Best The Atlantic Monthly Group, LLC Podcasts (2024)

1
Introducing: How to Know What's Real 1:44

22m ago1:44

1:44

What is “real life,” now that the internet and AI are integrated into so much that we do? In the new season of The Atlantic’s popular How To series, co-hosts Megan Garber and Andrea Valdez explore deepfakes, illusions, and misinformation, and how to make sense of where things are really happening. How to Know What’s Real examines how technology has…

1
Can We Keep Time? 41:50

3M ago41:50

41:50

It can be tough to face our own mortality. Keeping diaries, posting to social media, and taking photos are all tools that can help to minimize the discomfort that comes with realizing we have limited time on Earth. But how exactly does documenting our lives impact how we live and remember them? In this episode, diarist and author Sarah Manguso refl…

1
Time Tips From the Universe 36:24

3M ago36:24

36:24

Time can feel like a subjective experience—different at different points in our lives. It’s also a real, measurable thing. The universe may be too big to fully comprehend, but what we do know could help inform the ways we approach our understanding of ourselves, our purpose, and our time. Theoretical physicist and black-hole expert Janna Levin expl…

1
How to Rest 34:31

4M ago34:31

34:31

Between making time for work, family, friends, exercise, chores, shopping—the list goes on and on—it can feel like a huge accomplishment to just take a few minutes to read a book or watch TV before bed. All that busyness can lead to poor sleep quality when we finally do get to put our heads down. How does our relationship with rest impact our abili…

1
How to Leave Work Time at Work 24:42

4M ago24:42

24:42

Before laptops allowed us to take the office home and smartphones could light up with notifications at any hour, work time and “life” time had clearer boundaries. Today, work is not done exclusively in the workplace, and that makes it harder to leave work at work. Co-hosts Becca Rashid and Ian Bogost examine the habits that shrink our available tim…

1
How to Look Busy 37:52

4M ago37:52

37:52

Many of us complain about being too busy—and about not having enough time to do the things we really want to do. But has busyness become an excuse for our inability to focus on what matters? According to Neeru Paharia, a marketing professor at Arizona State University, time is a sort of luxury good—the more of it you have, the more valuable you are…

1
How to Waste Time 34:36

5M ago34:36

34:36

Co-hosts Becca Rashid and Ian Bogost explore our relationship with time and how to reclaim it. Why is it so important to be productive? Why can it feel like there’s never enough time in a day? Why are so many of us conditioned to believe that being more productive makes us better people? Author Oliver Burkman offers some insights. This episode was …

1
Introducing: How to Keep Time 1:57

6M ago1:57

1:57

Why can it feel like there’s never enough time in a day, and why are so many of us conditioned to believe that being more productive makes us better people? On How to Keep Time, co-hosts Becca Rashid and contributing writer Ian Bogost talk with social scientists, authors, philosophers, and theoretical physicists to learn more about time and how to …

1
‘Everyone Used to be Nicer,’ And Other Persistent Myths 27:47

9M ago27:47

27:47

A lot of people are plagued by the feeling that society used to be better, that neighbors were more helpful, that strangers once talked to you. Some people channel that belief into political action, as in the Make America Great Again movement. A new study explains why the sense that people and the culture have gotten worse is a psychological illusi…

1
How to Not Go It Alone 38:44

10M ago38:44

38:44

The values of individualism that encourage us to go it alone are in constant tension with the desire for community that many people crave. But when attempting to do things on our own, we may miss out on the joys of coming together. This season’s finale conversation features writer Mia Birdsong, who highlights the cultural and philosophical roots of…

1
How to Know Your Neighbors 29:40

10M ago29:40

29:40

Are commitment issues impacting our ability to connect with the people who live around us? Relationship building may involve a commitment to the belief that neighbors are worthy of getting to know. In this episode of How to Talk to People, author Pete Davis makes the case for building relationships with your neighbors and wider community and offers…

1
What Makes a House a Home 39:50

10M ago39:50

39:50

What motivated two families to engage in the organized chaos of shared living and how did they learn to talk through, and shape, new expectations for their family life at home? In this episode of How to Talk to People, we hear from Deborah Tepley and Luke Jackson, who remember when they first asked their best friends to buy a house with them. The F…

