It Turns Out

How did the oldest Americans become so rich and powerful? Yale’s Samuel Moyn talks about the growing age divide in America.

Americans over 54 now hold 70% of the nation’s wealth, while those under 40 scrape by on just 5%. Moyn - the author of Gerontocracy In America - explains how older Americans gained durable control over the economy, the housing market, and government spending.

He discusses generational gridlock, low-key rage, and aging politicians. And he explains the structural shifts need to prevent younger generations from being permanently locked out of the American dream.

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Thanks to Workhuman for their support of It Turns Out. You can find their new documentary about how work has changed here.

As heat waves, droughts, and surging insurance costs reshape American life, climate change has almost vanished from the national political debate. Why?

On this episode of It Turns Out, Pulitzer-Prize–winning author and New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert explains why politicians on both sides of the aisle are steering clear of the topic. At the EPA, Lee Zeldin has shed jobs and regulations - including on toxins like mercury. And Democrats appear to be suffering from what one lawmaker calls “climate silencing.”

The physical consequences of climate change are accelerating. So why have leaders decided not to talk about it?

If you're interested in our show on how climate-driven insurance costs reshape where Americans live - which gets mentioned in the conversation with Kolbert - you can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

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Despite endless corporate press releases and return-to-office mandates, the data reveals a surprising truth: the number of days worked from home has remained completely flat since 2023.

Stanford economist Nick Bloom tells Kara what's going on, who's missing, and what the future holds.

He also explains how work is impacting mental health, productivity, real estate prices, young workers, and - if you can believe it - fertility.

In the show, we reference our show on "Should Americans have more kids?." You can find it here.

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There's a big spotlight - and a lot of resistance to - billionaires, from Elon Musk to Larry Ellison. But we’re missing an under-the-radar revolution in American wealth.

The country is minting far more multimillionaires than it used to: People who make money in ways you might never think about, in amounts you can barely dream of. And these folks tend to be anonymous - but incredibly influential - urging politicians to shift the tax burden away from them. Will that pull the ladder up for the next generation?

Princeton’s Owen Zidar, co-author of the new book The Everywhere Millionaire, joins Kara to talk about what we miss about wealth in America (plus, renting out Versailles for your wedding).

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Over the last 40 years, many of the wealthiest Americans have effectively seceded from taxation.

While regular Americans - from teachers to surgeons - often pay between 25 and 50% of their income in taxes, lots of billionaires pay 5% (or less) in taxes each year. And their heirs can inherit fortunes tax free.

How have we let this happen? And why don't more people know about it?

Boston College scholar Ray Madoff - author of The Second Estate - talks about what's going on.

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Why do affluent suburbs in Boston and Houston vote completely differently, yet share one surprising thing in common? Economist Melissa Kearney, author of The Two-Parent Privilege, reveals that one of America's most consequential divides isn't about red states versus blue states. It's about whether you're raising kids with a partner, and the economic advantages are stark and surprising.

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What do scientists know about how to live longer - and maximize the number of years that you're healthy?

Princeton molecular biologist Coleen Murphy explains what you can do now, which pharmaceutical is having an unexpected effect on longevity, and why the next few years are so promising. Murphy also talks about the science of predicting how long we'll live.

But she has deep concerns about the Trump administration's cuts to the National Institutes of Health, and how those cuts will set back longevity research. Which may mean that the next big breakthrough comes from China.

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Are the ultra-wealthy playing a high-stakes game of dodgeball with American cities? As states float the idea of heavy wealth taxes, billionaires are increasingly moving their addresses—and their yachts—to tax havens like Miami. But does this wealth migration spell doom for blue cities?

In this episode of It Turns Out, Kara sits down with renowned urban scholar Richard Florida to decode the new geography of extreme wealth. And Florida explains why politicians like NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani - who famously picked a fight with billionaire Ken Griffin - may herald a new progressivism, an era in which the pendulum swings against the Trumpian embrace of mega fortunes.

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Since 2020, more than a million kids have left American public schools. Meanwhile, enrollment in private schools and homeschooling has risen. What's going on? Have parents lost faith in public schools? And which sorts of kids are most likely to leave?

Kara speaks with Thomas Dee, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education, who has tracked students' movement out of public schools. How do fights over advanced math - and challenging content - affect schools' ability to retain students? How will a fast-growing school choice movement further reshape schools?

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For two decades, the global phenomenon of "Blue Zones" has shaped how we eat, live, and invest in our health. But what if the data behind these longevity hotspots doesn't quite stack up?

In this episode of It Turns Out, Kara Miller sits down with Dr. Saul Justin Newman, a senior research fellow at Oxford and University College London and author of Morbid (MIT Press).

Dr. Newman exposes the staggering reality behind world-famous longevity claims—from pension fraud and missing records that inflated centenarian counts in Japan, Greece, and Italy, to the commercial conflicts driving the industry. Tune in as we talk about purple sweet potatoes and anti-aging supplements to reveal what medical science actually says about living a longer, healthier life.

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