The storied history of people sleeping through things
It’s been reported that Donald Trump has been sleeping during his Manhattan trial. This hour, a look at the storied history of people sleeping through things. We talk with a sleep doctor. Plus: an actor on what it’s like when an audience member nods off during your stage performance. GUESTS: Maur…
How the weight of family ‘truths’ can get heavier with each generation
Journalist Lisa Belkin spent 10 years retracing the ancestry of three families, over four generations, to understand how a series of random encounters between three men led to the 1960 murder of a Stamford, Connecticut, police officer. Genealogy of a Murder looks at how family “truths” passed down…
We take your calls
We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month 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 people backing into parking spaces, incorrect (maybe) pronunciati…
The Nose looks at ‘Fallout’ and ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’
Fallout is a post-apocalyptic TV series developed for Amazon MGM Studios by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, who co-created Westworld for HBO. It is the first screen adaptation of the game franchise, which comprises four main series video games, seven spinoff video games, and six tabletop games. It sta…
‘Our president is not a king’: Examining the January 6 and presidential immunity cases in the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently started hearing oral arguments about whether the Jan. 6 attacks constitute obstruction of an official proceeding. Thursday, they’ll hear arguments on Trump’s claim of presidential immunity. This hour, a status update on the confusing, monumental, and democracy-defining g…
The late Daniel Dennett on consciousness, faith, and more
Daniel Dennett was one of the most famous philosophers in the world, one of the so-called “Four Horsemen of the New Atheism.” Dennett died April 19 at age 82. This hour, our 2015 conversation with Daniel Dennett, as recorded onstage at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford. GUEST: Daniel D…
A look at juries, from '12 Angry Men' to the Trump trial
It took almost a week to select the jurors and alternates for the Manhattan trial of former President Donald Trump. This hour is all about juries. We'll talk about jury selection, how to root out potential bias, and the process of choosing an impartial jury in this day and age. Plus, we'll look at …
An hour with Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes won two Tony Awards for his musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood. His single “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His dramedy Remember WENN was AMC’s first original scripted series. And his newest novel, Murder Your Employer, was a New York Times bests…
The Nose looks at ‘Civil War’ and ‘Manhunt’
In January, we did a show that wondered both how much the American Civil War speaks to the present American moment and how likely a new American Civil War might be. Well, movies and television have now, finally caught up with us. Civil War is the fourth film written and directed by Alex Garland. I…
A look at Trump’s hush money trial, the Golden Divorce, and slouching
This hour, we've got one show with three topics. First, the Trump 'hush money' trial; next, the history of slouch-shaming; and finally, the Golden Bachelor's divorce news. GUESTS: Mark Joseph Stern: Senior writer at Slate covering courts and the law Beth Linker: Professor and Chair of History…