Podcasts about pbs newshour

Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee are both professors of politics at Princeton. Together they wrote "In Covid's Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us" (Princeton University Press), named one of the best books of 2025 by The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and The Economist, and featured on The New York Times' "The Daily" and PBS NewsHour. The book asks a question few want to spend time with: how did we actually handle the pandemic — and what would we do differently next time? We invited Stephen and Frances on Crazy Good Turns not to relitigate COVID or assign blame, but to look back honestly so that when the next crisis comes, we do a little better. Macedo is a political theorist who has written widely on constitutional law, ethics, and public policy; Lee is a leading scholar of Congress and political polarization. In this episode, we discuss: [04:53] The Book Almost No One Asked For: Why Lee wasn't sure anyone would want to read In Covid's Wake — and why she felt it needed to exist anyway. [07:34] Why We Look Away (This Wasn't The First Time): On the strange quiet that settled after the pandemic — and the echo of 1918, when the country did much the same thing following the Spanish flu. [14:47] No Commission, No Reckoning: We studied 9/11 and the Challenger. We never launched that kind of honest look back at COVID — and Lee explores why. [17:23] Who Suffered the Most: How a response framed as protecting the vulnerable, they argue, so often landed hardest on essential workers, small businesses, and our kids. [26:57] The Case for a "Team B" in Every Crisis: Macedo on what he calls an "effortful pause" — room for dissent, and a wider table than just the experts who already agree. [38:06] Reasons for Hope: Why Macedo thinks we will do better next time, and why he's bullish on students who were in junior high in 2020. My Sincere Thanks Because of listeners like you, our show now ranks among the top 5% of most-downloaded podcasts by volume per month. Your support has helped take our little idea to celebrate generosity and good deeds and turn it into one of the most-listened-to podcasts available. Thank you for being part of a community that celebrates people who do good things for others. Please help us continue to grow by subscribing on your preferred podcast platform and sharing our show with friends.

On this episode I'm joined by Santiago Campos. Santiago is headed to Georgetown University in the fall. He went to school at DC International School where he learned journalism, and had a piece was featured on PBS News Hour and in Teen Vogue.Santiago has been awarded multiple scholarships. One of them was from CBS in honor of broadcast legend Mike Wallace. He spoke critically of what is happening at the network. Very critically. If you're listening to this podcast, I'm guessing you saw clips of his speech or at least heard about it. I'm curious about that, but I'm more curious about everything that led up to it and what he thinks is coming after it. That's what we talked about.Santiago's YouTube page - https://www.youtube.com/@sant1agocamposSantiago's speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG5obCt98zASantiago's PBS story about his family https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/family-who-lived-through-1950s-u-s-deportation-effort-reflects-on-current-climateSantiago's story about a man detained by ICE and his family https://studentreportinglabs.org/youth-reporting/an-immigrant-father-detained-by-ice-shares-his-story-of-fear-and-survival/Santiago's salutes: More Perfect Union and independent journalist Johnny Harris.Subscribe to our newsletter hereYou can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here,Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.orgVisit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark Simon's website MarkSimonmedia.comMark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

In Hour 4, Segment 1 of The Charlie James Show on August 11, 2026, host Charlie James counts down the final 53 minutes until polls close, taking calls and Facebook messages from Upstate voters reporting polling locations, numbers, and candidate choices in Spartanburg, Cowpens, Paris Mountain, Boiling Springs, Pickens, Piedmont, Anderson, Simpsonville, and Inman. Callers share turnout updates, with multiple voters supporting candidates Ralph Norman and Mark Lynch. Steven from Piedmont raises questions about candidate Darlene's campaign finance filings and out-of-state donations, prompting James to analyze potential runoff scenarios. Finally, Wade in Toccoa calls in to criticize PBS NewsHour for reporting on Secret Service security protocols surrounding presidential transport.

Today's guest is Tania Rashid. She is an award-winning correspondent and producer who reports across the globe, with a career spanning CNN International, PBS NewsHour, NBC News, National Geographic Channel, VICE News, and others. She was a correspondent on VICE's Criminal Planet series, including the episode "Butchered for Profit: Inside Organ Trafficking," which goes inside the global black market for organs to meet the surgeons and traffickers profiting from it, with reporting spanning Mexico, China, and Pakistan.You can find more of her work at: https://www.taniarashid.com/ Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original Sponsors: Firecracker Farm Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at ⁠https://firecracker.farm/⁠ (00:00) "I Think I'm Going to Sell Their Kidneys" (00:29) Meet Tania Rashid (01:00) From Saudi Arabia to Salt Lake City: Tania's Origin Story (09:51) Inside "Butchered for Profit": Pakistan's Organ Trade (20:31) Mexico's Cartel-Run Organ Trafficking Networks (28:34) Why Exposure Doesn't Equal Change (30:40) Earning Trust With Traffickers and Cartel Members 35:24 Trauma, Healing & Advice for Future Journalists Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I am interviewing Bruce Friedrich, the author of the newly published book "Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity's Favorite Food―and Our Future." Bruce Friedrich is the president and founder of the Good Food Institute, one of the leading think tanks working to make the global food system better for the planet, people, and animals. As an international network of organizations, they advance alternative proteins to help meet climate, global health, food security, and biodiversity goals. Bruce Friedrich serves as GFI's chief thought leader and relationship-builder, working in close partnership with GFI's global teams and food system stakeholders around the world. Before founding the Good Food Instiute, he served as Director of Policy for four years at Farm Sanctuary. Prior to that, he worked at PETA for 15 years as Head of Public Campaigns, leading many of the organization's highest-profile and most memorable campaigns. Bruce has penned op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Nature Food, Wired, and many other publications. He has represented GFI on the Ezra Klein Show, Making Sense (Sam Harris), TED Radio Hour, New Yorker Radio Hour, PBS News Hour, and a variety of other podcasts and TV programs. Bruce's TED talk has been viewed almost 2.5 million times and translated into 30 languages. Nature featured Bruce's 2026 book Meat as one of its five “best science picks,” and Publishers Weekly selected Meat as one of the 10 best new releases in science, writing: “This packed account makes food science feel like an urgent and essential undertaking.” The book has also received praise from Nobel Laureate in economics Michael Kremer, primatologist Jane Goodall, and science fiction master Kim Stanley Robinson, among many others. Bruce graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown Law and also holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University, the London School of Economics, and Grinnell College. This episode was produced by Jack Lucas Chang.

Stephanie Malia Krauss shares her journey from a GED recipient to a thought leader in human development. She discusses the concept of rehumaning our lives amidst modern challenges, emphasizing the importance of collective care, sleep, community, and lifelong learning for thriving in a digitized world. For more than two decades, Stephanie has worked with schools, youth programs, foundations, and government partnerships, helping communities rethink how we care for young people and ourselves. She began her career as a teacher and coach, went on to found a school for youth furthest from opportunity, and later led national efforts in education and youth development.Working with leaders from the classroom to Congress, Stephanie advises states, school districts, and national nonprofits on holistic strategies that prepare and care for kids. Her work blends research with lived experience, always asking what it takes for young people to thrive over the long haul.Her newest book, HowWe Thrive: Caring for Kids and Ourselves in a Changing World, introduces the concept of rehumaning: the practice of protecting and prioritizing what makes us most human in an increasingly demanding world. She is also the author of Whole Child, Whole Life and Making It, and her work has been featured on PBS NewsHour, NPR, U.S. News& World Report, Scary Mommy, and more. Get In Touch:https://www.rehumaning.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemaliakrauss/Substack:https://substack.com/@stephaniemaliakraussInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniemaliakrauss/

