Mansplaining: Recent Episodes
Mark and Joe
Welcome to Mansplaining, a podcast about the interesting things you can discover if you just take the time to learn. Mansplaining is brought to you by Mark, Joe, and so far nobody else. Join us as we try to learn a thing or two about a thing or two.
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With the world’s progress toward reducing carbon emissions fitful at best, people are slowly waking up to the possibility of not meeting international targets and staring instead at potential worst-case scenarios. Enter geoengineering, in which we deliberately manipulate the Earth's climate system to stave off planetary ruin. Is artificially reflecting sunlight away from the planet or sucking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere our last, best hope, or is it a reckless distraction from ongoing climate mitigation efforts? Joe and Mark review the forms of geoengineering under consideration, how feasible they are, and whether they’d do more harm than good.
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The recent IPO for SpaceX briefly turned Elon Musk into the world’s first trillionaire. One person having a net worth involving 13 digits is staggering to comprehend, leading Joe to ask Mark a question floating around liberal and progressive circles: should our society even allow that? Mark and Joe consider five philosophers whose work, at least in theory, supports the existence of billionaires and trillionaires (though they each offer conditions and caveats), after which there’s ample time for deliberation. You be the jury: should billionaires exist?
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So much has been written and said about how to live a meaningful life. It’s been the pursuit of philosophers for millennia, a central focus of psychology for the last century and a half, and a recurring topic of TED Talks online, not to mention a profit center for the vast self-help industrial complex. The sheer volume of information is dizzying. Luckily, you’ve got Mansplaining to extract the juice from that oversized lemon. Joe and Mark discuss the three core pillars of meaningfulness and whether they’re consonant with personal achievement while offering some tips for making our lives more meaningful.
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In the wake of the Supreme Court’s disemboweling of the Voting Rights Act, many (former?) Confederate states are redistricting away Black members of Congress who aren’t Republicans. We seem to have entered a golden age of gerrymandering, the manipulation of electoral district boundaries to create an unfair advantage for a specific political party. Mark and Joe investigate the checkered history of gerrymandering, consider some philosophical concepts explaining the decision to gerrymander, and ponder whether it’s worse than ever before.
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You’ve probably heard of the Doomsday Clock. It’s the clock whose hands move closer to midnight every time humanity is judged to be closer to annihilation. A few months ago, it inched a tiny bit closer to midnight. Mark wondered whether this phenomenon was akin to how the news media incessantly reports on bad things so as to boost their audience, so he asked Joe about who makes the Clock-setting decisions and whether they serve any real purpose other than generating alarming headlines. Joe and Mark recount the history of the Doomsday Clock, what its creators were trying to accomplish, and whether its impact has been useful or counterproductive.
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It is thought that somewhere in Eurasia during the Late Pleistocene, an intrepid pack of gray wolves made a fateful decision to approach a human campfire seeking scraps. From that humble beginning was forged a love affair for the ages. But why that animal, and how to explain the incredible bond that emerged between dogs and humanity? Mark and Joe trace the history of how dogs and people co-evolved to become such reliable and trusted companions, and what accounts for the hold that dogs have on so many of us today.
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The media images we see of conservative politicians and voters depict people who are angry, fearful, and full of suspicion and outrage. So, why does study after study suggest that there’s a measurable happiness gap between conservatives and liberals, with liberals on the short end of that gap? Joe and Mark examine the measures of happiness that comprise this consensus, explore whether self-reporting one’s life satisfaction is a reliable gauge of happiness, and wade into the fierce debate over why the data says what it says.
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Though the truly horrific COVID-19 pandemic, which killed 1.2 million Americans and many millions more worldwide, is barely in the rear-view mirror, public health authorities keep telling us the next pandemic is inevitable. Joe wondered how inevitable, and he asked Mark whether it’s likely to happen in our lifetimes and why pandemics seem to occur with greater frequency these days. Mark and Joe review the historical context of pandemics past and contemplate how the next pandemic’s lethality will be determined not so much by the pathogen’s biology as by the human environment we’ve built for it to move through.
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In our post-truth era, perhaps it’s not surprising that a growing number of people say they believe, despite all evidence to the contrary, that the Earth is flat. Mark struggled to understand how anyone can believe this, so he asked Joe to get inside the head of a flat-earther and explain how someone might come to that way of thinking. Joe and Mark discuss the modern history of the Flat Earth movement, the three things that appear to motivate such beliefs, and how it helps to replace condescension and derision with empathy and understanding.
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Imagine producing a podcast with well over a hundred episodes, soliciting feedback after every episode, receiving dozens of comments and questions, and then sitting on them for nearly six years. Guilty as charged! After being derelict in their duty for far too long, the Mansplaining co-hosts finally dip into a deep mailbag to read listener comments and questions. Among other things, listeners were curious about the series name and logo, the “lost” first episode, and all the topic-appropriate songs they’ve been hearing lately. Mark and Joe expound on those subjects and also respond to meatier comments from listeners who disagree with them about particular topics. (Recorded March 6, 2026.)
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Gambling is having a moment. Not only have a majority of states legalized sports betting since the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in 2018, but prediction markets have also enjoyed explosive growth in the last few years. With huge amounts of money being wagered on everything from which turkey President Trump would pardon on Thanksgiving to whether all twelve singles from Taylor Swift’s new album would make the charts, it sure seems as if we’re betting on EVERYTHING. Mark and Joe discuss the betting public’s changing demographics, what all that wagering is doing to all those bettors, and why gambling’s newfound ubiquity is not a winning bet for America. (Recorded February 20, 2026.)
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Millions of Americans associate the number 65 with the end of their working years and the start of what they hope is a long and pleasant retirement. But why 65, as opposed to younger, older, or never? Joe and Mark trace the history of social insurance programs, including the American and European precursors to Social Security; discuss how and why 65 became the magic number; and ponder whether full retirement age (which is now 67 in the U.S.), benefit levels, or payroll tax revenues will have to change to accommodate increases in life expectancy. (Recorded February 6, 2026.)
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There’s a strong anti-intellectual vibe running through American politics and culture. It’s visible in MAGA’s ongoing assault against the administrative state, in the growing distrust of educational institutions, and in anti-vaccine sentiment—the last of which started as a left-wing movement before being coopted by the right. It’s so palpable today that it makes you wonder what the proper role of expertise in a democracy might be. Mark and Joe plumb the history of this tension, the spectrum of positions it produced, and how experts’ recent missteps fanned the flames of distrust in an already skeptical populace. (Recorded January 23, 2026.)
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The fact that the heavy drama The Bear has won Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series speaks volumes about how the industry values drama in comparison to comedy. Indeed, the last time a real comedy film won the Best Picture Oscar was 1977, nearly a half-century ago. Why do critics think dark material is so much better than light? Joe and Mark explore the long history of this cultural bias, why it’s important to think about who’s making such determinations, and whether great comedy will ever receive the recognition it deserves. (Recorded January 9, 2026.)
