Apple News In Conversation

Democrats pulled off stunning victories in this year’s midterms, flipping control of Congress and winning in deep-red strongholds like Texas and Kansas. But as Republicans face a historic reckoning and an uncertain post-Trump future, veteran political journalist Molly Ball warns that Democrats shouldn’t get comfortable either. Ball, whose forthcoming book explores America’s political realignment, joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to unpack the fractures forming inside the GOP, what fueled this massive blue wave, and the governing challenges facing Democrats next year.

Earlier this year, Brad Reese — the grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — accused Hershey of secretly changing its recipes and making this beloved treat taste worse. New York magazine features writer Rachel Handler had also noticed a decline in the quality of mass-market chocolate, and Reese’s viral post inspired her to investigate just what has happened to these classic candies in the U.S. Handler joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to break down how candy companies have changed their formulas, the labeling loopholes letting them cut costs, and how to spot real chocolate on the wrapper.

In the span of a month, Christa Pike survived a botched lethal-injection execution in Tennessee and the Pentagon announced plans to livestream the firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. President Trump later walked back the livestream, although the execution is still scheduled; it will be the first military firing-squad execution in the country since World War II. Maurice Chammah, a staff writer at the Marshall Project, joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to unpack this moment in America, how politicians and the public are responding, and what these two stories reveal about the death penalty’s future.

With the 2026 midterms just two weeks away, many Americans are paying close attention not only to races and candidates but to the election process itself. Cook Political Report editor in chief Amy Walter and veteran GOP pollster Patrick Ruffini join Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to answer questions from our listeners — including why polling has become so hard to trust, how redistricting fights are reshaping races, and what guardrails are in place after results start coming in.

A lawsuit filed by a former Cornell student that alleges she was sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members in 2024 has sparked an outpouring of women sharing their own stories of campus assault. While the case reflects dynamics that researchers have tracked since the 1980s, it also reveals something distinctly modern: how fraternity culture and online misogyny now collide in unchecked digital spaces. Sophie Gilbert, a staff writer at The Atlantic, joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about why reports of campus assault keep rising, what we know about the role of fraternities, and what meaningful change could look like.

Fewer people around the world are having kids — the global birth rate has been falling steadily since the 1970s — but, for many, it’s not because they don’t want to become parents. A deep sense of uncertainty about money, relationships, and the future has made starting a family feel harder than ever. Anna Louie Sussman, author of the new book Inconceivable: The Impossibility of Family in an Age of Uncertainty, joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to discuss what’s really standing in the way and what it would take to close that gap.

Americans spend billions of hours a year navigating government bureaucracy, whether filling out forms, waiting on hold, or standing in endless lines. Researchers call this hidden burden the “time tax.” In her new book, The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time — and How to Fix It, Atlantic staff writer Annie Lowrey argues all of this red tape is more than just annoying — it has real, lasting consequences for the country. Lowrey joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about who pays a disproportionate share of the time tax, why the system was designed to wear us down, and her ideas for how to fix it.

Unsettling headlines about AI are dominating the news. In the past few weeks, an Anthropic researcher quit his job out of fear that the technology could “kill us all,” OpenAI revealed that its models have demonstrated “concerning behavior,” and four tech CEOs made an unprecedented call for a slowdown. Nilay Patel, editor in chief of The Verge and host of the Decoder podcast, last joined Apple News In Conversation in 2023, as ChatGPT exploded in popularity. He returns to the show to discuss what’s changed, what this technology can and can’t do, and why company rivals are asking the government for help.

Warning: This episode includes descriptions of violence against children, adult language, and mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

The trial of Lindsay Clancy — the Massachusetts mother accused of murdering her three young children in 2023 — ended this month in a mistrial. Her defense didn’t dispute the killings but argued that Clancy wasn’t criminally responsible because she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and overmedication. The trial was live streamed and picked apart by people across the country. The New Yorker’s Jessica Winter has followed this case since the beginning, and she joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to unpack why it became a national obsession — and what the fractured public response reveals about America.

This is an episode from our archives. It originally aired in May 2025.

Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, are found in virtually every corner of the world, including in most people’s bodies. These synthetic compounds have been linked to a wide range of health issues — from infertility to cancer to neurological problems — even at low levels of exposure. In a new book, They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals, investigative journalist Mariah Blake lays out how these toxic chemicals became so ubiquitous. Blake spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about a group of unlikely activists fighting back against those responsible and offers practical tips to protect yourself.