Plain English with Derek Thompson

Tech Talk: AI Supremacy, TikTok’s Fate, and Crypto Decadence

Plain History Volume 1: Who Killed President James Garfield?

What's the Truth About Alcohol, Cancer, and Your Health?

The L.A. Fires: How They Happened, Climate Change’s Role, and What the City Must Do Now

‘The Anti-Social Century’: America’s Epidemic of Solitude—and How to Fix It

This interview podcast features Derek Thompson interviewing University of Chicago professor Nick Epley about his research on human social interaction. The podcast explores Epley's findings that people consistently underestimate the positive impact of socializing, often mistakenly prioritizing solitude. Epley details ...

The Big 2025 Economy Forecast: AI and Big Tech, Nuclear’s Renaissance, Trump vs. China, and What’s Eating Europe?

The Year's Biggest Breakthroughs in Science and Tech (Feat.: OK, But Seriously, What Is Quantum Computing?)

A Mysterious Health Wave Is Breaking Out Across the U.S.

It's Worse Than You Think (and That's Good): Oliver Burkeman on Life's Hard Truths

In this episode of the Plain English podcast, host Oliver Burkeman, author of "Four Thousand Weeks" and "Meditations for Mortals," shares insights on the surprising advantages of acknowledging our limitations. He contends that the relentless pursuit of unattainable productivity and control often leads to stress and unh...

What’s the Matter With U.S. Health Care?

Is Crypto Entering a New Golden Age—or Just a New Era of Failed Promises?

Megapod: Why Is There So Much BS in Psychology?

Vaccine Conspiracies, Fluoride Myths, and America’s Broken Public-Health Discourse

The Self-Driving Revolution Is Real—and It Could Be Spectacular

How Trump Won: Young Men’s Red Wave, the Blue-City Flop, and the Incumbency Graveyard

In this podcast, the hosts delve into the surprising results of the 2024 US Presidential election, where Donald Trump emerged victorious by a wide margin, causing a notable shift in the electorate towards the right. They examine several theories behind this outcome, such as the effects of global inflation following the...

How to Watch Election Night Without Falling for Conspiracy Theories or False Hope

This Small Pennsylvania Town Explains the 2024 Election

Why Is Every Recent Presidential Election So Close?

Is Radical Human Life Extension Possible?

In this episode of the Plain English podcast, host S. Jay Olshansky discusses the significant increase in human lifespan over the last century, thanks to advancements in public health and medicine. However, he expresses skepticism about the possibility of radical life extension in the 21st century. Olshansky points out...

America's Young Men Are Falling Behind—and Shifting Right