Harvard’s Shane Greenstein explains why Acquired wins by treating each episode like an audiobook—high-signal, audience-first, durable content—turning a rule-breaking format into a highly profitable media business.

Tenured professor Mark Horowitz explains how college standards are slipping due to financial pressure to enroll and retain students, cultural pressure to be endlessly compassionate, and a growing therapeutic mindset that discourages rigor. He frames this convergence as “broke, woke, stroke,” warning that it weakens the value of a degree by eroding its signal of real competence.

Computer scientist and business consultant Dr. Emmanuel Maggiori explains why Modern Monetary Theory breaks down in the real world, using Argentina and recent inflation as case studies. He also analyzes Bitcoin, the AI boom, and the economic forces likely to shape the coming decade. His perspective blends technical insight with real-world experience in both economics and AI.

Independent journalist James Corbett joins Jesse to trace how media, technology, and elite networks reshaped the information ecosystem—from early social media optimism to an AI-flooded, post-truth era. The conversation also covers the collapse of ad-based journalism, the rise of podcasts, political polarisation, philanthropy’s influence, and what crises may lie ahead.

Sociologist Dr. Jennie Bristow breaks down why “Boomer blaming” misses the real story: a stalled economy, a broken university pipeline, and a culture pushing young people into identity battles instead of opportunity. We explore how Millennials and Gen Z inherited this system—and what actually needs to change.

Investigative health journalist Julia Belluz joins the show to unpack the real science behind obesity, metabolism, and ultra-processed food, drawing on her work with NIH researcher Dr. Kevin Hall and their new book Food Intelligence. We get into the Biggest Loser study, why “a slow metabolism” isn’t destiny, how the modern food system quietly rigs our choices, and what actually helps people eat well in a toxic food environment.

Tech economist Dr. Jeffrey Funk explains why the current AI surge is the largest bubble in history—driven by massive losses, cheap subsidized pricing, and trillions in infrastructure spending with almost no real returns. He warns that when the narrative finally collapses, the fallout could dwarf dot-com and the 2008 crisis, reshaping tech, energy, and investment for years.

Steven Ross Pomeroy, science writer and editor of RealClearScience, joins the show to talk NASA’s lost nuclear rocket program, the promise of space mining, and why we still haven’t gone “all in” on advanced propulsion. He also dives into hidden AI adoption at work, “scienceploitation” and health hype, information overload in the smartphone era, and what neuroscience really says about speed reading and how we learn.

John Wihbey is a professor at Northeastern University who studies how social media and AI shape what we see and talk about online. In this episode, we break down why certain voices get boosted or buried, why platforms struggle with moderation, and how AI is now creating both the problem and the tools to fix it. We also talk about the shaky business of news and content creation today—and what skills young people will need to actually stand out in an AI-heavy world.

Dr. Spencer Barnes, Professor of Finance at UTEP, co-authored a study examining how postseason officiating differs for the Mahomes-era Kansas City Chiefs. The research finds that in the playoffs, the Chiefs are more likely to receive first-down–extending and subjective penalties compared to other teams, a pattern not seen in the regular season or with other dynasties like the Brady Patriots. The authors do not argue games are rigged, but suggest the pattern reflects subconscious, financially driven regulatory capture, benefiting the league’s most valuable, ratings-driving brand.

Madeleine Beekman, Professor Emerita of Evolutionary Biology and Behavioral Ecology, explains when and why humans first began to speak — arguing that language likely emerged around 150–200,000 years ago because our babies are born extremely helpless and require long-term, cooperative care. That need to work together pushed our ancestors to develop clear, precise communication, and children’s flexible, learning-ready brains helped shape the structure of language as it spread.

Dr. Gerd Gigerenzer is a renowned German psychologist and director emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, widely recognized as a global authority on decision-making, heuristics, and risk literacy. In this conversation, Gigerenzer explains why AI excels only in stable, rule-based environments and struggles with uncertainty and human behavior. He critiques AGI hype and the myth of fully autonomous machines, arguing that fear of job-stealing robots is often misplaced. Instead, he warns that the real threat lies in surveillance capitalism, addictive digital environments, and the slow erosion of human autonomy and attention.

Richard Ryan is a software developer and media executive with 20+ years in tech, co-founder of Black Rifle Coffee Company, and a creator whose platforms have generated billions of views. This episode explores how the attention economy evolved (post-2012 shift), why feeds polarize and extract time, and Richard’s playbook from The Warrior’s Garden to reclaim attention and privacy.

Dr. Luke Kemp, an existential risk researcher at Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, unpacks how wealth concentration, arms races, and surveillance make societies fragile—through the lens of his new book, Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse. We dive into the book’s case studies and prescriptions, from curbing plutocracy to regulating AI and nukes, outlining practical, democratic reforms to steer toward a safer, freer future.re.

Historian Fyodor Tertitskiy, PhD, explains how North Korea’s Kim dynasty endures through isolation, terror, elite incentives, and nuclear deterrence—making collapse or unification unlikely. He traces the regime’s Soviet-backed origins, mythmaking, black-market economy, cyber theft, and succession risks, stressing that democracy’s triumph isn’t guaranteed.

Clinical Professor of Psychology at Loyola University Chicago, Dr. Price, dismantles the “laziness lie” that equates human worth with productivity, showing how it drives burnout, stigma, and hollow status games. Drawing on AI’s impact, Graeber’s “bs jobs,” and academia’s adjunct crisis, Price urges revaluing care and creativity, setting boundaries, minimizing debt, and building a society that centers human needs over output.

Dr. Joseph Crawford, Senior Lecturer in Management explains how AI is reshaping higher ed: post-plagiarism assessment, recorded lectures, and students swapping human support for chatbots—eroding belonging and hurting performance. We cover massification pressures, faculty misuse, and workforce readiness—and why colleges must rebuild soft-skill practice and replace lost micro-interactions with people.

Eric Weiner, author of The Geography of Bliss, explains why true happiness stems from relationships, trust, and meaning....not money or technology. We explore how social media, AI, and shifting cultural trends shape well-being & why expectations are often the biggest obstacle to joy.

Stella Morabito, former CIA analyst & author of The Weaponization of Loneliness, explains how fear of isolation is exploited to silence and control. We discuss propaganda, social media, education, and why family, faith, and community are vital defenses against totalitarianism.

Dr. Angus Fletcher, a neuroscientist and professor at Ohio State, helps the military, big companies, and schools unlock creativity. He explains why kids lose creativity in school, how to break free from the “right answer” mindset, and why intuition, imagination, and asking better questions matter more than data for real innovation.