On Wednesday, July 15, The Bulwark's Will Sommer and Sarah Longwell joined BigTentUSA to discuss Longwell's new book, “How to Eat An Elephant.”Longwell, a former member of the Republican Party, and now a leading voice in the Anti-MAGA movement, discussed the importance of engaging with voters of any party to develop a reform plan that goes across ideological party lines, while also recognizing that change won't happen overnight.Drawing on insights from thousands of voter focus groups, Longwell explored why certain political issues resonate with the public while others fail to break through, emphasizing the importance of clear messaging and compelling storytelling. The conversation also covered the state of the MAGA coalition, voter reactions to recent political controversies, the evolving political landscape, and themes from Longwell's forthcoming book.As we head closer to the 2026 midterms, Longwell provided viewers with a deeper understanding of the priorities driving today's voters and the communication strategies she believes are essential for building a broad, winning coalition. * Check out The Bulwark: * Tune in to Sarah's Podcast “The Focus Group”: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/thefocusgroup* Learn more about Sarah's latest book: https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/how-to-eat-an-elephant-9781250464170/* Check out Will's twice-weekly newsletter: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/false-flag* Check out Will's book here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/trust-the-plan-will-sommer?variant=41063526957090hABOUT THE SPEAKERS:Sarah Longwell is the publisher of The Bulwark, which she co-founded in 2019, and host of the podcast “The Focus Group“, now in its sixth season. The Bulwark is one of the fastest-growing independent digital media companies and a home for honest, pro-democracy news and analysis.A recognized expert in qualitative research, Sarah has hosted hundreds of focus groups and spoken with thousands of voters nationwide. Her work digs into what motivates voters and how they view major political issues, with a focus on persuadable swing voters, including current and former Trump voters. Her insights have been featured on PBS NewsHour, CNN, MSNBC, and elsewhere.Will Sommer is a senior reporter at The Bulwark, where he writes the “False Flag” newsletter on right-wing media and online beliefs. Sommer's work focuses on how conspiracy theories and disinformation shape our politics and country, often spilling over from the internet into the real world. He previously worked for The Washington Post and The Daily Beast. Sommer is the author of “Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bigtentnews.substack.com

Millions of college students nationwide will graduate next month only to face one of the most challenging economies and job markets in years. To help navigate their financial future, NY Times bestselling author Beth Kobliner offers Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your 20s and 30s. The book has already sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has helped young people avoid financial pitfalls for three decades. Now, a brand new 5th edition helps millennials and Gen Z with financial fundamentals they probably didn't learn in college. Dig out of credit card debt, implement a budget, choose the best student loan repayment plan, how to start an IRA, etc.Beth, formerly of Money magazine, has contributed to outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, MS NOW, CNN and PBS NewsHour.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

The latest NewsBusters study of the guests interviewed on the “PBS News Hour” now shows the liberal-conservative disparity to be 5.2 to 1. Removing their government funding might have encouraged a deeper leftist tilt. But at least conservatives aren't forced to support it.

OA1277 - We continue our coverage of the Trump administration's criminalization of dissent with a brief update on the sentencing of the last remaining Prairieland defendant and a closer look at similar federal prosecutions of ICE protesters in Minneapolis, Spokane, and a number of other jurisdictions. Matt then explains how the DOJ just complicated a case against someone alleged to have leaked the second Jack Smith report in the funniest possible way. Finally, in today's footnote: that one time that Dan Crenshaw and William Shatner tried to make Starfleet happen. “Final federal Prairieland ‘antifa' defendant sentenced to six years after helping shooter evade arrest,” The Dallas Morning News (6/6/2026) Indictment in United States v. Stuckart et al., Eastern District of Washington (7/9/2025) “DOJ Targets Anti-ICE Demonstrators with Conspiracy Charges,” PBS Newshour on Instagram (3/31/2026) Indictment in United States v. Sant et al., District of Minnesota (6/11/2026) Trump's Spaghetti-Against-the-Wall Indictment Against ICE Protesters — and How to Fight It, The Intercept (6/17/2026) “As ICE protesters like ‘Spokane 3' are targeted, many still stand up,” Seattle Times (6/15/2026) “In-Your-Face DOJ Aide Rides Prosecutors for ‘Chief Client' Trump,” Bloomberg (2/19/2026) ‘Go Big and Go Loud': Inside the Justice Dept.'s Push to Prosecute Protesters, New York Times (3/19/2026) Indictment in United States of America v. Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, Southern District of Florida (5/19/2026) “William Shatner Wants to Know: What the Heck is Wrong With You, Space Force?” William Shatner, Military Times (8/26/2020) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

As we come to the 250th celebration of America's founding, what is happening in our country? Pundits, writers, historians, political scientists, and average citizens are all trying to take stock of where we are as a nation. In this episode, we seek perspective by returning to the conversation between Mark Labberton and David Brooks immediately following the 2024 election, before the beginning of Trump's second term and all the events that have unfolded since. Whether you come to the 250th celebrating our national life, or questioning our national life; whether you're in support of what's happening currently in America, or whether you're overwhelmed by so much that you wish was different, may we give thanks. Thanks be to God for the place that we get to live, even as it's a place that is struggling to reach its ideals, and may we continue to pray and seek its welfare, its justice, its purpose, its fairness, and its equity. In this episode, Mark Labberton welcomes David Brooks (The Atlantic, formerly of The New York Times) for reflections about the 2024 General Election, the state of American politics, and how we got here. Together they discuss the multi-generational class divide; sources of alienation and distrust; how loss of faith and meaning influences political life; intellectual virtues of courage, firmness, humility, and flexibility; what it means to be a Republican in exile; the capacity for self-awareness and self-critique; and much more. Episode Highlights "In my opinion, Donald Trump is the wrong answer to the right question." "The flow of status and respect in this country has gone to people with elite credentials." "If you tell 51% of the country 'Your voices don't matter,' people are going to get upset." "Jesus was more a badass revolutionary than an Oxford don." "The world just loves a human being that's trying to act like Jesus." Helpful Links and Resources "Confessions of a Republican Exile" (The Atlantic): https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/10/trumpism-republican-party-exile-david-brooks/680243/ How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, by David Brooks: https://www.amazon.com/How-Know-Person-Seeing-Others/dp/059323006X My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer, by Christian Wiman: https://www.amazon.com/My-Bright-Abyss-Meditation-Believer/dp/0374534373 David Brooks's current writing at The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-brooks/ Brooks and Capehart, PBS NewsHour: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/brooks-and-capehart About David Brooks David Brooks is staff writer for The Atlantic and is Presidential Senior Fellow at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. Prior to that he wrote for The New York Times for 22 years*.* He is author of How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen; The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life; Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There; The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, and is founder of Weave: The Social Fabric Project. Show Notes A spiritual or emotional crisis we're working out in American politics Should we blame inflation and economic factors? (Biden's Covid-19 overstimulation) Class divide is a generational thing High-school-educated voters are increasingly alienated from the Democratic Party Alienation and distrust is a multi-decade process Loss of Faith, Loss of Meaning, and the "Death of God" An exiled Republican "Confessions of a Republican Exile" (via The Atlantic): "A longtime conservative, alienated by Trumpism, tries to come to terms with life on the moderate edge of the Democratic Party." "I'm a Whig." ("Abraham Lincoln was a Whig.") Edmund Burke and epistemological modesty—"don't revolutionize something you don't understand." You should operate on society in the way you operate on your father, with care. Alexander Hamilton Whig tradition is unrepresented in contemporary American politics How David Brooks waffles between Democrat and Republican Isaiah Berlin: "At the rightward edge of the leftward tendency." "The capacity for self-critique" Matt Yglesias Humble, introspective, and "how did we get so out of touch?" Racism and sexism are not what's driving Trump voters "In my opinion, Donald Trump is the wrong answer to the right question." Mark Noll and America's use of the Bible: un-self-aware and un-self-critical Why is there more capacity for self-critique on the Democratic side? Jonathan Rauch and "Epistemic Regime": includes media, universities, scientific research, review process, etc. "There's still a core of people who believe 'if the evidence says x, you should say y.'" "The greatest victory in the history of the world." Intellectual Virtues: Courage, Firmness, Flexibility "Reality is constantly going to surprise you." 1980s Republicanism was more intellectually sophisticated Conservative book publishing *Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change* by Jonah Goldberg How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks "The Stacking Stereotype" "A redistribution of respect" (away from large swaths of America and to elites) "The flow of status and respect in this country has gone to people with elite credentials." "… almost no Trump supporters." "If you tell 51% of the country 'Your voices don't matter,' people are going to get upset." America changing beneath us High level of spiritual and moral authority and low level of intellectual confidence The moral teaching of the New Testament "People are unitary wholes." "I became a Christian around 2013." "Jesus was more a badass revolutionary than an Oxford don." C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien's Christianity "What it's like to be in the claustrophobic mind of a narcissist." Aggression: a joyless way to see the faith What is needed? "I was a 50-year-old atheist." Christian Wiman (My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer): materialistic categories couldn't explain the world "If they made me pope of the evangelicals, which is a job that makes me shudder…" "Be not afraid." "The world just loves a human being that's trying to act like Jesus." David Brooks's teaching at Yale The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist by Dorothy Day #Conversing #DavidBrooks #MarkLabberton #FaithAndPolitics #AmericanPolitics #HowToKnowAPerson #ChristianHumanism #Election2024 Production Credits Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment magazine and Fuller Seminary.

