Fires and overheating accidents attributed to lithium-ion batteries killed 19 people in the United States in 2022, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. In New York City alone, six people were killed in these uniquely fast-burning infernos. Experts say poorly made batteries, like those often found on cheaper e-bike models, are the primary culprit. So why is it still so easy to purchase them? Does a typical bike owner know how to safely charge and maintain a bike battery? And are lower-paid workers, such as delivery people, essentially being forced to purchase unsafe bikes just to be able to do their jobs? On episode 59 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene talk with writers Greg Smith, Stephanie Clifford, and Ross Barkan about the New York fires and the populations most at risk, the regulatory challenges of reining in the e-bike industry, and the unintended consequences of our on-demand culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech futurists have been saying for decades that artificial intelligence will transform the way we live. In some ways, it already has: Think autocorrect, Siri, facial recognition. But ChatGPT and other generative A.I. models are also prone to getting things wrong—and whether the programs will improve with time is not altogether clear. So what purpose, exactly, does this iteration of A.I. actually serve, how is it likely to be adopted, and who stands to benefit (or suffer) from it? On episode 67 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene talk with Washington Post reporter Will Oremus about a troubling tale of A.I. fabulism; with science fiction author Ted Chiang about ramifications of an A.I-polluted internet; and with linguist Emily M. Bender about what large-language models can and cannot do—and whether we’re asking the right questions about this technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we headed back to the 1970s? Politicians and commentators from across the political spectrum insist we are. They also make clear that nothing could be worse. Why is the decade so feared? What kinds of policy to the grim warnings justify? On episode 56 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene speak with the writer Aaron Timms about “nostophobia,” a term he coined to describe a condition that is something like the opposite of nostalgia, and “’70s syndrome,” the variant currently gripping our collective imagination. It’s hard to see how we fix the problems of today with the same failed policy solutions of the 1970s—but that isn’t stopping anyone from trying.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost a decade ago, economist Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century changed the way many people understood capitalism and inequality.In the years since, his research and ideas have helped jolt our politics out of autopilot and elevate solutions like a wealth tax into the mainstream.This episode—recorded in Paris following a panel discussion Thomas and Felicia participated in with historian Gary Gerstle—is about what comes next.“I think it's important that progressives . . . start thinking again not only about next week, but also about next decade and next century,” Thomas tells Felicia.He talks about the possibility of a universal basic inheritance, the battle for progressive taxation, and what he sees as the key to prosperity: “much more investment in education, human capital, public infrastructure.”Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders.You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a few days in early November, it seemed like Twitter might go down in flames. That hasn’t happened—yet—but the prospect of the platform’s end has forced a reckoning. What would its loss mean for the countless journalists, academics, and politicians who rely on it? Would we be better or worse off? And could a diminished Twitter augur the death of social media in general? On episode 58 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene talk with the writer Max Read about Twitter’s possible futures, and with Ian Bogost, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, about why we should embrace the end of social media.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elderly lawmakers are nothing new in Washington. Strom Thurmond didn’t retire until he was 100; Robert Byrd was still in office when he died at 92. By those standards, Dianne Feinstein, who will turn 90 this month, is practically a youngster. But after her return to the Senate this spring following illness, questions about her ability to serve began to grow more frequent. On episode 69 of The Politics of Everything, co-hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene discuss Feinstein’s storied career—and the long-standing reluctance among senators to develop plans for succession within an institution that rewards seniority above almost all else. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early 1970s, ranchers in the Southwest began to share strange reports of cattle mutilations—carcasses discovered with organs missing, and with no obvious physical explanation for the deaths. A variety of culprits were suggested—secret government programs, satanists, cults, or extraterrestrials—despite multiple forensic investigations that turned up nothing suspicious about the deaths. Then this spring, a minor police report about the mutilations of six cattle in Texas went from a Facebook post to multiple national articles in a matter of days. Why did such a seemingly small incident strike such a chord, and what does the American fascination with this particular conspiracy theory say about us? On episode 68 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene chat with Michael J. Goleman, a historian who researched the first great wave of cattle mutilations in the 1970s, and with cultural historian Colin Dickey, who has written extensively about American conspiracy theories, about their historical cycles and why, in the twenty-first century, they seem to have taken a very dark turn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech futurists have been saying for decades that artificial intelligence will transform the way we live. In some ways, it already has: Think autocorrect, Siri, facial recognition. But ChatGPT and other generative A.I. models are also prone to getting things wrong—and whether the programs will improve with time is not altogether clear. So what purpose, exactly, does this iteration of A.I. actually serve, how is it likely to be adopted, and who stands to benefit (or suffer) from it? On episode 67 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene talk with Washington Post reporter Will Oremus about a troubling tale of A.I. fabulism; with science fiction author Ted Chiang about ramifications of an A.I-polluted internet; and with linguist Emily M. Bender about what large-language models can and cannot do—and whether we’re asking the right questions about this technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans are in a toxic relationship with their automobiles. They’re bad for us—polluting, noisy, and increasingly dangerous to pedestrians—yet we remain fully committed to them. They’re also bad at their primary function: transport. Urbanists and environmentalists for years have proposed solutions to break the automotive spell: improved mass transit, walkable cities, congestion pricing. But cars (and their companion scourge, parking) still dominate our public spaces. On episode 66 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene talk with authors Daniel Knowles and Henry Grabar about the obstacles that prevent us from constraining car culture—and, perhaps, a solution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In ways large and small, the changing climate affects how we live and, for a growing number of people, where we live. Many have already relocated because conditions have become too dangerous back home, whether due to sea level rise, wildfires, or drought. Others are moving preemptively, aiming to settle in a region with less perceived climate risk. On episode 65 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene talk to journalists Debra Kamin and Jake Bittle about the effect that small-scale climate migration is having on one “climate-proof” city—and the potential ramifications of widespread population relocation in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices