Shutdown Ending, Trump's Pardons, and Guest Curtis Sliwa
In this live Pivot show from Brooklyn, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway interview Curtis Sliwa about his New York City mayoral campaign, alleged attempts by billionaires to bribe him out of the race, his animal rescue advocacy, the Guardian Angels, crime and policing, and his views on New York politics and Andrew Cuomo. Swisher and Galloway then discuss the congressional shutdown deal, Democratic strategy, and Trump's pardons, followed by a wide-ranging conversation on feminism and the workplace, universal childcare, masculinity, parenting, AI risks and regulation, and audience Q&A on marriage, kids, and technology. The episode closes with reflections on mentorship, male role models, and the importance of lifting up young men without demonizing masculinity.
A new experiment in remote work ... from the inside
Planet Money examines Maine's experiment with allowing incarcerated people to hold remote jobs for market-rate wages, focusing on the stories of grants coordinator Darlene George and software engineer Preston Thorpe. Reporter Susan Sharon and Corrections Commissioner Randall Liberty explain how prison education led to remote work opportunities, how earnings are handled and prioritized for restitution and fees, and the ethical debates and incentive problems that arise when prisons collect a share of those wages. The episode contrasts Maine's guarded approach with Alabama's far more extractive system, and explores what this could mean for recidivism, victims, and the future of prison labor.
#2405 - Luis J Gomez & Big Jay Oakerson
Joe Rogan talks with comedians Big Jay and Louis J. Gomez in a wide‑ranging, comedic conversation that spans stand‑up comedy, mosh pits, drugs, porn, plastic surgery, crime, and artificial intelligence. They trade stories about clean vs. dirty comedy, chaotic metal shows, being secretly dosed with LSD, New York City politics and drug laws, and the realities of prison life. The discussion eventually turns to the rapid advancement of AI, its implications for media and warfare, and what that could mean for the future of humanity.
The Alabama Murders - Part 6: The Porterfield Sessions
Malcolm Gladwell explores the life and psyche of death row prisoner Kenny Smith through the work of psychologist Kate Porterfield, who evaluated him after Alabama's botched attempt to execute him by lethal injection. Porterfield explains the unique physiological and psychological impact of mock and botched executions, situates Kenny's crime within a history of severe childhood abuse and family dysfunction, and reflects on how trauma and unconditional child-to-parent love shape later violence. The episode ends by tracing Kenny's deteriorating mental state, previewing his second execution via nitrogen gas, and questioning the human cost of the system that tried to kill him twice.
Reframing the Battle of Wills
Host Shankar Vedantam talks with psychologist Stuart Ablon about why attempts to change others' behavior often fail when we assume the problem is a lack of motivation or willpower. Ablon explains how many challenging behaviors arise from lagging cognitive, emotional, and social skills, and describes his collaborative problem solving approach that emphasizes empathy, identifying unmet concerns, and jointly generating solutions. He illustrates the method with cases from psychiatric hospitals, juvenile detention, families, and workplaces, and discusses research showing it reduces challenging behavior and builds skills in both the people being helped and the helpers themselves.
Should the fine have to fit the crime?
The episode follows Alaska bush pilot Ken Jopie, who lost his $95,000 Cessna after being convicted of felony bootlegging for flying a six-pack of beer into a dry village, and has spent over a decade fighting the forfeiture. Through Ken's case, law professor Michael O'Hare and attorney Sam Gedge explain the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause, how a 1998 Supreme Court case (Bajikajian) established limits on economic punishments, and how lower courts have since applied that standard unevenly. The conversation explores why fines and forfeitures can be constitutionally excessive, the incentives that drive governments to rely on them, and why Ken's case could prompt the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify the law.
The Alabama Murders - Part 5: Cruel and Unusual
Malcolm Gladwell examines the botched 2022 execution attempt of Kenny Smith in Alabama, situating it within the broader history and practice of lethal injection. Through interviews with Smith's mother, his longtime lawyer, a medical expert, and courtroom and press excerpts, the episode details Alabama's lethal injection protocol, previous failed executions, and the political response that extended the time window for executions. The story raises questions about what constitutes "cruel and unusual" punishment and how a method designed to appear humane can mask severe suffering and systemic failure.