Human beings have always loved to gamble. Archeological records suggest we've been doing it for the last 12,000 years, since the end of the last Ice Age. But for as long as we've been playing games of chance, we've worried about what they might be doing to us. For thousands of years, everyone from Aristotle to George Washington condemned gambling, an ancient anxiety that ran so deep it became something like a moral consensus. And then that consensus evaporated. In the span of a decade, both Canada and the US legalized sports betting. Now anyone with a smartphone and a credit card can wager on basketball, hockey, or American cornhole. But it turned out that was just the beginning. A few years later came “prediction markets” like Kalshi and Polymarket that let you bet on, well, just about anything: whether the US will invade Cuba, the odds of James Comey being sent to prison, and whether Jesus Christ will return before 2027. That last one, by the way, is currently sitting at 3 per cent on Polymarket. If betting on missile strikes, military coups, and political prosecutions feels kind of gross, I'm with you. But James Surowiecki thinks we should give prediction markets a chance. Surowiecki is the author of The Wisdom of Crowds, a book he wrote more than 20 years ago, where he argued that large groups of ordinary people are actually better than experts at making predictions. It's become something of a foundational text for these markets: the idea that they can crowdsource knowledge, aggregate what millions of people believe about the future, and use that signal to make better decisions. So I wanted to have James on to make the case for prediction markets, and to see if he could make me feel just a little less squeamish about a world where you can gamble on everything. Mentioned The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki (Doubleday, 2004).  Francis Galton, “Vox Populi,” Nature 75 (1907): 450–451 — the–ox-weighing experiment. The 1986 Challenger disaster and Morton Thiokol's stock: Maloney & Mulherin, “The complexity of price discovery in an efficient market,” Journal of Financial Economics (2003).  Kalshi (prediction market platform). Polymarket (prediction market platform). The 2024 “French whale” (Théo), who used neighbour polls to bet roughly $85M on a Trump win — CBS–News / 60 Minutes. The Polymarket trader's well-timed bets on the June 2025 US strikes on Iran — CNN– The market on the length of a Karoline Leavitt White House briefing Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and the earnings-call “mention markets” — Tec–Crunch. The market on Maduro's removal and the ~$400K Venezuela payout — PBS–NewsHour. The Zohran Mamdani NYC mayoral market — DL –ews. The market on Bad Bunny's first Super Bowl LX song — Pol–market. DARPA's Policy Analysis Market (the “terrorism futures” proposal, cancelled after backlash in 2003) — CNN–(2003). The 1979 Iranian Revolution as a US intelligence failure — Nat–onal Security Archive, George Washington University. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, I am joined by Bruce Friedrich, the founder and president of GFI (Good Food Institute) and author of MEAT: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity's Favorite Food—and Our Future, released in February 2026. From Bruce's bio: Bruce has penned op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Nature Food, Wired, and many other publications. He has represented GFI on the Ezra Klein Show, Making Sense (Sam Harris), TED Radio Hour, New Yorker Radio Hour, PBS News Hour, and a variety of other podcasts and TV programs. Bruce's TED talk has been viewed almost 2.5 million times and translated into 30 languages.To connect with Bruce:Visit the book website: https://meatbook.org/GFI website: https://gfi.org/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brucegfriedrichInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegoodfoodinstitute/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@thegoodfoodinstituteBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gfi.orgTo connect with me:Follow me on Facebook and Instagram @didyoubringthehummusDYBTH merch now available! Check out the shop here: https://did-you-bring-the-hummus.myspreadshop.comFor more info on my Public Speaking 101 program: ⁠https://www.didyoubringthehummus.com/publicspeakingforactivists⁠Contact me here or send me an email at info@didyoubringthehummus.comSign up for meditation sessions hereSign up for The Vegan Voyage, to sponsor the podcast, book meditations packages, or sign up for my Public Speaking program hereJoin my Podcast Fan Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/didyoubringthehummus/To be a guest on the podcast: https://www.didyoubringthehummus.com/beaguest©2026 Kimberly Winters - Did You Bring the Hummus LLCTheme Song ©2020 JP Winters ⁠@musicbyjpw⁠

In our 42nd episode of This F*cking Guy, Erin and Alyssa dive deep into the past of the most uptight motherf*cker on the planet, Chief Justice John Roberts. From his early days as a “soberpuss” scholar, to playing the long game to gut the Voting Rights Act, to being the ringleader of malicious intent on the Citizens United ruling, to his obsession with being perceived as a Fancy Law Boy Institutionalist, this may be one of our most phony guys yet.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.Sources:Roberts started on path to success at young age (The Washington Times)The Supreme Court's Power Grab (The New York Review)Entering a new Supreme Court term, John Roberts is as enigmatic as ever (The Christian Science Monitor)Biographies of the Robes: John Glover Roberts (Thirteen PBS) No More Mr. Nice Guy (The New Yorker)Court Nominee's Life Is Rooted in Faith and Respect for Law (New York Times)In the Rough (Slate)Portrait of the Chief Justice as a Family Man (The Washington Post)Does John Roberts' Whites-Only Childhood Home Explain the Supreme Court's Callais Ruling? (Slate)Roberts' Conflicts Of Interest (CBS News)Roberts's Rules (The Atlantic)Did Roberts Help Fuel AIDS Scare? (Science)Chief justice tumbles after seizure (CNN)The Pro-Money Court: How the Roberts Supreme Court Dismantled Campaign Finance Law (Brennan Center)John Roberts: Supreme Court Nomination Hearings from PBS NewsHour and EMK Institute (YouTube)Money Unlimited (The New Yorker)‘They come to me': Jane Roberts' legal recruiting work involved officials whose agencies had cases before the Supreme Court (Politico)Trump v. CASA Inc. (Oyez)Citizens United, Explained (Brennan Center)

