While there’s no stopping Alzheimer’s disease, there are new treatments to slow it down. Dylan Scott covers health for Vox, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss hopeful new breakthroughs in understanding the disease, what’s different between the new drugs and previous ones that ultimately failed, and if GLP-1s can help ward off cognitive decline. His article is “Alzheimer’s treatment is advancing rapidly — and there’s one thing all of us can do to help.”

A decisive blue wave swept across the country on election night, and nowhere was it more surprising than Texas. Nick Miroff, staff writer for The Atlantic, and Lauren McGaughy, Texas politics correspondent for The New York Times, join host Krys Boyd to discuss the Democrats’ sweep of the Texas ballot from senator to governor on down, whether this signals a new era of governance for the state, and what we can extrapolate out for the rest of the country.

His selection was seen as a longshot, but now the first American Pope has been a clear voice on immigration, poverty and A.I. Scott Detrow, co-host of All Things Considered, and Daniel Burke, senior editor of religion and spirituality at NPR, join host Krys Boyd to discuss the life and the health of the man born Robert Prevost, his rise in the Augustinian order to advise Pope Francis, and his pushback on “America First” policies that President Trump champions. Their book is “American Pope: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City.”

Some people are convinced A.I. can let them connect to a supernatural world. Sam Kestenbaum is a journalist covering religion in America, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the issue of A.I. delusions – when people believe whole-heartedly their chatbot can see the future or commune with the dead – and what this new technology says about the ways emerging tech is encroaching on our analog world. His article “Communion of Saints” was published in Harper’s Magazine.

Passionately pursuing one goal might lead to an accomplishment – but it may not make us any happier. In fact, sometimes we have to be so-so at something to be happy. Amy Berg, associate professor of philosophy at Rice University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the simple joys of mediocrity, about the benefits of being pretty good at a lot of things, and why striving for excellence is a well-trod path to burnout. Her book is “The Well-Rounded Life.”

Polls might get you excited that your preferred candidate is on the path to victory – but we’ve all been burned before. Marc Novicoff is a staff writer at The Atlantic, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why polling has gotten election results so wrong in the past, about how polls are conducted in an age when no one wants to take part, and about if we should brace for more surprises. His article is “How the Polls Could Be Wrong Again.”

The integration of public schools meant deep cuts to Black teacher jobs – and restoring the pipeline of Black educators potentially means better outcomes for Black students. Emmanuel Felton, investigative journalist and author, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why representation matters in the classroom and to tell the story of a man who has started a school to train and deploy Black educators. His article “This Philadelphia Educator is Rebuilding the Black Teacher Pipeline” was published in Hammer and Hope.

Open caskets used to be fairly standard, but we’re losing the artists who make that possible. John Semley joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the history, culture and economics of morticians, why their particular trade is quickly going out of fashion, and how losing this restorative mortuary science is changing the way we grieve. His article “A Dying Art: The last of the morticians” was published in Harper’s Magazine.

This episode originally aired August 8th, 2026.

President Trump has said the Iran War will end after the mid-terms, but there is no sign either side is willing to come to the table. Ali Vaez, deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss why both Iran and the U.S. have dug into a war that seems indefinite and unwinnable, how the conflict is changing our partnerships with Arab Gulf States and why both sides are emerging weaker eight months in. His essay “The New Forever War” was published in Foreign Affairs.

 Thirty percent of the Centers for Disease Control staff has either resigned, retired or been laid off. Apoorva Mandavilli, science and global health reporter for The New York Times, joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss the once-revered CDC that is now a skeleton of its former self, what that means for both domestic and international public health responses, and what that means for the general public now that flu seasons is here. Her article is “'Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission

The search for life outside our planet can be seen as a yearning to find out what makes us human. Adam Kirsch is a poet, literary critic and senior editor at The Atlantic, and he joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss the search for life in the cosmos —both UFOs and the scientific hunt for biological matter outside our universe — and what happens to our collective trust when we don’t find it. His book is “We Want to Believe: How Aliens Went Mainstream and Why It Matters.”