This Is Critical

Over the last year, right-wing agitators have turned the academic discipline of Critical Race Theory into the hottest-button issue facing schools. Their anti-intellectual arguments can be maddening. But, paradoxically, the outsized blowback to CRT makes a strong case for it, and for critical theory of all kinds. Victor Ray, sociologist and author of the new book On Critical Race Theory, joins Virginia for a deep dive into both the CRT panic and what the theory actually is.

Homeownership has been synonymous with the American Dream since the New Deal. But after the 2008 financial crisis, millions of low-cost "starter houses" were bought for a song by private equity giants who use them as financial instruments rather than places to live. So what's a homebuyer to do? Journalist Aaron Glantz, author of Homewreckers, joins Virginia to analyze whether there's still hope for ordinary homebuyers.

As heat waves rip across the globe, many climate pessimists are calling this "the coolest summer of the rest of our lives." Umair Irfan, climate reporter at Vox, joins Virginia to talk about the real impacts of extreme heat on humans, and the moral obligation we have to solve this problem — with resources that already exist.

The $4.4 Trillion (with a T!) wellness industry has captured the minds, bodies, and wallets of many women. But what are we actually paying for? Longtime scholar of the fitness landscape Rina Rapheal, author of the new book The Gospel of Wellness, joins Virginia to try to understand our winding and often demoralizing quest to feel "better." 

In the wake of Dobbs, the conversation about digital privacy — and how abortion seekers can protect their data from law enforcement — has exploded. But what's actually important to online security, and what is a red herring? Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, joins Virginia to get to the bottom of what individuals can do to keep their most personal data safe.

In a time when people are more dug in than ever on partisan beliefs about the world, is it ever possible to change anybody's mind? Science journalist David McRaney, author of the new book How Minds Change, says yes. He and Virginia investigate the psychology of how we come by our beliefs — and the tried-and-true methods social scientists recommend using to change peoples' minds — even on hot-button issues.Listen to David's podcast with ex-Westboro Baptist Church member Megan Phelps-Roper here.

Until the 1920s, public pools were all over this country, racially integrated and a popular summer activity for all. So what changed? Historian Jeff Wiltse, author of Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America, joins Virginia to recount the history of public pools in the 20th century — and share the pleasures of swimming together, as the world grows hotter

Nearly a year and a half after the Capitol was breached, the January 6th Committee is making its case to Congress and the nation on TV. But how effective is their storytelling? Story scientist Angus Fletcher joins Virginia to dig into the science of narrative and why this committee has its work cut out for it.

For women, abusive messages from strangers are simply the cost of using social media platforms. But according to Imran Ahmed, Founder & CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, there is both hope and recourse. Imran joins Virginia for a rousing and empathetic conversation about how to navigate – and eventually, end – this online “tax on women”.

It seems like you can't swing a spatula without hitting a claim that eating this way will make you happier, stronger, and more productive. As it turns out, diet trends are neither new nor politically innocuous. Lisa Haushofer, author of the upcoming Wonder Foods: The Science and Commerce of Nutrition, joins Virginia to dig into the outsized promises of idealized foods — and their roots in imperialism and racism. During the course of the conversation, Lisa credited the work of a number of her colleagues; here are those citations.Rosenberg, Gabriel N., and Jan Dutkiewicz. “Abolish the Department of Agriculture.” The New Republic, December 27, 2021. Reese, Ashanté M. Black Food Geographies: Race, Self-Reliance, and Food Access in Washington,. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019.Jou, Chin. Supersizing Urban America: How Inner Cities Got Fast Food with Government Help. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017.Scrinis, Gyorgy. Nutritionism: The Science and Politics of Dietary Advice. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013.Veit, Helen. Modern Food, Moral Food: Self-Control, Science, and the Rise of Modern American Eating in the Early Twentieth Century. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013. 

Today's slime toys are not your kid brother's ooey-gooey, neon-green puddles: they're unicorn-colored, calming, ASMR wonders. Science journalist Daniel Engber joins Virginia to dig into a contemporary cultural history of slime — and why it's more relevant today than anyone could have predicted. 

In Julia May Jonas's shocking debut novel Vladimir, the unnamed narrator — a 58-year-old female English professor — takes her lust for a younger colleague to unimaginably dark lengths. How do the ripple effects of patriarchy impact how we understand, even empathize with her monstrous actions? Jonas joins Virginia to mine the depths.

