths of despair", and why capitalism is at the root of the problem. Learn more about...

Delivery workers are more important than ever - so why are they getting screwed? Business and tech reporter for the LA Times, Johana Bhuiyan, joins Adam to how tech companies are bungling the pandemic, the importance of gig workers to our economy and what will happen to these employees if it tanks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.c...

Political scientist and election forecaster Rachel Bitecofer joins Adam this week to discuss why “swing voters” don’t really exist, the dynamics that truly drive political trends, and how COVID-19 will affect the 2020 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do...

Entomologist and professor, Akito Kawahara joins Adam to discuss why insects are disappearing at an alarming rate, how humans must play a critical role in their survival, and how incredible insects truly are. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Bard Prison Initiative is a revolutionary program that provides a rigorous college education to men and women in prison. In one of our most power episodes ever, BPI’s founder Max Kenner and recent graduate Sebastian Yoon join Adam this week to discuss how lifechanging the program is, and how it proves that every person deserves an education, no matter the circumstances. Learn more about your a...

UCLA Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Undocumented Migration Project, Jason De León, joins Adam to uncover the truth about immigration across our southern border, how border militarization has been counterproductive and why it’s so critical to develop a full understanding who the people crossing the border truly are. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See P...

In this special episode, Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, Dr. Ashish Jha, joins Adam to explain the reality and dispel myths about the coronavirus pandemic, what must be done to combat the illness, and how long the road ahead truly is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at http...

Online security expert, Bruce Schneier, joins Adam this week to discuss the concept of "security theater", how the surveillance state makes us less secure, if we can change anything to help our vulnerability and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-...