1
What do we owe our friends? 35:14

11M ago35:14

35:14

The terms of friendship are both voluntary and vague—yet people often find themselves disappointed by unmet expectations. In this episode of How to Talk to People, we explore how to have the difficult conversations that can make our friendships richer and how to set expectations in a relationship defined by choice. This episode was produced by Rebe…

1
The Infrastructure of Community 40:39

11M ago40:39

40:39

Coffee shops, churches, libraries, and concert venues are all shared spaces where mingling can take place. Yet the hustle and bustle of modern social life can pose challenges to relationship-building—even in spaces designed for exactly that. In this episode of How to Talk to People, we analyze how American efficiency culture holds us back from conn…

1
How to Make Small Talk 37:56

11M ago37:56

37:56

Making small talk can be hard—especially when you’re not sure whether you’re doing it well. But conversations are a central part of relationship-building. In this first episode of How to Talk to People, we explore the psychological barriers to making good small talk and unravel the complexities of the mutual discomfort that comes with talking to pe…

1
Introducing Holy Week 3:35

11M ago3:35

3:35

Holy Week: The story of a revolution undone. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, is often recounted as a conclusion to a powerful era of civil rights in America, but how did this hero’s murder come to be the stitching used to tie together a narrative of victory? The week that followed his killing was one of the most fi…

1
Introducing Holy Week 3:35

11M ago3:35

3:35

Holy Week: The story of a revolution undone. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, is often recounted as a conclusion to a powerful era of civil rights in America, but how did this hero’s murder come to be the stitching used to tie together a narrative of victory? The week that followed his killing was one of the most fi…

1
Trailer: How to Talk to People 2:48

11M ago2:48

2:48

On How to Talk to People we explore the barriers to relationship building and why—in a world of endless potential for connection—so many people still feel alone. From the struggle to prioritize non-romantic relationships, to just feeling uncertain of what to talk about with strangers, host Julie Beck and producer Rebecca Rashid unravel the complexi…

1
Holy Week — Part 1: Rupture 21:27

1y ago21:27

21:27

The first episode of a new podcast from The Atlantic. Holy Week: The story of a revolution undone. Subscribe to Holy Week: theatlantic.com/holyweek Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify The story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968, is often recounted as a conclusion to a powerful era of civil rights in Am…

1
Introducing Holy Week 8:02

1y ago8:02

8:02

Holy Week: The story of a revolution undone. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, is often recounted as a conclusion to a powerful era of civil rights in America, but how did this hero’s murder come to be the stitching used to tie together a narrative of victory? The week that followed his killing was one of the most fi…

1
Introducing Holy Week 5:49

1y ago5:49

5:49

Holy Week: The story of a revolution undone. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, is often recounted as a conclusion to a powerful era of civil rights in America, but how did this hero’s murder come to be the stitching used to tie together a narrative of victory? The week that followed his killing was one of the most fi…

1
A New Formula for Happiness 30:02

1+ y ago30:02

30:02

We often follow a misguided formula for happiness—pushing us toward material wealth and other worldly successes. But when our expectations set us down the wrong path, it may be time to reorient ourselves around something new: universal happiness principles we can practice at any age. In our finale episode of this season, a conversation with psychia…

1
How To Build a Happy Life: The Right Choices in Parenting 38:27

1+ y ago38:27

38:27

The mandates of modern parenting can be dizzying. But in the effort to optimize our parenting, we may lose sight of the values we hope to impart to our children—and the skills necessary for individual decision making. A conversation with economist Emily Oster helps with understanding the nuances of choice-making in parenthood. This episode was prod…

1
How To Build a Happy Life: Subtraction as a Solution 26:13

1+ y ago26:13

26:13

From how we build our cities to how we shop, it can seem as though our natural human tendency is to add. But a culture of accumulation may be exactly what holds us back from the simple solution in front of us: taking things away. University of Virginia professor Leidy Klotz helps us analyze the benefits of subtraction and how less may create the sp…

1
How To Build a Happy Life: Spend Time on What You Value 34:24

1+ y ago34:24

34:24

We try to use our time wisely—both at work and in leisure—but we often waste it. We may blame work for stripping us of recreation, but when valuable free time comes around, we can often revert back to more work. What explains the gap between how we use our time and how we want to use our time? A conversation with Harvard Business School professor A…

1
How To Build a Happy Life: The Complexities of Human Love 28:57

1+ y ago28:57

28:57

Dating apps show us what we want—a relationship—without always accurately reflecting the experience of it. Our expectation that tech will create anything more than opportunities for social connectedness may overlook the hard work of coexisting with another human being. A conversation with University of Kansas social psychologist Omri Gillath helps …

1
How To Build a Happy Life: When Virtues Become Vices 32:50

1+ y ago32:50

32:50

When the behaviors we thought would make us happy don’t, we’re forced to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be. But our happiness goals are often stifled by the disease of addiction—and its complex neurochemical influence on our desires. A conversation with psychiatrist Anna Lembke helps us understand the gap between the cravi…

1
How To Build a Happy Life: When Expectations Don’t Meet Reality 2:45

1+ y ago2:45

2:45

In our pursuit of a happy life, we build, we structure, and we plan. Often, we follow conventional wisdom and strategize. But what happens when our plans fall through and expectations don’t meet reality—when the things that should make us happy don’t? In season 3 of our How To series, Atlantic happiness correspondent Arthur Brooks and producer Rebe…

1
Caitlin Dickerson on family separation 40:17

1+ y ago40:17

40:17

The Atlantic's editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg talks with staff writer Caitlin Dickerson about her recent piece, "An American Catastrophe," a comprehensive investigation of the Trump administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their families. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

1
How to Start Over: Forgive Ourselves for What We Can’t Change 32:42

2y ago32:42

32:42

When we regret our past, it can feel like we’re incapable of changing our future. But it may be our past “mistakes” that help us realize there is room to evolve. In the finale episode of How to Start Over, we explore how regret can be a catalyst of change, what holds us back from self-forgiveness, and how to reconcile our past mistakes—and move for…

1
How to Start Over: The Misgivings of Friend-Making 40:25

2y ago40:25

40:25

In the post-social-distancing era, some of us can’t remember how to make a new friend. But for many, making friends has always been a challenge—left as an unfulfilled desire without any clear course of action. In this episode of How to Start Over, we explore the barriers to friendship formation in adulthood, how to navigate conflict, and why starti…

1
How to Start Over: When Can a Marriage Be Saved? 41:30

2y ago41:30

41:30

Romantic relationships often show us the deep divide between expectations and reality. For any relationship struggling to overcome conflict, the first step to starting over may be identifying how your vision of marriage is out of step with your partner’s. In this episode of How to Start Over, we explore why some marriages can withstand conflict, wh…

1
How to Start Over: When Partnership Is Not the Destination 32:35

2y ago32:35

32:35

In a society dominated by romantic couples, it can be hard to accept your unpartnered state for what it is. But for the “single at heart,” the desire for partnership is nonexistent—replaced with a sense of self-sufficiency, satisfaction, and robust friendships. In this episode of How to Start Over, we explore misconceptions about singlehood and wha…

1
How to Start Over: 'Parents Are Not All Good and All Bad' 30:22

2y ago30:22

30:22

Some families have the frictionless ease of unconditional love and understanding, but for many the stalemate of family tensions can be insurmountable. In this episode of How to Start Over, we explore what can be done to evaluate the dynamics in lifelong family relationships, find ways to manage our emotional response when tensions boil over, and an…

1
How to Start Over: When You Think It's Too Late 33:54

2y ago33:54

33:54

A professional change in midlife can provide a much-needed reset—at least when you’re looking for a career that more closely aligns with your passion. But finding what you love, especially once you’ve gone down an entirely different path, can feel impossible. How do we redirect our efforts away from what we’re used to and toward what we want to do?…

1
Top Gun 41:35

2y ago41:35

41:35

Top Gun: Maverick is out soon! But can any movie with fast planes, Tom Cruise, and beach volleyball truly compare to the classic fighter pilot movie about, as writer Shirley Li puts it, "cute boys calling each other cute names"? Find out with Shirley, Megan Garber, and David Sims, and explore the moral (but fictional) simplicity of an earlier era: …

1
Knocked Up 42:38

2y ago42:38

42:38

In a possibly-soon-to-be-post-Roe v Wade world, our hosts Sophie Gilbert, Megan Garber, and Hannah Giorgis thought it'd be worth re-examining the Judd Apatow/Seth Rogan comedy "Knocked Up," to discuss the way the movie treats women's bodily autonomy, angry reactions from men, and abortion. Megan also wrote recently on what it says that the movie si…