Eric Eddings and Brittany Luse, hosts of the For Colored Nerds podcast, take Virginia on a wild ride through the wildly popular Internet subcultures of the Black Manosphere and its almost-counterpart, Femininity Coaching. They get into why Black men and women might feel drawn to these reactionary gender roles, and why it seems like each group is talking past the other.

With his bozo ode to testosterone, Tucker Carlson joins the ranks of Mussolini, Berlusconi, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump in a pose of cartoon virility. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author ofStrongmen: Mussolini to the Present  joins Virginia to break down the authoritarian's obsession with this weird flex—and what happens when he can't pull it off anymore.

In The Dropout, showrunner Liz Meriwether created a fictional version of audacious megascammer Elizabeth Holmes. How was Meriwether able to humanize a such a dangerous fraudster? Liz joins Virginia for a rousing conversation on all things The Dropout.

The news that Twitter has a new emperor got people riled up. But what will Elon Musk's takeover really mean for the platform? Game designer Brianna Wu describes how she worked with Twitter to prevent the kind of violent harassment she got during #GamerGate. But with Musk in charge, she says, the most rabid trolls seem to be on their way back.

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in New York shocked the company and voted to unionize this month. It was a David-and-Goliath victory. Reporter Gloria Oladipo tells us how the staggering win came about, and why Gen Z believes their labor movement is just getting started.

Journalist Peter Ward has spent years among the “immortalists,” studying the obscure things they do in hopes of living forever. But what happens when these methods go too far? And what do we lose when immortality becomes more important than living?

Three years ago, reporters Ezra Marcus and James Walsh broke the story of con man Larry Ray and the Sarah Lawrence students he exploited. Now, a week after Ray's conviction, Ezra and James are here to explain what his crimes reveal about the figures we trust most.

Does a shadowy and dangerous Russian philosopher hold the key to the war in Ukraine? Ethnographer Benjamin Teitelbaum explains the life and work of Alexander Dugin—the occultist, far-right folk hero, and geopolitical strategist who says Russia is just getting started.

How we handle our body hair says as much about us as how we dress. Rebecca Herzig, professor and author of Plucked: A History of Hair Removal, explores the culture of shaving, waxing, plucking—and just letting it be.

You can have a decent marriage, and also think your husband is a "snoring heap of meat". Virginia talks with Heather Havrilesky, author of Foreverland: The Divine Tedium of Marriage.

"Brands aren't really real," argues author and brand savant Debbie Millman. At the same time, Coca-Cola once promised to teach the world to sing and neolibs around the world now consider themselves personal brands. So, what's in a brand — and is there any use left in them? 

Don't worry, we will be back to our regularly scheduled programming next Thursday.

Fifteen years ago, Bill Browder became Putin's sworn enemy for fighting corruption in the Moscow business world. Now the author, activist, and Magnitsky Act advocate is here to explain how sanctioning Russian oligarchs can help stop Putin.

We have to stop. Ragen Chastain, the prominent Health at Every Size advocate, explains what we get wrong about weight loss, size stigma, and inclusive healthcare.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ulysses, Virginia's dad and James Joyce scholar James Heffernan shares his love of the notoriously difficult novel. Open to all, no pre-reqs needed.

The namaste folks are just about downward dog and world peace, right? Maybe not. Conspirituality podcast host and former cult member Matthew Remski reveals the sinister rightward lurch of yoga and the wellness industry.

We've all heard that following our passions will lead to a career we love, but labor journalist Sarah Jaffe contends that emotional fulfillment will never come from our corporate overlords, no matter how hard we work for them.

The world of sports is filled with pointless supplements and miracle cures but what happens when the disinformation—about everything from nutrition to Covid—influences the rest of us? Dr. Nicholas Tiller tells us why we're so attracted to bad science, and how to avoid it.

Law professor Ekow Yankah walks us through the advent of DNA evidence and the role of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit dedicated to exonerating the wrongfully convicted.

We enter the k-hole with Dr. Bita Moghaddam, who explains how a dreamlike club drug became a depression treatment, and what you should know before going to that chic ketamine spa down the block.

Dr. Paulette Steeves is trying to overturn the orthodoxy that humans have only been in the Western Hemisphere for roughly 12,000 years. In doing so, she just might change the way we do archeology.