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For Mansplaining’s 6th annual holiday episode, we examine the holiday music that gets played endlessly, in our homes and everywhere we go, at this time of year. What makes a holiday song good? Which songs resonate for Mark and Joe, and why? And which can we do without? For us, at least, the best holiday songs not only feature strong melodies well sung and played, but they also forge emotional connections in our lives, whereas the worst holiday songs are nothing more than crass attempts to make a buck. (Recorded December 20, 2025.)
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Psychoactive substances have been ingested by human beings for millennia. But for a few decades at the end of the 20th century, many were banned in the U.S. as part of a cultural backlash manifesting itself in the disastrous War on Drugs. Now that’s slowly changing, as the medical industrial complex reconsiders the use of psychedelic drugs like MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD for treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorders, and much more. Joe and Mark discuss the history of psychedelics, their therapeutic use in psychotherapy, and why they might be game changers for the many people for whom existing treatments and medications just don’t work. (Taping date: December 5, 2025.)
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A few years ago, we all started hearing about how gas ranges, which have been popular in our country for at least a century and are favored by professional chefs, were dangerous to our health and should be replaced by electric or induction cooktops. That revelation begs a couple of obvious questions about how such an unsafe appliance became so ubiquitous in the first place, and why we’re only hearing about its dangers now. Mark and Joe recount how natural gas became the go-to power source in our kitchens, how Big Gas suppressed safety concerns in a way that would make Big Tobacco proud, and what we can do to mitigate the perils of cooking with gas. (Recorded November 7, 2025.)
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Back in its early days, this podcast explored the cultural and economic juggernaut that is Christmas. Time now to take a gander at Halloween. It’s unique among American holidays in that it’s neither religious nor patriotic nor sentimental, yet it’s hugely and increasingly popular for kids and grown-ups alike. How did that come to be? Attention, trick-or-treaters—Joe and Mark leave this sweet offering for you: a tale about how Halloween’s centuries-long metamorphosis from pagan festival to secular holiday embodies America’s boundless power to assimilate seemingly contradictory cultural traditions and make them its own. (Recorded October 24, 2025.)
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Overshadowed by all the anti-immigrant rhetoric afflicting our country today are wonderful stories of non-human immigration, such as the ones about how certain foods made their way from the New World to the Old World. Take potatoes and tomatoes, for example. They’re staples of Irish and Italian cuisine, respectively, but neither was native to those countries—both originated in the Americas. Mark and Joe tell the story of how these two hardy pioneers with humble roots in Mesoamerica came to dominate European cuisine. Like that of modern-day human migrants, their road to acceptance was a bumpy one full of fear, suspicion, and misinformation with some tasty twists and turns along the way. (Recorded October 3, 2025.)
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Based on recent proclamations from the MAGA government and the zealotry that some of its partisans have for the American flag, you’d never guess that flag worship was really not a thing in the United States for a very long time. Most Americans in the first half of the 19th century had little to no knowledge of the Stars and Stripes; that is, until the Civil War changed everything. Joe and Mark discuss Old Glory’s journey from military banner to object of near-religious veneration and how that history informs the flag-related controversies we see today.
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You may have noticed that there are a lot of very old people clinging to positions of authority, from our current president (79 years old) to our former president (82 when he left office) to other leaders in politics, business, and culture. Why won’t these folks leave the stage and let their younger colleagues step into power? Is this state of affairs good or bad for our society? Mark and Joe trace the history of gerontocracy, its role in feeding the alienation of younger generations, and what we might do to mitigate its deleterious effects. (Recorded August 29, 2025.)
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In The Social Contract, the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau suggested that democracy was feasible only in smaller polities where the citizens have shared common interests. What might Rousseau have to say about the current-day United States, with its sprawling national government and a citizenry that can’t even agree on basic facts? Joe and Mark revisit their college classrooms to discuss Rousseau’s concept of the general will, whether it’s achievable in a large country, or whether local politics provides its only true expression. (Recorded August 15, 2025.)
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When visiting a few cemeteries recently, Joe was struck by how clean and well-maintained but desolately empty they were. That prompted him to ask Mark about the economic viability of cemeteries and whether they were becoming relics of a bygone age as increasing numbers of people opted for cremation. Mark and Joe discuss the history of cemeteries and prospects for the mortuary industry. Turns out it isn’t just whistling past the graveyard to think that our repositories for death can be repurposed to serve modern life. (Recorded August 1, 2025.)
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Water seems to many of us like an unlimited resource, what with oceans covering 71% of the Earth’s surface. But less than 3% of the world’s water is fresh, and nearly a third of that is groundwater, found deep beneath the surface in aquifers between soil and rock. Many of the world’s aquifers are drying up as we over-pump them for irrigation, drinking water, and industrial uses. Does the depletion of groundwater pose an existential threat to humanity? Joe and Mark slosh around in the many uses (and abuses) of groundwater, which aquifers are under strain, why we’ve allowed that to happen, and what we can do to replenish them. (Recorded July 17, 2025).
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What do the following household items have in common: A jar of aspirin; a tube of toothpaste; a clear plastic bottle; a package of KN-95 masks? Answer: they all expire on a certain date. Indeed, our homes are full of stuff we’re supposed to throw away long before we’re done with it. But do these products truly go bad, or are their producers planning their obsolescence so you’ll buy them again and again? Don’t mind Mark and Joe as they forage through your medicine cabinet, pantry, and hall closet to demystify expiration dates once and for all. (Recorded July 3, 2025.)
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For decades, American suburbia has resembled one continuous green lawn stretching across property boundaries in every direction. Indeed, lawns are part of the fabric of American life. When was it that we all decided to put grass around our homes, and why? Joe and Mark ramble through America’s iconic yardscape to dig up the history of grassy lawns, why they took hold here, and whether recent anti-lawn proclivities will eventually take root or be RoundedUp and killed like yesterday’s crabgrass. (Recorded June 13, 20025.)
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Bullet trains have been a major component of transit systems in places like Japan, China, and Europe for decades. Why hasn’t high-speed rail taken root in the supposedly forward-thinking United States? Mark and Joe set off on a journey of discovery through issues like inadequate infrastructure, population density, and the usual economic and political obstacles before reaching its terminus in America’s ongoing, dysfunctional love affair with cars. Daunting as these challenges are, there’s still a way forward, if we have the will to get there (a big if). (Recorded May 30, 2025.)
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To meet the increased demand for carbon-free electricity that might mitigate the climate crisis that is already upon us, nations the world over are reconsidering nuclear energy. Mansplaining listeners of a certain age remember the No Nukes movement that gained steam after frightening meltdowns at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. What they may not realize is that nuclear power remains an important piece of the world’s energy portfolio. Joe and Mark assess nuclear’s risk profile to determine whether it’s part of the problem or part of the solution. (Recorded May 11, 2025.)
