In the late 19th century, a railroad boom fueled by easy money, speculative investment, and new technology helped kick off one of the worst financial crises in American history. Sound kind of familiar?

In today’s episode, Derek talks with author Liaquat Ahamed about his new book, '1873,' and the similarities between the railroad mania of the 19th century and today’s AI boom. They discuss America’s first venture capitalists and the role of the Rothschild family, how manias inevitably create bubbles, and what the Panic of 1873 can teach us about the huge debts now financing artificial intelligence.

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Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Liaquat Ahamed

Producer: Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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So many people seem to hate AI, and it’s not just because it might displace millions of jobs, destroy the world, or deepen distrust in big corporations and government. The reason might actually be simpler than we think: People don't like AI because it is so often used to make things that are fake.

From sham biographies and bogus social media posts to AI-generated journalism, the internet has become inundated with “AI slop.” So how do we begin to clean up the mess? That’s where AI detection company Pangram comes in. Derek talks with Pangram founder and CEO Max Spero about the seduction of AI writing, how his program detects it, and the moral implications of publicly calling out those who use it.

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Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Max Spero

Producer: Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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For much of the 21st century, the U.S. economy was built around cheap money. Today, though, interest rates are rising, and borrowing is getting much more expensive. At the same time, the federal government is running huge deficits while governments and companies around the world are taking on enormous amounts of debt. Derek talks with returning guest Conor Sen, author of the Housing Frame newsletter, about why interest rates have climbed, what’s driving this new age of debt, and how it could change the economy for years to come.

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If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Conor Sen

Producer: Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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It would be an understatement to say that higher education is in crisis, as it faces attacks from both the current presidential administration as well as issues of its own making, like diversity politics. Today, Derek talks with Tyler Austin Harper, author of the viral essay “Confessions of a Token Black Professor,” about his critique of DEI and “wokeism” from the left. They discuss how good intentions and institutional self-interest led universities astray, and what it means for academic freedom, economic justice, and the future of higher education.

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If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Tyler Austin Harper

Producer: Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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Today, Derek talks with cybersecurity expert Alex Stamos about a recent wave of alarming AI cyberattacks. For decades, one of the biggest fears about AI has been that the machines will start doing things we didn’t ask them to do. This summer, that fear started to feel a little less like science fiction, as some of the world’s most advanced AI models went off script, broke through security barriers, and found ways to get around the humans overseeing them. Derek and Alex discuss why AI is so good at hacking, what happens when bad actors have their own AI hackers, and what governments, companies, and the rest of us can do to protect ourselves.

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If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].

Host: Derek Thompson
Guest: Alex Stamos
Producer: Devon Baroldi
Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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It seems a universal fact that AI has become an indispensable part of the American economy. At the same time, opposing AI has also become one of the most influential causes in American politics. Nowhere is that tension more obvious than in the fight over data centers. Across the country, communities are organizing to stop the massive facilities that power artificial intelligence from being built in their backyards.

In today’s episode, Derek talks with writer Jasmine Sun, who traveled through the Midwest to investigate the growing animosity towards AI infrastructure. Why do Americans hate data centers? Plus, if this trend continues, what happens when one of the most important forces in the U.S. economy runs headfirst into local politics?

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If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Jasmine Sun

Producer: Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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Two extraordinary trends are happening in the United States simultaneously. One is that alcohol consumption is declining precipitously. The share of Americans who drink has hit a record low since Gallup started tracking it in the 1930s. In 2004, fewer than 30 percent of Americans under 35 said moderate drinking was bad for your health; now it’s 66 percent.

The second trend is that marijuana usage has skyrocketed. Per researchers, cannabis has overtaken alcohol and cigarettes as the nation’s most popular daily drug. And the impact of that shift has been profound.

Today, Derek is joined by Jonathan Caulkins, a drug policy researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, and Beau Kilmer, the codirector of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center. They discuss what is gained and lost in the switch from booze to weed, the ripple effects of marijuana’s surge in popularity, and what the legalization of cannabis is doing to America.

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Host: Derek Thompson

Guests: Jonathan Caulkins and Beau Kilmer

Producer: Victoria Valencia

Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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There’s no doubt that reading is in decline. But what is that decline doing to the way we think? Derek talks with The Atlantic's Rose Horowitch about why Americans are reading fewer books than ever and struggling more with complex texts and what that means for education, work, politics, and culture. Together, they discuss this phenomenon’s effects on literacy and attention as they examine the surprising consequences of living in an increasingly post-literate world.

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Host: Derek Thompson
Guest: Rose Horowitch
Producer: Devon Baroldi
Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' has brought one of history's oldest stories back into the spotlight. It’s also sparked a fresh debate about what it means to adapt a classic.

Today, Derek is joined by acclaimed classicist and translator Emily Wilson, whose celebrated translation of 'The Odyssey' helped inspire Nolan's film. They explore why Homer's epic has remained the foundation of so much Western storytelling and what gets lost and gained in the act of translating. Thenm Wilson gives her take on Nolan's adaptation. She lets us know what it captures brilliantly, where it departs from Homer, and what those changes reveal about both the ancient world and our own.

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If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Emily Wilson

Producer: Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' is finally here, but how exactly has a 3,000-year-old story endured long enough to become the foundation of Western storytelling? Derek is joined by Karen Ní Mheallaigh, chair of Classics at Johns Hopkins University, to explore the mysterious origins of Homer's epic and the timeless themes that have captivated audiences for millennia. They discuss how 'The Odyssey' outlived thousands of other ancient poems, how its story of homecoming and hospitality shaped Western literature, and why filmmakers and creatives like Christopher Nolan keep returning to its core ideas.

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If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].

Host: Derek Thompson
Guest: Karen Ní Mheallaigh
Producer: Devon Baroldi
Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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Why does it feel like everything is more divided and exhausting than it used to be? Philosopher Agnes Callard has a surprisingly simple answer: the unicontext. It's her term for what happens when billions of people are all forced to inhabit the same global conversation through the internet and social media.

In this episode, Derek talks with Callard about how the unicontext has reshaped the way we experience time, attention, and morality. They explore why online life feels overwhelmingly negative and why public discourse has become so focused on outrage and identity. It's a conversation that connects philosophy with the modern experience of living online, ultimately offering a framework for understanding why our world just feels so weird.

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https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson

If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected].

Host: Derek Thompson
Guest: Agnes Callard
Producer: Devon Baroldi
Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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