If there is to be a shift to renewable energy, there must be a focus on developing batteries that can meet the challenge. New Yorker contributing writer Matthew Hutson joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why there needs to be 100-times more storage for renewables by 2040, and why that goal is currently out of reach. His article is “The Renewable-Energy Revolution Will Need Renewable Storage.”

The bond market is high risk, high reward and cutthroat. Mary Childs is co-host and correspondent for NPR’s “Planet Money” podcast. She joins host Krys Boyd to talk about Bill Gross, known as “The Bond King,” his rise to the top of a volatile world and his eventual undoing. Her book is “The Bond King: How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All.”

It might not be aging that causes health decline, but ageism. Becca Levy is a professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health and a professor of psychology at Yale. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the beliefs around aging and how policy changes and positive thinking can create successful outcomes. Her book is “Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long and Well You Live.”

From bird song to electronic music, sound shapes our world. David George Haskell, professor of biology and environmental studies at the University of the South and a Guggenheim Fellow, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss sonic diversity and its importance to human and animal life – and how we are silencing those critical noises around us. His book is “Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction.”

Shame can be a tool for justice and morality – and it can also be weaponized. Cathy O’Neil launched the Lede Program for data journalism at Columbia University. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the relationship between shame and power and when cancel culture is beneficial and when it goes too far. Her book is “The Shame Machine: Who Profits in the New Age of Humiliation.”

Addiction has long been recorded in human history, centuries before the opioid crisis. Carl Erik Fisher is an addiction physician and bioethicist and an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his own struggle with alcoholism and his search to find answers in the policies, people and treatments of both the recent and distant past. His book is “The Urge: Our History of Addiction.”

The Italians seem to have life worked out with good food and wine, and an outlook Americans could probably learn from. Beppe Severgnini is a columnist and editor for Italy’s largest circulation daily newspaper, Corriere della Sera. He joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss the key takeaways from Italian life and gives insight into the charm that’s known around the world. His book is “Italian Lessons: Fifty Things We Know About Life Now.”

One million U.S. deaths have been recorded due to Covid-19. Scientific American senior editor Josh Fischman joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss the after-effects of such an enormous death toll, including financial repercussions, effects on children and the new strain on social safety nets. His article is “What One Million COVID Dead Mean for the U.S.’s Future.”

Zoom can put us in a virtual room with someone, but it can never replace the touch and feel of another human being. Michelle Drouin is a psychology professor at Purdue University-Fort Wayne and senior research scientist at the Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation. She joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss why we’re increasingly isolated physically, emotionally and intellectually from one another and how we might reestablish that connection. Her book is “Out of Touch: How to Survive an Intimacy Famine.”

There are plenty of memes about #blackgirlmagic, but they often leave out the behind-the-scenes work it takes for Black and brown girls to achieve that magic. Minda Harts is assistant professor of public service at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the founder of The Memo LLC, a career development company for women of color. She joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss her YA guide for young women of color to step into adulthood with the tools necessary for self-confidence and success. Her book is “You Are More Than Magic: The Black and Brown Girls’ Guide to Finding Your Voice.”