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Recent estimates are that the United States has a shortage of housing volume of 4-7 million homes. A problem of that scale doesn’t happen overnight and involves decades of neglect and inaction. With the chronic lack of housing likely to be a major issue for the foreseeable future, public policy experts have been brainstorming about potential solutions, and a few have dusted off an idea that’s older than the Republic: a tax on the value of land without regard to the buildings and other property improvements on it. Mark and Joe trace the history of the land-value tax, the difficulty of implementing it, and whether it can be part of the solution to our housing crisis. (Recorded April 18, 2025.)
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Like its cousin AGI, quantum computing, which harnesses the quantum states of subatomic particles to perform impossibly difficult computations at lightning speed, is a new-ish technology that many of its proselytizers believe is thisclose to reality. The “quantum supremacy” of this new technology over classical computing promises stunning breakthroughs in areas as disparate as drug development, materials science, weather forecasting, and cybersecurity. Is it for real, though? Joe and Mark discuss the coming quantum revolution, the ways it’s likely to change our lives, and whether it’ll arrive quickly enough to be the subject of a future episode of Mansplaining. (Recorded March 28, 2025.)
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The New York Yankees’ recent relaxation of half-century-old rules about facial hair got Joe to thinking about dress and codes generally. Why do they exist? Where do they come from? Mark takes Joe on a historical tour of dress codes, from ancient Rome and China through medieval Europe and Tudor England, ending in the modern era of school uniforms and casual Fridays. As our heroes discover, attire-related restrictions are less about affirming people than about keeping them in place, serving as effective instruments of social or class control—and sometimes symbols of resistance. (Recorded March 14, 2025.)
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You know them by their brand names, like Ozempic, Trulicity, or Mounjaro. They're the GLP-1 receptor agonists that were originally formulated for Type 2 diabetes but have caused a revolution in the treatment of weight loss. As more research rolls in, they’re also looking like game-changers for treating conditions as far-ranging as heart disease, dementia, and substance use disorders. Do they represent a medical breakthrough on the level of penicillin, or are they too good to be true? Joe and Mark review the pros and cons and consider how some things in life can be truly double-edged swords. (Recorded February 28, 2025.)
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State lotteries are a 12-figure business in the US of A. Americans spend more money on lottery tickets than on books, video games, recorded music, movie and sports tickets combined. Of course, lottery revenue is allocated to public goods like schools and parks, but it’s a double-edged sword, as lotteries are disproportionately funded by the poorest third of households, i.e., the people who can least afford them. Mark takes Joe through the checkered history of lotteries, their pros and cons, and the role they might play in the lives of all those people who trade their hard-earned dollar for an elusive dream.
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Here are a couple sobering numbers: The typical American has only $8,000 in the bank, and the median savings for the age cohort approaching retirement is only $120,000. Neither is anywhere close to adequate. Might a fiscal cliff be approaching for millions of retirees? Joe and Mark do a deep dive into the scary numbers outlining Americans’ financial distress and declining optimism about the future, consider some reasons how and why we became so uniquely bad at saving, and ponder whether this phenomenon is something new or simply a return to the perilous days of yore. (Recorded January 31, 2025.)
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You’ve probably used a map app like Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze to help you get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. But did you ever wonder how they work? Did you ever wonder whether we should slavishly follow their directions or be skeptical and consider external factors like our own prior driving experience? Well, wonder no more. Mark and Joe take the fastest route that starts with paper maps, brings them past an obscure mathematician’s brilliant idea, stops for gas to consider the wonders of GPS and crowdsourcing, and arrives at the destination of Clarityville (population: you). (Recorded January 16, 2025.)
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The year 2024 brought more than its share of misfortune to your Mansplaining co-hosts, what with the double whammy of layoffs and a terrible election result. But in the spirit of turning the page to the New Year, Mark asked Joe what he’s feeling good about in 2025 and beyond, from multiple perspectives (personally, locally, nationally, and internationally). With hopefulness in short supply, Joe soldiered on with some reasons to be cheerful, but it soon became apparent that a more expansive, proactive definition of "hope" was in order. (Recorded January 3, 2025.)
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In continuation of a Mansplaining tradition of holiday-themed conversations, Mark and Joe consider how we might heal our deepening political rupture and bring peace to a divided nation. It’s a daunting task that may take years, if it happens at all. Making it happen involves redressing the loneliness and isolation wrought by a decades-long breakdown in civic trust. Government has a role to play, but mostly it requires individuals to turn away from the purveyors of fear and disunion, listen to our fellow citizens, and plant the seeds of hope in a jaded body politic. (Recorded December 20, 2024.)
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Those of us above a certain age remember that flying didn’t used to be such an ordeal. Once upon a time, people enjoyed flights that had comfortable seating, decent food, and no extra fees for checked bags. Might the coming technological innovations restore some of the fun in flying? In a special bonus segment and addendum to Episode 101, Joe and Mark look back at the good old days of air travel, then look ahead to what the near future might hold. (Recorded December 6, 2024.)
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The bankruptcy filing of Spirit Airlines underscores the existential problem for air carriers. After driving many of its competitors out of business with its no-frills model of below-cost fares, bare-bones service, and nuisance fees, Spirit still couldn’t make a profit. How did we get to a place where the only thing shrinking faster than the number of airlines still in business is the amount of legroom in their cabins? Joe and Mark tell the fateful story of air travel, in which the one-two punch of deregulation and September 11th led to a TKO of airlines and passengers alike. (Recorded December 6, 2024.)
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After considering why companies run out of ideas in our last episode, Joe put the same question to Mark about why so many of our favorite pop and rock music artists seem to run out of ideas. Mark and Joe ponder whether this is a real phenomenon, and if so, what might cause it. Turns out that early-career creativity is a complicated amalgam of neural plasticity, free time, and the commercial imperatives of a pop music industry that skews young. And yes, Clayton Christensen’s ideas about the innovator’s dilemma might also apply to musical innovation. (Recorded November 15, 2024.)
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Google had quite a run, from its market-leading search engine to Gmail to the Android operating system. For the longest time, it seemed like a veritable fount of innovation. But in recent years, dogged by antitrust lawsuits, it looks less like a forward-thinking innovator and more like a tired dinosaur trying desperately to hold onto its piece of the profit pie. Why does that same evolution happen to so many companies? Looking for answers in Clayton Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma and its subsequent critiques, Joe and Mark discover that the modus operandi of established companies might be more about fear than anything else. (Recorded October 25, 2024.)
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When the Supreme Court struck down race-conscious affirmative action programs, it conveniently left standing the legacy preferences employed by colleges and universities that are described by some as affirmative action for rich, white people. Is it fair that schools are now forced to ignore the race of their applicants but are still allowed to favor the children of wealthy alumni and donors? Mark and Joe examine the history and impact of legacy admissions policies in American colleges and universities and consider the arguments that there are good reasons for retaining them. (Recorded October 4, 2024.)
