Curated interviews–some longer cuts than what aired–on topics that explore who we are and where we’re going.
[This interview was recorded in 2019] Here in California, we are surrounded by the world’s most elaborate system for moving water from the places nature puts it, to the places it will make the most money. Mark Arax started a book on that topic trying to resolve a basic question: why, in the midst of … Continued
This summer, Cuba saw some of its largest protests in decades, perhaps since the Cuban revolution itself. The protests broke out across the country at once — apparently spreading over social media. They were stoked by massive stresses — including food and electric shortages. And they were followed by a crackdown, dozens of arrests, and … Continued
One of the most remarkable developments of the pandemic, was how fast the political consensus moved on what government could do in the economy. All concern for deficits vanished. The feds started handing out money to people, to businesses, to local and state governments. Unemployment benefits massively increased in both amount and in the number … Continued
As we slowly move out of the pandemic, and the pandemic-induced economic crash, you’re going to hear a lot of news stories about economic growth, mostly in the form of reporting on Estimated Gross Domestic Product of GDP. We throw those statistics around a lot, without talking about what they represent, what they leave out, … Continued
For people working on Climate change, there is this grim fact that hovers over everything: The climate has a tremendous amount of inertia. Like a battleship or a runaway train. Even in the best of all political worlds, even if the world’s nations hopped to attention, switched off their coal plants, de-commissioned their fleets of … Continued
You’re listening to UpFront, I’m BET. Just about everywhere in the world outside of this country’s Republican Party, there is a consensus in elite circles that climate change is happening, it is very bad, and something should be done about it. And the “something” is where the conversation has mostly stalled, and produced almost nothing … Continued
You’ve probably heard the latter half of the pandemic described as a K-shaped recovery — a rapid bounce back to normal for professionals who work from home, mostly kept their jobs, and saved some money on commuting to boot. The other line in the K is the one that’s flat — people who lost their … Continued
We’re living through radical changes in the way work gets organized, and that feeds into radical changes in the the language we use around work. A whole lot of jobs–from teaching college to delivering groceries–have gotten worse-paid and more precarious. We’re told to either be grateful for the freedom, or for doing something we love. … Continued
There’s a scientific consensus that alcohol is bad for our bodies. So why do we enjoy it so much? Maybe because the ability to get buzzed makes it possible for large societies to function. Guest: Edward Slingerland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia. His newest book is Drunk: How We Sipped, … Continued
For the entirety of our lifetimes, the planet’s has been getting more urban. We’ve been making more cities. Moving more people into them. Growing the urban limits in pretty much every direction. So much so, in fact, that a future of ever-increasing urbanism seems almost inevitable. But for a lot of human history, cities were … Continued
