Episodes Archive - WHYY

We humans love, even crave, predictability. Our brains are constantly scanning the horizon looking for threats or anything that looks unfamiliar, which makes us feel anxious and unsafe. And yet we have always lived in an unpredictable world where random events happen all the time and the future is largely unknowable. Today on The Connection: managing the pros and cons of uncertainty.

Our guests are Kate Sweeny and Dannagal Young. Sweeny is a research psychologist who runs the Life Events Lab at the University of California. Young is a professor of communication and political science at the University of Delaware and an improv comedian.

We’ll talk about why uncertainty is so stressful, why waiting for results is tough, how the unknown can feed conspiracy theories and why accepting uncertainty can be good for our mental and physical health.

A look at the controversy surrounding the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office.

Why has Trump repeatedly sided with Putin? What does it mean for America’s security, economy and the war in Ukraine?

We’re looking at a new wave of consumer products: personalized AI assistants. What can they do for you? And at what cost?

The Source episode 13 explores what fueled the troubles at the Academy of Natural Sciences, the tools behind diabetes management, the remarkable Philly composer who has hosted a music salon in her home for 40 years, how a former politician flexes his theatrical interests and the local impact of the Philadelphia Brewing Company on the Kensington neighborhood.

WHYY News staffers Alan Yu, Nicole Leonard, Julia Binswanger, Peter Crimmins and Kimberly Paynter contributed to this episode, which is hosted by Kenny Cooper.

In the wake of the alleged gang rape at a fraternity at Cornell University, many are asking: can fraternities be fixed or is frat culture beyond repair? 

Sherry Turkle on her new book, Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines.

Americans are having friends and family over less and less often. What’s holding people back? And with isolation on rise, how can we get back into the habit?

With the costs of education continuing to rise, some young people are swapping college degrees for tool belts and apprenticeships.

NPR’s Scott Detrow and Daniel Burke interviewed hundreds of Pope Leo’s family, friends, teachers, and fellow friars to understand the man behind the robes.