This week, Audie sits on the other side of the mic and talks about her favorite show, “Love is Blind.” Her conversation is with Anne Helen Petersen on her podcast “Culture Study.” Yes, “Love Is Blind” is reality television, but it has a lot to say about this moment in history and politics. They talk about what works and doesn't work about these shows, and what they say about us as viewers. Learn more about Anne Helen Petersen’s Culture Study newsletter and podcast. Learn more about your ad choic...
Nov 06, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 202
Over the past decade, horror has evolved from cheap thrills to cultural reflection—tackling everything from systemic oppression to collective trauma. Audie talks with writer and filmmaker Tananarive Due, who explains how we got here. And why, in an age defined by fear, horror might just be the healthiest thing to watch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 30, 2025•25 min•Ep. 201
With New York City’s mayoral election fast approaching, one candidate in particular has managed to break through the noise — even outside the five boroughs. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist-backed progressive whose campaign videos have gone viral, has become the face of a growing leftist wave. But is it a one-city phenomenon, or the beginning of something bigger? Audie talks to CNN Contributor Astead Herndon. His story about Mamdani’s campaign was just published in the New York Times Mag...
Oct 23, 2025•28 min•Ep. 200
The WNBA just wrapped its most-watched season in history, with soaring team valuations and unprecedented public interest. But the league is preparing for possible labor tension as players push for greater revenue sharing and ask who really benefits from its success. Audie turns to CNN contributor and host of Naked Sports , Cari Champion, to talk about what the next era of the WNBA could look like: the economics of the game and how a new competitor could redefine ownership, competition, and oppor...
Oct 16, 2025•25 min•Ep. 199
Film director Raoul Peck grew up in Haiti and the Congo, and is no stranger to authoritarianism. So it was an easy “yes” when he was offered access to author George Orwell’s entire body of work, from the original manuscript of “1984” to letters and journals. The result is “Orwell: 2+2=5,” a documentary about how a man named Eric Arthur Blair became the timeless face of truth. Peck talks to Audie about his take on Orwell’s legacy and what it still has to teach us. -- This episode was Produced by ...
Oct 09, 2025•31 min•Ep. 198
This week The Assignment presents the first episode of CNN’s powerful narrative series, Tortured Justice with Omar Jimenez. It’s the story of systemic torture carried out by the Chicago police department over many years starting in the 1980s. The series focuses on James Gibson, who was wrongly convicted and tortured, Andrew Wilson, whose guilt for killing two police officers has not been questioned even as people learned of his torture, and Jon Burge, a police commander who oversaw torture. Subs...
Oct 02, 2025•38 min•Ep. 197
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returned to TV after being suspended for his comments on Charlie Kirk's assassination. It was the latest sign of political pressure shaping the media landscape into something that may have been unrecognizable a decade ago. So how did we get here, and where are we headed? Axios media correspondent and CNN contributor Sara Fischer talks about the forces at play and how they’re influencing everything from talk shows to social media algorithms. This episode was Produced ...
Sep 25, 2025•28 min•Ep. 196
Charlie Kirk’s assassination may be part of a larger “political realignment” in America, that’s according to Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a leading scholar on political violence. She explains what it is, why it's violent, how it could get worse, and possible paths out. This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta and Jesse Remedios Senior Producer: Matt Martinez Technical Director: Dan Dzula Executive Producer: Steve Lickteig Learn more a...
Sep 18, 2025•26 min•Ep. 195
Social media doesn’t just decide what you see — it shapes how you speak. Audie talks to linguist, author and educational influencer, Adam Aleksic to explore how the way we communicate is mutating in the age of TikTok, Trump, and ChatGPT. Adam’s book is called, “ Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language .” -- This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta Senior Producer: Matt Martinez Technical Director: Dan Dzula Executive Producer: Steve Lickteig Learn more about your ad...
Sep 11, 2025•27 min•Ep. 194
One of the biggest shows of the summer was Netflix’s “Hunting Wives,” a raunchy, soapy thriller about gun-toting Texas housewives. It’s the latest hit in a growing wave of so-called “red state entertainment” finding audiences everywhere. Audie calls up comedian and longtime television producer Larry Wilmore to find out what’s driving Hollywood’s pronounced shift away from the hard lean into wokeness we saw just a few years ago. Is this a lasting change, or just another spin of the wheel in studi...
Sep 04, 2025•25 min•Ep. 93
It’s been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. But for many, the storm is not just a memory, it’s an inheritance. At Be Loud Studios, an after-school program that helps young people tell their stories through radio, educator Alex Owens created Born After the Storm a podcast where local teens reflect on Katrina’s legacy. Audie sits down with high school senior Amari Walton, one of the storytellers, and Alex, who leads the program, to hear how the storm’s impact lives on throug...
Aug 28, 2025•27 min•Ep. 192
Dating apps are reporting record breaking numbers. Yet surveys show people across generations and sexualities are partnering less, having less sex, and are feeling increasingly pessimistic about the state of American romance. So what’s going on? Audie sits down with Faith Hill – staff writer at The Atlantic, who closely covers ‘ The Slow, Quiet Demise of American Romance ’ – for a breakdown of the uniquely modern challenges and consequences of searching for love on your phone. -- This episode wa...
Aug 21, 2025•23 min•Ep. 191
Audie talks with artist and organizer Kennedy McDaniel about how she, and others in her generation -- Gen Z -- are finding connection and power offline through an old school medium: zines. This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta. Senior Producer: Matt Martinez Technical Director: Dan Dzula Executive Producer: Steve Lickteig Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Aug 14, 2025•27 min•Ep. 190
Kamala Harris is stepping back. And Jasmine Crockett – the fiery Texas congresswoman known for viral clapbacks – is turning heads. This week, Audie asks: are “respectability politics” still the price of power for Black politicians, or are the rules finally changing in the age of Trump? NOTUS White House Correspondent Jasmine Wright and GOP Strategist Melik Abdul to help her parse it out. The Assignment is a production of CNN Podcasts. This episode was Produced by Jesse Remedios and Sofia Sanchez...
Aug 07, 2025•36 min•Ep. 189
We’re living in a golden age of yachts, bunkers, and ultra-wealth – and social media is eating it up. Audie talks with journalist and author Evan Osnos about what this era reveals about American culture and class. His book is called, “ The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich .” The Assignment is a production of CNN Podcasts. This episode was produced by Lori Galarreta and Grace Walker. Our Senior Producer is Matt Martinez. Dan Dzula is our Technical Director and Steve Lickteig is ...
Jul 31, 2025•28 min•Ep. 188
In the early 2000s, girlhood became a spectacle. It was sold through reality TV, tabloid scandals, and the early Internet. And it’s still shaping the way we see women today. Audie talks with Sophie Gilbert, culture critic and author of “ Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves . ” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jul 24, 2025•26 min•Ep. 187
President Trump's megabill sets Immigration and Customs Enforcement up to be the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency. Journalist Garrett Graff tells Audie how a relatively new federal agency rose to the top and why people should “get used to” seeing ICE agents in their community. Garrett Graff writes the newsletter Doomsday Scenario and hosts the Long Shadow podcast. For more CNN reporting on ICE’s expansion: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/09/politics/ice-cbp-police-los-angeles-immigratio...
Jul 17, 2025•27 min•Ep. 183
These days, the toy industry isn’t all fun and games. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks sits down with Audie to talk about how trade wars and culture wars are shaping the state of play in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 10, 2025•26 min•Ep. 185
Star Trek legend George Takei has spent a lifetime confronting injustice: his family was sent to internment camps during World War II, he fought for civil rights in the 60’s, and later in life he became an activist in the LGBTQ+ community. Takei talks with Audie about his new graphic book, “ It Rhymes with Takei ,” a story about the experiences that shaped him, and what they say about patriotism, protest, and the state of American democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...
Jul 03, 2025•27 min•Ep. 184
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski spent the past two decades making a name for herself as a Republican who regularly straddles party lines. In a new book, Far from Home , Murkowski delves into her journey navigating hyper-partisan politics -- from the Tea Party to the Trump era. She sits down with Audie Cornish for a conversation about whether there’s still room for pragmatism and consensus-building in the modern-day GOP. Watch this conversation on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po...
Jun 26, 2025•30 min•Ep. 187
Just a few years ago, ‘body positivity’ was everywhere. Then came Ozempic. Audie talks with Virginia Sole-Smith, who spent the past decade writing about ‘diet culture.’ She weighs in on the future of the body positivity in an Ozempic world, and whether the movement and the revolutionary new class of weight loss drugs can coexist. Virginia Sole Smith’s book is called “ Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. ” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jun 19, 2025•34 min•Ep. 182
Protest has long been a tool for change in American life. But in an age of political gridlock and viral outrage, what actually works? Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible— one of several progressive groups organizing “No Kings Day” protests —joins Audie to talk about their strategy, and how they are preparing considering the Trump Administration’s reaction to ICE protests in Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jun 12, 2025•28 min•Ep. 181
Some companies just build products. Others build empires — with innovative leaders who inspire fierce devotion. But when does innovation become something more like faith? Tech journalist Karen Hao joins Audie Cornish to talk about the rise of Sam Altman, the near-religious culture growing around AI, and what it all means for our future — whether you’re feeling hopeful, skeptical, or somewhere in between. Karen Hao’s book is called Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI Listen...
Jun 05, 2025•35 min•Ep. 180
Should you put your DoorDash burrito on a payment plan? Probably not. But Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski argues the rise of "buy now, pay later" -- or BNPL -- services like his are a good thing. He joins Audie to talk about his “healthier” credit alternative, and whether the rise of BNPL is a sign of larger economic strain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 29, 2025•34 min•Ep. 179
As Sean “Diddy” Combs stands trial in New York, the music industry is reckoning with a hard truth: how did he stay untouchable for so long? Music journalist Sowmya Krishnamurthy—who once interned at Bad Boy Records—joins Audie to unpack how hip-hop missed its Weinstein “Me Too” moment. Krishnamurthy is the author of Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion. Get a recap of the Combs trial in your podcast feed, subscribe to "Trial By Jury: Diddy” from CNN Audio. Learn more about your...
May 22, 2025•32 min•Ep. 178
Conspiracy theories are not new. They’re as old as time itself. But if you feel like they’re everywhere right now, you’re not alone. So, what do you do when somebody you love has fallen down a rabbit hole? CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan has been covering the world of misinformation for more than a decade, but now he's less interested in what people believe than why they believe it. So, he’s trying to find out. Listen to Persuadable and follow The Account from CNN here . Learn more about your ad choices....
May 15, 2025•33 min•Ep. 177
Catholicism is having a moment. The election of a new pope set social media buzzing with silly songs and comedy sketches, fantasy pope drafts and power rankings, and last year’s Oscar-winner ‘Conclave’ provided an imaginary reference point for what was happening behind the Sistine Chapel’s closed doors. But the interest goes beyond the papal election: Reports point to a rise in young converts, from JD Vance to Shia LaBeouf to a wave of Zoomers. Audie talks with Christine Emba of the American Ent...
May 08, 2025•35 min•Ep. 176
It’s been called a ‘romantic recession.’ Has love and dating always been this hard? Orna Guralnik, a psychoanalyst and star of Showtime’s Couples Therapy , says she’s seeing political polarization take a toll on modern-day romance. She sits down with Audie for a session on repairing America’s divided relationships, and steps we can all take to find connection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
May 01, 2025•31 min•Ep. 175
The White House Correspondents Dinner takes place this weekend with at least one notable absence: comedy. Standup comic W. Kamau Bell visits Audie to talk about the tough decisions facing artists in the Trump era—and what institutional power plays, like the president’s takeover of the Kennedy Center and the abrupt cutting of Amber Ruffin from the White House Correspondents Dinner, mean for the future of comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Apr 24, 2025•33 min•Ep. 172
The fallout continues from the president’s so-called “Liberation Day,” with the on-again off-again global tariffs and the rising tensions with China. This all has the financial markets bouncing like a yo-yo. Audie talks with CNN Business Senior Writer Allison Morrow about what this means for you and your finances, and whether we’re heading for a recession. Allison writes the CNN Business Nightcap, subscribe here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Apr 17, 2025•28 min•Ep. 173
