The AI digital afterlife industry is here. But can legal and ethical frameworks keep us safe from it? Companies are already popping up to create artificial life-like renderings of your loved ones. So-called "deadbots" can mimic speech patterns and unique facialo gestures, and they can purportedly help people cope with grief. But they are also ripe for commercialization. What's stopping companies from using these so-called AI deadbots from selling you products? This is AI + U . Each Monday this m...
Sep 15, 2025•19 min
How did you respond to the assassination of Charlie Kirk? Many mourned or called for revenge. Others pointed to Kirk's extreme, bigoted statements as justification. But how do those reactions impact how the American public will metabolize another instance of gun violence? Brittany is joined by Abené Clayton , a gun violence reporter for The Guardian, to get into how Kirk's assassination fits into the broader narrative of political violence and how Kirk's own statements about guns will shape the ...
Sep 12, 2025•24 min
There's a new man in town: the "performative male." Is he trying to trick you into thinking he's open-minded, or does he really like reading books and drinking matcha? We're breaking down what's gender performance and what's gender manipulation. In this episode, Brittany is joined by Manny Fidel , host of No Such Thing , and James Factora , staff writer for Them. They get into what makes a "performative male" and why criticism of them is a sign that some liberals are guilty of gender policing. F...
Sep 10, 2025•16 min
Bizarre videos, uncanny photos, and Luigi Mangoine's likeness on Shein...? AI slop is taking over the web. It's putting money in people's pockets, and driving them offline, too. This is AI + U . Each Monday this month, Brittany is exploring how you are already seeing the impacts of AI. Artificial Intelligence has become a constant in ways we can and can't see...and for the next few weeks we're zeroing in on how AI affects our daily lives. Brittany chats with Washington Post tech reporter Drew Ha...
Sep 08, 2025•19 min
KPop Demon Hunters, or as Brittany's mom keeps mistakenly calling it "Kidz Bop: It's the Devil," is dominating the music charts. And, thank god! These bombastic bangers are a welcome reprieve after a summer full of sad songs. We need to talk about those bangers, but we also need to talk about the void KPop Demon Hunters is filling. This summer was lacking a true shiny, shimmering song of the summer. Where were the bops? Where were the ubiquitous, undeniable culture uniting hits? It's disappointi...
Sep 05, 2025•21 min
The Florida detention center, "Alligator Alcatraz," may close, but what can you learn from its short but impactful run? First, the name echoes old Southern American racist tropes and adapts them for a modern audience. Second, its casually playful name is a blueprint for other detention centers popping up across the United States. But what does this all add up to? In this episode, Brittany, freelance journalist Asher Elbein , and Miami Herald race and identity reporter Raisa Habersham unpack the ...
Sep 03, 2025•19 min
It's official: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce posted one of the most liked Instagram photos of all time. Also, they're officially engaged. Swift and Kelce are no strangers to the spotlight, but we still know very little about their relationship aside from what they are willing to share. And Molly McPherson , a public relations expert, says that's no accident. In this episode, Brittany returns to a conversation she had with Molly back when Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce first started dating, and Br...
Sep 01, 2025•16 min
Have Americans changed their minds? Polling on immigration suggests a seismic shift in public opinion. According to Gallup, 79% of Americans now say immigration is a good thing for the country, which is a record high. Plus, the share of Americans who want lower rates of immigration has dropped from 55% in 2024 to 30% this year. And it's not just this poll showing a shift in how we think about immigration. But why has this change happened? And where might we see reverberations of this in our cult...
Aug 29, 2025•17 min
On September 2, 2005, on a telethon to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina, Kanye West went off script and said, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people." 20 years later, would those words have the same impact today? In this episode, Brittany, NPR music correspondent Rodney Carmichael, and Code Switch's Leah Donella revisit that moment and dissect why those words rippled through the nation. They investigate how race and politics intersected decades ago and how those words still cas...
Aug 27, 2025•18 min
Social media is full of images of unhoused people that's either meant to make you angry or laugh. For Leah Goodridge, this content is a new form of 'poverty porn.' 'Poverty porn' used to refer to charity commercials showing malnourished children to evoke empathy from sympathetic viewers. But according to New York City attorney and tenant advocate Leah Goodridge, that kind of imagery has shifted into something more: rage bait. With the center of that rage being homeless people. Leah Goodridge joi...