Every time the power goes out in Seattle, Mark wonders whether his city fell victim to malicious hackers. It’s a legitimate concern, since bad actors have been messing with America’s energy systems for years. But how credible is the threat of foreign hackers causing catastrophic damage to critical civilian infrastructure like our electrical grid and drinking water? Joe and Mark log into the wild and woolly world of infrastructure hacking and learn that it’s a two-way street, with the deterrent of “mutually assured computer disruption” awaiting anyone who goes too far. (Recorded September 17, 2024.)
The CDC and Surgeon General recently released reports highlighting twin epidemics that are plaguing young people in our country. For boys, it’s loneliness and social isolation; for girls, it’s persistent sadness and hopelessness. Why are young people so sad and lonely? Mark and Joe discuss whether loneliness is inheritable, how much of the blame we can pin on the distorted view social media provides of reality, and how, in the land of plenty, we can help our kids get the one thing they need the most: human connection. (Recorded September 6, 2024.)
It’s been said that fusion power is 20 years away, and always will be. Why is it taking so long? Well, it turns out that generating temperatures as hot as the sun is hard to do here on Earth, as is controlling the fusion reaction so it doesn’t vaporize everything it touches. Joe and Mark ponder these and other challenges to producing fusion energy, and whether any of us is likely to live long enough to see it become part of a carbon-free electrical grid. (Recorded August 16, 2024.)
We'll have a full episode next week, but in the meantime Joe is here with our very first White-Hot Take: brief remarks on JD Vance's recent assertion that the Democratic Party is under the control of "childless cat ladies."
The Supreme Court’s recent controversial ruling about presidential immunity appears to rely on a shadowy notion of executive branch power called the unitary executive theory. After gaining currency in conservative circles for decades, the unitary executive may now be poised to go from theory into reality, thanks to the right-wing SCOTUS supermajority. Mark and Joe trace the theory’s lineage, whether evidence for it exists in our founding documents, and the implications of its newfound legitimacy. (Recorded July 26, 2024.)
It wasn’t so long ago that human fertility was likened to a ticking time bomb, with overpopulation leading to famine and ecological collapse. More recently, we’ve heard that declining fertility rates are the real problem, bringing forth a shrinking workforce and economic ruin. Is negative population growth something to worry about? Joe and Mark examine demographic history and trends, what declining fertility means for women and children, why the Goldilocks “just right” level of fertility is unsustainable, and whether that’s a problem for humanity. (Recorded July 12, 2024.)
For decades, Americans have moved south chasing cheaper homes and better weather. But after years of unremitting heat and more frequent hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods that have disproportionately devastated those destinations, you might wonder whether people start moving back whence they came. In a follow-up to Episode 74 (The Weather Forecast is Calamitous), Mark and Joe assess the likelihood that a reverse migration of displaced climate refugees will happen anytime soon. (Recorded June 28, 2024.)
Just as colleges are finally being forced to pay their long-exploited student-athletes commensurate with the revenue they generate for their schools, we’re beginning to hear about private equity firms investing in college sports programs. Joe and Mark give it the old college try in analyzing the implications of this development on college athletics specifically and higher education generally (hint: they ain’t good). (Recorded June 14, 2024.)
Over the past several years, bail reform laws—changes to the criminal legal system to reduce unnecessary pretrial detention, especially for non-violent offenses—were implemented in jurisdictions throughout the country, and many advocates for criminal justice reform welcomed these changes as long overdue. There ensued a backlash, howerver, in which conservatives blamed recent increases in crime on bail reform and claimed it led to a rash of opportunistic recidivism by folks who should have been behind bars pending trial. But did bail reform really cause an uptick in crime? Mark and Joe separate the facts from the hyperventilation. (Recorded May 25, 2024.)
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s neurotechnology startup, recently live-streamed footage of a paralyzed man with a brain implant playing video chess using only his mind. According to Musk, that’s just one of many medical applications for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). But it is BCI’s non-medical applications that are generating controversy among ethicists, in the way they aspire to create a symbiosis between people and AI meant to keep humanity from falling too far behind machines. Joe and Mark assess the state of BCI technology and whether the coming age of human-computer hybrids is cause for excitement, trepidation, or both. (Recorded May 10, 2024.)
A common argument among sports fans is whether coming through “in the clutch” — where an athlete is said to raise his or her level of performance in the most important moments of the game — truly exists. Some cite chapter and verse of their favorite players doing spectacular things under intense pressure to bolster their argument for its existence, while others insist with equal vehemence that clutch is a figment of the imagination, unsupported by the data. Well it’s the bottom of the 9th, folks, and Mark and Joe go deep on whether clutch is fact or fiction. (Recorded April 12, 2024.)
"Inflation will be with us for years to come." "You can’t lower inflation without raising unemployment." "Supply chain disruptions will cause a recession." These are some of the fables told in recent years by economic forecasters. Their job is to use empirical methods to explain why certain things happen in the economy but they’re notoriously bad at it, their predictions no more reliable than that of a palm reader. Why is this so? Joe and Mark assess their record, offering some explanations for why it’s so terrible, and consider how “the dismal science” might step up its game. (Recorded March 22, 2024.)
Electric vehicle charging stations were recently installed in the parking lot of Joe’s apartment complex, and that got him thinking about how our country’s transition to EVs is going. Have Americans been sufficiently incentivized to go electric? Are there enough public charging stations to accommodate growing demand? And what are the implications for America’s rickety power grid? With only a single charge, Mark takes us on a road trip through the history of EVs and forecasts when we’re likely to see a critical mass of them on the road. (Recorded March 8, 2024.)
In recent decades, the Democratic Party has hemorrhaged support from the working-class white voters who once formed the backbone of its New Deal coalition. While Dems have maintained a slight electoral majority over the last three decades, they’ve struggled to enact their agenda in a minoritarian political system. What might it take to turn a slight edge into a durable governing majority, and which politician might lead them to that promised land? Joe has his eye on John Fetterman, and he and Mark discuss Fetterman’s career, the issues he champions, and whether he heralds the return of blue-collar liberalism. (Recorded February 23, 2024.)
This podcast has spent a lot of time on AI, whether in connection with its effect on the workplace, its application in products like drones and cars, its ability to create art, or how it’s changing robotics. But it hasn’t addressed the inevitable idea raised by all those breakthroughs, which is how humanity will reckon with machines when they’re smarter than we are. Until now, that is. Mark and Joe think about what artificial general intelligence and the singularity might require in the way of ultra-careful design and containment strategies. (Recorded February 2, 2024.)
January always seems to bring a spate of articles about how the new year will be “The Year of This” or “The Year of That.” 2024 has already been christened by some as “The Year of Robots.” It sure seems like we’ve heard that refrain before, and yet robots are still not part of our daily lives. Why not? Joe and Mark discuss the history of robots, two reasons why their development lags behind that of AI, and whether we’re failing to notice a golden age of robots all around us because we’re expecting them to look like Robby or C-3PO. (Recorded January 12, 2024)
Mansplaining continues a tradition with its 4th annual holiday-themed episode, though this time it's with a more personal question than we usually tackle on this podcast. What are you thankful for? Mark shares a story about an event from his childhood that changed the trajectory of his life, while Joe offers a short list consisting both of things that give his life meaning and things that are front of mind. Think about your answer as you listen to ours.
