America’s Poverty is by Design
America is the richest country on earth, and yet we have the highest levels of poverty of any advanced democracy. Why is that? And what should we do about it?…
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Damon Albarn
Over the course of his 35-year career, Damon Albarn has reached international fame with two very different bands. In 1988, Damon created the rock band Blur with three friends in…
On Background: Who Buys Distressed Assets?
Andy Mitchell could be called a “doctor for business.” His firm, Lantern Asset Management, buys up businesses in immediate need of cash and willing to sell at bargain-basement prices. Michael…
A Neuroscientist’s Curious Approach to Dying
At age 59, neuroscientist David Linden received a startling diagnosis of heart cancer. Even in the face of a terminal illness, David is continuing to think like a scientist. He…
9. The Fall Guys
Kevin Naughton and Craig Peterson are on assignment for Surfer magazine. Their task? Find Miki Dora. When they do, he’s living in a campervan in the South of France, surfing…
The Making of Tom Hanks
Today, on his 67th birthday, we’re joined by actor Tom Hanks! We begin by discussing his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece (6:45), his nomadic upbringing…
The Coup, the Poet and the Secret to Winning Wimbledon
“If you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss…” Those words – from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” – were based on…
Acting Out
Malcolm talks with Ben Naddaff-Hafrey, host of The Last Archive, about the forgotten origins of a major social science, the missing chapter in Ella Fitzgerald’s life, and what it all…
Parakeet Panic
When invasive parakeets began to spread in New York City in the 1970s, the government decided it needed to kill them all. Today: The offbeat panic about wild parrots, and…
The Never-Ending Treasure Hunt
In 2010, an art collector named Forrest Fenn published a memoir called “The Thrill of the Chase,” in which he described hiding a treasure chest somewhere in the United States.…
Predicting Human Health with AI
Charles Fisher is the co-founder and CEO of Unlearn AI. Charles’ problem is this: How do you build an AI model that can predict human health? Charles and his colleagues…
8. AKA Fugitive
After moaning about the ruination of Malibu for years, Miki sets out … for New Zealand. He and Linda are going to use a bunch of fraudulent airline tickets and…