Being single surrounded by couples can be rough – especially on Valentine’s Day – but there’s plenty to celebrate about singledom. Meghan Keane, founder and managing producer for NPR’s Life Kit, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her journey from dreading her singlehood to finding joy in it – and her advice to not put big life plans on hold as you look for love. Her book is “Party of One: Be Your Own Best Life Partner.”  

The Trump administration has frozen funding for foreign aid, putting workers out of jobs and threatening the future of USAID in doubt. Brett Murphy is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter on ProPublica’s national desk, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the rapid dismantling of the humanitarian agency and what will happen to the people around the world who rely on its help. His article, written with Anna Maria Barry-Jester, is “‘People Will Die’: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid. That’s Not True.”

Ozempic is the hot drug for weight loss, but its original purpose was to help diabetics – putting its creator in a bit of a bind. Wired contributor Virginia Heffernan joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is stretched thin as demand for the drug skyrockets – and how President Trump’s designs on Greenland might actually affect supply. Her article is “The King of Ozempic Is Scared as Hell.”

To get the price of eggs under control, we first need to address bird flu. New York Times science and global health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the H5N1 virus that has virologists concerned with its rapid evolution. And we’ll hear why poultry producers and dairy farmers are nervous about the future of their livelihoods and their ability to feed the nation.

If America is in the throes of a loneliness epidemic, why do we keep casting aside established friendships for minor infractions? Vox senior reporter Allie Volpe joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a new trend toward cutting out “toxic” friends —even if the toxicity is easily overcome with dialog — and why we’re shying away from the hard work of interpersonal relationships in the digital age. Her article is “‘Protecting your peace’ can kill your friendships.”

President Trump has made it a goal to end birthright citizenship, a fight that is putting the Constitution to the test. Hiroshi Motomura is the Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how birthright citizenship came to be, what the Trump administration’s challenge looks like, and what it means for immigrants and their families living in the U.S. today.

We’ve heard a lot about the loneliness epidemic in this country, but it might be worth asking: Do we even like spending time with people anymore? Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the phenomenon where we’re on our phones but digitally surrounded by people, and how this isolation is rewiring us to be more anti-social – including in both our personal relationships and political lives. His article is “The Anti-Social Century.”

In order to better understand why racism still exists, it helps to study it like a science. Keon West, social psychologist at Goldsmiths at the University of London, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his rigorous research into racist beliefs, the results of social experiments that show how far we’ve moved the mark since the Civil Rights era and what we can definitively say about prejudice today. His book is “The Science of Racism: Everything You Need to Know but Probably Don’t—Yet.”

Psychologists and philosophers have debated what makes a good life, traditionally focusing on the search for happiness and meaning. Recently, though, the quest for another sensation has entered the conversation: fulfillment. Shigehiro Oishi, Marshall Field IV Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his concept of “psychological richness,” where curiosity and spontaneity provide the stimulation we need, and how this outlook can carry us even through the hardest patches of our lives. His book is “Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life.” 

For Black identity, the color blue goes beyond the sky and water and speaks to the fabric of daily life. Imani Perry is a National Book Award–winning author, Henry A. Morss Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and a 2023 MacArthur Fellow. She joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the significance of the color from indigo cultivation, singing the blues, even how “Blue Lives Matter” was used to counteract “Black Lives Matter” protests. Her book is “Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People.”