Are we as a population getting dumber? How would we know if we were? This hour: stupidity. We’ll look at the history and philosophy of stupidity, and explore how it shows up in our daily lives and politics.

GUESTS:

• Lane Brown: Features writer for New York Magazine, who recently wrote "A Theory of Dumb"

• Stuart Jeffries: Journalist and author. His new book is A Short History of Stupidity

• Shannon Mancus: Teaching Professor and Associate Department Head in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Department at the Colorado School of Mines. You can follow Dr. Shan on Instagram and Substack at “Pop Smart Media”

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

• Able Sisters – Animal Crossing New Leaf OST

• Manchild – Sabrina Carpenter

• Dumb All Over – Frank Zappa

• Get Stupid – Aston Merrygold

• How Sweet to Be an Idiot – Neil Innes

• Baka Mitai - Yakuza OST

• Idiot Wind – Bob Dylan

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Colin McEnroe, Dylan Reyes, and Isaac Moss contributed to this show, which originally aired on January 15, 2026.