Aug 25, 2025•18 min
We need to talk about the memes your tax dollars paid for. What is the federal government trying to communicate with them? The social media accounts of the White House and the Department of Homeland Security have been chock-full of memes: memes that mock people being deported, memes that are aimed at recruiting new ICE agents, even a meme that seemingly references a book by a white supremacist. To get into who these memes are speaking to and what story they’re trying to tell, Brittany sits down ...
Aug 22, 2025•20 min
Has online hate ever been this cruel? Brendan Abernathy is a singer-songwriter who went viral earlier this year for an earnest performance of his song "married in a year." The backlash was immediate, and one word popped up over and over again in the comments: "cringe." Brittany and Ramtin Arablouei , co-host of NPR's Throughline , get into the rise of cringe culture: where it comes from, how it's hurting us, and how leaning into cringe is good for art. And Ramtin talks with Brendan about how to ...
Aug 20, 2025•21 min
Sex sells. So does outrage. That's why these sex workers are making rage bait. In the past few months, UK and Australian-based OnlyFans creators like Bonnie Blue and Annie Knight made headlines for their extreme sex stunts, most notably for sleeping with over 100 men in one day. But in addition to these stunts, they also appear on controversial podcasts to gain traction, or do day in the life vlogs - much like your average everyday influencer. And they're making bank. So how did we get to this p...
Aug 18, 2025•12 min
Are you scared of being cheated on? You're not alone. There are apps and social media groups dedicated to outing a cheater. But is our paranoia about cheating actually hurting our relationships? And on top of that, definitions of "cheating" vary widely. How do you decide for yourself what really counts as cheating? And what's really fueling our fear of being cheated on? Brittany is joined by Kathryn Jezer-Morton, writer of the Brooding column from The Cut, and Shannon Keating, freelance culture ...
Aug 15, 2025•17 min
Tyler Perry is many things, but is he someone we should aspire to be? Entertainment mogul Tyler Perry has built a media empire that has spanned theater, film, and television. And he’s recently been accused by an employee of sexual harassment. Brittany is joined by entertainment journalist and author Tre'vell Anderson and SUNY Purchase theater and performance professor William Bryant Miles to dive head-first into the Madea-verse, asking how Tyler Perry became such a media powerhouse, and whether ...
Aug 13, 2025•22 min
Jubilee has become one of the go-to open forums for debate in the digital age. Videos like: "Flat Earthers vs Scientists," "1 Conservative vs. 20 Feminists," and, "What Makes a Real Man?" are just some of the few topics they cover. It's what caused The Atlantic staff writer Spencer Kornhaber to write his article, " Jubilee is Like Gen-Z's 'Jerry Springer Show '". But their most recent video, "1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives," has gone viral for what some feel is a dangerous platformi...
Aug 11, 2025•20 min
Finding it hard to concentrate? Are you glued to social media for longer than you’d like? Well, maybe it’s not you… maybe it’s the phones. Brittany is joined by Magdalene Taylor, writer, cultural critic and senior editor at Playboy , and Fio Geiran, producer at TED Radio Hour and a writer of their Body Electric newsletter, to discuss this phrase: “it’s the phones.” They get into the effects that smartphones have on our brains and our culture, why some people are returning to “dumbphones,” and wh...
Aug 08, 2025•19 min
Have you ever stayed in a relationship, because you felt like it would be too hard to find another partner? This episode is for you. Let this be a lesson for us all. Divorce is on the decline except for one key demographic: people over 50. So, in a world where many of us say it's harder to find friends or new relationships later in life, why are people 50 and up more likely to break up? Brittany is joined by Texas Tech University professor Dana Weiser and University of British Columbia professor...
Aug 06, 2025•19 min
Are you hungry? Brittany has some irresistable recommendations. In this episode, Brittany steps out to find the best American recipes: peanut butter egg rolls and the juiciest fried green tomatoes. Along the way she uncovers the stories of these dishes - ones that could have only come from the Midwest and the South. This is... Food for Thought. And for the past few weeks, Brittany has been looking at the way food and dining shape our communities and culture. And for the last episode in the serie...