The proponents of effective altruism believe that, when it comes to charitable giving, we should use reason and evidence to make the greatest positive impact. The recently convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried proclaimed himself an adherent of EA. Should his exposure as a crook make us think twice about it? Joe and Mark appraise whether EA is a valuable moral compass, a convenient smokescreen, or maybe something more complicated.
One of the most intractable issues in contemporary U.S. politics is immigration. Politicians in both parties have talked about comprehensive immigration reform for decades, yet no legislation is forthcoming. Is that because there’s no good compromise to be had, or is it because one party (guess which one) has turned its back on all immigrants, even legal ones? Mark and Joe compare notes on what sensible immigration policies might look like.
What if our entire reality—everyone and everything we see and experience—is an elaborate simulation, a virtual reality app designed by a technologically advanced civilization? (Yes, just like in The Matrix.) That’s what simulation theory posits, and Mark asked Joe whether there’s any “truth” to it (a fool’s errand, if indeed we’re living in said simulation). Joe and Mark consider an idea that might seem the province of late night conversations in dorm rooms or pubs but has a surprisingly distinguished philosophical pedigree. Is Mansplaining part of the simulation? Perish the thought!
The annual commemoration of the “heroes of 9/11” got Joe thinking about the concept of heroism. What does it take to be a hero? Why do we anoint certain qualities as heroic? And what better person to answer these questions than Mark, with his PhD in mythology? Mark and Joe trace the origin of the idea of the hero in ancient literature, its modification by Christianity, the development of modern American notions of heroism, and how, at the end of the day, heroes are at heart an argument about the world.
All the fuss about the new generation of AI products based on large language models, with their ability both to ghost-write term papers and spew out occasional misinformation in so doing, makes you wonder whether artificial intelligence will ever live up to the second part of its name. Joe and Mark discuss what it means to be intelligent, how close (or not) AI comes to that standard, and what it might take to design a truly intelligent machine. (Recorded September 15, 2023.)
Mark and Joe briefly played organized football as kids; for both, it didn’t end well. Today, Joe is a parent of a son who didn’t play football and wouldn’t have been allowed to, even if he had wanted to play. Given the enduring uber-popularity of football, Joe asked Mark, who doesn’t have children, whether he would let his hypothetical son play football. Mark’s answer marches down the frozen tundra of head injuries and the difference between actual and perceived risks before scampering into the end zone of clarity. Would he or wouldn’t he? Tune in to find out.
In recent years, the media has been rife with stories about prominent scientists and labs manipulating research data. Such behavior recently cost the president of Stanford University his job, and headline-grabbing findings in several disciplines have been discredited. Is this the canary in the coal mine signaling a much larger problem? Joe and Mark test the hypothesis that scientific data is hopelessly corrupted by examining the perverse incentives of the scientific industrial complex as well as the burgeoning infrastructure for investigating research discrepancies. (Recorded August 11, 2023.)
In a summer plagued by heatwaves, wildfire smoke, and biblical rainfall, it’s natural to wonder whether this is the new normal for our weather. Scientists warned about many of these particulars, but even they’ve been stunned at how quickly they’re coming to pass. Mark and Joe contemplate whether climate calamity will render vast swaths of the United States uninhabitable over the next few decades, and whether our getting used to once-in-a-century weather events happening with frightful regularity might be part of the problem. (Recorded July 28, 2023.)
The core idea of universal basic income (UBI) is to reduce poverty by providing people with periodic cash payments sufficient to get by. Guaranteed minimum income programs for the needy have been around forever, but unconditional cash payments to every citizen have been tested only on a limited basis thus far. Joe and Mark examine the best arguments for and against UBI before considering whether the thrifty logic of targeted payments to some is preferable to the broad acceptance achievable by identical payments to all. (Recorded July 14, 2023.)
Politicians love to pay lip service to taming the deficit, but when they’re in power, they invariably do the opposite, cutting taxes and/or increasing spending. And yet, despite all that seeming fiscal recklessness, the U.S. economy remains strong. It makes you wonder: maybe deficits aren’t such a big deal after all. In the second of a two-part episode about our burgeoning national debt, Mark and Joe consider whether deficits matter by conducting a chronological tour of economic thinking, from classical liberalism to Keynesianism to neoliberalism to Modern Monetary Theory. Is the Left right? Is the Right wrong? We’ve got some answers. (Recorded June 30, 2023.)
Every couple of years, our elected representatives play a game of chicken that’s the subject of breathless headlines predicting dire consequences. Will we or won’t we avert financial disaster? We’re talking about the debt ceiling, of course. All that hysteria makes you wonder what would happen to ordinary Americans if the United States actually defaulted on its debt. In the first installment of a two-part episode, Joe and Mark discuss why the debt ceiling exists, what a default would mean, and what we might do to prevent one from happening. (Recorded June 16, 2023.)
It’s getting more and more difficult to live one’s life without owning a smartphone. After holding out for years, Joe finally broke down and got one after both his employer and his favorite baseball team made it a requirement to have a mobile device to do business with them. Joe asked Mark whether it will someday be impossible to be a citizen and functioning member of society without one. Join Mark and Joe as they ponder the sacrifices necessary to go without, and whether that renders you (to use James Joyce’s memorable phrase) "outcast from life’s feast."(Recorded June 2, 2023.)
It appears we’ve been sold a bill of goods. For the longest time, workers have been told that innovative new technology is going to improve productivity and lead to shorter work weeks and more free time. This story has been told since the advent of the assembly line more than a century ago, through the rise of computers and the internet, and now in connection with AI. And yet, the promised life of leisure never seems to materialize. Why not? Joe and Mark discuss a few possible reasons why Americans don’t cash in their productivity dividend. (Recorded May 19, 2023.)
Though not strictly a partisan phenomenon, the knee-jerk NIMBY ("not in my backyard") reaction is an impulse that wealthy liberals and progressives employ in many different contexts, whether to protect their coastline views from offshore wind farms or to shut down the siting of a homeless shelter or high-density housing in their urban neighborhoods. But where does this impulse come from, why is it so powerful, and what can be done to counteract its often pernicious effects? As Mark and Joe learn, it all goes back to how the primitive fear response sometimes triumphs over our ideological commitments in ways that are difficult—but not impossible—to remedy.
For the first time, Mansplaining tackles a question posed by one of its listeners! This particular question doesn’t have a single correct answer, but it does lend itself to spirited discussion about what is and is not a pop song, and the elements that make a pop song great. Joe and Mark delve into that and much more before each disclosing their nominees for "Best (Written) Pop Song Ever." (Recorded April 13, 2023.)
