This week, Audie sits on the other side of the mic and talks about her favorite show, “Love is Blind.” Her conversation is with Anne Helen Petersen on her podcast “Culture Study.” Yes, “Love Is Blind” is reality television, but it has a lot to say about this moment in history and politics. They talk about what works and doesn't work about these shows, and what they say about us as viewers. 

Learn more about Anne Helen Petersen’s Culture Study newsletter and podcast.

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Over the past decade, horror has evolved from cheap thrills to cultural reflection—tackling everything from systemic oppression to collective trauma. Audie talks with writer and filmmaker Tananarive Due, who explains how we got here. And why, in an age defined by fear, horror might just be the healthiest thing to watch.

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With New York City’s mayoral election fast approaching, one candidate in particular has managed to break through the noise — even outside the five boroughs. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist-backed progressive whose campaign videos have gone viral, has become the face of a growing leftist wave. But is it a one-city phenomenon, or the beginning of something bigger? Audie talks to CNN Contributor Astead Herndon. His story about Mamdani’s campaign was just published in the New York Times Magazine. He is now a host and Editorial Director at Vox. 

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The WNBA just wrapped its most-watched season in history, with soaring team valuations and unprecedented public interest. But the league is preparing for possible labor tension as players push for greater revenue sharing and ask who really benefits from its success. Audie turns to CNN contributor and host of Naked Sports, Cari Champion, to talk about what the next era of the WNBA could look like: the economics of the game and how a new competitor could redefine ownership, competition, and opportunity for female athletes. 

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Film director Raoul Peck grew up in Haiti and the Congo, and is no stranger to authoritarianism. So it was an easy “yes” when he was offered access to author George Orwell’s entire body of work, from the original manuscript of “1984” to letters and journals. The result is “Orwell: 2+2=5,” a documentary about how a man named Eric Arthur Blair became the timeless face of truth. Peck talks to Audie about his take on Orwell’s legacy and what it still has to teach us.  

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This episode was Produced by Madeleine Thompson and Lori Galarreta

Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  
Technical Director: Dan Dzula   
Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig 

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This week The Assignment presents the first episode of CNN’s powerful narrative series, Tortured Justice with Omar Jimenez. It’s the story of systemic torture carried out by the Chicago police department over many years starting in the 1980s. The series focuses on James Gibson, who was wrongly convicted and tortured, Andrew Wilson, whose guilt for killing two police officers has not been questioned even as people learned of his torture, and Jon Burge, a police commander who oversaw torture. 

Subscribe to the podcast to hear all the episodes. And read more about how Omar reported the story.  

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Producers: Graelyn Brashear, Madeleine Thompson, Emily Williams, Kyra Dahring, Sofia Sanchez, and Lauren Kim   

Editor: Lacy Roberts  

Technical director: Dan Dzula   

Executive producer of CNN Podcasts: Steve Lickteig   

Production help from: Jake Sorgen, Joe DeCeault, David Guggenheim, Jessica Pupovac 

Special thanks to: Ferlon Webster, Jr. and Ed Kelly 

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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returned to TV after being suspended for his comments on Charlie Kirk's assassination. It was the latest sign of political pressure shaping the media landscape into something that may have been unrecognizable a decade ago. So how did we get here, and where are we headed? Axios media correspondent and CNN contributor Sara Fischer talks about the forces at play and how they’re influencing everything from talk shows to social media algorithms. 

This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta and Madeleine Thompson

Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  
Technical Director: Dan Dzula   
Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig 

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Charlie Kirk’s assassination may be part of a larger “political realignment” in America, that’s according to Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a leading scholar on political violence. She explains what it is, why it's violent, how it could get worse, and possible paths out.

This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta and Jesse Remedios

Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  
Technical Director: Dan Dzula   
Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig 

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Social media doesn’t just decide what you see — it shapes how you speak. Audie talks to linguist, author and educational influencer, Adam Aleksic to explore how the way we communicate is mutating in the age of TikTok, Trump, and ChatGPT. 

Adam’s book is called, “Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language.” 

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This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta 

Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  
Technical Director: Dan Dzula   
Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig 

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One of the biggest shows of the summer was Netflix’s “Hunting Wives,” a raunchy, soapy thriller about gun-toting Texas housewives. It’s the latest hit in a growing wave of so-called “red state entertainment” finding audiences everywhere. Audie calls up comedian and longtime television producer Larry Wilmore to find out what’s driving Hollywood’s pronounced shift away from the hard lean into wokeness we saw just a few years ago. Is this a lasting change, or just another spin of the wheel in studios’ chase for the next big thing?

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This episode was Produced by Jesse Remedios 

Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  
Technical Director: Dan Dzula   
Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig 

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