1
Winning Time 49:56

2y ago49:56

49:56

The 1980s Los Angeles Lakers were one of the most dominant teams in sports. At a time when professional basketball was on its heels, the Lakers dynasty brought new excitement: Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird, Jerry Buss and the glitzy Forum Club, and an uptempo flow offense. That’s the story of HBO’s big-budget series Winning Time, whose season 1 fina…

1
Trailer: How To Start Over 2:46

2y ago2:46

2:46

In this series, Atlantic staff writer Olga Khazan analyzes what it takes to change our relationships, our work, and our perspective—with a practical approach to one of life’s greatest mysteries: how to start over. Change can be really hard. Inertia is powerful, mortgages and marriages are long-term, and personality traits can feel pretty hardwired.…

1
Severance 48:54

2y ago48:54

48:54

The Apple TV+ dystopian thriller Severance is one of the most acclaimed shows of the year. Its grim take on the furthest extreme of "work-life balance" speaks to our strained pandemic-era relationship with the workplace and, according to our critics, offers a gripping throwback to an era of prestige TV before (as David Sims sees it) Netflix ruined …

1
The Northman 39:17

2y ago39:17

39:17

Shirley Li, David Sims, and Sophie Gilbert discuss the brutal new blockbuster The Northman. From the director of The Lighthouse and The Witch and based on the viking legend that inspired Hamlet, the film is a visceral experience that’s hard to summarize: Is it an arthouse revenge epic? A viking myth about toxic-masculinity? Shakespeare for people w…

1
Everything Everywhere All at Once 44:09

2y ago44:09

44:09

Shirley Li, David Sims, and Spencer Kornhaber discuss the hit action comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once. At a time when every show or movie has a multiverse, how does this film’s “verse-jumping” manage to be so cathartic it made us cry? The trio follows up on last week’s discussion of Turning Red to unpack how this movie uses a multiverse to …

1
Turning Red 55:09

2y ago55:09

55:09

Shirley Li, Spencer Kornhaber, and Lenika Cruz discuss the Pixar coming-of-age film Turning Red, why they found it utterly charming, and why this post-villain era of animation is a welcome one. Further reading: What the Controversy Over Turning Red Misses Pixar's Turning Red Has the Cleverest Take on Puberty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit …

1
Barack Obama on Disinformation and The Future of Democracy 1:06:32

2y ago1:06:32

1:06:32

Disinformation is the story of our age. We see it used as a tactic of war and to further embolden autocrats.. The very tools that once helped pro-democracy movements are now being used to disseminate falsehoods—misleading the public and threatening the strength of democracies around the globe. Former President Barack Obama and editor in chief Jeffr…

1
Is Pop Music Obsessed With Nostalgia? 45:47

2y ago45:47

45:47

Spencer Kornhaber, Shirley Li, and Hannah Giorgis assess the state of pop music following the Grammys. While the much-derided awards have improved at celebrating the diversity of modern music, they still tend to reward safer throwback sounds. And modern music as a whole seems to be going through a nostalgic phase—just look at Silk Sonic’s retro sou…

1
The Dropout 51:54

2y ago51:54

51:54

From Theranos to WeWork to the socialite grifter Anna Delvey, television these days is all about the art of the scam. Why are we so fascinated with the rise-and-fall stories of swindlers? What do these shows reveal about American culture at this moment? And with many of these shows following female scammers through the “Lean In” / girlboss 2010’s i…

1
West Side Story 42:57

2y ago42:57

42:57

West Side Story is a work with some huge names behind it: Leonard Bernstein wrote the musical, Stephen Sondheim the lyrics, and Shakespeare the source material Romeo and Juliet. And sixty years after the classic 1961 film dominated the Oscars, another name was added to that list: Steven Spielberg. The big names behind West Side Story don’t just hav…

1
The Batman 54:36

2y ago54:36

54:36

The Batman is already 2022’s highest-grossing film. In some ways, it’s yet another comic-book adaptation to dominate theaters. In others, it’s a return to a pre-MCU cinema experience free of the weight of universe-building. Robert Pattinson stars in the first standalone Batman movie in a decade, bringing a grim detective story with the caped crusad…

1
Drive My Car 43:17

2y ago43:17

43:17

Drive My Car is a special movie. It’s Japan’s most Oscar-nominated film ever—and its first to be up for Best Picture. It enters the final weeks of awards season as the first non-English-language film to be picked at Best Picture by all three major American critics groups (including the New York Film Critics Circle, for whom one David Sims tallied t…

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