Aug 04, 2025•25 min
Not to be dramatic, but would you die for Hasan Piker? For some of you, Hasan Piker needs no introduction. He is one of the leading voices in progressive political content online, boasting a massive 2.9 million followers on Twitch alone. He's polarizing, charismatic, and (kind of) a bro. And his fans love him. Just take this Instagram comment for example: "Not to be dramatic, but I'd die for this man lol." With all the discourse about young men flocking to the political right because of online c...
Aug 01, 2025•27 min
Many people feel that finding a lifelong partner can require a good bit of luck...but can the same be said for lifelong healthcare? Brittany is joined by Maris Kreizman, author of I Want to Burn This Place Down: Essays , to understand the precarious relationship between finding love and finding consistent health insurance. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 30, 2025•16 min
What are you looking for when you're picking a place to eat? And how do you find it? Michelin stars or TikTok? You've heard them referenced on The Bear and maybe even looked out for them when deciding your next meal: Michelin stars. The prestigious one to three star rating system awarded to the best of the best in dining. But Americans are expected to spend 7% less on eating out this summer , and as menu prices increase , Brittany wonders: what really gets people into a restaurant these days? Th...
Jul 28, 2025•17 min
Whether it's the Coldplay kiss cam or screenshots of dating profiles, it feels like any one of our private lives could inadvertently go public any minute now. A Coldplay concert kiss cam video went viral when one couple featured jumped away from each other and hid their faces. The internet quickly identified the concertgoers, and it turned the couple's life upside-down. It makes you think though...could this happen to me too? Brittany talks with Kate Wagner , architecture critic at The Nation , ...
Jul 25, 2025•22 min
For the first time, multiple Christian musicians are charting on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time — and staying there for weeks. Has the mainstream found God? Brittany talks with University of Michigan-Dearborn Professor Emerita Dr. Deborah Smith Pollard and Christianity Today reporter Kelsey Kramer McGinnis to understand the multi-billion dollar machine behind the Christian Contemporary Music genre — who gets shut out, and why this holy conquering on the charts has the potential to impact...
Jul 23, 2025•25 min
What comes to mind when you think of third spaces? A place to be in community that's not a bar or a club? Try a diner... For New York Times writer and author, Erik Piepenburg , diners were and still are institutions for the LGBTQ+ community. In his book, Dining Out: First Dates, Defiant Nights, and Last Call Disco Fries at America's Gay Restaurants , Erik goes on a culinary tour of America to uncover why they've become such unique spaces. This is... Food for Thought. And for the next few weeks, ...
Jul 21, 2025•19 min
Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit donate.npr.org now. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 20, 2025•2 min
What's the difference between "good" work and "bad" work? And how do we talk about the rise in plastic surgery without dehumanizing people for their choices? Rates of plastic surgery are increasing, and minimally invasive procedures like filler and Botox are even more popular. It's also evident on social media that people (including plastic surgeons) are very comfortable speculating and commenting on other people's modifications, what procedures they might've had... and if they look busted. Gues...
Jul 18, 2025•17 min
Data from Gallup and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that Americans are reading fewer books and spending less time reading than ever. There's been reporting on college kids struggling to finish longer texts. And earlier this year, in a viral post, one user lamented their loss of concentration for reading, which led to a larger online discourse about how to approach books again. Brittany revisits her convo with Elaine Castillo, author of the book How to Read Now , and Abdullah Shihipar , Rese...
Jul 16, 2025•20 min
Anti-intellectualism is on the rise. And by "anti-intellectualism" we mean the backlash to scholars in fields like the humanities. According to two intellectuals, Dr. Ally Louks and Jason Stanley , the humanities help us better connect to other humans. According to a lot of online haters, they're worthless. In November 2024, Dr. Louks recently posted her Cambridge University dissertation online and was piled on by a loud group of right-wing anti-intellectuals. Today, Brittany revisits her convo ...
Jul 14, 2025•15 min
Gen Z is having less sex than previous generations. But why? Well, let's be real. There are a lot of very legitimate reasons why young people are afraid of sex right now, many having to do with recent massive political and cultural changes. Brittany gets into why Gen Z-ers are having less sex with Tobias Hess, contributing writer at Paper magazine and writer of the Gen Zero Substack, and Carter Sherman , reproductive health and justice reporter at The Guardian and author of The Second Coming: Se...
Jul 11, 2025•22 min
