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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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She's America's sweetheart, but she just might be America's superhero as well.

The American cheerleader has become one of the nation's most cemented symbols of femininity, girlhood, and youthful power. But how does paying attention to the real life experiences of cheerleaders tell a different story about America's history of education, race, and gender? Brittany is joined by Dr. Natalie G. Adams, editor of The Cheer Reader, and contributor Dr. Amira Rose Davis to find out.

Interested in more conversations on sports and gender? Check out these episodes:

Would you let your kids play football?
The strange politics of Pilates

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We’re in an era where everyone can be a celebrity. And that’s okay! 

For the past ten years, Bobby Finger and Lindsey Weber, hosts of the podcast Who? Weekly, have dissected the celebrity landscape. From the declining power of A-List celebrities to the rising power of influencers, the duo have investigated how fame and power have shifted over the last decade. They’ve asked the question: ‘Who gets to be famous?’ And discovered, ‘ well, nowadays, anyone.’ I Want to Be Famous: When Everybody and Nobody Is a Celebrity is their new book where they explore what they've learned about the ephemeral nature of fame, celebrity, and our collective obsession with reality television.

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Census data about race can be incredibly important – but we might lose it.

The Trump administration has proposed to stop asking people in the U.S. about their race and ethnicity in the upcoming 2030 census. But what's the point of getting rid of these questions? And what makes the narratives around our nation's demographics so fraught?

To get into it, Brittany is joined by Russell Contreras, senior race and justice reporter at Axios, and Hansi Lo Wang, a correspondent at NPR who covers voting rights and the census.

For more episodes about policy and culture, check out:
Bacteria is taking over the food pyramid
Is your city shaped by yuppie taste?
Don't get got by big MILK

(00:00) Understanding the Trump administration's census proposal
(02:58) Will the government stop collecting data on race?
(05:34) What we use race data for
(10:04) The proposal to stop counting some non-citizens in the census
(14:42) How shifting categories might change census data
(20:52) Who's afraid of America's changing demographics?

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Palestinians are challenging the narrative one story at a time.

Editor-in-Chief of The Key, Sara Yasin, wants us to rethink what she calls ‘it’s complicated' journalism. As more young people are exposed to the destruction in Gaza -- outside of traditional media outlets -- Sara wanted to provide a space where Palestinians can speak freely about what’s going on around them.

Enter: The Key, an online publication that focuses on “analysis, interviews, essays, reviews and reportage about Palestine.” Sara joins the show to get into The Key, what ‘fairness’ looks like for mainstream media in this moment, and how power informs framing. 

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