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Guest host Ayesha Rascoe is joined by NPR senior editor Barrie Hardymon and Traci Thomas , host of The Stacks podcast, to talk about banned books. They talk about why it's important for kids to discover books freely, even if that means starting a hard conversation with them. They also discuss their favorite — and least favorite — books that often show up on banned book lists. See pcm.adswizz.com f...

What better gift to give this holiday season than the gift of... advice? And solicited advice at that! For this episode, Sam is joined by Jenée Desmond-Harris , Slate's Dear Prudence advice columnist, to help answer everything from how to deal with a partner's overbearing adult daughter to a boyfriend's recent conversion to becoming a Swiftie (read: a fan of Taylor Swift) to the group dynamics of...

A lot of consumers are worried about supply chain delays this holiday season — but there are also other issues to watch out for when shopping. Guest host Ayesha Rascoe talks about the hidden costs of holiday consumption with The Atlantic staff writer Amanda Mull and The Washington Post retail reporter Abha Bhattarai . They discuss the potential downfalls of buy now, pay later services and where on...

Why do we feel shame for sincerely enjoying something that others don't like? That's one of the big questions tackled in Rax King's new essay collection Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer . She talks to Sam about her love of the band Creed, The Cheesecake Factory, and Jersey Shore , and embracing the things that others consider bad taste. See pcm.adswizz.com for information...

Now that more people are getting comfortable flying again, it's about time to remind ourselves that, oh yes, flying was sometimes terrible in the Before Times, too! And in 2021, that's still the case — if not more so — with cascading cancellations, staffing and plane shortages, and outbursts from passengers. Sam chats with Natalie Compton , travel reporter at The Washington Post , about the state...

The global pandemic has spawned a different type of epidemic, one of an entirely different nature: a nostalgia outbreak. Longing for 'simpler times' and 'better days', many of us have been turning to 90s dance playlists, TV sitcoms, and sports highlights. We're looking for comfort and safety in the permanence of the past, or at least, what we think the past was. But, when it first appeared, nostal...

Sam talks to Slate staff writer Mark Joseph Stern about the Supreme Court hearing challenges to the Texas abortion law and what it all means for Roe v. Wade. Plus, comedian Jo Firestone and her student Nicki Cochrane talk about their new comedy special, Good Timing with Jo Firestone . They also play Who Said That? See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data fo...

In this episode from our friends at NPR's Code Switch podcast, Kat Chow chats with former host Shereen Marisol Meraji about her memoir, Seeing Ghosts . After her mother died when Chow was 13, her family rarely discussed how to handle their loss. Chow says she wrote this memoir as a way to talk with her mother about that grief, her navigation of identity and her family's history. You can follow us...

Ahead of the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow this weekend, Sam chats with climate experts Ayana Elizabeth Johnson , marine biologist and writer, and Kendra Pierre-Louis , senior climate reporter with the podcast 'How to Save a Planet.' Together, they answer listener questions about everything from how to talk to your kids about global warming... to how to deal with all of this existential dread. See...

In this special bonus episode, Sam joins Switched On Pop co-host Charlie Harding to talk Cyndi Lauper. Many fall for "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," but Sam's favorite song is the slow burner "All Through The Night," save for one moment: the synthesizer solo. For Sam, this solo never fit in. Charlie investigates the source of Sam's musical malady and uncovers how the '80s got its groove. Hear Sam o...

Author and host of the No Skips podcast Shea Serrano gets obsessive about things — movies, basketball, and now, rap. In Hip Hop (And Other Things), he dives into Cardi B's explosive 2018, the early days of Missy Elliott's career, and the 1995 Source Awards, which he says remains — to this day — one of the biggest nights in rap history. You can follow us on Twitter at @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us a...

Sam chats with NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson about why dysfunction in the Democratic Party is putting the big "Build Back Better" spending bill in Congressional limbo. Plus, The New Yorker staff writer Doreen St. Felix on Succession , representations of class on TV, and why the plethora of shows about white people being terrible ( Succession , The White Lotus , The Undoing , Ni...

