Last Thursday, the first American Pope was introduced to the world as Pope Leo XIV. Christopher White, Vatican correspondent at the National Catholic Reporter and author of the upcoming book “Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy,” joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, what his mission for the church might be going forward, and the significance of the papal name he’s chosen as he now looks to lead 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. Learn abou...
May 16, 2025•46 min
We want our airline pilots to fly only when they’re healthy, which can lead to masking symptoms of mental illness. Helen Ouyang is an emergency physician and associate professor at Columbia University. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss rules around pilot health — which can discourage them to seek necessary treatment for fear of being deemed unfit to fly — and why there are both pros and cons to the policy. Her article in The New York Times is “Why Airline Pilots Feel Pushed to Hide Their Menta...
May 15, 2025•45 min
A.D.H.D is a fairly common diagnosis, but some researchers are wondering if we should start taking a more nuanced approach to treatment. Paul Tough is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, and he joins host Krys Boyd to talk about why A.D.H.D. might be experienced by anyone at a given time and might not be a permanent diagnosis, and why doctors are rethinking standard stimulant medications. His article is “Have We Been Thinking About A.D.H.D. All Wrong?” Learn about your ad choi...
May 14, 2025•46 min
Malcolm X, John F. Kennedy, James Baldwin —1963 brought great minds together to work on the common goal of Civil Rights. Peniel Joseph is Barbara Jordan Chair in Political Values and Ethics at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and professor of history and founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how different political perspectives shaped a pivotal year in Civil Rights history and how violence woke...
May 13, 2025•46 min
Humans have an extraordinarily high genetic mutation rate — which just means we’ll never be perfect. Laurence D. Hurst is professor of evolutionary genetics in the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why imperfection is baked into our genetic code, why other species can get rid of “junk” DNA better, and what this means for human evolution. His book is “The Evolution of Imperfection: The Science of Why We Aren’t and Can’t Be Perfect. Learn...
May 12, 2025•46 min
We’ve all had moments of blind rage, but the science says we can be wide-eyed and alert even in our most emotional moments. Ethan Kross is a professor in the University of Michigan’s psychology department and its Ross School of Business and he is the director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the newest research into controlling our emotions so they don’t control us, how labeling feelings as “good” and “bad” helps build a feelings immune system, and w...
May 09, 2025•46 min
The high cost of living combined with a modest bank account has young people asking if they should save or splurge? And many of them are choosing to splurge. Journalist Claire Lampen joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why Gen Z is taking on second jobs and side hustles to pay for meals out, elaborate vacations and other treats that might more prudently be skipped. Her article in The Cut is “Is Everybody Just Living Beyond Their Means?” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
May 08, 2025•43 min
It was first thought schools would close for only a few weeks during Covid, but that stretched into a year. Was it too long? Journalist David Zweig joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what we can learn from school closures during the pandemic and to look at the reality that decisions were based on scientific guesswork. His book is “An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
May 07, 2025•46 min
The early 2000s preached “girl power” to the masses — but that often looked like sex and plastic surgery. Sophie Gilbert, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what coming of age in the early aughts meant for young women in an atmosphere of highly sexualized body image, how porn manifested itself into pop culture, and what society had to say about powerful women. Her book is “Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves.” Learn about your ...
May 06, 2025•46 min
Grandparents raising their grandchildren have taken on a “second shift” of parenting — and it’s exhausting them. Faith Hill, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how lack of childcare is reshaping what used to be the golden years of grandparenting, how it’s changing what retirement looks like, and why saying “no” to family is so difficult. Her article is “Grandparents Are Reaching Their Limit.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
May 05, 2025•47 min
Ed Helms is known as a comedian, actor and writer—and also as an investigator of history’s biggest gaffes. The host of the podcast SNAFU joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the cats that were trained for the CIA, a plan to nuke the moon, and other bad ideas that never saw fruition (thankfully). His book is called “SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
May 02, 2025•45 min
José Andrés joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the hope and nourishment food brings to those in desperate need, how he built his humanitarian mission, and the types of people he surrounds himself with to make the world a better place. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
May 01, 2025•46 min
By the 1920s, 76% of the Native American population was forced to attend boarding schools. Mary Annette Pember is national correspondent for ICT News, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the legacy these schools left behind, from generational trauma to tribes working even today to reclaim their languages and ceremonies, and why the U.S. took this route to assimilate Native populations in the first place. Her book is “Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schoo...
Apr 30, 2025•46 min
The Signal leak from the Department of Defense is just another reason American allies are worried about sharing sensitive intelligence with our country. David V. Gioe is British Academy Global Professor and Visiting Professor of Intelligence and International Security in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London and Director of Studies for the Cambridge Security Initiative and is co-convener of its International Security and Intelligence program. He joins host Krys Boyd to explain w...