OA1271 - The single stupidest war of choice the U.S. has ever gotten itself into may finally be coming to an end--or at least the concept of a plan for an end? We go beyond the headlines to see what is actually in this thing, and take on some of the most interesting legal questions raised here. How could this possibly bind Israel, a country which specifically refused to be a party to it? How is the U.S. promising a $300 billion investment which hasn't been authorized by Congress? And how much power does the President of the United States really have to end Congressional and international sanctions? We then take a quick look at how DHS's  surveillance state is coming along before going deeper on the recent denial of Judge Hannah Dugan's final effort to vacate her conviction for allegedly obstructing an ICE arrest in her Wisconsin courtroom before sentencing. Finally, a quick hoofnote: is it really possible to accidentally purchase 80,000 pounds of live cattle? Matt reveals the truth behind this week's funniest legal meme. Full text of U.S./Iran agreement signed June 18, 2026 “Missing children: Mullin describes 'horrific' migrant child smuggling scheme under Biden admin,”News 3 Las Vegas on YouTube (6/12/2026) Management Alert - ICE Cannot Monitor All Unaccompanied Migrant Children Released from DHS and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Custody, Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General (8/19/2024) “Has the US government found 145,000 ‘lost' migrant children? Fact-checking Kristi Noem,” Politifact via the Minnesota Reformer (3/9/2026) ICE agent calls legal observer 'domestic terrorist', Ken Klippenstein via Breakthrough News on YouTube (1/24/2026) 'There is no database for protestors,' acting ICE director tells Congress, PBS NewsHour on YouTube (2/10/2026) Acting ICE director Todd Lyons' response to a letter from Congressman Maxwell Frost (D-FL), accessed through NPR (4/21/2026) Mission Creep: AI Surveillance at DHS Crosses Dangerous Line Into Tracking Americans, American Immigration Council (2/6/2026) Declaration of Nicole Cleland in Tincher v. Noem, Minnesota District Court (1/21/2026) “ICE has spun a massive surveillance web. We talked to people caught in it,” NPR (3/5/2026) Decision and Order in United States of America v. Dugan, Eastern District of Wisconsin (6/16/2026) “Livestock,” CME Group (standard settlement procedures) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

The New York Knicks won the NBA Finals, claiming their first championship in 53 years and ending the league's longest title drought. Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump celebrated his birthday. Trump is scheduled to attend the G7 summit in France, and reports suggest a deal with Iran may be signed on Friday. This agreement has generated controversy among Democrats, who argue it could resemble the nuclear deal negotiated under President Obama. Mark interviews Boston radio host Howie Carr. Howie and Mark, discuss how Democrats frequently highlight perceived mistakes by President Trump and Republicans. The upcoming deal between Israel and Iran, which Trump is expected to sign, is being debated for its potential impact on Middle East peace, gas prices, and the upcoming midterm elections. They also noted that President Trump often ends his Truth Social posts with the phrase, "Thank you for your attention to this matter," speculating about its significance. They also shifted to Elon Musk's impact on wealth creation, with Howie and Mark debating public perceptions of the now-trillionaire.  Mark recapped last night's UFC fight held on the White House lawn, a highly publicized event criticized by many Democrats. He also commented on the PBS NewsHour, describing it as one of the most left-leaning news programs on television. Mark highlighted that Knicks players are set to receive substantial bonuses following their championship win. Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX went public on Friday, sparking intense media commentary and criticism from some cable news hosts. Mark interviews radio legend Scott Shannon. Scott described the electric atmosphere in Manhattan as fans crowded streets, restaurants, and bars to watch the New York Knicks' championship run. The Knicks' upcoming victory parade, set for Thursday, is anticipated to be the largest in the franchise's history. Scott also highlighted that Taylor Swift was recently inducted as the youngest woman ever into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he shared his memories of first meeting Swift early in her career.

Mark recapped last night's UFC fight held on the White House lawn, a highly publicized event criticized by many Democrats. He also commented on the PBS NewsHour, describing it as one of the most left-leaning news programs on television. Mark highlighted that Knicks players are set to receive substantial bonuses following their championship win. Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX went public on Friday, sparking intense media commentary and criticism from some cable news hosts. Mark takes your calls!  Mark interviews radio legend Scott Shannon. Scott described the electric atmosphere in Manhattan as fans crowded streets, restaurants, and bars to watch the New York Knicks' championship run. The Knicks' upcoming victory parade, set for Thursday, is anticipated to be the largest in the franchise's history. Scott also highlighted that Taylor Swift was recently inducted as the youngest woman ever into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he shared his memories of first meeting Swift early in her career.

Mark recapped last night's UFC fight held on the White House lawn, a highly publicized event criticized by many Democrats. He also commented on the PBS NewsHour, describing it as one of the most left-leaning news programs on television. Mark highlighted that Knicks players are set to receive substantial bonuses following their championship win. Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX went public on Friday, sparking intense media commentary and criticism from some cable news hosts.

Mark recapped last night's UFC fight held on the White House lawn, a highly publicized event criticized by many Democrats. He also commented on the PBS NewsHour, describing it as one of the most left-leaning news programs on television. Mark highlighted that Knicks players are set to receive substantial bonuses following their championship win. Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX went public on Friday, sparking intense media commentary and criticism from some cable news hosts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark recapped last night's UFC fight held on the White House lawn, a highly publicized event criticized by many Democrats. He also commented on the PBS NewsHour, describing it as one of the most left-leaning news programs on television. Mark highlighted that Knicks players are set to receive substantial bonuses following their championship win. Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX went public on Friday, sparking intense media commentary and criticism from some cable news hosts. Mark takes your calls!  Mark interviews radio legend Scott Shannon. Scott described the electric atmosphere in Manhattan as fans crowded streets, restaurants, and bars to watch the New York Knicks' championship run. The Knicks' upcoming victory parade, set for Thursday, is anticipated to be the largest in the franchise's history. Scott also highlighted that Taylor Swift was recently inducted as the youngest woman ever into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he shared his memories of first meeting Swift early in her career.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New York Knicks won the NBA Finals, claiming their first championship in 53 years and ending the league's longest title drought. Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump celebrated his birthday. Trump is scheduled to attend the G7 summit in France, and reports suggest a deal with Iran may be signed on Friday. This agreement has generated controversy among Democrats, who argue it could resemble the nuclear deal negotiated under President Obama. Mark interviews Boston radio host Howie Carr. Howie and Mark, discuss how Democrats frequently highlight perceived mistakes by President Trump and Republicans. The upcoming deal between Israel and Iran, which Trump is expected to sign, is being debated for its potential impact on Middle East peace, gas prices, and the upcoming midterm elections. They also noted that President Trump often ends his Truth Social posts with the phrase, "Thank you for your attention to this matter," speculating about its significance. They also shifted to Elon Musk's impact on wealth creation, with Howie and Mark debating public perceptions of the now-trillionaire.  Mark recapped last night's UFC fight held on the White House lawn, a highly publicized event criticized by many Democrats. He also commented on the PBS NewsHour, describing it as one of the most left-leaning news programs on television. Mark highlighted that Knicks players are set to receive substantial bonuses following their championship win. Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX went public on Friday, sparking intense media commentary and criticism from some cable news hosts. Mark interviews radio legend Scott Shannon. Scott described the electric atmosphere in Manhattan as fans crowded streets, restaurants, and bars to watch the New York Knicks' championship run. The Knicks' upcoming victory parade, set for Thursday, is anticipated to be the largest in the franchise's history. Scott also highlighted that Taylor Swift was recently inducted as the youngest woman ever into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and he shared his memories of first meeting Swift early in her career.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if one of the most powerful medicines for longevity, resilience, happiness, cognitive health, and disease prevention wasn't found in a supplement, a prescription, or a cutting-edge biohack—but in the people around you? In this powerful solo episode, Darin Olien dives into one of the most overlooked health crises of our time: loneliness. Drawing from the landmark 85-year Harvard Adult Development Study, the U.S. Surgeon General's loneliness epidemic report, Blue Zones research, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, Darin reveals why meaningful human connection may be one of the strongest predictors of health and longevity ever discovered. From oxytocin, cortisol, inflammation, vagal tone, and nervous system regulation to suburban design, social media, and the collapse of community structures, Darin exposes the hidden biological costs of isolation—and offers a practical roadmap for rebuilding the human connections we were biologically designed to need.     What You'll Learn The stunning findings from Harvard's 85-year Adult Development Study Why relationships outperform wealth, genetics, diet, and exercise as predictors of well-being How loneliness increases the risk of premature death, dementia, heart disease, and stroke Why social isolation creates measurable biological stress responses The role of oxytocin in lowering inflammation and regulating stress How human connection affects the autonomic nervous system Why Blue Zone communities consistently prioritize social connection The biological difference between digital interaction and real human presence How modern architecture and technology contribute to loneliness Why community is a biological necessity—not a luxury Practical ways to rebuild meaningful relationships today How connection may be one of the most powerful health interventions available   Chapters 00:00:00 – Welcome to SuperLife 00:00:33 – Sponsor: Bite Toothpaste and reducing plastic waste 00:02:49 – The most powerful health study ever conducted 00:03:01 – Harvard follows 724 people for 85 years 00:03:40 – The surprising predictor of a long, healthy life 00:04:00 – Why relationships beat wealth, genetics, diet, and exercise 00:04:42 – The Surgeon General's loneliness epidemic warning 00:05:19 – Introducing the medicine you're not taking 00:05:53 – The health benefits of genuine community 00:06:21 – The fatal convenience of modern life 00:06:47 – Replacing human connection with digital connection 00:07:12 – Why modern convenience may be creating isolation 00:07:23 – Social isolation and premature mortality 00:08:02 – Loneliness and the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day 00:08:43 – Increased risks of heart disease, stroke, and dementia 00:09:10 – Why loneliness is a biological threat 00:09:52 – The science behind social isolation 00:10:11 – Sponsor: Manna Vitality 00:12:06 – Humans as the most socially dependent species 00:12:53 – Why connection regulates the nervous system 00:13:29 – The autonomic nervous system and social safety 00:13:56 – The brain's constant question: Am I safe? 00:14:03 – The biology of belonging 00:14:24 – The ventral vagal state explained 00:14:55 – Why connection creates measurable physiological changes 00:15:03 – What happens when isolation becomes chronic 00:15:52 – Oxytocin: far more than the "love hormone" 00:16:20 – Eye contact, touch, meals, and human bonding 00:16:42 – How oxytocin lowers stress and inflammation 00:17:04 – Why no supplement can replace connection 00:17:17 – The pharmacology of authentic human moments 00:18:06 – Free medicine hidden in plain sight 00:18:39 – Dan Buettner and the Blue Zones 00:19:29 – What the world's longest-lived populations have in common 00:19:36 – Okinawa's lifelong friendship circles 00:20:08 – Sardinia's active elders and social roles 00:20:40 – Greece's culture of connection and communal meals 00:21:03 – Why longevity wasn't hacked—it was lived 00:21:38 – Social connection as the foundation of daily life 00:22:01 – The shocking decline in face-to-face interaction 00:22:21 – Young people losing 70% of in-person social time 00:22:58 – How community was systematically dismantled 00:23:00 – Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone 00:23:49 – Doing life together versus doing life alone 00:24:05 – How suburban design creates isolation 00:24:49 – The built environment shapes human behavior 00:24:55 – Social media and the promise of connection 00:25:20 – Why digital connection fails biologically 00:25:33 – Social comparison, anxiety, and nervous system stress 00:25:49 – More connected online, more isolated in reality 00:26:03 – A call to action: treating relationships like health practices 00:27:00 – Practical ways to rebuild community 00:28:00 – Prioritizing people over convenience 00:29:00 – Deep conversations, presence, and intentional connection 00:30:00 – Reclaiming community in modern life 00:31:00 – Final thoughts on connection, belonging, and health 00:31:53 – Closing remarks and outro     Thank You to Our Sponsors Bite Toothpaste: Go to trybite.com/DARIN20 or use code DARIN20 for 20% off your first order Manna Vitality: Go to mannavitality.com/ and use code DARIN12 for 12% off your order.     Join the SuperLife Patreon: This is where Darin now shares the deeper work: - weekly voice notes - ingredient trackers - wellness challenges - extended conversations - community accountability - sovereignty practices Join now for only $7.49/month at https://patreon.com/darinolien     Find More from Darin Olien: Website: darinolien.com Instagram: @darinolien Book: Fatal Conveniences Platform & Products: superlife.com New Show: Roadmap to Happiness     Key Takeaway "The longest-running study in human history reached a conclusion that should fundamentally change how we think about health: the quality of our relationships predicts our happiness, resilience, and longevity more than almost anything else. Human connection isn't a luxury, a personality trait, or a nice bonus when life slows down. It is biology. It is medicine. And in a world increasingly designed for isolation, rebuilding community may be one of the most important health decisions we ever make."     Bibliography/Sources: Primary Research — Loneliness, Social Isolation & Health Associated Press. (2023, May 2). Surgeon general: Loneliness poses health risks as deadly as smoking. PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/surgeon-general-loneliness-poses-health-risks-as-deadly-as-smoking Cacioppo, J. T., & Hawkley, L. C. (2009). Perceived social isolation and cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(10), 447–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2009.06.005 Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 7(7), e1000316. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316 Office of the Surgeon General. (2023). Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf Waldinger, R. J., & Schulz, M. S. (2010). What's love got to do with it? Social functioning, perceived health, and daily happiness in married octogenarians. Psychology and Aging, 25(2), 422–431. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019087 Neuroscience — Oxytocin, Polyvagal Theory & Community Biology Carter, C. S. (1998). Neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 23(8), 779–818. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4530(98)00055-9 Eisenberger, N. I., & Lieberman, M. D. (2004). Why rejection hurts: A common neural alarm system for physical and social pain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(7), 294–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2004.05.010 Heinrichs, M., Baumgartner, T., Kirschbaum, C., & Ehlert, U. (2003). Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective responses to psychosocial stress. Biological Psychiatry, 54(12), 1389–1398. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(03)00465-7 Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company. https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393707007 Blue Zones Research Buettner, D., & Skemp, S. (2016). Blue Zones: Lessons from the world's longest lived. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 10(5), 318–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827616637066 Kreouzi, M., Theodorakis, N., & Constantinou, C. (2022). Lessons learned from Blue Zones, lifestyle medicine pillars and beyond. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276221118494 Suzuki, M., Willcox, B. J., & Willcox, D. C. (2001). Implications from and for food cultures for cardiovascular disease: Longevity. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 10(2), 165–171. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-6047.2001.00219.x The power of environment: A comprehensive review of the exposome's role in healthy aging. (2025). PubMed Central (PMC11858149). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11858149/ Social Capital & Community Decline Oldenburg, R. (1999). The great good place: Cafés, coffee shops, bookstores, bars, hair salons, and other hangouts at the heart of a community. Marlowe & Company. https://books.google.com/books?id=cK80BwAAQBAJ Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Bowling-Alone/Robert-D-Putnam/9780743203043 Sbarra, D. A., Briskin, J. L., & Slatcher, R. B. (2019). Smartphones and close relationships: The case for an evolutionary mismatch. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(4), 596–618. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619826535 Twenge, J. M., Joiner, T. E., Rogers, M. L., & Martin, G. J. (2018). Increases in depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates among U.S. adolescents after 2010 and links to increased new media screen time. Journal of Adolescent Health, 62(1), 78–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.06.014 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020). American time use survey. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/tus/ Pennebaker & Authentic Disclosure Brown, B. (2012). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. Gotham Books. https://brenebrown.com/book/daring-greatly/ Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8(3), 162–166. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00403.x

