NO SUCH THING

On today’s episode, we’re tackling a question from a listener named Joel: Why do singers lose their accents when they sing?

Our guest this week is New Yorker writer Kelefa Sanneh. In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore identity in country music, why Taylor Swift stopped singing with a twang, how Drake changed the way people think about authenticity in hip-hop, and why Adele and Harry Styles don’t sound British when they sing.

Want to hear all the music from this episode? Check out our newsletter for a playlist.

Check out Kelefa’s book Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres

If you’re new here, listen to episode 36: Is Taylor Swift bigger than Michael Jackson? and check out our NST starter pack. 

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Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286

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This week’s topic came from a listener who asked if micromanaging is a more productive work-style than a more “free range” approach. We talk about our own work experiences, and answer a few other miscellaneous work questions about performance improvement plans (“PIPs”), handling an incompetent boss, office odors, and more.

Our guest this week is Madeleine Baker, historian at Harvard, editor at The Drift, and author of Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America, who walks us through the history of the corporate work structure and evolution of management styles. 

Check out our newsletter for links to research and more. 

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Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286

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Growing up, we were told to always recycle plastic to save the planet. But does recycling actually do anything? In this special two-part investigation, we explore the history of recycling, the rise of “disposable” plastics, and find out how effective recycling actually is. 

In part one (with the help of Nayeema Raza, host of  Smart Girl Dumb Questions), we hear from Davis Allen, PhD, Senior Investigative Researcher at the Center for Climate Integrity, who alleges that plastic recycling is a deceptive story engineered by fossil fuel and petrochemical companies to make us feel guilty for using the very plastics they profit from. Davis says recycling is a distraction from the real problem. 

Listen to part one: Apple, Spotify, Others

In part two, we visit a recycling center and speak to Kara Napolitano, Education Director at Circular Services to find out how recycling actually works, learn the amount of bottles that actually make it to the recycling facility, and reckon with our own individual impact to determine if recycling is a viable solution to our climate crisis or simply a feel-good placebo in an ever-expanding consumer culture. 

For links to research and more, check out our newsletter. 

Fill out our NST listener survey here.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286

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Growing up, we were told to always recycle plastic to save the planet. But does recycling actually do anything? In this special two-part investigation, we explore the history of recycling, the rise of “disposable” plastics, and find out how effective recycling actually is. 

In part one (with the help of Nayeema Raza, host of  Smart Girl Dumb Questions), we hear from Davis Allen, PhD, Senior Investigative Researcher at the Center for Climate Integrity, who alleges that plastic recycling is a deceptive story engineered by fossil fuel and petrochemical companies to make us feel guilty for using the very plastics they profit from. Davis says recycling is a distraction from the real problem. 

In part two, we visit a recycling center and speak to Kara Napolitano, Education Director at Circular Services to find out how recycling actually works, learn the amount of bottles that actually make it to the recycling facility, and reckon with our own individual impact to determine if recycling is a viable solution to our climate crisis or simply a feel-good placebo in an ever-expanding consumer culture. 

Listen to part two: Apple, Spotify, Others

For links to research and more, check out our newsletter. 

Fill out our NST listener survey here.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286

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Are we in the midst of a reading crisis? News outlets are constantly reporting on the death of reading. School test scores by measures like the “Nation’s Report Card” say math and literacy levels are down to their lowest rates since the early 1990s. Schools aren’t even assigning full books in class anymore. We talk to children’s book author Jason Reynolds, an active teacher in Chicago public schools, and a professor who’s looked into the actual research and says the literacy crisis doesn’t even exist. 

Our guests this week are author Jason Reynolds (buy his new book Soundtrack here), professor Paul Thomas, and teacher Kelsey Clodfelter.

For links to research and more, check out our newsletter. 

If you liked this episode, check out: Do audiobooks count as reading? and Should schools ban phones? 

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286

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On today's episode of NO SUCH THING, Manny, Noah, and Devan, jump into the mailbag. Should you keep your eggs in the fridge? Why do some people sneeze so loudly? Where did we get the 24 hour day from? Why and how does medicine expire? And what's the traditional jelly in a PB&J: grape or strawberry?

ICYMI: Manny wrote a book and you can check it out here! It's called Colored People Time: A Case for (Casual) Rebellion, and it's a collection of essays about the ways that time wraps itself around our most personal moments.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286.

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This week we’re answering a question from a listener named Emma: What do those smiley-face customer-satisfaction buttons you see in airport bathrooms actually do? 

We track down the Finland-based company behind them, HappyOrNot, and uncover a hidden world of analytics, cameras, and AI. 

Our guest this week is Scott Erickson, HappyOrNot’s VP of US Sales and Global Channels.

For links to research and more, check out our newsletter.

Like this episode? Check out Is your phone listening to you ... and should you care?

DEV-ITORS NOTE: After the interview, HappyOrNot clarified that cameras are standard on their touchscreen devices, but the button devices don’t have them.

ICYMI: Manny wrote a book and you can check it out here! It's called Colored People Time: A Case for (Casual) Rebellion, and it's a collection of essays about the ways that time wraps itself around our most personal moments.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286

Sign up for NST GOLD: https://nstgold.supportingcast.fm/

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Manny wrote a book and you can check it out here! It's called Colored People Time: A Case for (Casual) Rebellion, and it's a collection of essays about the ways that time wraps itself around our most personal moments. If you're around NYC, the boys will be discussing the book in a live event on March 29th, order tickets here.

Now, on today's episode, Manny, Noah, and Devan discuss the sports betting takeover happening in the United States and around the world, and are joined by Danny Funt, the author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling. They also debate whether athletes should be allowed to bet on themselves, since they're already incentivized to win their games.

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286.

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We know Benjamin Franklin as a founding father, crucial in the establishment of the United States, discoverer of electricity, kooky writer of almanacs, and inventor of much, much more. But is it possible that good old Benny is actually a complete scammer? We investigate a conspiracy theory that Mr. $100 is not all he’s cracked up to be. 

Our guest this week is Claire Aubin, historian and host of This Guy Sucked, with a special thanks to our instigating debaters Kelsey and Rich. 

Buy Manny's Book, Colored People Time, and see NO SUCH THING in conversation about the book on March 29 in NYC.

For links to research and more, check out our newsletter. 

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286.

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On today’s episode, we tackle a question we’ve all wondered: Are dentists scamming us? We dive into the dark history of dentistry, find out why dental insurance sucks, hear from someone who uncovered a dentist drilling teeth for profit, and talk to a startup founder who’s looking to upend the whole industry. 

Lilly Kaplan — licensed therapist and Reality Test newsletter author — sits in for Manny this week.

Listen to: Do you need therapy? (ft. Lilly) 

Our guests this week are: 

• AJ Jacobs, journalist and New York Times bestseller. 
• Dr. Sarah Stuefen, general dentist in Iowa and spokesperson for the American Dental Association.
• Dr. Cheryline Pezzullo, general dentist and clinical associate professor. 
• Dr. Brandon Zeidler, doctor of dental surgery.
• Tyler Burnett, cofounder of Wally Health.

For links to research and more, check out our newsletter. 

Have a question you want us to answer or a dentist story you want to share? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at ‪(860) 325-0286

Sign up for NST GOLD: https://nstgold.supportingcast.fm/

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