#619 - Stan the Chauffeur
Theo interviews professional chauffeur Stan the Chauffeur, whose real name is Stanford Boyay, about his life journey from growing up in the Bronx to building a career driving limos and sprinters in Charlotte and Columbia, South Carolina. Stan shares how he left New York to be closer to his daughter, stumbled into chauffeuring, and developed a customer-first philosophy with many wild passenger stories. He also talks about quitting cocaine, a violent confrontation with a scamming contractor, a serious burn incident caused by his much younger girlfriend, his complicated love life, and his advice to young men to avoid the streets and pursue education.
The Alabama Murders - Part 4: The Protocol
Malcolm Gladwell continues the story of John Forrest Parker, focusing on Parker's decades on Alabama's death row, his relationship with prison minister Tom Perry Jr., and the events of his 2010 execution. The episode then traces the improvised origins of the lethal injection protocol and presents medical evidence from autopsies suggesting that executions by lethal injection likely cause agonizing internal injury while appearing peaceful. Gladwell frames the narrative with James Keenan's idea that sin is the failure to bother to care, contrasting Perry's steadfast care with the broader indifference to how executions actually work.
#2392 - John Kiriakou
Former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou describes his career in U.S. intelligence, including counterterrorism work, the capture of Abu Zubaydah, and his refusal to participate in the CIA's post‑9/11 torture program. He explains how he went public about torture, the subsequent federal investigation and prosecution that led to his imprisonment, and his experiences inside federal prison and reentering society. The conversation broadens into critiques of the "deep state," FBI entrapment tactics, propaganda laws, U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Ukraine, and the influence of Israel and AIPAC on American politics.
The Alabama Murders - Part 3: A Peculiar Institution
Malcolm Gladwell examines the trial of John Forrest Parker for the murder of Elizabeth Sennett, highlighting how medical evidence and timing cast serious doubt on whether Parker actually inflicted the fatal stab wounds, and pointing instead toward her husband, Reverend Charles Sennett. The episode then traces how Alabama's judicial override system allowed a judge to impose the death penalty against a jury's recommendation of life without parole, and how the state later abolished override without correcting past cases, leaving Parker on death row despite the system's acknowledged flaws.
TED Talks Daily Book Club: How to Be Free: A Proven Guide to Escaping Life's Hidden Prisons | Shaka Senghor
Host Elise Hu interviews Shaka Senghor about his new book "How to Be Free: A Proven Guide to Escaping Life's Hidden Prisons," which draws on his journey from childhood trauma and 19 years of incarceration to personal transformation. Senghor explains his concepts of "hidden prisons" like grief, shame, guilt, anger, and unworthiness, and shares practices such as gratitude, forgiveness, journaling, vulnerability, and presence as keys to freedom. He also discusses masculinity, mentoring young men, his work with incarcerated people, and how embracing joy and hope coexist with accountability for past harm.
SYSK's Fall True Crime Playlist: The Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping
Hosts Josh Clark and Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant recount the 1976 Chowchilla school bus kidnapping, in which 26 children and their bus driver Ed Ray were hijacked, transported, and buried alive in a moving van trailer as part of a bungled ransom plot. They detail the conditions inside the buried trailer, the escape led largely by 14-year-old Mike Marshall with crucial help from Ray, and the frantic search and relief in the town of Chowchilla. The episode also examines the wealthy but inept perpetrators, the planning and failures of the crime, the legal aftermath and parole debates, the long-term trauma experienced by the victims, and closes with a listener email about structural reasons behind racial disparities in traffic ticketing.
SYSK's Fall True Crime Playlist: How The Great Train Robbery Worked
Josh Clark and Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant walk through the 1963 Great Train Robbery in the UK, in which a gang robbed the Glasgow-to-London mail train of around £2.6 million without using guns. They explain how the plan came together, how the heist was executed, the role of the inside man, and how forensic mistakes at a rural hideout helped police track the robbers. The hosts also cover the dramatic trials, harsh sentences, escapes and long years on the run-especially Ronald Biggs-along with the robbery's cultural legacy and a closing listener segment about fermented horse milk (kumis).