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries describes being on the floor of the House of Representatives during the Capitol attack. Fellow Congressman Jamie Raskin tells us about handling that trauma just a day after burying his son. And writer Jamelle Bouie helps us understand how history will remember January 6.

Deep-thinker and writer Maggie Nelson specializes in calibrating our cultural conversations. What is the right mix of hope and pessimism when talking about climate change? Can we be transgressive while caring for each other? And does true freedom exist?

We get emotional with historian of emotions Richard Firth-Godbehere. Prepare to rethink everything you thought you knew about the motivations behind some of the biggest moments in history.

We unearth the origin story of our nation's most beloved — and reviled — beauty pageant and try to predict its future. Is it time to sunset the whole thing? Our chaperones: Amy Argetsinger (author of There She Was: The Secret History of Miss America) and Kate Shindle (Miss America 1998).

The real problem for the conservative Supreme Court justices hoping to overturn Roe v. Wade is how much reproductive medicine has changed since 1973. Women in the 2020s have many more options for family planning — including abortion pills. Carrie Baker explains.Resources:PlanCPills.orgIfWhenHow.org

We go way too deep on the schmaltzy movies that dominate cable every December with the Defector's David Roth, who has analyzed more than a hundred Hallmark Channel weepies for his highly jolly podcast, It's Christmastown!

Just in time for Thanksgiving: an exploration of manners, from the skating rink to the formal dinner party. Featuring a well-mannered member of the Emily Post etiquette dynasty and an unruly sociologist.

We discuss online romantic fraud with journalist Max Benwell, whose identity was stolen by a catfish. Why do we call it catfishing in the first place? Plus comedy from Kate James.

It's the emotion we most try to avoid, but what if shunning sadness keeps us from being happy? Journalist Helen Russell explains, with a reflection from Mike Albo.

She's been a romance writer, a marketing rep for metal bands, a conservative Member of Parliament, and a broadcaster of bombshell Trump-Russia stories, some true and many un. This week, a rare interview with one of Twitter's most intriguing gadflies. Just don't call her a provocateur.

In his newest novel, Dave Eggers conjures every techno-oligarch's dream: a Google/Amazon chimera that optimizes and commodifies all aspects of life. He explains why that should terrify us, how he came to step back from tech (except for jetpacks), and why everyone can — and should — unplug. Plus, a new social media venture from comedian Kate James.

Katie Hill was one of the Democratic women who flipped the House of Representatives in 2018. But she resigned less than a year into her first term after a sex scandal based on what she calls cyber exploitation. We go behind the salacious headlines to find out why she stepped down when so many male politicians have weathered much rougher storms.

Montel Williams is a figure of nostalgia for people who were fond of his long-running daytime talk show. He's also a pop-culture punchline. But when you hear his story, you'll understand what we've all been missing about Montel.

Don't panic! We will be back with a new episode next Thursday.

For a few hours on Monday, the relentless stream of conspiracy memes, thirst traps, and LuLaRoe pitches went silent. Facebook went unconscious. Meanwhile, a whistleblower prepared to testify in front of the Senate about what exactly Facebook knows about the problems it causes. Virginia Heffernan talks to journalist Steven Levy about what's going on and media scholar Siva Vaidhyanathan about what's next.

We all know that theater loves social justice — or is that just a show? As curtains rise again, we just might have our answer. Virginia Heffernan talks to award-winning playwright Paul Rudnick about Broadway's political evolution, and how hard it is to adapt comedies like The Devil Wears Prada for a new decade, plus a pitch from comedian Kate James.

The NFL is cracking down on it. Donald Trump can't stop doing it. And it's the whole reason for the first rule of social media: “Never read the comments.” Trash talk is uncivil, unsportsmanlike, and not for the faint of heart. But what if you could learn to use it to your benefit? Virginia Heffernan talks to former pro basketball player Dre Baldwin to find out how to trash talk on the court and in life — with some tips and tricks from comedian Mike Albo.

Starting September 23, Virginia Heffernan is examining all the cultural creeds we take for granted — you know, the ideas that are so deeply embedded that you don't even know that you believe them, they're just the air you breathe. Each episode features fearless, sophisticated culture criticism for all generations. Nothing is off limits, nothing dumbed down.