Friday on the News Hour, the U.S. economy makes solid job gains despite strain from the Iran war. Oil supplies dwindle as the Strait of Hormuz remains mostly closed. Putin rejects Ukraine's call for face-to-face talks. An art exhibit shines a light on the role women have played in shaping technologies that power modern life. Plus, how one chef is teaching people how to eat well on a $5 budget. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Thursday on the News Hour, President Trump's limits are tested after some Republicans in Congress push back on the Iran war and funding the White House ballroom, a new proposal could give Trump officials more control over scientific research grants if they don't align with the president's agenda and college graduates begin their job search in a world being transformed by artificial intelligence. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Wednesday on the News Hour, Iranian strikes set Kuwait's largest airport ablaze during a fragile ceasefire with the United States, we delve into the latest results and other takeaways from Tuesday's primary elections across the country, the storied newsmagazine "60 Minutes" in turmoil after its longtime correspondent Scott Pelley is fired by new leadership. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Hey friends, Chase here Austin Kleon is back on the show, and this conversation is exactly the kind of reminder every creative person needs. You probably know Austin from Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work!, and Keep Going, the books that have helped millions of people rethink creativity, sharing, influence, originality, and what it actually means to make things in public. But Austin's new book, Don't Call It Art: 10 Ways to Create Like a Kid Again, goes somewhere even more fundamental. It asks a question that feels especially urgent for creators, entrepreneurs, artists, writers, photographers, parents, and anyone trying to make meaningful work in a world that wants to turn everything into content: What if the way back to your best creative work is not becoming more serious, but becoming more playful? That question matters because most of us have made creativity too heavy. We have wrapped it in identity, pressure, productivity, platforms, metrics, perfectionism, and the fear of being judged. We get stuck asking whether we are real artists, serious writers, successful creators, or legitimate professionals. We worry about the noun before we do the verb. Austin's message is simpler, deeper, and more freeing: "Don't call it art. Don't worry about being an artist. Forget the nouns. Do the verbs. Just make stuff." That idea is the center of this episode. We talk about what kids can teach us about creativity, why play is not frivolous, how to build the conditions for your best work, why attention is your most valuable resource, and why some of the most important ideas in your life might come from goofing off. This conversation is about loosening the grip. It is about getting back to the part of you that makes before it judges, explores before it explains, and follows the energy before it knows exactly where the work is going. Why This Conversation Matters Right Now We are living in a strange moment for creative people. On one hand, there has never been more opportunity. An individual with a laptop, a camera, a newsletter, a sketchbook, a phone, a point of view, or a weird little idea can reach people directly. That is extraordinary. But it also comes with a cost. The pressure to turn every interest into a brand, every hobby into content, every project into a product, and every creative impulse into a strategy has never been stronger. We are constantly being asked to define ourselves: What do you do? What is your niche? What is your platform? What are you building? How are you monetizing it? What is the plan? Those questions can be useful at the right time. But when they show up too early, they can suffocate the very thing they are trying to organize. Austin's work reminds us that creativity begins before identity. Before "artist." Before "writer." Before "photographer." Before "entrepreneur." Before "content creator." Before the nouns, there are verbs. Drawing. Writing. Walking. Noticing. Building. Playing. Collecting. Tinkering. Making. Sharing. Kids understand this instinctively. They do not sit down and ask whether what they are making fits the market. They do not wonder whether they are allowed to call themselves artists. They do not freeze because the thing in front of them might not be good enough. They simply begin. And in that beginning, there is a kind of wisdom most adults have forgotten. What We Explore in This Episode Why kids can be some of the best creativity teachers because they make before they judge, label, or perform. How to reconnect with the feeling you wanted as a kid, not necessarily the exact childhood you had. Why play is not the opposite of serious work, but a form of creative research and development. How to create the conditions for creativity through time, space, materials, and permission. Why tools should feel more like toys if you want to stay curious and experimental. How phones fracture attention and why protecting the edges of your day can change the texture of your life. Why hobbies matter and how bikes, music, golf, drawing, and other forms of play can return us to ourselves. Why "don't call it art" can be liberating for anyone who feels trapped by labels or legitimacy. How to use jealousy, disgust, and frustration as creative information instead of letting them turn into bitterness. Why people pay attention when someone truly believes in what they are doing. The Core Idea: Forget the Nouns. Do the Verbs. The fastest way to get unstuck is often to stop asking what you are and start paying attention to what you do. That sounds simple, but it is one of the biggest traps in creative work. We get obsessed with identity. Am I an artist? Am I a real writer? Am I a serious photographer? Am I a professional? Am I successful enough to call myself this thing? Am I allowed? That kind of thinking can freeze you before you even start. Kids do not have that problem. They are not trying to become "artists." They are drawing. They are building. They are making noise. They are inventing stories. They are throwing materials around and seeing what happens. Austin's point is not that craft does not matter. It is not that ambition does not matter. It is not that we should abandon discipline. It is that the living center of creativity is action. The verb comes first. Make the thing. Move the pencil. Open the notebook. Pick up the guitar. Ride the bike. Take the walk. Make the zine. Shoot the photo. Write the sentence. Start the weird little project that begins with, "Wouldn't it be funny if…" That is where the energy is. Play Is Creative R&D One of the big tensions in this conversation is the voice many of us carry around that says play is not practical. That voice says: You have responsibilities. You need to make money. You need to be serious. You need to have a plan. You need to stop messing around. Austin's response is that play is not the opposite of serious work. Play is often what makes serious work possible. He talks about play as research and development. Any healthy company needs R&D. It needs space to explore, test, wander, fail, and discover things that cannot be found through pure efficiency. The same is true for a creative life. A lot of us start in explore mode. We are curious. We are trying things. We are learning. We are following our taste. We are discovering our voice. Then, if something works, we shift into exploit mode. We repeat the thing. We build a career around it. We systematize it. We professionalize it. We optimize it. That can be useful. But if you stay there forever, you eventually run out of juice. You need space to explore again. That is what play gives you. It returns you to the part of the process where you are not just producing, but discovering. And in creative work, discovery is everything. Create the Conditions, Then Get Out of the Way One of my favorite parts of this conversation is Austin's simple equation: Play = time + space + materials. That may sound almost too simple, but it is profound. When I look back at the most creative seasons of my life, the pattern is obvious. I had uninterrupted time. I had a place to go. I had the right materials around me. I had enough structure to begin and enough freedom to be surprised. That is what we often give kids when we want them to create. We give them a table, some paper, some markers, a chunk of time, and permission to make a mess. Then we grow up and deny ourselves the same basic conditions. We say we are blocked, stuck, confused, or uninspired, but often we have not created an environment where anything could actually emerge. No time. No space. No materials. No quiet. No room to tinker. The lesson is not complicated, but it is easy to forget: Set the conditions. Allow the work to happen. Get out of the way. That is not laziness. That is not indulgence. That is how the good stuff gets a chance to show up. The Best Ideas Often Come From Goofing Off I have said this before, and I mean it: so many of the best ideas in my life have come from goofing off. Not from trying to optimize. Not from grinding. Not from forcing. Not from staring at a blank screen and demanding genius. They came when I was tinkering. Playing. Walking. Talking with friends. Making something that had no obvious point. Trying something because it felt fun, strange, or impossible to explain. Austin and I talk about this because it is one of the hardest things for ambitious people to accept. We want the path to be linear. We want effort to equal outcome. We want the best ideas to come from the most serious hours. But creativity often does not work that way. The mind needs room. The body needs movement. The soul needs a little nonsense. Goofing off is not always avoidance. Sometimes it is how the deeper intelligence gets a chance to speak. Tools Should Be Toys Austin says something in this episode that every creator should sit with: Tools should be toys. That does not mean your tools are unimportant. It means the best tools invite you into a state of play. They make you want to touch them, try them, misuse them, combine them, push them, and see what happens. A sketchbook can be a toy. A camera can be a toy. A guitar pedal can be a toy. A bicycle can be a toy. A cheap notebook, a box of crayons, a microphone, a drum machine, a kitchen table, a phone in airplane mode, a pile of index cards — all of it can become part of the creative playground. The danger is when tools become only professional instruments. When every object in your creative life carries the pressure of output, performance, monetization, or proof, it becomes harder to begin. A toy invites curiosity. And curiosity is one of the most reliable doors back into making. Attention Is the Beginning of Everything Another major theme in this episode is attention. Austin shares a simple practice: start and end the day without your phone. Not as a moral performance. Not as some extreme digital detox. Just as a way to protect the edges of the day from people and companies that do not care about you, but desperately want your attention. That hit me hard. Because attention is not just another resource. In many ways, it is the resource. What you give your attention to shapes your thoughts, your desires, your mood, your relationships, your sense of possibility, and your work. If the first thing you do every morning is hand your mind to the internet, you are letting someone else set the tone for your day. Austin's practice is simple. Coffee. Breakfast. Journal. Kids. Life. Then the phone. At night, the phone charges in the kitchen. Small boundary. Huge impact. Creativity requires attention. And attention has to be protected. Return to Who You Were Before All This There is a beautiful thread in this conversation about returning to the things that made you feel alive before life got complicated. For Austin, that includes riding a bike and playing in a band. For me, golf has become one of those things. Not because it is productive in the traditional sense, but because it gets me outside, off my phone, walking with friends, and fully present for hours. That matters. A lot of people feel lost because they are trying to think their way back into aliveness. But sometimes the way back is physical. Pick up the instrument. Ride the bike. Throw the baseball. Walk the dog. Draw badly. Make noise. Get outside. Do the thing you used to love before you thought it had to mean something. Austin brings up the question: Who were you before all this? Before the career. Before the metrics. Before the audience. Before the obligations. Before the identity got heavy. There may be clues there. Not because you need to go backward, but because some part of you may have been waiting to be invited forward again. Don't Call It Art The title of Austin's book is not a dismissal of art. It is a liberation from the weight we put on the word. For a lot of people, "art" has become intimidating. Sacred. Serious. Something that belongs to museums, geniuses, experts, critics, galleries, and people who have permission. But making is older and deeper than all of that. Kids understand this. They do not call it art. They just do things. And when we stop obsessing over whether something is art, we create more room to actually make. We get less precious. Less frozen. Less performative. Less worried about the label and more connected to the act. That is the invitation: Don't call it art. Don't worry about being an artist. Forget the nouns. Do the verbs. Just make stuff. It sounds almost too simple. That is why it works. Use What Bothers You Austin also offers a surprising creative tactic: pay attention to what you hate. Not publicly. Not performatively. Not as a way to become bitter or cynical. But privately, as information. Disgust can point toward values. Frustration can reveal desire. Jealousy can show you something you want. The things that bother you can become clues, if you are willing to ask what the opposite would look like. Instead of turning your irritation into a rant, turn it into a project. What would you rather see in the world? What is the opposite of the thing you cannot stand? What would it look like to make that? That shift is powerful because it transforms complaint into creation. It turns "I hate this" into "What if we made something different?" People Pay Attention to Belief Near the end of the conversation, Austin shares a line from Kim Gordon that I love: "People will pay to watch other people believe in themselves." That is true in art. It is true in music. It is true in entrepreneurship. It is true in leadership. It is true in life. We are drawn to people who are alive in what they are doing. Not perfect. Not polished beyond recognition. Not optimized into sameness. Alive. When someone believes in what they are making, that belief travels. This does not mean you will always feel confident. It does not mean you will never doubt yourself. It does not mean every idea will work. It means you keep returning to the work. You keep paying attention to what matters to you. You keep making the thing only you can make in the way only you can make it. That is where the signal comes from. About Austin Kleon Austin Kleon is the New York Times bestselling author of a series of illustrated books about creativity in the digital age: Steal Like An Artist, Show Your Work!, Keep Going, and Don't Call It Art. He is also the author of Newspaper Blackout, a collection of poems made by redacting the newspaper with a permanent marker. His books have sold over two million copies and have been translated into more than 30 languages. Austin's work has been featured on NPR's Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. New York Magazine called his work "brilliant," The Atlantic called him "positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet," and The New Yorker said his poems "resurrect the newspaper when everybody else is declaring it dead." He has spoken for organizations including Pixar, Google, Netflix, SXSW, TEDx, Dropbox, Adobe, and The Economist. In previous lives, he worked as a librarian, a web designer, and an advertising copywriter. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and sons. Follow Austin Kleon Website Don't Call It Art Newsletter Instagram X YouTube Timecodes 04:24 – Austin returns to the show and talks about the new book 06:17 – How Austin's kids became his best creativity teachers 07:04 – What it means to take care of a creative person 10:43 – The childhood question that reveals what makes time disappear 18:34 – Why play is creative research and development 21:43 – Finding what you were not looking for 23:06 – How a fixed vision can blind you to what is actually in front of you 28:13 – Chase reflects on creating the right conditions for creative work 31:37 – Austin's equation: play equals time plus space plus materials 32:48 – Why tools should feel more like toys 35:25 – Reconnecting with the activities that made you feel alive as a kid 38:53 – Who were you before all this? 43:08 – Protecting attention from companies that want to take it 44:17 – Starting and ending the day without your phone 47:08 – Why friendship, hobbies, and shared activities matter 57:17 – Where the title Don't Call It Art came from 58:32 – Forget the nouns, do the verbs, just make stuff 01:00:01 – Why "wouldn't it be funny if…" is a clue worth following 01:03:15 – Finding your creative family tree 01:06:36 – How to use frustration and disgust as creative information 01:08:31 – Why people pay attention when you believe in what you are doing 01:09:44 – Austin's newsletter, book tour, and where to find his work Questions to Ask Yourself If you want to turn this episode into action, take a few minutes with these questions: What did I do as a kid that made hours pass like minutes? Where am I making creativity heavier than it needs to be? What noun am I clinging to that might be keeping me from doing the verb? What conditions do I need in order to make more freely? Do I have time, space, and materials available on a regular basis? What tool in my life could become more like a toy? Where is my attention being stolen before I have a chance to choose? What hobby, activity, or form of play would help me return to myself? What bothers me enough that it might contain a creative clue? What would I make this week if I stopped worrying whether it counted as art? A Simple Practice for Making Like a Kid Again Here's something practical you can do this week. Set aside one uninterrupted hour. No phone. No audience. No outcome. No need to make something good. Choose a space. Put a few materials in front of you. Paper and markers. A camera. A guitar. A notebook. Clay. Index cards. A laptop with the internet off. Whatever feels inviting. Then begin with this prompt: Wouldn't it be funny if… Follow whatever comes next. Do not evaluate it too early. Do not ask what it is for. Do not decide whether it is art. Do not turn it into a brand, a strategy, or a pitch deck. Just make stuff. Then notice how you feel. Notice what surprised you. Notice whether something small wants to keep going. That is enough. Final Thought The longer I do this work, the more I believe that creativity is not something we need to earn. It is something we need to return to. It was there before the labels. Before the pressure. Before the metrics. Before the platforms. Before the fear of being judged. Before we learned to ask whether we were allowed. Austin's invitation in this conversation is simple, generous, and quietly radical: Stop making creativity so precious that you cannot touch it. Give yourself time. Give yourself space. Give yourself materials. Protect your attention. Find your friends. Pick up the toy. Follow the weird little idea. Let yourself begin before you know what it means. Until next time: forget the nouns, do the verbs, and just make stuff.

