Factually! with Adam Conover

What is the truth about the relationship between TikTok and the Chinese government, and would banning it help or hurt Americans? This week, TikTok misinformation researcher Abbie Richards joins Adam to bust myths and explain what the real problem with TikTok actually is.

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How should we actually understand intelligence? This week, Rina Bliss Joins Adam to discuss common misconceptions of our understanding of intelligence, the progression of neuroplasticity throughout our lives, and how we should ultimately view intelligence as a society.

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What is synthetic biology and why is the “next Industrial Revolution”? Michael Specter joins Adam to discuss MRNA vaccines, stunning new developments in biotech, and why biology is more dangerous than nuclear weapons.

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Adam talks with legendary organizer Jane McAlevey about why organizing is the only way for unions, workers, and activists to win gains, and how to do it in practice. Pick up Jane’s book at http://factuallypod.com/books

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What the hell is laughter? Why do we do it, and what is its purpose? This week, psychoanalyst Nuar Alsadir joins Adam to discuss her theories about the origins of laughter, its effect on other people, and its purpose in various scenarios. Buy Nuar’s book at http://factuallypod.com/books

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How can creative workers and individuals defend ourselves against the largest monopolies in the US? This week author and activist Cory Doctorow joins Adam to discuss how chokepoint capitalism causes the enshittification of everything we love and how we can fight back.

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It’s a very scary time to be a trans person in America. An unprecedented onslaught of transphobic legislation is being pushed in state houses across the country, including more than two dozen bills that would to restrict access to healthcare for trans people. This week, Adam is joined by the executive director of the Transgender Law Center, Shelby Chestnut, to discuss the state of trans rights in America, and the legal challenges that trans people and their loved ones face.

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Adam invites one of his favorite guests Carlo Rovelli back to the show to talk about the deep history of science, the first physicist, and the conceptual revolutions in understanding that may still await us in the future.

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This week Adam is joined by theoretical cosmologist and particle physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein to discuss what the hell dark matter actually IS and how much we know about it, why being a particle physicist is not just about making things up, and how much better not just science, but human life would be if everyone had equal access to the beautiful project of understanding the natural world. 

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All of us have too much to do and too little time to do it in. Yet the more we try to increase our productivity, the less happy and productive we seem to be. Why, and what’s the solution? This week Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks, Time Management for Mortals, joins Adam to discuss how to break the cycle of productivity shame with his radical new approach to looking at time.

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