Episode summary: he US has been portrayed as in the grip of a maternal mortality crisis. In contrast to most other developed nations, the rate of maternal deaths in the US has been going up since the early 2000s. But why? With the help of Saloni Dattani, a researcher at Our World in Data, Tim Harfor...

Episode summary: In this episode, David and Rosemary are joined by Paul Kafasis from Rogue Amoeba to talk about automating audio, as well as his personal magic.

Episode summary: To fully grasp capitalism, it helps to understand the system it replaced – and the most meaningful differences between feudalism and capitalism. We visit the British Isles of the Middle Ages. By John Biewen, with co-host Ellen McGirt. Interviews with Karen Dempsey, Ben Jervis, and E...

Episode summary: For the final episode in the current series, David discusses Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), her unforgettable dystopian vision of a future American patriarchy. Where is Gilead? When is Gilead? How did it happen? How can it be stopped? From puritanism and slavery to Ir...

Episode summary: Intelligence scholar Hugh Wilford’s excellent new book grapples with the paradox at the heart of America’s covert intelligence agency. Many of the CIA’s founding fathers were staunch anti-imperialists, but during the Cold War, the US took up the mantle of Europe’s colonial projects....

Episode summary: Don’t call her an oracle. She prefers foreseer.

Episode summary: AWilliam Shakespeare might well rank as the most influential writer in the English language. But it seems he also had a knack for numbers. Rob Eastaway, author of Much Ado about Numbers, tells Tim Harford about the simple maths that brings Shakespeare’s work to life. Presenter: Tim...

Episode summary: The leaf blower is one of the most hated objects in the modern world, but the reality of banning them is very complicated.

Episode summary: Episodio 64: Eating in America con Francesco Costa

Episode summary: To kick off our Good Web series, Cory Doctorow joined us for a deep dive into his enshittification theory, and how regulation, labor power, competition, and user self-help will make it a thing of the past. We also got him to tell us a little bit about his new novel The Bezzle. Cory...