Culture & The Arts

  • #2003: Optimal Rust

    This week on the Best of Car Talk, Steve’s wife gave him a homework assignment—write a paper explaining why he should keep the ‘77 MG he bought a year ago, but has left sitting in the garage. But does Steve love it enough to defend it? Elsewhere, Helen’s tires are growing mold. Tom and Ray say it’s because Helen drives the car infrequently, to which Helen replies, “Au contraire Piston Pusses!” Also, Linda’s fiance insists on washing his car before a long trip, to improve its gas mileage; Heather thinks an opera singer is hanging out under her Civic; and, you’ll be shocked, shocked to learn that John’s “cheap and reliable” Ferrari is proving to be neither. All this and more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.

  • SYSK Selects: How the Placebo Effect Works

    For centuries, doctors have prescribed drugs they knew weren’t real – but that still somehow worked. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the placebo effect was studied. Learn all about how an inert substance can have a genuine impact on a patient’s recovery, in this classic episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

  • Journalists Aren’t Activists

    On the Gist, Joe Biden and the New York Times.In the interview, Maria Konnikova is back for another episode of “Is That Bullshit?” This time she and Mike tackle whether or not we’re currently experiencing the latest mass extinction event. We may not have noticed, but the insects certainly have.In the spiel, the difference between journalism and activism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Das Green Old Deal

    We team up with Vox’s The Impact, to tell the story of how one man changed the way Germany – and arguably the world – uses energy. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

  • Mass Incarceration, Then and Now

    The U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration in the world; although the country makes up about five per cent of the global population, it holds nearly a quarter of the world’s prisoners. David Remnick is joined by WNYC’s Kai Wright, the host of the pod

  • Cheating in Sports

    Lance Armstrong, the New England Patriots, steroids in baseball – Neil deGrasse Tyson investigates cheating in sports alongside co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly, Dr. Lee Igel, PhD from the Tisch Institute of Global Sport, and behavioral scientist Lisa Shu, PhD. 

  • Family Feud

    A pre-debate news drop from CNN threatened the relative peace between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. On this week’s On the Media, why the feud is more distracting than illuminating. Plus, why paying close attention to political news is no substitut

  • Justin Long And Marina Franklin: Franklin My Dear, I Don’t Give A Long

    Actor Justin Long returns to the Ask Me Another stage! Known for the “Get a Mac” ads, Long talks about hosting his new podcast Life Is Short, and interviewing his 103-year-old grandmother. Then, he plays a game of “Shorter or Longer?” Later, comedian Marina Franklin tells the story of how she bombed her first big break, and then tests her knowledge of themed restaurants.