Beth Simone Noveck says AI can change democracy for the better— if we choose to use it that way

A lot of conversation around AI focuses on it as an existential threat. But if AI has destructive potential, does it also have the capacity to do good? This hour, we're talking about AI and the choice we can make about how we use it. Our guest is Beth Simone Noveck, Director of the Burnes Center fo…

Weight stigma and the connection between anti-Blackness and anti-fatness

In the United States, we talk a lot about discrimination. But one form of discrimination that we don’t talk about enough is discrimination based on body weight. It affects everything from our employment prospects to our medical care. But it actually remains legal in almost every state in the U.S. …

In divided times, how do we build an inclusive future?

The U.S. feels divided. That division is backed up by data. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2025 Stress in America Survey, 62 percent of adults said societal division was a significant source of stress in their lives. So how can we move forward with inclusion rather than divi…

Senator Chris Murphy on the ‘Crisis of the Common Good’

In 2012, Connecticut voters chose Chris Murphy as a replacement for retiring senator Joe Lieberman. He was the youngest U.S. senator serving at the time. And in the years since, his national profile has grown. He's been a vocal advocate for gun reform and become a high-profile critic of the Trump a…

Princess Joy L. Perry’s award-winning novel ‘This Here is Love’ continues Harriet Beecher Stowe’s legacy of literary activism

Princess Joy L. Perry’s novel This Here is Love tells the interlocking stories of an array of characters in Tidewater Virginia. It’s a complex narrative that takes place in the 1690s as the hierarchies of slavery are still developing. Those hierarchies are complicated by further hierarchies— indent…

Reflecting on what new generations can carry forward as we remember 25 years since 9/11

Many Americans can tell you exactly what they were doing 25 years ago when they learned the United States had been attacked. But for a younger generation, the attacks are something they’ve only learned about in history class. With that in mind, it’s time to think about what we want future generati…

Edwidge Danticat’s new novel ‘Dèy’ explores motherhood, grief and the concept of home

Edwidge Danticat’s new book Dèyopens at a mall. A Haitian American real estate agent named Magnolia is there to buy a phone for her daughter. But before she has the chance, a mass shooting breaks out. Magnolia survives, but she doesn’t tell anyone what she’s experienced. Dèyis a book about grief— …

Curated failures, plus young people define success for themselves

Some inventions change the way we see the world. Others fail to meet the lofty expectations set for them. Those are the ones that make it into a traveling museum called the Museum of Failure. It recognizes products like Nintendo's early attempt at 3-D gaming and a clear soda called Crystal Pepsi. T…

Water safety can save lives, especially in underrepresented communities

According to the CDC, there are over 4,000 unintentional drowning deaths in the United States every year and around 850 of those are for people younger than 18. And the numbers look different across various demographics. For instance, Black children ages 10-14 are nearly 4 times more likely to die…

Eddie Glaude Jr. on the contradictions inherent in celebrating the United States

There was a lot of discussion surrounding the United States’ recent July 4th celebrations. There were festivities, like New York's parade of tall ships, and controversies, such as when musicians like Martina McBride and The Commodores canceled concert appearances due to an organizing group's affili…