Apr 29, 2025•46 min
The friendly, neighborhood library actually came about by centuries of rebellious acts. Director Dawn Logsdon joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the public library came to be so ubiquitous in American life— and so loved, and the age-old efforts to limit the books they distribute. The documentary “Free for All: The Public Library” airs on PBS. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Apr 28, 2025•46 min
Harvey Weinstein is once again in a Manhattan courtroom defending himself against sex crimes charges – allegations that came to light after deep investigative work by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor. The best-selling co-author of “She Said” joins host Krys Boyd to talk about her work uncovering consequential stories, when she knows a story is ready for print, and what attracts her to stories that hold powerful people to account. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Apr 25, 2025•46 min
The Russia-Ukraine war has dragged on for more than three years, but the depths of the U.S.-Ukrainian coordination in the war effort are only now coming to light. New York Times investigative reporter Adam Entous joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the dramatic secret U.S. military missions to Ukraine. And we’ll speak with the mayor of Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, about his appeal to Americans to not forget his country. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Apr 24, 2025•46 min
It’s not every day a serious academic espouses belief in the unexplained — maybe more should? Jeffrey Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss UFOs, souls, déjà vu and how these universal concepts make us more human. His book is “How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Apr 23, 2025•47 min
It was a 900-page policy paper that President Trump disavowed during the campaign, but now Project 2025 is changing life in America. David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the document that offers a blueprint for the second Trump administration, how it wants to align the DOJ with the oval office’s desires, and how it envisions the country changing socially and economically. His book is “The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America.” Learn about your ad ...
Apr 22, 2025•46 min
The Trump administration is deporting alleged violent gang members to a prison in El Salvador — often with little evidence. New Yorker staff writer Jonathan Blitzer joins host Krys Boyd to discuss cases of men mistaken for members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and deported anyway, efforts to get them back, and how the U.S. court system seems one step behind the fast-moving orders from the White House. His article is “The Makeup Artist Donald Trump Deported Under the Alien Enemies Act.” L...
Apr 21, 2025•47 min
Pope Francis has been recently hospitalized with respiratory problems, and now Catholics worldwide watch for news from the Vatican. Christopher White is the Vatican correspondent for National Catholic Register, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the current pontiff’s health and history – and what being the first pope from Latin America means for his legacy and the church going forward. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Apr 21, 2025•45 min
Though they are located at the ends of the Earth, glaciers really do affect your daily life. As part of a conversation on the mysteries and importance of glaciers, host Krys Boyd talks with Dr. Twila Moon, deputy lead scientist and science communication liaison at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, part of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); and Dr. Heïdi Sevestre, an internationally renowned glaciologist whose specializa...
Apr 18, 2025•46 min
A decision as simple as deciding what to wear in the morning can be stressful — what will people think? But our brains are wired this way for a reason. Emily Falk is professor of communication, psychology and marketing at the University of Pennsylvania and the vice dean of the Annenberg School for Communication, where she directs the Communication Neuroscience Lab and the Climate Communication Division of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how our behavior is...
Apr 17, 2025•46 min
Authoritarian regimes sometimes take power all at once – but other times they chip away at societal norms bit by bit. Aziz Huq teaches law at the University of Chicago, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss specifically how the Nazis rose to power and began to persecute Jews in part because the rest of German society just went about its business without objection. His article published in The Atlantic is “ America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State. ” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx...
Apr 16, 2025•45 min
Deep DOGE cuts to the FAA have hit the agency hard. Is the public still safe to fly? Isaac Stanley-Becker, a staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why DOGE layoffs mean safety technicians and other critical roles are understaffed – and why a smoothly running airport system in America is beneficial for the nation’s bottom line. His article is “ The FAA’s Troubles Are More Serious Than You Know. ” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Apr 15, 2025•46 min
D.E.I. may be on the way out, but there are still tools out there for those who want to address structural inequality. Nilanjana Dasgupta is provost professor of psychology and inaugural director of the Institute of Diversity Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss our status quo cultural norms — from the way we speak to who ends up in the C-suite — and how money can influence what we see as blind luck. Her book is “ Change the Wallpaper: Transfo...
Apr 14, 2025•45 min
Feminist author Roxane Gay has put together a compendium of notable feminist works, but even she says it’s not the last word. The contributing opinion writer for The New York Times joins host Krys Boyd to talk about editing a new collection that looks at hundreds of years of feminist writers and why the ideas around women’s rights are always evolving. She’s the editor of “The Portable Feminist Reader.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Apr 11, 2025•47 min
It might not exactly look like a game, but the economy has winners and losers and there are ways to beat the system. Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what she calls the game of economics and why it’s set up for those who are already financially well off to continue winning – and how using game theory can help level the playing field. Her book is “Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.o...
Apr 10, 2025•46 min
Scientists are using the secrets of biology to unlock living well past current human life spans. Venki Ramakrishnan shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for uncovering the structure of the ribosome. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Venki runs a research group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the quest to live forever, if that’s even ethical, and what it looks like to alter our physiology. His book is “ Why We Di...
Apr 09, 2025•48 min
Is it possible that conversations with A.I. can be as effective as talking to a friend or therapist? Author Vauhini Vara joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her experience asking A.I. for critiques and insights into her deepest feelings – and we’ll consider the portrait A.I. creates of us based on what we share with it. Her book is ”Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Apr 08, 2025•46 min
