Does systemic racism still exist in the US? ... Addressing “racial inequities” rather than “systemic racism” ... John: “The idea that modern colleges and universities are racist spaces is false” ... Race and the academic job market ... Why does anger persist even after progress toward racial redress? ... The (possible) origins of the recent wokeness wave ... Finding room for disagreement ...

Bill's murky definition of "on vacation" ... Mourning the loss of another Night Court alum ... Can moderate Dems get the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed? ... Matt makes the conservative case for allowing local mask mandates ... Bill: Cuomo’s resignation shows Dems can police their own ...

How much can the US influence Chinese policy? ... Who is to blame for current US-China tensions? ... Orville: There is a real ideological clash between the US and China ... Michael: Washington can't resolve the Hong Kong crisis ... Balancing cooperation and competition ... What threat does China pose to the US? ... Demilitarizing the South China Sea ... To what extent should the US "decouple" its economy from China's? ... Improving crisis management ...

Adam's military service in Afghanistan ... How much popular support does the Taliban have? ... Adam: If the US didn’t withdraw there would be no end in sight ... Why is the Afghan military struggling to hold off the Taliban? ... A primer on Afghanistan's largest ethnic groups ... What are the chances of a political settlement? ... Will withdrawing from Afghanistan bring terrorism to America? ... Adam: Withdrawing helps the US focus on existential threats like climate change ... Can Afghanistan’s neighbors help bring stability? ...

A primer on Haitian history ... America’s longstanding habit of interfering in Haiti ... The 2010 earthquake and its political fallout ... Jemima: Most Haitians see the US as an imperial power ... What we know about President Jovenel Moïse's assassination ... Jemima: Haiti can't hold new elections under the current government ... Ending on a (somewhat) hopeful note ...

Leigh's new poetry collection, What to Miss When ... How the collection emerged from lockdown ... Leigh's poem "Simulation Theory," which was inspired by a MeaningofLife.tv episode ... Leigh's essay, "Sympathy for the Girlboss" ... Women taking down other women in the name of feminism ... Michael Jordan vs. Lebron James as a marker of generational change ... Is a better version of the Internet possible? ...

Mickey restrains himself ... What’s Cuomo’s sex scandal strategy? ... Bob’s encounters with Cuomo the elder ... Was Bob too optimistic about the Delta variant? ... Simon Biles sticks the landing ... The implications of China’s crackdown on tech companies ... The right’s natalist schism ... Mickey: For Tucker, talking Orbán is a way to avoid talking Trump ... Eric Weinstein promises (and threatens) a big reveal ... Parrot Room preview: More Eric Weinstein talk, a Jeffrey Epstein update, Biden’s eviction moratorium, emperor penguins, the California recall, the worst program Mickey’s ever heard on NPR, The Best and the Brightest, censored parrots, and why there’s no anti-Biden Tea Party ...

How Glenn and Lara each approach systemic racism ... Lara: The Yutico Briley case exposes the roots of systemic racism ... Trying to understand the equities and inequities of crime and punishment ... The differing perspectives on justice involved in the Briley case ... Are progressive criminal justice policies having an impact? ... Lara's new novel, A Good Mother ... Glenn and Lara's experiences of parenthood ... Why Glenn really left Harvard's economics department ... Glenn's rocky road as a father ...

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Barrett embeds at a TikTok "collab house" ... Pleasant young people who are starstruck at themselves ... Why are so many college students anxious and depressed? ... Joan Didion and despair ... Barrett and his brother's unusual journey to a spiritualist enclave ... Barrett's new book of essays, Lost in Summerland ...