It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

There comes a time in every woman's life that we don't talk about enough: menopause. And reframing it may be the key to unlocking a more fulfilling life for women of all ages.In this episode, Brittany teams up with WNYC's Radiolab to answer your questions about the ubiquitous and unknown. Brittany, Radiolab senior correspondent Molly Webster, and contributing editor Heather Radke answer your questions: why don't we talk about menopause? Why should you start talking about it early in life? And why is post-menopause potentially the greatest time in a woman's life? All these answers and more come from an unexpected place...our mammal relatives, orcas.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 month, Brittany is exploring how you are already seeing the impacts of AI in your daily life. In this episode Brittany is joined by NPR's culture correspondent Chloe Veltman to get into the rise of of the AI digital afterlife industry.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 coming political discourse.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 Harwell and freelance writer Emma Marris about the limits of AI creativity and what this 'slop' is doing to us on and offline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 disappointing we don't have an anthem to point to – but it's also telling.Brittany sits down with Stephen Thompson, host for NPR Music and co-host of Pop Culture Happy Hour, to discuss what we had instead of songs of the summer – and what that tells us about how our musical landscape has changed.To find out Brittany's song of the summer follow her on Instagram: @bmluseLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 racist trope of alligators in Florida and how the joke-ified name of the facility dehumanizes its inmates.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 Brittany and Molly discuss why Swift and Kelce need your attention to fuel the business of their relationship and meet stakeholders's (from fans to the NFL) wants and needs. Plus, Brittany and Molly get into how you can use Swift and Kelce's strategy in your own life.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 culture? Brittany digs into the data and the consequences for the Trump administration with Jasmine Garsd, NPR senior immigration correspondent, and Christian Paz, political correspondent at Vox.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On September 2, 2005, on a telethon to raise money for victims of Hurrican 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 cast a shadow over American politics now...from what celebrities are willing to say to power and why or why not.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 joins Brittany to get into how social media, our legal system, and societal narratives around homelessness create a culture that punishes and mocks people in need.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 with NPR correspondent Shannon Bond and Joan Donovan, assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies at Boston University and founder of the Critical Internet Studies Institute.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 cope with the criticism, and Brendan debuts a new song about his experience. Brendan's new album is out September 26th.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 point? Brittany wanted to know more, and find out why this matters for those of us who don't consume this content. So, she sat down with New York Magazine writer Rebecca Jennings and writer and author Charlotte Shane to discuss the blurry lines of sex work, influencing, and rage bait. For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 journalist, to answer these questions and get to the bottom of why fear of infidelity haunts our culture and our dating lives.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR's Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 these allegations of wrongdoing threaten to topple the fraught media empire he has built. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 platforming of fascist ideals. Brittany is joined by The Atlantic staff writer Spencer Kornhaber to get into the state of public discourse, and how traditional media may led us to this moment.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 why it might take more than willpower to manage our relationships with our phones.Click here to check out the Body Electric newsletter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 Rosie Strout. Together they come out the other side with a message for all of us: it's never too late to write a new love story.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 series, Brittany chats with Chicago Tribune restaurant critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu and food writer and cookbook author Nicole Taylor about summer staples that taste like home.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 commentators like Joe Rogan and Theo Von, some have started asking if Piker is the Joe Rogan of the left? A fan on TikTok did refer to Piker as "the himbo gateway drug to leftist thought."In this special episode, Brittany sits down with Hasan to get some perspective on what's going on with young men, and to find out what Hasan sees that the rest of us are missing.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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?This is... Food for Thought. And for the next few weeks, we're looking at the way food and dining shape our communities and culture. Brittany talks with reporter and video host for The Times' Food section and New York Times Cooking, Priya Krishna, and Eater correspondent Jaya Saxena, to find out.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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, to discuss what this viral moment says about our eroding privacy in both public and private life, and how we've internalized casual surveillance. Do we all carry Coldyplay kiss cams in the form of our phones?Read Kate's article in Lux Magazine about why internet surveillance is killing eroticism here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 your listening habits.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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, we're looking at the way food and dining shape our communities and culture. Today, Erik joins Brittany to dive into the golden age of gay restaurants and how diners have been unsung staples of gay placemaking.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Guest host B.A. Parker discusses the thorniness of beauty culture with Jessica DeFino, a beauty reporter, advice columnist at The Guardian, and writer of "The Review of Beauty" Substack, and Joan Summers, entertainment editor at Paper and co-host of the Eating for Free podcast.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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, Research Associate at the People, Place and Health collective at Brown University, to get into why reading books is on the decline, the battle for our attention, and what people can do to get their reading grooves back.This episode originally published February 3, 2025.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 with Dr. Louks, and Jason Stanley, a professor of Philosophy at Yale University. They investigate the backlash to Dr. Louks, higher education at large, and why "anti-intellectualism" is prevalent in Republican politics. For more, read Jason Stanley's book Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. This episode originally published January 27, 2025.Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus. Join NPR+ today.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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: Sex and the Next Generation's Fight Over Its Future.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Before, during, and after Zohran Mamdani became the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, Republicans and Democrats were both leaning into decades old Islamophobic tropes to delegitimize his candidacy. Meanwhile, young progressives are reclaiming those tropes.Why is Islamophobia politically salient today, and why are both sides of the aisle using it to achieve their own political goals? To answer this, Brittany is joined by Tazeen Ali, a professor of religion and politics at Washington University, and Nathan Lean, professor of religion at North Carolina State University.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What do Trump, JK Rowling, and some feminists have in common? Based on history, more thank you might think.In this episode, Brittany and KQED's Nastia Voynovskaya explore the roots of modern-day transphobia through the story of one music producer, Sandy Stone. Then Brittany is joined by journalist Imara Jones to get into how Trump and JK Rowling's rhetoric matches some of those early feminists.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Republicans have passed President Trump's One Big, Beautiful bill, but is it built on bad faith stereotypes? The legislation guts funding for Medicaid, and for a long time Republicans have been attacking the program as sort of welfare for moochers. Who exactly are these moochers? And could it be you?Brittany is joined by Joan Alker, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families, and Jamila Michener, professor and author of Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism and Unequal Politics to understand how stereotypes about who deserves health insurance affect us all.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This season of Love Island USA has the timeline on fire...but maybe not for the reasons y'all hoped. Is it mirroring our dating lives a little too close?To get into the season, Brittany chats with co-owner of Defector Media, Kelsey McKinney and co-host of Scamfluencers, Sarah Hagi, about the glimpses of romance amidst Love Island's largely unromantic current season, and how the show may be an unfortunate reflection of current dating woes.This episode contains mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In our 'Your Body, Whose Choice' series, we've focused a lot on the present and the future of reproductive health in this country. And now we'd like to share a look at the past from our sister show, NPR's Embedded. Their new 3–part series, The Network, follows a Brazilian women who discovered a method to have safe abortions, regardless of the law. And, as abortion restrictions tighten in the United States, American women have taken note.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani pulled off an astonishing upset this week. In the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, he beat out the long-favored winner, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who conceded the race only hours after the polls closed. The two candidates were of the same party, but held very different positions within it: Cuomo is older, spent more than a decade as Governor and positioned himself as a law-and-order centrist. Mamdani is younger, newer to politics and a total progressive. This is a primary race in just one city, but it's been making national news and could shake up the Democratic party's strategy post-Trump re-election. Brittany sits down with Christian Paz, senior politics reporter at Vox, and Max Rivlin-Nadler, reporter and co-publisher at Hell Gate, a local news site for New York City. They discuss what this race says about where progressive energy is coming from - and why the Democrats might be having a Tea Party moment.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

There's one little statistic that seems to have gained a lot of attention recently: the birth rate. With pro-natalist ideas showing up in our culture and politics, Brittany wanted to know: why are people freaking out? Who's trying to solve the population equation, and how? Brittany is joined by Kelsey Piper, senior writer at Vox, and Gideon Lewis-Kraus, staff writer at The New Yorker, to get into how the birth rate touches every part of our culture - and why we might need to rethink our approach to this stat.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Adriana Smith's pregnancy became an ethical and legal quandary. After being declared brain dead, a Georgia hospital kept her on life support without her family's consent because of the state's abortion laws. Now that the baby has been delivered and Smith taken off life support, Brittany wonders: how has the conservative effort to see fetuses as people overshadowed the lives of the mothers who birth them?This is... Your Body, Whose Choice?And for the next few weeks, we're looking at the cultural, legal, and ideological frameworks shaping reproductive health in America...and what this means for the near and far future of our families, our personal agency, and our planet. Today, UC Berkley law professor Khiara Bridges joins the show to break down everything you need to know about this case and what its implications for the rights of mothers across the country.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Many Millennials are either already in their 40's, or they're staring them down. Are they having a midlife crisis?As this generation enters midlife, their lives look really different from their parents' lives: Millennials are more educated and have a higher median net worth, but the generation is also more unequal than previous generations, has higher debt, and lower rates of homeownership and marriage. How does that all shape what Millennial midlife crises are starting to look like? Brittany finds out with Vox senior correspondent Alex Abad-Santos, who recently wrote an article about the Millennial midlife crisis, and Sara Srygley, research associate at the Population Reference Bureau.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's summer! Which means Brittany is going to be... 1) outside, 2) chilling, and 3) reading. So it's once again time for It's Been a Minute's annual summer books episode!Celebrated romance authors Bolu Babalola and Emily Henry return to the show to discuss their summer reading recommendations, ranging from spiteful and salacious to sweet and spicy.Books discussed in the episode:Sweet Heat by Bolu BabalolaGreat Big Beautiful Life by Emily HenryAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasLush by Rochelle Dowden-LordCasanova LLC by Julia WhalenThe Wickedest by Caleb FemiThe Four Winds by Kristin HannahMatriarch by Tina KnowlesLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In a country where birth control access is in jeopardy and women's medical needs have been historically overlooked, how do social media trends like #lutealphase and "cycle syncing" complicate the narrative? This is... Your Body, Whose Choice?And for the next few weeks, we're looking at the cultural, legal, and ideological frameworks shaping reproductive health in America...and what this means for the near and far future of our families, our personal agency, and our planet. Today, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor Kate Clancy and reporter Lindsay Gellman join the show to clear up the misinformation around menstruation and how the search for guidance can lead to murky waters.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy