Latest Episodes

Earlier this year, Brittany finally discovered the steamy, sensual world of romance novels that center Black women. A fire was lit, and she had to know more. So Brittany got schooled on the history of Black women in romance by experts Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins of the Thirst Aid Kit podcast. And Brittany also spoke with the woman who made her fall in love with romance novels in the first plac...

What happened to the city that raised its minimum wage to the highest in the nation? Jim Carlton and Eric Morath look at Emeryville, California's big experiment, and what happens when the minimum wage goes north of $15.

An earworm expert explains how to unstick that song that’s stuck in your head, and why it got lodged there in the first place. Plus, your earwormholes — the songs that transport you through time and space.

Jenny Doan and her husband, Ron, lost most of their savings in the 2008 financial crisis. Retirement was just around the corner, and they didn’t know how they would make it through. That’s when the family went all-in on an unlikely business—a quilt shop.

For ten weeks, protestors have taken to the streets of Hong Kong. Natasha Khan explains how Hong Kong's recent history plays into the tensions and what the protests mean for the future of the city.

New York City cops are in a fight against their own police department. They say it’s under the control of a broken computer system that punishes cops who refuse to engage in racist, corrupt policing. The story of their fight, and the story of the grouchy idealist who originally built the machine they’re fighting.

New York City cops are in a fight against their own police department. They say it’s under the control of a broken computer system that punishes cops who refuse to engage in racist, corrupt policing. The story of their fight, and the story of the grouchy idealist who originally built the machine they’re fighting.

How to solve a murder and why you probably won’t.

Heavyweight Season 4 begins September 26th. Until then, we bring you The Heavy Wait Diaries. Each Thursday, a new chapter will be presented to ease the burden of your wait. In Chapter 3, Jonathan goes to a strategy meeting.

A Wall Street Journal investigation shows that employees of Huawei, the Chinese telecom company, helped the governments of African nations intercept the communications of political opponents. Josh Chin tells the story of how Huawei technicians helped governments crack down.

Founder Rahul Jindal might be the king of bootstrapping. And when investors see similarities between his startup, Hyde Closet, and a billion dollar business known as Rent the Runway, they start dreaming of unicorns. Until a wrinkle in the plan, snaps them back to reality. 

Featuring: Brittany Luse, Zoe Haylock, Aminatou Sow, Glory Edim, Kaitlyn Greenidge, Angela TK, and Ashley C. Ford.

In our last conversation with Michael Twitty, the chef and culinary historian told us all about his “Southern Discomfort Tour.” The tour, which he wrote about in his book, “The Cooking Gene,” involved travelling the south and cooking on plantations using the same methods that his enslaved ancestors would have used. (He even did it dressed as they would have dressed.) Since our conversation, Michael...

FedEx last week said it would stop shipping packages for Amazon. Paul Ziobro and Dana Mattioli talk about why FedEx essentially cut ties with a company that would seem to be its perfect customer.

Caller Jeremy has a problem: fruit flies have moved into his apartment, and he needs to know how they got there. ELT finds out where Jeremy’s red-eyed roommates came from. Plus, please help caller Austin name that tune. 

As the trade war escalated into an emerging currency fight this week, the U.S. labeled China a currency manipulator. A similar historical rivalry - between the U.S. and Japan in the 1980s - shows how currency battles can play out. Mike Bird explains.

Why are there so many new, weird dinosaurs? Friend of the show Joel Werner goes down the rabbit hole, and finds a surprising answer. He speaks to paleontologists Dr. Steve Brusatte and Dr. Jonathan Tennant. Listen to Joel’s podcast The Sum Of All Parts here: https://ab.co/2YujtzU. 

How a shy, queer Canadian woman accidentally invented one of the internet’s most toxic male communities.

What else could Ed Edwards have done?

Heavyweight Season 4 begins September 26th. Until then, we bring you The Heavy Wait Diaries. Each Thursday, a new chapter will be presented to ease the burden of your wait. In Chapter 2, Jonathan tells a ridonculous lie.

What's better: promoting e-cigarettes to help smokers quit, or restricting vaping so teens don't pick up a new nicotine addiction? Jennifer Maloney explains the challenges vaping company Juul poses to public health officials.

Introducing Crimetown Season 2: Detroit. Binge the whole season on Spotify, or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Back in May we asked entrepreneurs to call in and give us their best pitches. The winner was Leigh Isaacson and her startup Dig — a dating app for people who love dogs. In this episode, Leigh enters the pitch room and asks for $1.5 million to help get 1,000,000 new users on her app. Now Leigh just has to convince the investors that dogs and dating are a match made in Heaven. 

Elizabeth Warren has spent most of her career as a teacher. Before she faced off with a stage full of opponents for the Democratic nomination, she was facing off with a roomful of rowdy 5th graders intent on cutting each other's hair. So what would it mean to have a teacher-in-chief? On this week's episode, Rebecca Traister pays Warren a visit to talk about her life in the classroom (and drink tea ...