Tuesday on the News Hour, Trump taps housing official Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence despite having no background in intelligence. Ukraine works to gain battlefield momentum after years of stalemate against Russia. How the Trump administration's immigration crackdown is affecting colleges and students. Plus, why Sting continues to push himself in new creative directions. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Monday on the News Hour, the Justice Department hits pause on its plans for a so-called "anti-weaponization" fund for people who claimed they were unfairly targeted by past administrations, Israel launches its deepest incursion into Lebanon in decades amid talks aimed at ending the U.S.-Iran war and a new report examines just how secure the voting process is for the upcoming midterm elections. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Friday on the News Hour, a Kenyan court blocks U.S. plans to open an Ebola quarantine facility there. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi faces Congressional scrutiny over the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein Files. Plus, a grieving father on how a family tragedy inspired him to speak out about rising antisemitism around the world. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Wednesday on the News Hour, Ken Paxton's defeat of incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in Texas is the latest show of President Trump's grip on the GOP. We speak to Cuba's deputy foreign minister amid escalating threats from the White House, including an arrest warrant for the country's former leader. Plus, the search for antibiotics undergoes a dramatic transformation with the deployment of AI. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Thursday on the News Hour, the U.S. and Iran close in on a deal to extend the ceasefire. We report from the Strait of Hormuz for an up-close look at the embattled waterway. Stock trading tied to the president fuels accusations of corruption and profiting off the White House. Plus, Ukraine's foreign minister touts improved drone capabilities and how they could change the course of the war. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Tuesday on the News Hour, negotiations to end the war falter as the U.S. strikes Iranian missile sites. We report from the location of a deadly attack on a school in southern Iran. The president gets his fourth checkup since returning to the White House, renewing scrutiny of his health. Plus, how artificial intelligence and interactive labs are used to help teach the next generation of nurses. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Monday on the News Hour, the U.S. and Iran work toward a peace deal, but obstacles remain and both sides suggest a breakthrough is not imminent. Pope Leo calls for stronger regulation of artificial intelligence in a sweeping manifesto focused on the potential dangers. Plus, Judy Woodruff looks at an effort to identify the final resting places of thousands who fought in the Revolutionary War. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Friday on the News Hour, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard resigns, the latest high-profile shakeup in the Trump administration. We look at the many causes driving a decade-long decline in students' math and reading scores. Plus, as carbon credits to offset climate change often haven't lived up to their promise, some groups are now trying to change that. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Thursday on the News Hour, some congressional Republicans show a willingness to break with President Trump over concerns about funding for his proposed ballroom and "anti-weaponization fund." The Democratic Party releases the long-awaited autopsy report of its 2024 election defeat. Plus, New Mexico's secretary of state discusses a new law barring armed federal personnel from polling places. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Wednesday on the News Hour, the Justice Department indicts former Cuban President Raúl Castro in the latest escalation of tensions with the island nation. Another Congressman who stood up to Donald Trump is ousted, underscoring the president's hold on the Republican Party. Plus, Xi Jinping hosts Vladimir Putin in China, cementing their alliance a week after President Trump's visit. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Tuesday on the News Hour, authorities work to establish a motive in the fatal shooting at a San Diego Islamic Center that's being investigated as a hate crime. The Trump administration seeks to roll back regulations on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water. Plus, the higher education landscape continues to evolve, with more colleges offering students the chance to graduate in three years. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Monday on the News Hour, San Diego police respond to a shooting at an Islamic center that they're calling a hate crime. The DOJ creates a $1.8 billion fund that could compensate Trump supporters. We sit down with former FBI Director James Comey, who has been indicted for a second time. Plus, an Ebola outbreak has claimed more than a hundred lives. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Friday on the News Hour, questions about the future of U.S.-China relations remain following the pomp and circumstance of President Trump's visit to Beijing. As Jerome Powell ends his tenure as chair of the Federal Reserve, a look at the legacy he leaves behind. Plus, artificial intelligence supercharges scams aimed at older Americans, costing seniors billions with hyper-realistic voice cloning. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Thursday on the News Hour, China offers President Trump a grand welcome but also a warning over support for Taiwan. A new generation of reality TV stars trying to turn on-screen fame into political power is reshaping the way campaigns are run. Plus, the expected closure of "Alligator Alcatraz" and a change in Border Patrol leadership. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Wednesday on the News Hour, President Trump arrives in China for a meeting with Xi Jinping amid disputes over trade, Taiwan and the Iran war. A court overturns the double murder conviction of Alex Murdaugh. Plus, as Asian Americans remain the fastest-growing demographic group in the U.S., their history and the discrimination they've endured are often overlooked. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Tuesday on the News Hour, Defense Secretary Hegseth faces scrutiny over how much the war with Iran is costing Americans. As President Trump departs for China, what the meeting between leaders of the world's two largest economies could mean for businesses. Plus, Louisiana Republicans rush to redraw congressional districts after the Supreme Court wiped out key provisions in the Voting Rights Act. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Monday on the News Hour, President Trump says the ceasefire with Iran is on "life support" after he rejected Iran's latest peace proposal. American passengers who were on the cruise ship hit with hantavirus arrive back in the U.S., facing strict quarantine. Plus, scientists in Jamaica use innovative sound technology to help revive coral reefs devastated by climate change. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

