The surprisingly entertaining story of how the U.S. got itself into a housing crisis.

When chicken catcher Jimmy Nicks’ job was subcontracted, he started doing the same job for a new boss — only without the pay, protections and benefits he’d come to rely on.

Stereotypes are all around us, shaping how we see the world – and how the world sees us. On the surface, the stereotypes that other people hold shouldn’t affect the way we think or act. But our concerns about other people’s perceptions have a way of burrowing deep into our minds. This week, social psychologist Claude Steele explains the psychology of “stereotype threat.”

Exploring the anxieties of wealthy people and their desire to be seen as "middle class."

After creating and running Parks and Recreation and writing for The Office, Michael Schur decided he wanted to create a sitcom about one of the most fundamental questions of human existence: What does it mean to be a good person? That’s how NBC’s The Good Place was born. Soon into the show’s writing, Schur realized he was in way over his head. The question of human morality is one of the most complicated and hotly contested subjects of all time. He needed someone to help him out. So, he recruited Pamela Hieronymi, a professor at UCLA specializing in the subjects of moral responsibility, psy...

To commemorate This American Life's 25th year, Ira Glass collected a few of his favorite episodes.

Oogie McGuire is a shepherdess to a flock of Black Welsh Mountain sheep …

Judy, Lyn and Donna Ulrich were driving to a volleyball game when their Ford Pinto was hit from behind by a Chevy van. The Pinto caught fire, and the three teenagers wereburned to death. This week on Hidden Brain, we talk to a former Ford insider who could have voted to recall the Pinto years before the Ulrich girls were killed — but didn’t. And we ask, is it possible to fairly evaluate our past actions when we know how things turned out?

Lies, liars, and lie catchers. This hour of Radiolab asks if it’s possible for anyone to lead a life without deception.

Getting Things Done, or GTD, is one of the most popular productivity systems on the planet, and for a good reason — it helps you be on top of your tasks and obligations by getting them out of your overloaded brain and into your trusted system, so you can focus on execution, not juggling. In […]

Mike is an average guy on a mission to change the state of Florida—specifically, to convince the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to stop overspraying the rivers and lakes with herbicides. As a fisherman, Mike cares deeply about the waterways in his state, but he’s struggling to break into the conversation and make a real impact. In this episode of How To!, we bring on Erin Brockovich, the citizen activist and inspiration for the Oscar-winning film Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts. Drawing on her new book Superman’s Not Coming, she has tips for how Mike can follow in her foot...

It’s a new year and it’s a great time to try out a few new tech tools. Here’s my annual round-up of apps and sites I think are worth a look, plus two more extra just for the heck of it. The 2020 Teacher’s Guide to Tech is now available at

RT @laurapasquini: The Gap @iraglass - "everybody I know who does interesting, #creative work they went throug…

A trip to a country where the fiction that is money completely fell apart.

The story of a 24-year-old kid and the idea he thought would reduce congestion, cut greenhouse gasses and make urban life easier for everyone. Instead, it brought him nothing but trouble.