Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

There are more guns than cars in the United States. And studies show that gun sales go up following mass shootings. We had a different episode planned for this week, but given the marked rise in gun violence, we pivoted. This week’s guest spent 30 years as a leader at one of America’s most popular gun companies. Ryan Busse is a former firearms executive at Kimber America and is author of “Gunfight...

Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World survey notes that liberalism has rapidly declined each year for the last 16 years. And its precipitous downturn is more evident now than ever amid waning respect for individual rights, increased growth of autocracies and most recently in the seismic Russian invasion of Ukraine. Decades ago, political scientist and professor Francis Fukuyama was one of th...

Who were the first people to migrate to the Americas? When did they arrive, and how? For centuries, those questions have been shrouded in mystery. No written records and very little archaeological evidence exists to provide clarity. In recent years, however, the examination of genetic data has revolutionized researchers’ ability to find answers. A recent family trip to the Grand Canyon furthered C...

Title 42, a decades old and rarely used public health order used to bar people with medical conditions from entering the country, revived by the Trump administration, enables immigration authorities to swiftly expel migrants to Mexico or their home countries. The enforcement of the policy, which also bars individuals from seeking asylum, continues to be met with skepticism by immigration advocates...

“Forced labor is already unconstitutional and what is forced birth other than forcing a woman to labor against her will?” remarked Elie Mystal, a justice correspondent at The Nation, following the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Mystal is also author of the New York Times bestselling book, “Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution,” in whic...

Recovery from trauma and its emanations is a defining theme of this moment. Dr. Thomas Fisher has certainly seen his share of the effects of mass disruption as an emergency medical physician. He typically has about three minutes to spend with patients who come into the South Side of Chicago ward where he works. Throughout his storied career, he’s also served as a White House fellow in the Obama ad...

Since Chris was on vacation last week, we’re revisiting one of our favorite WITHpod episodes. The conversation is also timely given the recent U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which cites that time is running out to reverse damage done to the planet. From the original episode description: Y'all - this is a good one. Trust us. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you reflec...

The Crown Heights Riot took place thirty years ago following a car accident that killed a Black child in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. Over the course of four days, rioters, whose slogan was “no justice, no peace,” pointed to rumors of discrimination by a Jewish ambulance service and the escape of the driver responsible for the child’s death. Subsequently, one Orthodox Jew was killed...

Seven-foot-tall Dirk Nowitzki is one of the greatest NBA players in history. Throughout his illustrious and landmark career, he’s redefined the sport through his signature moves, unique mindset and approach. His extraordinary story is the subject of a book published in March of 2022, “The Great Nowitzki: Basketball and The Meaning of Life,” a culmination of seven years of writing by award-winning...

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Time is running out to reverse the damage done by climate change, according to a report released by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in February 2022. Preventing further destruction will be the biggest undertaking in the history of human civilization. Can it be done? Jonah Goldman joined Gates Ventures, Bill Gates’s private office, in September 2014, where he is responsibl...

BFF connections have transformed rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. FaceTime calls, Zoom happy hours, voice memos, group chats and virtual game nights, in many cases, have reworked our in-person interactions of the past. What does the future of friendship look like? Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow have been friends for over a decade, twelve years to be exact. Living on opposite coasts for years n...

What will be the next big thing? We've watched generations of technologies heralded only to then flop, while others were slept on and quietly took over the world. As always there are investors betting big on those innovations that hold the most promise: from DNA sequencing, to AI and blockchain technology. As these technologies penetrate further into our lives, what can we expect? How will the wor...

The ways we consume media have changed tremendously over the last decade. Shows with live audiences, perhaps more than any other type of program, had to pivot virtually almost overnight when the pandemic started. That certainly was the case with “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” As viewers have more sources for entertainment now than ever before, the show had to find creative ways to keep fans engage...

So what comes next? We've just gone through a once-in-a-century pandemic that disrupted nearly every aspect of our lives. We're in the beginning of an energy transition unlike anything the industrialized world has ever attempted. And it can be very difficult, amidst, war, plague, insurrection and climate disaster to conceive of what a flourishing future might even look like. What’s in store for ra...

Residential segregation and unequal allocation of resources continues to play a profound role in areas of concentrated poverty, and conversely, high opportunity. Georgetown law professor Sheryll Cashin has spent decades studying housing and how geography is central to American inequality. In “White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality,” Cashin traces the...

Since Chris is on vacation this week, we’re revisiting and providing an update on our episode with Dr. Izzy Lowell, who runs Queer Med, a private clinic that specializes in providing accessible health care to trans patients ranging from kids to adults. From the original description: What is gender-affirming health care? Around the country, there’s a Republican campaign to legislate and regulate th...

Sweeping public health acts for everything from clean water to the control of cholera have revolutionized modern life as we know it. The Clean Air Act, which sets standards for outdoor air, has been around for decades. But as we spend more time inside amid the pandemic, scientists are now recognizing the need for a new form of quality control: regulating indoor air. How do we design and reconfigur...

Join as you help us celebrate our 200th #WITHpod! In our recent Mailbag episode, we asked you all to send over clips sharing why you listen to WITHpod, where you listen and or what’s your favorite ep. We’re so overwhelmed with joy after hearing from so many of you across the country and world. Here’s a compilation our team put together for our special milestone. Cheers! Sign up for MS NOW Premium...

Since the U.S. withdrew its final troop from Afghanistan last summer, U.S. coverage of the country has also precipitously declined, even as the country faces a dire humanitarian emergency. So we thought it was time to do a gut check with one of the most prolific reporters on the topic. Award-winning journalist and author of “No Good Men Among The Living,” Anand Gopal, has covered global conflict a...

Smedley Butler was one of the most decorated warfighters in history. From an early age, “The Fighting Quaker” played a pivotal role in America’s path to global power. Yet in retirement, Butler turned into a warrior against war, imperialism and big business, declaring that he was a “racketeer for capitalism." Award-winning author Jonathan Katz writes about his life in a new book, “Gangsters of Capi...

Time for our mailbag! Join as Chris and producers Tiffany Champion and Doni Holloway answer your questions and talk about what’s new on the pod. Chris also discusses which interview in 2021 stuck with him the most. And we share an exciting WITHpod milestone that we need your help to celebrate! Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. Yo...

Late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “it’s hard not to have a big year at the Supreme Court.” With that in mind, we thought it would be good to do a gut check as 2022 promises to be one of the most important years in the Court’s history. We like doing new things here at WITHpod, so we’re excited to share our first crossover episode with the hosts of The Strict Scrutiny podcast, Chris’ wife...

Congressman Jamie Raskin’s life was forever changed on Dec. 31, 2020 when his 25-year-old son Tommy died by suicide. Raskin writes about the loss of his beloved middle child in “Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy,” a deeply personal memoir out January 2022. Nearly a week after losing his son, another tragedy occurred: the Jan. 6th insurrection at the Capitol. Shortly...

It’s a special edition of our podcast: our first crossover episode with All In with Chris Hayes, which airs at 8pm weekdays on MSNBC. We’re sharing two full conversations, portions of which aired on All In, with two people at the forefront of one of the most important stories of the moment: the fight to save our democracy. Lucky for us, Bart Gellman, a correspondent for The Atlantic, and Sherrilyn...