Crazy/Genius

By The Atlantic

Society & Culture Technology Business

What's Crazy/Genius about?

Big questions about technology, science, and culture, hosted by The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson. On Season 3 (launching May 9): Unbreak the internet.

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Crazy/Genius episodes:

05.19.2023
Introducing Holy Week
Holy Week: The story of a revolution undone. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, is often recounted as a conclusion to a powerful era of civil rights in America, but how did this hero’s murder...
10.22.2021
Presenting: The Review, a new podcast from The Atlantic
On The Review, The Atlantic's writers and guests discuss how we entertain ourselves and how that shapes the way we understand the world. Subscribe and enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10.12.2021
How To Build A Happy Life: A new podcast from The Atlantic
Hello Crazy/Genius listeners. We'd like to introduce you to a new show! In this series, host Arthur Brooks digs into research and offers tools to help you live more joyfully. Join us for deep conversations with psychologists, experts, and friends...
02.05.2021
Introducing: The Experiment
A new podcast from The Atlantic and WNYC Studios, The Experiment, tells stories from our unfinished country. On the first episode, host Julia Longoria tells the story of the “zone of death,” where a legal glitch could short-circuit the Constitution—a...
04.02.2020
Introducing New Atlantic Podcasts
The Atlantic has launched three new podcasts this year: Social Distance, Floodlines, and The Ticket. Subscribe to keep up with Atlantic journalism. Subscribe to Social Distance: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pocket Casts Subscribe to Floodlines: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pocket Casts Subscribe...
06.26.2019
How Has Netflix Changed Entertainment?
The numbers are staggering: thousands of titles for 160 million subscribers in 190 countries. Netflix has changed where we watch -- that's obvious. But has it also changed what we watch, and how? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
06.20.2019
Should We Be Afraid of AI in the Criminal Justice System?
Algorithms pervade our lives. They determine the news we see and the products we buy. But most Americans don’t understand how they are transforming every part of the criminal justice system—from policing and bail to sentencing and parole. Could computers...
06.06.2019
Influencers: Frauds or the Future of Online Commerce?
Instagram influencers are beloved by fans and mocked by critics, but is there more to influencing than meets the eye? A look at what a growing industry can teach us about the future of life online. Learn more about your ad...
05.30.2019
The U.S. and China: A Tale of Two Surveillance States
From Beijing to Brooklyn, facial recognition is on the cutting edge of surveillance technology. But does the threat of this tech outweigh its benefits? A look at two communities living under the microscope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
05.23.2019
How Did the Far Right Take Over the Web?
From Charlottesville, Virginia, to Christchurch, New Zealand, the last few years have been filled with examples of online hatred spilling over into offline violence. How did the Web become one big media channel for the far right, and how can...
05.16.2019
What Is Pornography Doing to Our Sex Lives?
Young people are having less sex, and access to digital pornography has never been greater. Coincidence? In this episode, we wade into the debate over pornography and determine what, if anything, can be said about its effect on our relationships. Learn...
05.09.2019
Why Should We Care About Privacy?
Admit it: You have no idea what privacy means anymore. These days, virtually all online activity—searching, shopping, browsing—requires giving away our personal information to tech companies. In this episode, we review the 200 year history of privacy in America and...
05.02.2019
Season 3 Trailer: Unbreak the Internet
Ten years ago, “Move fast and break things” was the clarion call of the world’s tech giants. Well, they moved fast and broke stuff, alright. Lots of stuff. Whether it’s Facebook privacy scandals, YouTube’s radicalization of the far right, or...
09.28.2018
Tech Was Supposed to Be Society’s Great Equalizer. What Happened?
In a special bonus episode, computer scientist and data journalist Meredith Broussard explains how “technochauvinism” derailed the dream of the digital revolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09.27.2018
Can Artificial Intelligence Be Smarter Than a Human Being?
AI can beat human geniuses at Jeopardy, chess, and complex mathematics. But surely, these machines don’t have anything that even closely resembles human imagination. Or do they? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09.20.2018
Will We Ever Stop Eating Animal Meat?
Americans eat more meat now than ever. That’s a problem for the planet’s future. Animal farming takes up 30 percent of the earth’s landmass (the equivalent of Asia), and livestock causes one-sixth of global greenhouse gas emissions. We need more...
09.13.2018
Can We Extend Human Lifespans to 150?
Some scientists see aging as a disease that can be cured—but what would immortality mean for humanity? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09.06.2018
How Will Self-Driving Cars Change the World?
Over the last 130 years, the automobile shaped the modern world—it redefined the city, filled the suburbs, and revved up pop culture. With autonomous technology, everything about our relationship to cars is about to change. Then what? Learn more about your...
08.30.2018
Should We Dim the Skies to Save the World?
Climate change could be the most important problem facing humanity. To address it, scientists are thinking seriously about an idea that might sound like something from a sci-fi dystopia: Spraying the skies with sulfuric acid to partially block out the...
08.23.2018
Season 2 Trailer
Crazy/Genius is back with a new season featuring five ideas to save the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
06.28.2018
Should We Go to Mars?
It’s our best hope for life after earth—and a freezing, irradiated desert more than 30 million miles away. In our season finale, scientists and writers debate whether colonizing Mars is the most important mission in the history of the human...
06.21.2018
Why Haven’t We Found Aliens?
“Where is everybody?” That’s the question physicist Enrico Fermi asked in 1950. Nearly 70 years later, we’re getting tantalizingly close to solving the riddle known as Fermi’s Paradox: If the universe is so large and so old, why haven't we...
06.14.2018
Who Killed Local News?
Since the Internet exploded journalism’s business revenue, local newsrooms around the country have been in free fall. We speak to The Denver Post's former managing editor and other experts to debate how to save the news—and, just possibly, democracy itself. Learn...
06.07.2018
Is Online Dating Destroying Romance?
Finding love on the Internet can be awkward, annoying, or downright scary. In this episode, two sociologists debate the merits of online dating and discuss their research on the history of romance in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
05.31.2018
Are Smartphones Ruining Our Lives?
Digital devices rob us of our attention, creativity, and, some studies show, our mental health. We ask psychologists and authors if smartphone and social media usage has triggered a national health crisis — and what we can do to free...
05.24.2018
Blockchain: The Next Internet, or the Next Beanie Baby?
Silicon Valley and Wall Street are obsessed with Bitcoin and its underlying technology called blockchain. Boosters say it'll fix everything from elections to shipping to identity theft. But what exactly is blockchain, how is it being used, and is the...
05.17.2018
Should We Break Up Amazon?
Amazon might become the first trillion-dollar company in the history of the world. Has the Everything Store become a dangerous monopoly threatening the U.S. economy? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
05.10.2018
Why Can’t Facebook Tell the Truth?
In the last 18 months, Facebook has gone through one of the worst public relations crises of any major tech company. In this episode, two guests debate whether Facebook is fixable, or whether its business model is designed to sell...
05.01.2018
Introducing Crazy/Genius
On Crazy/Genius, host Derek Thompson asks big questions about everything from online dating to blockchain to space exploration. Is technology moving us forward or backward? How did we get here — and where are we headed? Starting May 10. Music by...