U.S. forces struck Iranian targets Thursday after two U.S. destroyers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, but Trump called this response a “love tap” and said the exchange of fire did not represent a break in the ceasefire. Moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Peter Baker of The New York Times, Amna Nawaz of PBS News Hour, and Jonathan Lemire and Vivian Salama of The Atlantic discuss this and more.

Friday on the News Hour, U.S. strikes in the Strait of Hormuz once again raise questions about the ceasefire with Iran. The latest jobs report shows stronger than expected hiring despite economic strain from the Iran war. Virginia's Supreme Court strikes down a voter-approved referendum in the nationwide redistricting fight. Plus, the FDA commissioner is on the ropes after months of turmoil. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Thursday on the News Hour, the U.S. and Iran trade fire near the Strait of Hormuz. Rubio tries to mend relations with Pope Leo after Trump's criticism. A look inside Louisiana, where the Supreme Court upended a congressional map months before the midterms. Plus, how European nations' efforts to thwart asylum seekers from Africa affect a dangerous migration route to the Canary Islands. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Wednesday on the News Hour, the U.S. and Iran exchange new proposals to end the war and President Trump tells the News Hour there's a "very good chance" of making a deal, Republican politicians in Texas ramp up campaigns against the state's growing Muslim community and we take a look back at how CNN founder Ted Turner changed the media landscape. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Tuesday on the News Hour, tensions mount as the U.S. and Iran trade threats and compete for control of the Strait of Hormuz. States scramble to redraw congressional maps ahead of November's midterms. Nearly a month after Israeli strikes across Lebanon, families of those killed still search the rubble for remains. Plus, Wynton Marsalis on why he thinks jazz is the perfect metaphor for democracy. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Monday on the News Hour, Iran fires on commercial vessels and American warships as the U.S. launches a new mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Supreme Court temporarily restores nationwide access to a widely used abortion pill and cuts at the U.S. Forest Service raise concerns about its ability to protect public lands and fight wildfires. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

This week, the President AND the press came under attack. After an attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, the Trump administration was quick to blame the media and threaten ABC over a joke that hurt their feelings. On this episode, Alex speaks to Brian Stelter, CNN's Chief Media Analyst, about the chaos in the Washington Hilton and the FCC's unprecedented threats against networks. Then Alex speaks to Simon Ostrovsky, a special correspondent for PBS NewsHour, who recounts his harrowing capture in Ukraine in 2014 while reporting and talks about the need for the press to push back against Trump's insults. Finally, Alex is joined by Clayton Weimers, Executive Director of Reporters Without Borders, USA, to talk through the release of the World Press Freedom Index which shows that journalism is under threat globally.