NPR Podcasts

Laleh Khadivi explores mother-daughter relationships in 'Female Life on Planet Earth'|Book of theDay

373 views · 8h ago · 12:20

Guest: NPR's Debbie Elliott

It’s been almost one year since Heti, the main character of Laleh Khadivi’s Female Life on Planet Earth, lost her mother. But when details from her mother’s secret past resurface, Heti must grapple with what it means to know someone, womanhood and how to grieve parts of her mother she never knew existed. In an interview with NPR's Debbie Elliott, Khadivi talks about motherhood, how physics books became a surprising inspiration and why this is her most personal novel yet.

Does a high IQ make you smart? | It's Been a Minute

1.4K views · 8h ago · 36:22

Why IQ still matters to people - even if it's biased. President Trump and Silicon Valley tech bros are obsessed with IQ, but the history of intelligence testing is full of bunk race science and eugenics. With the rise of AI's "super intelligence," should we still be ranking human intelligence at all?

Topics: Why Trump and Silicon Valley are obsessed with IQ · The tech right's IQ fetishism · How 'The Bell Curve' justified inequality · IQ's political consequences · The BITCH test and valuing diverse intelligences · The myth of biological race

We take John Turturro to the Cheesecake Factory | Wait Wait Don't Tell Me

5.5K views · 2d ago · 52:42

This week, legendary actor John Turturro shows off his Christopher Walken impression and panelists Hari Kondabolu, Paula Poundstone, and Faith Salie talk Cheesecake Factory and learning to love a man made of wicker. NPR Privacy Policy (

New memoirs by Evan Gershkovich and Mahmoud Khalil chronicle political imprisonment

915 views · 3d ago · 18:40

Guest: Morning Edition’s Leila Fadel

Today’s episode features memoirs by two men whose incarceration became international headlines. Evan Gershkovich is an American journalist who spent 16 months in a Russian prison. Two years after his release, his new memoir This Cursed Beautiful Land details the time he spent listening, observing and writing while detained. Gershkovich spoke with Morning Edition’s Leila Fadel about adjusting to life after his release.

Black voters could decide the midterms. Why are they being ignored? | Code Switch

4.9K views · 3d ago · 31:20

Guest: Code Switch

Every election season, politicians remember Black voters exist, and then lecture them, pander to them or skip their doors entirely. MS NOW ( ’s Eugene Daniels has been reporting on Black voters in Cleveland and Detroit, and he tells Parker what actually gets people to the polls (hint: it’s not guilt-tripping).

Why is divorce financially harder on women? | It's Been a Minute

6K views · 3d ago · 26:39

Divorce can be liberating. And expensive. When author and science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer ( separated from her ex-husband, her social media feed was inundated with posts about the freedom of divorce. But while divorce can be empowering... Melinda felt like that narrative overlooked a pretty significant part of the process: the financial burden.

Shadows, war, and finding Moomin joy | Throughline

3.4K views · 4d ago · 56:21

The Moomins have been a beloved children’s series around the world for decades. And now these bright, whimsical, and colorful Finnish characters are starting to gain steam in America. Today on Throughline, the story of their creator and the tragic circumstances that gave them life.

Biography 'American Pope' follows Leo XIV's life from Chicago to Vatican City

992 views · 4d ago · 11:25

In American Pope: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City, NPR host Scott Detrow and religion editor Daniel Burke chronicle Pope Leo XIV’s path to leading the Catholic Church as the first American to take the position in its 2,000 year history. Reported across Peru, Chicago and Rome, the biography paints a picture of the pope, as told by his friends, confidants, family, classmates, fellow clergy and Vatican insiders.

Bringing a chatbot to the polls | It's Been a Minute

4.9K views · 5d ago · 21:50

Guest: Maham Javaid

How do you decide who to vote for? Are you looking for more conversations on politics and culture? Check these out The DSA vs. establishment Democrats ( How often do you think about the American Empire? ( NPR Privacy Policy (

In 'Friends and Family,' a police encounter strains a friendship between two moms

928 views · 5d ago · 10:39

Natalie Baszile’s new book, Friends and Family, follows the friendship of two mothers: Babs, a Black woman, and Nora, a white woman with an adopted Black son. When the police are called on their kids while they’re home alone, the two women are left to grapple with their tightly-held beliefs on race, identity and how to best protect their kids.

Our money dysmorphia is real | It's Been a Minute

164K views · 6d ago · 41:43

It’s a question that prompted Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist and illustrator Mona Chalabi to pitch her first book, Ten Lives: How What We Have Shapes Who We Are ( . It chronicles the economic lives of Americans -- from the mega wealthy to those living paycheck-to-paycheck -- over a six year period. She even digs into her own financial life.

Weaponizing IQ: Who gets to be smart? | Code Switch

9.4K views · 6d ago · 39:50

Guests: Code Switch, Weaponizing IQ

President Trump and Silicon Valley tech bros are obsessed with IQ, but the history of intelligence testing is full of bunk race science and eugenics. With the rise of AI's "super intelligence," should we still be ranking human intelligence at all?

Kevin Roose on the quasi-religious pursuit of artificial general intelligence

1.4K views · 6d ago · 12:33

Over the past few months, some industry insiders have warned that rogue AI could escape its human creators, resulting in dangerous – and perhaps existential – consequences. But in his new book, Kevin Roose reminds readers that billionaire tech executives behind the technology have been fighting about this possibility for a decade or more. The AGI Chronicles follows the all-out sprint to create artificial general intelligence, despite its risks.

'Lessons in Chemistry' author Bonnie Garmus on her new novel 'Peck & Peck' | Book of the Day

1.6K views · 1w ago · 12:48

Bonnie Garmus’ 2022 novel Lessons in Chemistry was a smash hit, selling more than 8 million copies worldwide. Her new novel Peck & Peck is set in the ‘80s and centers around Batter Gray, a young man who lands a job in the copy room of a prestigious poetry magazine. But soon, Batter becomes embroiled in personal and editorial conflicts.

There's nothing scarier than private equity in food | It's Been a Minute

14K views · 1w ago · 17:49

Guest: Alaina Demopoul

Does private equity turn restaurants into zombified husks of their former selves? From the Crumbl and Insomnia cookie empires, to some of our country's most enduring chains like Dunkin and Panera, private equity is getting its hands in a lot of food chains. And some consumers are actively avoiding places that are private equity backed – expecting high prices, low quality, and an unsettling sameness to the food.

Topics: Why some are spooked by private equity in food · Bagels, cookies, and Panera: what private equity involvement looks like · The soulless private equity aesthetic · Why restaurants are attractive to private equity - despite thin margins · Why do some people take private equity involvement so personally?