Apple News In Conversation

Cellular biology has already transformed medicine. It’s the science behind treatments like blood transfusions, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and chemotherapy. But as the field continues to develop, it keeps pushing up against one question: What’s a disease — and what’s a desire? In his new book, The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and cancer researcher Siddhartha Mukherjee takes a deep dive into the perils and potential of advancing cellular science. Below are excerpts from his interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu.

This is an episode from our archives. Scott McCartney has been covering the airline industry for more than two decades. He spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about why air travel is such a mess — and what can we do about it.

We’ve got something special for you this weekend. Apple News is launching a new World Cup podcast — hosted by Brendan Hunt (who plays Coach Beard on ‘Ted Lasso’) and Rebecca Lowe (who covers the English Premier League for NBC Sports). We’re bringing you the podcast’s first episode. In this inaugural episode, Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe gear up for the World Cup. Hear them battle out their national allegiances to the U.S. and England, reflect on the human-rights abuses taking place in Qatar, and share the story of how ‘Ted Lasso’ brought them together eight years ago.  ‘After the Whistle with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe’ is an Apple News Original podcast produced by Meadowlark Media. For around-the-clock World Cup news, plus live scores and standings, follow along on the Apple News app in My Sports, where available. https://apple.co/afterthewhistle

This week, the Powerball topped $2 billion, making it the biggest jackpot ever. Historian Jonathan D. Cohen is the author of the book For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America. He spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about our enduring obsession with the lottery — and the industry’s most troubling problems.

This episode is part of a special series from Apple News Today exploring the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections. Which party will control Congress? What are the most crucial races to watch? What do voters say they want? Apple News editor Gideon Resnick put these questions and more to a panel of election watchers: Amy Walter, the editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report, Errin Haines, the editor-at-large for the 19th, and Mike Madrid, a GOP consultant and co-host of the Latino Vote podcast.

A recent study by the Reuters Institute found that only 29% of Americans say they trust the news most of the time. Where has the press gone wrong — and how can it change to better serve the public? Longtime media critic Margaret Sullivan explores these questions in her new book, Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) From an Ink-Stained Life. Below are excerpts from her interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu.

In September, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was visiting Tehran when she was arrested by the country’s morality police for improperly wearing her hijab. She died while in custody. Since then, anti-government demonstrators — many of them women — have taken to the streets in cities across the country and around the world to demand more freedom and civil liberties in Iran. Pardis Mahdavi is a scholar of feminist movements in the country. In her interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu, she provides context for these demonstrations and the possible changes they could bring. Below are excerpts from the episode.

Many books have been written about Donald Trump’s presidency. But one stands out from the rest. It’s called The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017–2021, and it’s by New York Times journalist Peter Baker and New Yorker writer Susan Glasser. The husband-and-wife coauthors exhaustively cataloged Trump’s four years in office and interviewed more than 300 people, including Trump, for the book. They spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about their reporting.

After 9/11, the U.S. spent billions of dollars establishing the Transportation Security Administration. After more than 20 years of pat-downs, barefoot X-rays, and so-called random screenings, evidence shows that the TSA has played almost no role in foiling terrorist plots. Journalist Darryl Campbell recently wrote for The Verge about the agency’s history. He spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the state of airport security today and what a better system could look like.

During her long career covering the Supreme Court, journalist Nina Totenberg cultivated friendships with many justices, including Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Antonin Scalia. Totenberg spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how she maintained journalistic integrity while cultivating those relationships, what she thinks about the court today, and her new book, Dinners With Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships.