Episodes

  • Will AI destroy us... or save us?

    Will AI destroy us... or save us?
    Apr 9 2026
    Like it or not, artificial intelligence is deeply rooted in our lives. Its invisible architecture stretches everywhere from dating apps to medical care. In this new world, what remains uniquely human? On today's episode, we explore the tension between our love of AI and our fear of it — and try to decode the humans behind the machines. This episode originally published in March of 2023.

    Guests:

    George Zarkadakis    , author of In Our Own Image: Will Artificial Intelligence Save or Destroy Us?

    Francis Collins, physician-geneticist who led the Human Genome Project

    Stephanie Dick, assistant professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University

    Meredith Broussard, data journalism professor at New York University, and author of More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender and Ability Bias in Tech

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    51 mins
  • Who gets to be an American citizen?

    Who gets to be an American citizen?
    Apr 7 2026
    The 14th Amendment guaranteed equal citizenship after the Civil War, but who exactly counted as a citizen? Today on the show, the story of Wong Kim Ark, a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, whose Supreme Court case defined birthright citizenship more than a century ago.

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    15 mins
  • Al Capone and the transformation of the IRS

    Al Capone and the transformation of the IRS
    Apr 2 2026
    Gangsters, banksters, and politicians. Today on the show, how the hunt for Al Capone helped turn the IRS into one of the U.S. government's most powerful tools — and most effective weapons. This episode originally published in May of 2025.

    Guests:
    Joe Thorndike    , historian for Tax Analysts and author of Their Fair Share: Taxing the Rich in the Age of FDR.

    Paul Camacho, retired special agent for the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and member of the board of directors at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.

    Jason Scott Smith, historian at The University of New Mexico and author of two books about FDR and the New Deal.

    Lawrence Reed, president emeritus of The Foundation for Economic Education.

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    52 mins
  • What the banana tells us about US history

    What the banana tells us about US history
    Mar 31 2026
    What do bananas have to do with American history? On this week’s episode, how the sweet fruit became an American staple because of one entrepreneur who took business off US shores, expanding the country’s economic reach and influence.

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    15 mins
  • How Saudi Arabia shaped Silicon Valley

    How Saudi Arabia shaped Silicon Valley
    Mar 26 2026
    Elon Musk. Donald Trump. Bill Gates. Sam Altman. Larry Ellison. Alex Karp. Jared Kushner. Mr. Beast. Jeffrey Epstein… Those are just a few of the people who have been friendly with, and often done business with, Saudi Arabia over the last decade. Today on the show: how one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes became one of Silicon Valley’s biggest investors – and what that’s meant for the rest of us.

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    50 mins
  • The Ojibwe Nation

    The Ojibwe Nation
    Mar 24 2026
    In the face of United States westward expansion in the 19th century, Native people fought to preserve their land and way of life. Today on the show: the story of how one Ojibwe leader tried to keep his people and land together by building a nation within a nation.

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    17 mins
  • Why is Cuba in crisis?

    Why is Cuba in crisis?
    Mar 19 2026
    Cuba is on the brink of collapse – a scenario that 13 U.S. presidents have tried to engineer with no success. Today on the show, the making of the Cuban crisis and what might come next.

    Guests:
    Eloy Viera, lawyer and journalist for El Toque

    Lillian Guerra, Cuban-American history professor at the University of Florida

    Maria De Los Angeles Torres, professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago

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    48 mins
  • The confederates who left the USA

    The confederates who left the USA
    Mar 17 2026
    After the Civil War, while America was rebuilding itself, some Southerners made a different kind of move — they packed up and left. Today on the show: the Confederados, the American settlers who fled to Brazil chasing wealth, land, and a chance to keep slavery alive.

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    17 mins