Our Common Nature: West Virginia Coal
Radiolab introduces a special episode from the series "Our Common Nature" in which host Ana Gonzalez and cellist Yo-Yo Ma explore West Virginia's coal country to understand how coal, music, race, and nature shape people's lives. Through stories from miners like Chris Saunders and his mother Zora, poet-activist Crystal Good, musician Kathy Matea, and others, the episode examines the pride, danger, and environmental harm tied to coal, as well as the resilience and community that persist in Appalachia. The journey weaves together mine history, the Upper Big Branch disaster, iconic songs, rafting on the New River, and intimate moments of grief and connection.
Wicked's costume designer on how to tell stories with clothes | Paul Tazewell
Host Elise Hu introduces Oscar-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell, who explains how clothing functions as a subconscious storytelling language that shapes our perceptions of heroes, villains, and marginalized people. Drawing on his work in Hamilton, West Side Story, and Wicked, he shows how design choices around color, silhouette, and texture can reinforce or challenge cultural narratives about power, identity, and "wickedness." A brief Q&A touches on how costumes will continue to evolve in the sequel Wicked for Good and hints at his future work on Broadway and film.
My identity is a superpower - not an obstacle | America Ferrera (re-release)
In this re-released 2019 TED Talk, actor and activist America Ferreira recounts her journey from a nine-year-old dreaming of being an actress to confronting the systemic stereotypes and limitations placed on her as a brown, poor, fat Latina in Hollywood. She explains how her breakout roles in Real Women Have Curves and Ugly Betty revealed the power of authentic representation, both for audiences and for her own sense of worth. Ferreira argues that her identity is not an obstacle but a superpower, and calls for individuals and systems to stop resisting what the world actually looks like and to align their values and actions with genuine inclusion.
How to build your confidence - and spark it in others | Brittany Packnett Cunningham (re-release)
Host Elise Hu introduces a 2019 TED Talk by educator and activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham on the nature and power of confidence. Drawing on stories from her childhood, her classroom, women rangers in Kenya, and her own career, Brittany argues that confidence is a critical engine for turning ideas into action and pursuing justice. She outlines three elements that "crack the code" of what she calls revolutionary confidence: permission, community, and curiosity.
#2399 - Daryl Davis & Jeff Schoep
Joe Rogan speaks with Daryl Davis, a Black musician known for befriending Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis and helping hundreds leave extremist groups, and Jeff Schoep, the former longtime leader of the National Socialist Movement who has since renounced white supremacy. They discuss how Jeff was indoctrinated into neo-Nazism, his rise to leadership, the gradual process of his de-radicalization after meeting Daryl and others, and his current work helping people leave extremist movements. The conversation also explores the psychology of hate, white supremacist recruitment strategies, demographic fears driving modern extremism, and practical approaches to reducing racism and improving race relations.
VH-1: MTV for Your Parents
Josh and Chuck trace the history of VH1 as the mellower, adult contemporary counterpart to MTV, from its 1985 launch through multiple reinventions. They cover the channel's early focus on older artists, its successful 1990s rebrand with shows like Pop-Up Video, Storytellers, and Behind the Music, and its later pivot into pop culture countdowns and reality TV. The episode also examines VH1's role in Black-focused programming, the ethical controversies around shows like Celebrity Rehab, the Jasmine Fiore murder scandal, and VH1's current identity anchored in reality franchises and reruns.
#617 - Aziz Ansari
Theo Von talks with Aziz Ansari about his new film "Good Fortune," the challenges of writing, directing, and acting in a feature, and how movie production differs from stand-up comedy. Aziz shares personal stories from growing up as the only Indian kid in a small South Carolina town, including the death of his younger sister and the kindness of the women who helped raise him. They also discuss burnout, avoiding ego, living abroad in London, and the importance of early gatekeepers and mentors in their stand-up careers.
#615 - Ken Burns
Filmmaker Ken Burns discusses his career in historical documentary filmmaking, including the origin of the "Ken Burns effect" and how the early loss of his mother shaped his lifelong drive to "wake the dead" and keep the past alive. He dives deeply into his new six-part, 12-hour series "The American Revolution," arguing that the Revolution is the most important event since the birth of Christ, unpacking its ideas about equality, citizenship, virtue, and the pursuit of happiness, and correcting common myths about key events and figures. The conversation broadens into a reflection on American identity, media and social media, polarization, public institutions like PBS and the national parks, and the ongoing need for self-examination and civic responsibility to keep the American experiment from "dying by suicide."
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
Radiolab revisits the Supreme Court case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, centered on the custody of Veronica, a child eligible for Cherokee Nation membership, and the application of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The episode traces the mid‑20th century history of widespread removal of Native American children from their families that led to ICWA, then walks through the conflicting narratives of Veronica's adoptive parents, her Cherokee father Dustin Brown, and their lawyers as the case moves through the courts up to the Supreme Court. A 2025 update explains that Veronica was ultimately returned to her adoptive parents and that, despite repeated legal challenges, ICWA was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 but continues to face ongoing challenges.
How Dolly Parton led me to an epiphany | Jad Abumrad (re-release)
Host Elise Hume introduces a TED 2020 talk by Radiolab creator Jad Abumrad, in which he reflects on his evolution as a storyteller and journalist. Abumrad describes moving from science-driven stories that end in wonder, to conflict-driven narratives centered on struggle, and finally to seeking "revelation" by holding opposing truths together. Through his podcast series about Dolly Parton and a visit to her Tennessee mountain home, he discovers unexpected connections to his Lebanese immigrant heritage and embraces a new storytelling goal he calls finding "the third"-a shared space that emerges when differences are truly recognized.
#613 - Forrest Galante
Forrest Galante discusses growing up on a farm and safari operation in Zimbabwe, witnessing wildlife decline and later violent land seizures that forced his family to flee during the land reform era. He explains how that background led him into wildlife biology and television, covering his work on "Extinct or Alive," his new series "Animals on Drugs," and hands-on conservation projects like chemically and surgically castrating invasive hippos in Colombia. The conversation ranges through close calls with deadly snakes, the ethics of extinction and de‑extinction, invasive species, and why reconnecting with wild places can ground people in a hyperconnected world.
#611 - Louis C.K.
Theo Von talks with Louis C.K. about performing edgy stand-up in different kinds of venues, parenting, childhood neglect, race and taboo language, and the creative process behind Louis's novel "Ingram". They explore the American literary voice, the evolution of language, and broader cultural issues like polarization, social media addiction, and technology's physical footprint. A large part of the conversation centers on Louis's public downfall, his struggles with sex and pornography addiction, 12‑step recovery, and how confronting his own failures has reshaped his life, work, and friendship with Theo.