In an age when digital media permeates every aspect of our lives, understanding its influence is more critical than ever. Algorithmic Saga: Understanding Media, Culture, and Transformation in the AI Age (Atique Mindscape Publishing, 2025), serves as a compass, guiding readers through the complexities of our interconnected world. From the moment we wake to a flurry of notifications to the late-night scrolling that often accompanies our downtime, we find ourselves enmeshed in a digital landscape that

This week, my guest is Carter Buschardt — a seasoned field investigator and author who’s spent years collecting and documenting firsthand encounters with Bigfoot. Carter’s work goes far beyond campfire stories; he’s interviewed hundreds of credible witnesses and uncovered patterns in behavior, family groups, and even intergenerational sightings that suggest something far more complex than folklore.Beliveing they're intelligent, elusive, and possibly even capable of limited telepathic or energetic

A few weeks after the failure of her business in London, Sarah was asked a question in a book she was reading. “What does money want to say to you?” She started writing a response and found words coming out of her pen that weren’t her own. They started with, “I would like to tell you to love me.”She was deeply touched, and intrigued to explore more about the source of this message. She went on to write in the same way every day for three months and ended up with a collection of surprising, funny and

The U.S. is a global leader on climate obstruction, but they’re not the only ones. In this episode, M. Omar Faruque, from Queen’s University in Canada and  Ruth E. McKie from De Montfort University join us to take a look at why and how those who will bear the brunt of climate change and have contributed the least, participate in climate obstruction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first of our special episodes from the first Hoffmann Centre / CEPR / ReCIPE Conference, we’re discussing what chances there are of significant multilateral agreements being signed at COP 30 and, given that the chances are low, what plan B might be.Beatrice Weder di Mauro of CEPR, Hoffmann Centre and the Geneva Graduate Institute tells Tim Phillips that, if everyone can’t agree, then coalitions of the willing – climate or finance clubs that offer incentives for the countries that want to

When the Center Becomes the RebelOnce, being radical meant picking a side—Rush Limbaugh on the right, Keith Olbermann on the left. But today, that kind of partisanship isn’t radical anymore—it’s predictable.In this episode, we explore a surprising idea: maybe the true radicals now are the independent thinkers—the bridge-builders—who refuse to be boxed into red or blue.Our guest, Lura Forcum, President of The Independent Center, shares how her organization is empowering independent voters, holding

The dynamic and interconnected ways Afghans and Iranians invented their modern selves through literature. Contrary to the presumption that literary nationalism in the Global South emerged through contact with Europe alone, Reading Across Borders: Afghans, Iranians, and Literary Nationalism (University of Texas Press, 2024) demonstrates how the cultural forms of Iran and Afghanistan as nation-states arose from their shared Persian heritage and cross-cultural exchange in the twentieth century. In

Urban Labyrinths: Informal Settlements, Architecture, and Social Change in Latin America examines intervention initiatives in informal settlements in Latin American cities as social, spatial, architectural, and cultural processes.From the mid-20th century to the present, Latin America and other regions in the Global South have experienced a remarkable demographic trend, with millions of people moving from rural areas to cities in search of work, healthcare, and education. Without other options,

Content moderation on social media has become one of the most daunting challenges of our time. Nowhere is the need for action more urgent than in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Yet despite mass content takedowns, account suspensions, and mounting pressure on technology companies to do more, hate thrives online. Safe Havens for Hate: The Challenge of Moderating Online Extremism (Princeton University Press, 2025) looks at how content moderation shapes the tactics of harmful content

This episode of New Books in Southeast Asian Studies features Stéphen Huard talking about Calibrated Engagement: Chronicles of Local Politics in the Heartland of Myanmar (‎Berghahn Books, 2024), in which he takes a deep dive into the history and anthropology of village leadership in Myanmar’s central dry zone, or anya. In it, Stéphen develops “calibrated engagement” as a category to describe relations among headmen and big men, or lugyi, from his observations in two villages near Monywa. Though the