The recent bankruptcy of a large regional sports network that carries the games of nearly half the teams in MLB, the NBA and NHL has some people wondering what happens when the old economic model that enriched everybody in professional sports doesn’t work anymore. Mark is one of those people, so he asked Joe to look into the matter and predict what’s next for pro sports. Turns out, it’s a sobering story of cord-cutting, the digital transition, and the atomization of society. (Recorded March 24, 2023.)
Conservative politicians love their bogeymen, and you can make a good argument that the bogeyman du jour in American politics is critical race theory. It’s a constant topic in conservative media and the target of legislative bans in red states all over the country. But do its critics actually know what the term means? Joe doesn’t think so, and so he asked Mark to mansplain it for the rest of us, with a focus on why it’s been such a lightning rod for political controversy. (Recorded March 3, 2023.)
A growing chorus of biogerontologists thinks aging is a treatable disease rather than a natural process that leads to disease for some people. It’s easy to be cynical about the motivation behind such thinking—that is, it simply signals unwillingness to accept our own mortality. But what if a focus on decelerating the aging processes would lead to the reduction or even eradication of many of the diseases that plague our aging population? Joe and Mark weigh the evidence for and against such a proposition, and happily, you won’t die of old age while waiting for the answer. (Recorded February 17, 2023.)
It’s been 64 years since the United States admitted any new states to the union—the longest period in our history. Though most observers would say that the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are at the head of the line to become our 51st and 52nd states, the case for admitting either one is not a slam dunk, especially given the anti-majoritarian tilt of current U.S. politics. Mark and Joe consider the arguments pro and con, as well as the likelihood of the 51st state coming to be anytime soon. (Recorded February 3, 2023.)
Given the booming numbers of people who report that they don’t belong to any religion (30% in the USA, 70% of young people in Europe), you’d think that religion is not long for this world. But might those numbers mask the persistence of spirituality even as organized religion steadily declines? Joe and Mark separate the wheat from the chaff and the faithful from the “nones” in scrutinizing what we gain and lose from religion’s demise, and what might fill the space in peoples’ lives that religion once occupied. (Recorded January 20, 2023.)
It’s been said that New Year’s Day is the closest thing we have to a truly global holiday. People of all different religions and ethnicities recognize it, but how did that come to be? It’s a complicated story involving competing lunar and solar calendars, Julius Caesar’s scientific adviser, a 16th century pope, and a two-faced Roman god. Mansplaining’s New Year’s resolution this year is to understand how the world coalesces around January 1st as the beginning of the year. (Recorded January 6, 2023.)
The last few years have seen rapid improvement in AI’s ability to generate original text, images and music – so rapid that it got Mark thinking about what that means for the people who make their living as writers, musicians and visual artists. This being Mansplaining, he asked Joe about it. Joe and Mark discuss the implications of computer-generated art, how it’s already affecting artists, and what “art” even means when it can be generated by anyone at the press of a button. (Recorded December 16, 2022)
Pornography has been around for ages, but the worldwide web made it accessible in ways unimaginable to prior generations. That dog-eared copy of Playboy that Joe and his friends stashed under a bush in their local park has been replaced by countless websites just a click away for practically anyone, anywhere. Mark and Joe examine the implications of ubiquitous porn, what it means for a generation of kids who consume porn before they have sex, and what we can do about it. (Recorded December 2, 2022.)
Mark Zuckerberg renamed his company from Facebook to Meta to signal that he’s all in on building the metaverse—the next-stage internet, betting billions that it will be the next big thing. Will it meet his expectations, or is it the technological white whale that takes down Meta and all others who pursue it? Joe and Mark discuss what the metaverse might look like, whether it will live up to its hype, and who might want to spend (too much) time there.
There’s another epidemic in America right now: an epidemic of vaping. Just as the number of cigarette smokers was in decline, we have e-cigarettes with flavors like bubblegum and mango that make them irresistible to teenagers. As the FDA ponders whether to formally approve e-cigs as smoking cessation devices, Mark and Joe explore whether vaping has any redeeming value or whether it’s just the nicotine-industrial complex’s newest tactic to hook a new generation of addicts. (Recorded November 4, 2022.)
It’s fair to say that Russia is having a tougher time in Ukraine than anyone (outside of Volodymyr Zelenskyy) expected. The vaunted Russian military is performing very poorly, at least compared to our image of it from the Soviet era. But why? And might a diminished Russia pose an even greater threat to world peace? Joe and Mark discuss Putin’s folly, the nuclear threat, and what it all might mean for the rest of us. (Recorded October 21, 2022.)
It used to be that the movies were where you found profound meditations on subjects that mattered, while TV was the place for frivolous, escapist fare, but it sure seems like those roles have flipped in recent years. Joe asked Mark whether TV and streaming platforms are now ground zero for capturing the cultural zeitgeist. Join Mark and Joe as they consider the state of screens large and small and the possibility that you might find multiple zeitgeists within our atomized society. (Recorded October 7, 2022.)
When it comes to charter schools, people working on education policy tend to sort themselves into two camps: the lovers and the haters. Charters are either dramatically improving the way we teach and learn, or they’re a right-wing plot to siphon money from public education and undermine teachers’ unions. So, which is it? Class is in session as Joe and Mark look at the history of charters, the fierce debate over their utility, and whether they’re part of the problem, the solution, or (spoiler alert) both. (Recorded September 23, 2022.)
It’s a simple question, really: Why can’t we control guns in America? The answer is also deceptively simple: It's because we’re afraid. Mark and Joe explore the deep divisions around gun control, the even deeper-seated fear of victimization informing the uniquely American behavior of stockpiling firearms, and how dry recitations of facts and statistics about gun violence are no match for our primordial fear of real or potential dangers. (Recorded September 2, 2022.)
In college, one of Mark’s professors warned him not to interpret a memorable line about love in Homer’s Iliad to mean romantic love, which was, she said, a notion that first arose in Europe during the Middle Ages. Ever since, Mark’s been wondering whether that's true, so he asked Joe about it. Join Joe and Mark as they ponder a question immortalized by Cole Porter: What is this thing called love? (Recorded August 12, 2022.)
A controversial 2001 academic paper suggested that there’s a connection between Roe v. Wade’s legalization of abortion in 1973 and the reduction in crime that followed a generation later in the 1990s. With crime again rising in a post-Roe America, Mark and Joe discuss the Donohue-Levitt hypothesis, the many alternative explanations offered since its publication, and whether it’s even possible to know the truth of the matter. (Recorded July 22, 2022.)
It’s strange to think that laughter – involving the involuntary and sometimes loud expulsion of air, and which sometimes renders us helpless, struggling to breathe and with tears streaming down our faces – is a helpful evolutionary adaptation, but it is. Joe humors Mark with an explanation of how this came to be. (Recorded July 8, 2022.)
