The Most Important Question

Who is still covering Long COVID, and how much is the audience actually growing? That's today's big question, and my guests are Betsy Ladygetz and Miles Griffis, editors and co-founders of The Sick Times, a journalist-founded website chronicling the Lo...

This week: Let’s talk about the Information Era. Here's What You Can Do: Donate (and subscribe!) to the 19th, an independent, non-profit, kick-ass newsroom reporting on gender and politics. Volunteer with Tech Shift to build a fairer, more just technol...

What have we learned from millennia of water insecurity, of climate changes and disasters, of building along freshwater ways and the ocean, that we can apply today? That's today's big question, and my guest is Dr. Amber Wutich. Dr. Wutich is an ASU Pre...

This week: Bernie decided March 15th is Long COVID Awareness Day, so I thought it was an appropriate moment to try to pull together the threads of why Long COVID pisses me off so much, examples of other self-defeating issues we never learned from, and ...

You know you're stressed. You know you're anxious. Do you have depression? And do you need to know the latest in the biology of how the brain works and depression works or doesn't work and whether the gut is involved in getting meaningful help? That's ...

This week: There are few problems so simple that a single donation can fix them. Usually, to turn a problem into a realistic opportunity takes many donations. Over time, spread over a large number of donors. But all the work before that is kind of exha...

The climate clock is ticking faster and faster. How can we use capitalism to undo the bad stuff that capitalism did and maybe even make things better? That's today's big (loaded) question, and my returning guest is Akshat Rathi. Akshat is a London-base...

This week: Are we in the hardest part of the climate transition? Here's What You Can Do: 🌎️ Donate to 350.org, a global movement working towards a fossil fuel-free world. Volunteer with your local Mothers Out Front chapter to fight for a world that pro...

What are reverse coattails, and how might they slow climate change, prevent the next pandemic, and keep Nazis off of school boards? That's today's big question, and my returning guest is Amanda Litman. Amanda is one of my favorite people. She is the co...

This week: How are we supposed to navigate this energy transition, AI, and pandemics, if we cannot agree on the most basic, fundamental shit? We argue about tradeoffs or gently suggest expanding the scope of our moral concern to include other people’s ...

This week: Today’s essay is a bit of a departure — I just wanted to make super clear where I stand vis a vis the next eleven months. A MAGA party don't stop unless we stop it. Here's What You Can Do: Donate to Voters of Tomorrow to defend democracy for...

This week: Today’s essay is my version of a 2024 preview. Unlike other previews, though, it’s less, “This is what is going to happen” and more “These are the table stakes as far as I can tell.” I think that approach is much more helpful, but you can be...

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 changed — or didn’t — and most importantly, how we re...

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 Science 2022 honoree, specializing in supernova and cosmo...

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 ecosystem changes and evolves and is pulled apart and merge...

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 general and social networks of the past fifteen years bein...

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 listeners. Britt is the author of the fantastic book...

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 and of the Little Book of Big Ethical Questions. She ...

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 since 2017 Mozilla has published 15 editions of Priv...

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 ways technology is being used to change society. Vol...

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. Cooking. Plain pasta. The beach. Vegetables, somehow....

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 of the incredible new book, “Eve: How the Female Bod...

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. Volunteer to join the Coffee & Climate Network, an organ...

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. Louis. His lab works at the interface of microbioge...

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, develop clean infrastructure, and pursue fair trade. Volu...