List making, listicles, lists of lists: An hour devoted to list culture

Lists feel especially suited to the digital age, but humans have been creating lists for a long time. So why are we drawn to lists? This hour, the art and the utility of the list. GUESTS: Matthew Dicks: A West Hartford elementary school teacher and the author of Twenty-One Truths About Love …

Live from Watkinson, it’s part 2 of our 2025 holiday spectacular

On the night of December 4, we went to Watkinson School in Hartford, put 11 performers together on the stage there, and let them rock their way through 27 holiday- and holiday-adjacent classics. We’re turning that two-hour performance into two radio shows over the two holiday weeks. Part onepremie…

Live from Watkinson, it’s part 1 of our 2025 holiday spectacular

On the night of December 4, we went to Watkinson School in Hartford, put 11 performers together on the stage there, and let them rock their way through 27 holiday- and holiday-adjacent classics. Our plan is to turn that two-hour performance into two radio shows over the two holiday weeks. This ho…

Checking in on self-checkout

This hour is about self-checkout technology and its impacts. We'll debate its pros and cons, look at the history of self-service at grocery stores, and talk about the future of technology in stores. Plus, we'll learn about the psychology of "weak ties," and the value of talking to strangers in pla…

All calls: Vultures tend not to eat Episcopalians

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing. This hour, the conversation winds around to vultures and sky burials, President Trump’s post about Rob Reiner’s death, our show with…

The Nose looks at ‘The Mastermind’ and ‘Sorry, Baby’

Josh O’Connor is having a bit of a moment. He’s been in four movies this year. On December 12, two of them became available to watch at home, including the biggest movie of his career so far, the new Knives Out mystery, Wake Up Dead Man. On December 13, O’Connor hosted Saturday Night Live. On Decem…

The echoes of the Red Scare can be heard today

This hour we talk about the history of the Second Red Scare, a period also known as McCarthyism. We learn about why the Scare took off in the United States, its impact, and how it eventually fizzled out. Plus, we look at the parallels and throughlines between that time period and our current momen…

A look at the quiet power of the Schuyler sisters, Eliza and Angelica

You may know the Schuyler sisters, Angelica and Elizabeth (and Peggy!), from Hamilton. But the musical just scratches the surface of their fascinating lives. This hour, Amanda Vaill joins us to talk about her new book, Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution. GUEST: Amanda…

Why the American dream and the tragedy of 'The Great Gatsby' still resonate today

This year marks 100 years since F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby was first published. And it turns out that it took a while for the novel to catch on in the United States, where it is now considered a classic. This hour, we revisit the novel and its cultural impact. GUESTS:  Rob Kyf…

All calls: The thing about cats and comets is that you can’t reason with either one

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing. This hour, the conversation winds around to domesticated cats, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, real Christmas trees vs. artificial Chri…