Historian Daniel Horowitz, author of the book "Happier? The History of a Cultural Movement That Aspired to Transform America," discusses the results of America's draw towards positive psychology and happiness.

Philosopher Henrik Syse shares his thoughts about using the memory of trauma to form universal connections rather than fuel conflict.

Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, describes how the science on climate change has changed throughout his career and details his own experiences witnessing those changes on the ground in the Arctic.

Competitive bronc riding is still alive and mostly well in some corners of the United States, and one family, as a three-generation dynasty, has dominated this colorful sport for decades: the Wrights of Southern Utah. 

We’re joined by John Branch, author of “The Last Cowboys: A Pioneer Family in the New West.” Can there ever be another Wright family, or are they really the last cowboys?

John Eason, author of Big House on the Prairie: Rise of the Rural Ghetto and Prison Proliferation, joins us to explain the politics and economics of the prison boom and why so many small towns in the American Midwest want massive new prisons built near them.

Daniel Chambliss and Christopher Takacs, authors of "How College Works," join the show to talk about their research into the surprising and not-so-surprising factors that create a successful college experience.

Political science professor Jeanne Theoharis, author of "A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History," joins the show to look at the ways we often misrepresent civil rights history and discusses how those misconceptions affect our present.

MIT philosophy professor Kieran Setiya, author of "Midlife: A Philosophical Guide," shares his wisdom for dealing with the questions that surround a midlife crisis.

School lunch has never been just a midday meal. Andrew Ruis, author of Eating to Learn, Learning to Eat: The Origins of School Lunch in the United States, joins us to talk about the social, political, and economic concerns that gave rise to school lunch in its present form.

Unprecedented inequality and slow growth: those are the symptoms of our current economic situation. But what's the disease? Steven Teles and Brink Lindsey, authors of the book The Captured Economy: How the Powerful Enrich Themselves, Slow Down Growth, and Increase Inequality, join the show to discuss how seemingly innocuous government regulations have created unfair advantage for those at the top and what we can do to recapture the economy for all.