Jermain Charlo was an Indigenous mother who went missing in Montana in the summer of 2018. Relisha Rudd, an 8-year-old Black girl, went missing in Washington, D.C. in March 2014. Neither has been found. Unlike Gabby Petito, these cases didn't grab national headlines. Connie Walker , host of Stolen: The Search for Jermain , and Jonquilyn Hill , host of Through the Cracks , join Sam to discuss why c...

Sam revisits his 2020 conversation with comedian and Nailed It! host Nicole Byer on her coffee table book: #VeryFat #VeryBrave: The Fat Girl's Guide to Being #Brave and Not a Dejected, Melancholy, Down-in-the-Dumps Weeping Fat Girl in a Bikini. They talk about home goods, drunken bravery, and learning to love yourself. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsanders@npr.org...

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Latino artists like Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira ruled the pop charts. But who was that so-called "Latin Explosion" actually for, and what were the business considerations behind it? In the third part of our series exploring crossover in pop music, we examine how this supposed boom turned out to be more of a marketing creation, which eva...

Sam interviews women's work and economic justice writer Meg Conley about the documentary series LuLaRich and how vulnerable people still get sucked into multi-level marketing schemes because their shape mirrors the American economy. Then, Harvard Ph. D. candidate and Mormon Studies Fellow at the University of Utah Janan Graham-Russell joins for a game of Who Said That? You can follow us on Twitter...

On the 35th anniversary of Janet Jackson's first No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit, we look back at Control , her career-defining album that changed the trajectory of pop music in the late '80s and '90s. In the second episode of a three-part series exploring crossover in pop music, we look at Jackson's musical and cultural legacy over the years. We also reconsider how Jackson was vilified after her Supe...

How much has really changed in U.S. immigration policy since President Biden came into office? After seeing graphic images of Haitian migrants being chased by law enforcement on horseback and a recent rejection of an immigration reform bill in Congress, The Atlantic staff writer Caitlin Dickerson breaks down the long history uniting Democratic and Republican administrations when it comes to enforc...

When Soul Train was first nationally syndicated in October 1971, there was nothing else like it on TV. It became an iconic Black music and dance show — a party every weekend that anyone could join from their living room. In the first episode of a three-part series exploring crossover in pop music, we break down the lasting influence of Soul Train on our culture with Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A L...

Ever since the pandemic hit, life has been split into two timelines: before the pandemic and after the pandemic. But when will the "after" truly be after ? Or will some version of the coronavirus be around... forever? Sam talks to The Atlantic staff writer Katherine Wu about continuing to live with some version of COVID-19. Plus, Sam talks to playwright Heidi Schreck and actress Cassie Beck , who...

Author Brandon Taylor used to spend most of his hours studying nematodes under a microscope as a grad student. He wrote his first novel over a period of five weeks, mostly while in a lab. That book, Real Life, was released in 2020 to much critical acclaim . He published his second book this year, a short story collection called Filthy Animals . Taylor talks to Sam about his focus on the tensions o...

Sam is joined by NPR's The Indicator host Stacey Vanek Smith to talk about her new book, Machiavelli for Women and how women in the workplace are still falling behind. Plus, actor Harvey Guillén on the new season of the FX show What We Do in the Shadows and not waiting for people to be comfortable with his "brownness, queerness and roundness" to be comfortable in his own skin. You can follow us on...

It was 2016, and Yebba's career was beginning to take off. But 2016 was also the year that something awful happened: Yebba's mother committed suicide. And that changed everything, too. Now, after years of collaborating with artists the likes of Sam Smith, PJ Morton and Robert Glasper, Yebba has her own standalone album. It's called Dawn, a reference to her mother's name. In this chat, Yebba and Sa...

Sam talks to Washington Post security and terrorism reporter Souad Mekhennet about what the war on terror has—and hasn't—achieved in the two decades since 9/11. Plus, for its 20 th anniversary, we look at the legacy of Mariah Carey's album Glitter with Texas Monthly senior editor Paula Mejia and Danielle Turchiano , senior features editor at Variety, to explore how culture and fandom have changed...

Writer and actor Michaela Coel wrote, created and starred in HBO series I May Destroy You , which is up for nine Emmy nominations . Her new book , Misfits: A Personal Manifesto , is out this week. She talks to Sam about why she champions misfits like herself, I May Destroy You' s basis on her trauma, and how her spirituality has shifted over time. You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and e...