We all carry secrets — some small, some soul-deep. In this powerful, intimate episode of You’re Probably Right, MCM explores the hidden parts of our lives we rarely talk about: the things we bury, the emotions we mute, the truths we fear will change how others see us.From the psychology of secrecy and the silent cost of repression to the gendered ways we hide emotion, the quiet battles with mental health, intrusive thoughts, and even private desires we’re too ashamed to name — this episode dives

For many years, Diane Ravitch was among the country’s leading conservative thinkers on education. The cure for what ailed the school system was clear, she believed: high-stakes standardized testing, national standards, accountability, competition, charters, and vouchers. Then Ravitch saw what happened when these ideas were put into practice and recanted her long-held views. The problem was not bad teachers or failing schools, as conservatives claimed, but poverty. She denounced privatization as a

For many years, Diane Ravitch was among the country’s leading conservative thinkers on education. The cure for what ailed the school system was clear, she believed: high-stakes standardized testing, national standards, accountability, competition, charters, and vouchers. Then Ravitch saw what happened when these ideas were put into practice and recanted her long-held views. The problem was not bad teachers or failing schools, as conservatives claimed, but poverty. She denounced privatization as a

I did things in love that felt right at the time — and I paid for them.In this episode I walk through the ten mistakes that cost me time, dignity, andpeace: caring past reason, mistaking intensity for connection, trying to earnlove by fixing problems, over-explaining, reading mixed signals as hope, andmore. For each one I explain why it felt sensible, why it hurt, when it mightmake sense, and the practical swap that actually protects your heart.If you want less drama and more clarity in dating and

Our final Halloween episode tackles a grizzly topic: Ritual Sacrifices. We explore some of the practices and reasons for sacfrifice throughout history. Note that there are somewhat graphic descriptions of some violent acts toward humans and animals. If you're going to sacrifice something, make it an inanimate effigy or other symbolic object. Happy Halloween 2025!RecommendationsAbraham: Novocaine: https://www.paramountmovies.com/movies/novocaineShane: Nine Inch Nails - Tron:Ares OST

What does it take to construct humanity's cultural history and what do these efforts produce in the world? In The Politics of World Heritage (Oxford UP, 2025), Elif Kalaycioglu analyzes UNESCO's flagship regime, which seeks to curate a cultural history of humanity, attached to "outstanding universal value" and tethered to goals of peace and solidarity. Kalaycioglu's analysis tracks that construction across fifty years of the regime and maps it onto three distinct visions: humanity as a rarified

The Concept of Mind in Hindu Tantra (Routledge, 2024) presents an account of the concept of mind in Hindu Tantra through a study of religious and philosophical texts in the medieval period. It will be of interest to researchers in the field of Religious Studies, Asian Religion, Hindu Studies, Indian philosophy and comparative philosophy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member

War, and the threat of war, spurs governments to invest in secret military technologies and weapons. Imperial Japan, ahead of the Second World War, was no exception. After the First World War, Japan set up the Noborito Research Institute: a division of scientists and technicians to invest in overt and clandestine warfare. Stephen Mercado dives into this history in his new book Japanese Spy Gear and Special Weapons: How Noborito’s Scientists and Technicians Served in the Second World War and the

Urban Labyrinths: Informal Settlements, Architecture, and Social Change in Latin America examines intervention initiatives in informal settlements in Latin American cities as social, spatial, architectural, and cultural processes.From the mid-20th century to the present, Latin America and other regions in the Global South have experienced a remarkable demographic trend, with millions of people moving from rural areas to cities in search of work, healthcare, and education. Without other options,

What can war teach us about how the human brain really works? And why is human decision-making a more significant factor than military strength in wars?Episode SummaryOn this episode, I'm exploring how the human brain truly manifests in conflict—and what that reveals about everyday decision-making. Dr Nicholas Wright, a neurologist-turned-neuroscientist who advises the Pentagon Joint Staff, joins me to discuss his new book Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain. In our