The COVID-19 pandemic killed millions of people around the globe and devastated cities that experienced the seismic shock of a severe economic downturn that emptied downtowns and shuttered many businesses. Many cities have still not returned to the pre-pandemic normal. Mark and Joe contemplate what our biggest cities may look like in a work-from-home world. (Recorded June 17, 2022.)
Mark can’t fathom how it’s legal to take out a big loan to buy a company, then transfer all that debt to the newly-acquired company and force it, in effect, to pay off its own purchase price via draconian cost-cutting measures that can destroy it in the process. He challenged Joe to make the case for such transactions. Together, Joe and Mark try to make sense of leveraged buyouts, vulture capitalism, and the “barbarians at the gate” who employ these tactics. (Recorded May 27, 2022.)
On a recent tour of college campuses with his daughter, Joe noticed how many more women were on campus than men, so he asked Mark whether this was true, and if so, why. Join Mark and Joe as they discuss the very real phenomenon of declining college enrollment, why it disproportionately affects men, and what that portends for college education, for gender roles, and for the economic and cultural health of the nation. (Recorded May 13, 2022.)
Sports are not only big business, they’re emotionally meaningful to millions of people throughout the world. But why? Aren’t there so many better and more important things to do with our lives? Mark asked baseball-loving Joe what it is we get from watching sports, individually and collectively. Joe and Mark cover all the bases before sliding home with the news that, done in moderation, watching can yield great gifts. (Recorded April 29, 2022.)
The U.S. Senate’s recent unanimous passage of a resolution to make Daylight Saving Time permanent would save us the annoying chore of adjusting our clocks twice a year. But is it the right thing to do? Mark and Joe review the history of timekeeping in the United States and the relative merits of Daylight Saving Time and Standard Time, before deciding which they prefer. Do not sleep on this episode of Mansplaining! (Recorded April 15, 2022.)
It’s a choice a lot of us face every day: whether to give cash to a panhandler on the street or instead donate that money to a charity that serves the homeless and tries to get them off the street. Mark asked Joe to decide which method is better, and Joe’s research into “paternalistic” versus “agentic” giving led to some soul-searching about his own charitable instincts. (Recorded April 1, 2022.)
Let’s face it: some people are never, ever going to take a COVID vaccine. A member of Joe’s family is one such person, and he really wanted to know where that point of view came from, so he asked Mark for help. Mark and Joe discuss the anti-vax position, the larger phenomenon of distrust that’s central to understanding it, and how we can work to navigate a seemingly unbridgeable ideological divide. (Recorded March 18, 2022.)
If there were a list of intractable problems our country faces, homelessness would certainly be on it. The solution proffered by many advocates – more affordable housing – seems simple enough, but there’s a reason why problems like homelessness are not easily remedied. Joe and Mark talk about homelessness in America today, its many root causes, and why it requires solutions that go above and beyond simply building more housing.
There’s been a lot of chatter in the media lately – no doubt influenced by the publication of two recent books on the subject - about whether the United States is on the brink of a second civil war. Having each read one of the aforementioned books, Mark and Joe discuss whether Civil War v2.0 is likely anytime soon and, if it were to happen, what such a conflagration might look like. (Recorded February 18, 2022.)
For the last few decades, Americans have taken it as gospel that crime has been falling, a belief that’s supported by reams of data. But what if the data is being manipulated by police commanders so that it looks better than it really is? Joe and Mark wade into the sea of crime statistics to see how they’re gathered and whether they’re trustworthy. (Recorded February 4, 2022.)
U.S. diplomatic personnel stationed in Havana, Cuba first reported it more than five years ago: a piercing, high-pitched sound, often followed by headache, nausea, and vertigo. Since then, such incidents have been reported all over the world, including in our nation’s capitol. To date, the U.S. government has no good explanation for the strange phenomenon known as Havana Syndrome. Mark and Joe examine this unsolved mystery and run through possible causes. (Recorded January 21, 2022.)
You know those good deeds you do for others and others do for you? What if somebody told you that every one of those acts is actually selfishness in disguise? Well, that’s what some scholars think about altruism, and it rubs Mark the wrong way, so he asked Joe about it. Join Joe and Mark as they examine whether altruism exists and the reasons why it need not be subject to a purity test. (Recorded January 7, 2022.)
It’s hard not to be demoralized by the news these days, what with a worldwide pandemic still raging, climate devastation upon us, and a completely dysfunctional political system seemingly unable to address these issues or lift us out of our national doldrums. But take heart; the news isn’t all bad. Mark and Joe discuss some things that are going right in the world, and why a dose of wise optimism might be warranted. (Recorded December 17, 2021)
In all the thinking you’ve done about viruses lately, whether it be COVID or the flu or just the common cold, did you ever wonder whether they’re alive? Mark has puzzled over that question for years, so he asked Joe about it. Join them for an audio primer on what viruses do and whether they deserve their own branch on the tree of life.
Joe started his first Spotify playlist nearly ten years ago and never looked back. It completely changed the way he consumed music, and now he fervently hopes it doesn’t go the way of the 8-track tape. Mark takes Joe through the history of the digital music business, whether today's streaming model is sustainable, and what the impacts are on the music industry, artists and consumers. (Recorded November 12, 2021.)
Mark and his wife want to find a larger apartment in Seattle, but the rents are ridiculous. Joe owns an apartment in New York only because of the legacy of dead in-laws. Housing costs are sky-high in many places in the USA and show no signs of abating. Joe and Mark explore why this is the case and what we can do about it. (Recorded October 29, 2021.)
We’ve been told, seemingly forever, that driverless cars were just around the corner, but we never seem to turn that corner, leading one to wonder: is this really happening? Mark and Joe cruise down the highway of autonomous driving technology, taking care not to crash into unidentified objects along the way. (Recorded October 15, 2021.)
JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter novels, has been labeled a TERF — a "trans-exclusionary radical feminist" — by trans activists who object to her gender critical views. Joe and Mark examine this dispute, the fissures that separate the trans and feminist communities, and why there ought not to be a cold war brewing between them.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York is the latest in a long line of politicians to be sent packing due to sexual misconduct. Joe suspects the Venn diagram of politicians and sexual harassers has a lot of overlap, and it has everything to do with power dynamics. Mark runs Joe’s hypothesis for a test drive and concludes that it’s a bit more complicated than a simple thirst for power. (Recorded Sep. 17, 2021.)
In the past decade or two, a seeming populist wave ushered in right-wing governments clear across the world. For some, at least, it was reminiscent of the rise of fascism in Italy, Germany and Spain prior to WWII. Joe and Mark chew over what causes populist waves to form and what happens when populists take power. (Recorded September 5, 2021.)
What if the Derek Chauvin jury had done the same thing as the jury in the trial of the four L.A. cops accused of beating Rodney King - ignored both the law and the video evidence and delivered a "not guilty" verdict? Mark and Joe discuss the history of jury nullification, its use (and abuse) in English common law and American history, and whether it still has a place in our current legal system. (Recorded August 20, 2021.)
