Making small talk can be hard—especially when you’re not sure whether you’re doing it well. But conversations are a central part of relationship-building. Radio Atlantic is pleased to share this episode of How to Talk to People.

The social scientist Ty Tashiro and the hairstylists Erin Derosa and Mimi Craft help describe what it means to integrate awkwardness into our pursuit of relationships.

This episode is hosted by Julie Beck, produced by Rebecca Rashid, and edited by Jocelyn Frank and Claudine Ebeid. Fact-check by Ena Alvarado. Engineering by Rob Smierciak.

Music by Tellsonic (“The Whistle Funk”), Ryan James Carr (“Botanist Boogie Breakdown”), and Arthur Benson (“Organized Chaos,” “She Is Whimsical”). Click here to listen to additional seasons of The Atlantic’s How To series.

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All of a sudden it seems like everyone knows someone who has tested positive for COVID. Are we back in a wave? How bad could it get? How effective will the new vaccine be? What do we actually know about COVID now that we didn’t before, and will it protect us? We talk to Atlantic science writers Katie Wu and Sarah Zhang about all the questions you are trying to avoid about Covid this summer and fall. 

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This week Texas will join the 20 or so other states that have passed laws restricting access to medical therapies and procedures for transgender children. But there are thousands of young people in Texas who identify as transgender. We talk to one teenager who describes herself as just a “normal semi-popular girl,” about her and her family’s decision to leave Texas as a result of the government’s actions. 

Also: If you have any comments or suggestions about the show, submit feedback at theatlantic.com/listener-survey. We'd love to hear from you.

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The front-runner for the Republican nomination did not show up at the debate, but in the sharp exchanges between the leftovers, a lot was revealed about the future of the party.

Atlantic staff writers McKay Coppins, reporting from the debate, and Elaine Godfrey talk about why newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy pops, why Ron DeSantis doesn’t, and why Nikki Haley, despite coming across as a reasonable truth-teller, doesn’t stand a chance.

Also: If you have any comments or suggestions about the show, submit feedback at theatlantic.com/listener-survey. We'd love to hear from you.

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Megan Rapinoe speaks with Atlantic staff writer Frank Foer. The retiring soccer star discusses her detractors, the U.S. team’s role in the global game, and taking penalty kicks.

Also: If you have any comments or suggestions about the show, submit feedback at theatlantic.com/listener-survey. We'd love to hear from you.

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Many people, especially those dealing with long COVID, suffer from fatigue. But not common, everyday tiredness—it’s more like a total body crash that can be triggered by the smallest exertion, something as simple as taking a shower. It’s serious, and yet many doctors have a hard time taking it seriously.

Ed Yong, a former staff writer at The Atlantic whose reporting on COVID won a Pulitzer Prize, explains how people with fatigue can feel, and what experts actually know about the condition and how to treat it.

Read Ed's story on fatigue, long COVID, and ME / CFS here: "Fatigue Can Shatter a Person"

If you have any comments or suggestions about the show, submit feedback at theatlantic.com/listener-survey

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Michael spent years fighting isolation, depression, and despair. Then he met Sam. 

If you’re having thoughts of suicide, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or the Crisis Text Line. For that, text TALK to 741741.

This episode of Radio Atlantic was reported and produced by Ethan Brooks and edited by Theo Balcomb and Jocelyn Frank. It was mixed by Rob Smierciak and fact-checked by Yvonne Kim. The executive producer of Audio is Claudine Ebeid. The managing editor of Audio is Andrea Valdez.

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The U.S. women’s team has been the dominant force in soccer for a decade, although you wouldn't necessarily know it from their performance in the Women’s World Cup so far. As fans, we want them to win. But there’s no drama in dominance. For women's soccer to truly become a global sensation, the U.S. needs worthy rivals. In this episode we talk to Tobin Heath and Christen Press, both members of the most recent U.S. World Cup teams, about whether it would be better for global women’s soccer for the U.S. to lose.

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A lot of people are plagued by the feeling that society used to be better, that neighbors were more helpful, that strangers once talked to you. Some people channel that belief into political action, as in the Make America Great Again movement. A new study explains why the sense that people and the culture have gotten worse is a psychological illusion.

This special episode features Julie Beck, the host of How to Talk to People. Subscribe and discover a full season of great episodes waiting for you!

This episode was produced by Becca Rashid. Editing by Jocelyn Frank. Fact checked by Isabel Cristo. Engineering is by Rob Smierciak. The executive producer of Audio is Claudine Ebeid. The managing editor of Audio is Andrea Valdez.

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Marriages today are much more flexible than they used to be. Women’s roles have changed. Gay marriage is legal. More and more people aren’t choosing marriage at all. And yet the American wedding has hardly changed at all. If anything, it keeps getting more elaborate, more luxe, more wedding-like. In this episode, we talk to Xochitl Gonzalez, who wrote a confessional for The Atlantic about her years as a luxury wedding planner, about why we keep perfecting on what is essentially a nineteenth- century artifact.

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