645. Is the Air Traffic Control System Broken?Flying in the U.S. is still exceptionally safe, but the system relies on outdated tech and is under tremendous strain. […]

644. Has America Lost Its Appetite for the Common Good?Patrick Deneen, a political philosopher at Notre Dame, says yes. He was a Democrat for years, and has now […]

Extra: A Modern Whaler Speaks Up (Update)Bjørn Andersen has killed hundreds of minke whales. He tells us how he does it, why he does it, and what he thinks would […]

What Can Whales Teach Us About Clean Energy, Workplace Harmony, and Living the Good Life? (Update)In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal […]

Why Do People Still Hunt Whales? (Update)For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale […]

The First Great American Industry (Update)Whaling was, in the words of one scholar, “early capitalism unleashed on the high seas.” How did the U.S. come to dom […]

Why Does Tipping Still Exist? (Update)It’s a haphazard way of paying workers, and yet it keeps expanding. With federal tax policy shifting in a pro-tip direction, w […]

643. Why Do Candles Still Exist?They should have died out when the lightbulb was invented. Instead they’re a $10 billion industry. What does it mean that we still w […]

642. How to Wage Peace, According to Tony BlinkenThe former secretary of state isn’t a flamethrower, but he certainly has strong opinions. In this wide-ranging c […]

Why Does One Tiny State Set the Rules for Everyone? (Update)Until recently, Delaware was almost universally agreed to be the best place for companies to incorporate. […]

641. What Does It Cost to Lead a Creative Life?For years, the playwright David Adjmi was considered “polarizing and difficult.” But creating Stereophonic seems to […]

640. Why Governments Are Betting Big on SportsThe Gulf States and China are spending billions to build stadiums and buy up teams — but what are they really b […]

How to Make Your Own Luck (Update)Before she decided to become a poker pro, Maria Konnikova didn’t know how many cards are in a deck. But she did have a Ph.D. in p […]

639. “This Country Kicks My Ass All the Time”Cory Booker on the politics of fear, the politics of hope, and how to split the difference.   SOURCES: Cory Booker, […]

638. Are You Ready for the Elder Swell?In the U.S., there will soon be more people over 65 than there are under 18 — and it’s not just lifespan that’s impro […]

What Do Medieval Nuns and Bo Jackson Have in Common? (Update)In this episode from 2013, we look at whether spite pays — and if it even e […]

637. What It’s Like to Be Middle-Aged (in the Middle Ages)The simplicity of life back then is appealing today, as long as you don’t mind Church hegemony, the o […]

636. Why Aren’t We Having More Babies?For decades, the great fear was overpopulation. Now it’s the opposite. How did this happen — and what’s being done about it? ( […]

An Economics Lesson from a Talking Pencil (Update)A famous essay argues that “not a single person on the face of this earth” knows how to make a pencil. How tru […]

635. Can a Museum Be the Conscience of a Nation?Nicholas Cullinan, the new director of the British Museum, seems to think so. “I’m not afraid of the past,” he says […]