After the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban came to power and quickly began stripping women and girls of their rights. With the support of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and actor Jennifer Lawrence, Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani gathered footage from women activists fighting against this oppressive regime. The resulting documentary, Bread & Roses, is now available on Apple TV+. Mani and Yousafzai joined Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about the bravery of the women in the face of Taliban rule and the urgent need for the international community to act.

The separation of migrant families by the Trump administration is one of the most controversial policies in modern American history. It began in mid-2017 but was only acknowledged publicly about a year later. In 2020, NBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff came out with a book on the subject called Separated: Inside an American Tragedy. Most recently, Soboroff teamed up with Academy Award–winning filmmaker Errol Morris to make a documentary, also called Separated, based on the book. Morris and Soboroff spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how this policy was carried out and what it might look like under the new Trump administration.

Taylor Swift requires no introduction. She recently became the first artist to win the Grammy for Album of the Year four times. Her Eras Tour, the highest-grossing music tour ever, ends this month. Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield, who has been covering Swift since the beginning of her career, is out with a new book on the star, Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music. Sheffield talks with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about Swift’s gift for storytelling, her expansive fan base, and how she’s empowered a whole new generation of artists.

This is an episode from our archives.

Holiday spending is expected to reach record levels this year. That makes for a lot of packages — and a lot of returns, donations, and junk. On Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu speaks with The Atlantic’s Amanda Mull, who reveals the strategies retailers use to get you to buy more stuff and what you can do to have a more sustainable holiday season. Listen to the full interview on Apple Podcasts.

Even before the divisive presidential election, family estrangement was on the rise. Now, as holiday gatherings approach, many people are grappling with difficult family dynamics. Psychologist Joshua Coleman, the author of Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties & How to Heal the Conflict, talks to Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how to navigate strained relationships and what steps you can take to bridge divides.

Sharon Horgan has spent decades creating hilarious TV and compelling women characters at every stage of life. In the BBC comedy Pulling, she captured the confusion of early adulthood. Young parenthood was the subject of Amazon Prime’s Catastrophe. And HBO’s Divorce, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, focused on the dissolution of a marriage. Her latest project, Bad Sisters, premieres its second season this week on Apple TV+. Horgan sits down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about bringing realistic women onscreen, the delicate balance of writing comedy and drama, and why menopause might be the most challenging life stage of all.

Along with Donald Trump’s win this week, Republicans took control of the Senate and are favored to secure the House. To break down the forces behind this rightward shift, Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Atlantic staff writer George Packer. They discuss what the election results reveal about the country and the change many Americans want to see.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are making their closing pitches to voters ahead of Election Day. In this final week, Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu sat down with New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker and New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser. The married political reporters are also authors of the book The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017–2021. They reflected on this moment in the campaign, the two contrasting visions for America the candidates are presenting, and what a victory for either Harris or Trump could mean for the country.

Since former President Trump lost the 2020 presidential race, he and his supporters have been spreading the false claim that the election was stolen and that the U.S. is rife with voter fraud. This has been disproven in court many times, but the rhetoric has had a real effect on the country — from the January 6 attack on the Capitol, to election-rule changes, to general distrust around the voting process. Votebeat’s Jessica Huseman is one of the leading reporters on voting in the U.S. She talks with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the lies being spread about our voting system and explains why Americans can feel reassured that this election will be safe and fair.

In the past month, two major hurricanes hit the southeastern United States, causing hundreds of deaths and billions of dollars in damage. Journalist Porter Fox warns that this is only the beginning. Fox, who has been reporting on climate change for more than a decade, has published a new book, Category Five: Superstorms and the Warming Oceans That Feed Them. He spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how human-induced climate change is fueling increasingly larger and more dangerous storms — and how we can turn the tide.

Democratic candidates for office have historically relied on support from Latino voters. But recent elections and polling show that this crucial voting bloc is starting to move further to the right. In her new book, Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America, journalist Paola Ramos explores the forces behind this shift. She spoke to Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about what all of this could signal for the 2024 election.