Factually! with Adam Conover

Dr. Rebecca Puhl, Deputy Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, joins Adam to deep dive into the concept of weight stigma and how often we misunderstand the science of weight gain. Rebecca covers the relationship between weight stigma and eating disorders, the role personal behavior does and does not play into weight gain, how “genes load the gun but environment pulls the trigger,” weight bias in the medical field, what to say to yourself when you look in the mirror, and more.

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Just in time for the lazy holiday break, legendary game designer Sid Meier joins Adam to discuss the genesis of his seminal game series “Civilization.” Sid and Adam explore how the early years of game design were driven by programmers following their passions, how good games need “interested decisions,” and the advice he gives budding young game designers.

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LA Times reporter Liam Dillon joins Adam to discuss his recent exposé on how “crime-free housing” policies discriminate against black renters and deepen the housing crisis. They also break down the coming Covid-caused eviction wave, and how we might finally dig our way out of the housing crisis.

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Distinguished research scientist at NYU’s AI Now Institute and former Google employee/organizer Meredith Whittaker joins Adam to break down Prop 22. They cover workers’ rights for tech companies like Uber and Doordash, why Uber and others spent 200 million dollars on Prop 22’s ad campaign, Meredith’s experience organizing at Google and pushing back at their foray into military tech, and the dangerous myths around artificial intelligence.

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This week, journalist and author Angela Chen answers every question you have about asexuality. She and Adam discuss the difference between asexuality and aromanticism, explore how aces fit into the LGBTQ+ spectrum, share how pop-culture has influenced the growth of the ace community, and differentiate between asexuality and sexual dysfunction.

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Harvard law professor Susan Crawford joins Adam this week to discuss why America - the country that invented the internet - struggles to provide access to affordable, high-speed internet. She explains why just a few telecom companies monopolize the industry, fiber vs. wireless, the real deal with 5G, and why the internet should become a public utility.

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Adam brings on author and academic psychologist Rob Brotherton to discuss why our brains are wired for conspiracy. They how classism and elitism shape our opinions about conspiracy theorists, how the word “fact,” and how humility is the key to meaningful conversations about truth.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is worsening across the country, so past guest Dr. Ashish Jha is returning with more answers to Adam’s questions. They discuss what the scientific community has learned about Covid-19 since March, what we now understand to be safe and unsafe, the government’s failures, why certain activities are safer than you may think, and the light at the end of the tunnel.

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Author and professor Eric J. Segall joins Adam to explode the myth that the Supreme Court makes decisions by a dispassionate evaluation of the law. In reality, he argues, the Justices actually just “make shit up.” Adam and Eric dig into the real history of Brown vs. Board of Education, the ways "originalism" mirrors religion, and why Segall believes the Court should ultimately be weaker than it is.

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Just a century and change ago, it wasn’t a given that children would actually survive childhood. Dr. Perri Klass and Adam discuss the shocking decline in child mortality since, what life was like in a time when the deaths of children were routine, and the pressures still facing parents in a now child-friendlier world.

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