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Why IQ still matters to people - even if it's biased.

President Trump and Silicon Valley tech bros are obsessed with IQ, but the history of intelligence testing is full of bunk race science and eugenics. With the rise of AI's "super intelligence," should we still be ranking human intelligence at all? In this crossover episode with our friends at Code Switch, we explore who gets labeled as smart with Quinn Slobodian, author of Hayek’s Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ, and the Capitalism of the Far Right and Angela Saini, author of Superior: The Return of Race Science.

(00:00) Why Trump and Silicon Valley are obsessed with IQ
(03:27) The tech right's IQ fetishism
(06:30) How 'The Bell Curve' justified inequality
(09:05) IQ's political consequences
(15:28) The BITCH test and valuing diverse intelligences
(22:23) The myth of biological race
(26:13) Does nurture matter more than nature for intelligence?
(32:27) Rejecting IQ hierarchies

For more episodes about the politics of intelligence, check out:
The price you pay for being smart
Books vs. Brain Rot: why it's so hard to read
You might be suffering from AI brain fry

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Divorce can be liberating. And expensive.

When author and science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer separated from her ex-husband, her social media feed was inundated with posts about the freedom of divorce. But while divorce can be empowering… Melinda felt like that narrative overlooked a pretty significant part of the process: the financial burden.

And she’s not alone. After detailing her experience on her Substack, Now What, it caught the attention of editors at New York Magazine. Apparently their divorced friends were also having a hard time financially and they wanted someone to look into it. Melinda’s reporting was published in The Cut, titled: The Strong, Empowered, Secretly Broke Divorcee.

Melinda joins the show to walk Brittany through how financially punishing divorce can be for women and why we should all be a bit more critical of the laws that intend to treat all parties fairly when we still live in a deeply unequal society.

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How do you decide who to vote for?

Some people are turning to AI chatbots to craft bespoke voter guides, while others are leaning on the wisdom of their favorite Instagram or TikTok influencers to guide them to the polls. But what are the pitfalls of each of these approaches, and what does our reliance on them say about what we need to feel informed? To find out, Brittany is joined by Maham Javaid, NPR politics reporter, and Dr. Martin Riedl, assistant professor of journalism and media at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Are you looking for more conversations on politics and culture? Check these out:

The DSA vs. establishment Democrats
How often do you think about the American Empire?

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Are we in an economic crisis? 

It’s a question that prompted Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist and illustrator Mona Chalabi to pitch her first book, Ten Lives: How What We Have Shapes Who We Are.

It chronicles the economic lives of Americans -- from the mega wealthy to those living paycheck-to-paycheck -- over a six year period. She even digs into her own financial life. From the economic highs of inheritances and professional success to the lows of divorces and lawsuits, Mona chats with Brittany about how economic insecurity affects us all.

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Does private equity turn restaurants into zombified husks of their former selves?

From the Crumbl and Insomnia cookie empires, to some of our country's most enduring chains like Dunkin and Panera, private equity is getting its hands in a lot of food chains. And some consumers are actively avoiding places that are private equity backed – expecting high prices, low quality, and an unsettling sameness to the food. But what's behind all the private equity money in these food chains? And what makes the hate of it so personal?

To get into it, Brittany is joined by Alaina Demopoulos, daily features writer at the Guardian, and Courtney E. Smith, founder and owner of the independent food and culture site Ravenous.

(00:00) Why some are spooked by private equity in food
(2:04) Bagels, cookies, and Panera: what private equity involvement looks like
(06:22) The soulless private equity aesthetic
(10:15) Why restaurants are attractive to private equity - despite thin margins
(13:17) Why do some people take private equity involvement so personally?

For more episodes about food culture, check out:
Bacteria is taking over the food pyramid
Is the internet choosing your food?
It's healthy to eat your feelings. Here's why.

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Has Gen Z changed how we think about independents?

It's no secret that Americans are politically divided, as faith in political parties erodes. In the past, so-called "independent" voters were likely shifting between Democrats and Republicans. But now, especially Gen-Z, are pushing in new directions, far from the center. In this episode, we explore how "independent" became a rallying cry for change on the left and the right. 


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Who do you trust to help you make decisions about your sexual health?

In the absence of widespread public health campaigns and high-profile narratives in TV and film about HIV prevention, Gen Z is turning to their chatbots of choice to help them make decisions regarding their sexual health. While some call it innovative, is there something that gets missed when the hard conversations about safety and pleasure become a digital feedback loop? Brittany is joined by Jerrell K.L. Hardnett, Associate Director of Education and Advocacy at GLAAD, and Dr. Samantha Hill, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University to find out.

Want more episodes on AI's influence on culture?

You might be suffering from AI brain fry

Generative AI's race problem

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What makes a great Tiny Desk concert? 

For NPR’s Tiny Desk Creative Director Bobby Carter, success means making space for an artist's creativity within the show’s strict technical parameters -- no speakers, no in-ear monitors, no amplification. It’s a tough space to master, but after 14 years of producing shows, Bobby Carter knows what works. He loves when artists adapt to the space and “you get these little moments where you get a piece of their personality.” This week Brittany chats with him about his favorite shows, his dream guests, and the future of Tiny Desk.

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Non-consensually posted intimate images can devastate women – and beget male bonding.

The burner accounts on X loosely grouped into the “burnerverse” started by bonding over college sports – but soon took a darker turn when some of them began trying to make salacious rumors or non-consensual intimate images of young women and their names go viral. Ej Dickson investigated the burnerverse for Wired, profiling one of these women who were doxxed – and found links between these burner accounts and college fraternities. But what makes misogyny such a potent tool for men’s bonding? And with laws against non-consensually distributed intimate images in all 50 states – how is it still happening at scale?

To talk more about the culture that supports this kind of harassment and the structures that keep it in place, Brittany is joined by Ej Dickson, senior culture writer at wired, and Dr. Mary Anne Franks, professor at the George Washington University Law School and president of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.

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As our climate crisis continues to unfold, who gets to keep the lights on?

On August 11th, a derecho hit northwest Indiana, and the predominantly Black city of Gary was left without power for 14 days… which makes it one of the longest power outages in modern US history, according to Electric Choice.

As more and more reports of outages and struggling infrastructure come out of these seasonal storms, it made Brittany wonder: How does where we live - or even certain attitudes about where we live - affect the quality of service we get? 

To answer that question, Jenae Barnes, health and environment reporter, and Shalanda Baker, Professor of Environment and Sustainability; Vice Provost for Sustainability and Climate Action at the University of Michigan join the show. Jenae and Shalanda walk Brittany through how our aging power grid - coupled with climate change, the strain of new technologies, and a lack of investment - exposes the systemic shortcomings that very well might leave all of us in the dark.  

NIPSCO’s full message to their customers here.


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