With billionaires launching themselves into space and salivating at the prospect of mining asteroids for precious metals, we’ve come to an inflection point for what used to be called the space program. Joe and Mark ponder whether future space exploration is likely to be the domain of governments, private interests, or some combination of the two. (Recorded Aug. 7, 2021.)
With the fate of the arcane U.S. Senate filibuster likely to be the most important domestic political news story of President Biden’s first term, Mark and Joe trace its history, how it came to be the legislation-killing blunt instrument that it is today, and what we might do about that. (Recorded July 23, 2021.)
Automation has already changed some workplaces, and robots are likely coming for many more American jobs in the years to come – maybe even yours. Joe and Mark examine whether massive job displacement is on the horizon, how knowledge workers will be affected, and what we as a society can do to mitigate its effects. (Recorded July 9, 2021.)
In anticipation of the release of a U.S. government report on “unexplained aerial phenomena” later this month, Mark and Joe ponder the most likely explanation for UFOs and, despite the human predilection for flying saucers, why alien visitation probably won’t unfold the way it does in Hollywood movies and sci-fi novels. (Recorded June 19, 2021.)
The Biden administration’s recent proposal to create a new health agency designed, among other things, to “end cancer as we know it” evokes a similar pledge made by Richard Nixon in 1971. Joe and Mark explore why, a half century later, cancer is still a major killer, why it’s so hard to cure, and what steps we can take to mitigate its toll in lives and dollars.
Christie’s recently auctioned a non-fungible token (NFT) by a noted digital artist for $69 million. NFTs are unique files that live on a blockchain, but what’s an NFT, and what’s a blockchain? Mark gives Joe a verbal primer on cryptocurrencies and their use in the speculative trading of digital art ... and some other, not so savory applications. (Recorded May 21, 2021.)
Joe and Mark consider recent advances in drone technology and AI that may soon lead to the chilling prospect of fully autonomous weapons coming to a battlefield near you. Given the likelihood that a rogue state or non-state actor will inevitably open Pandora’s box, how might this technology change warfare, and what can we do about it? (Recorded May 7, 2021.)
"I saw it with my own eyes' – but is that still good enough? Mark and Joe explore deepfake technology and its many applications—some arguably positive, others unquestionably scary and problematic. In a world where seeing is no longer believing, what does the truth look like, and how do we know what’s real? (Recorded April 23, 2021.)
Climate change is forcing us to consider monumental changes to our way of life, including rethinking the wildly inefficient and unconscionably wasteful way we produce meat. Which begs the question: are hamburgers toast? Joe and Mark chew on the likelihood of conventional meat being replaced by a new generation of plant-based substitutes, lab-grown delicacies, and everything else that might reside in the future of meat.
Since 2004, more than 1,300 communities in the USA have lost a newspaper, and when the daily paper is a thing of the past it will be replaced by ... what, exactly, and what might be the implications for our democracy? Mark and Joe survey the landscape of “news deserts” and speculate about what might lie ahead.
Joe and Mark consider the Congressional resolution that has progressive hearts aflutter, while conservatives are in a tizzy at the prospect of losing access to the hamburger-industrial complex. Is the Green New Deal a slogan, legislation, or something in-between, and might it someday become the law of the land? (Recorded March 12, 2021.)
Mark and Joe trace the history of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, from its genesis in the 1920s through the ratification wars of the 1970s, and try to guess whether recent efforts to get it across the finish line are likely to succeed. (Recording date: February 26, 2021.)
Why do some people lose their memories? When you lose your memory, what is it that you’re losing? Joe and Mark discuss the umbrella of neurocognitive disorders known familiarly as dementia, as well as the way memory works and why we forget. Will you remember reading this blurb? ( (Recorded February 12, 2021.)
The recent federal antitrust lawsuits against Facebook and Google mark a rare area of agreement in our polarized political culture. Seemingly everybody wants to do something about Big Tech, though for very different reasons. But should these companies be broken up? Mark and Joe take quick tour through the history of antitrust and examine the pros and cons of breaking up Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. (Recorded Jan. 31, 2021.)
Without inhaling, Joe and Mark catch a whiff of the best arguments for and against legalizing drugs. Includes a brief history of drug use in the USA, a chronicle of the ill-advised "War on Drugs," and how the topic of legalization lends itself to strange political bedfellows. (Recorded Jan. 15, 2021.)
Mark and Joe slide into Major League Baseball’s surprising decision to integrate the Negro Leagues with the major leagues. Is it even feasible to combine the statistical records of different leagues playing at different times under different conditions, and might baseball’s gesture inadvertently diminish the ballplayers of color that it was meant to honor? (Recorded Jan. 1, 2021.)
Why is Christmas such a big deal, and how did it become so important? Joe and Mark trace the history of a religious holiday’s roots in ancient European winter solstice festivals, and its long and winding road to becoming the cultural juggernaut it is today. (Recorded Dec. 18, 2020.)
Mark and Joe review the newest political catchphrase to polarize America, examining its origins, the longstanding debate among advocates of abolishment versus reform, and a careful redirection of police resources might look like, before concluding with their proposals for a better slogan. (Recorded December 5, 2020)
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Joe and Mark ponder “the Hispanic vote,” its influence on the 2020 presidential election, and the sneaking possibility that it’s not the monolith many Democrats assume. (Hint: it’s not. Taping date: November 20, 2020.)
The demise of movie theaters has been predicted for decades, but COVID-19 might be the thing that finally does them in. Mark and Joe examine the history of the cinema-industrial complex, its prospects for survival, and what “going to the movies” might look like a generation from now. (Taping date: November 6, 2020.)
Joe and Mark explore the origins of the electoral college, why it made sense at our nation’s founding, and whether there are any good reasons for retaining it today. (Recorded October 23, 2020.)
Mark and Joe place Kanye West’s strange presidential campaign in the context of recent third-party candidacies and examine whether it’s likely to play a spoiler role in the race between Trump and Biden. (Recorded October 9, 2020)
Joe and Mark consider the epic wildfires currently ravaging the western United States and try to parse the role that climate change plays in these intensifying conflagrations. (Taped September 25, 2020.)
Mark and Joe review the surprisingly long and checkered history of American sports boycotts that started with racists boycotting athletes of color and led, most recently, to athletes of color protesting racist cops. Taped September 11, 2020.
Joe and Mark discuss the standoff between BLM demonstrators and Federal agents in Portland, OR and examine whether the same rules and restrictions apply for the Feds as for local police. Taped July 31, 2020.
Mark and Joe review America’s reaction to the “Spanish flu” pandemic of 1918-1919 and how it was similar to, and different from, the way we’re currently responding to COVID-19. Taped August 15, 2020.
No, folks, it’s not a death metal band. Joe and Mark “follow the white rabbit” down the dark hole of QAnon conspiracy theories, why they’ve become so popular, and what that says about all of us. Taped August 29, 2020.