Factually! with Adam Conover

We often frame the fight against climate change as one of endless sacrifice. But the truth is, the real solutions to climate change would both save money and make our lives better. Scientist, inventor, and energy expert Saul Griffith joins Adam to walk us through why electric power is more efficient, powerful, and affordable long-term; how the “scarcity mentality” is a flawed way to view fighting climate change; and how a “wartime mobilization” to electrify our society would both fight the COVID economic slump as well as combat climate change. Saul Griffith's book Rewiring America is available wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Where do cities… come from? Are they created by committee? Or do they just spring up out of the earth? Adam explores this question with journalist Annalee Newitz, author of the new book Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age. They take an audio tour from Cahokia, an indigenous city near St. Louis that somehow got left out of American textbook; the Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük, where people buried their ancestors under their living room floors; Angkor, which declined due to lack of government care of infrastructure; and everyone’s favorite lost city - Pompeii! You can find Four Lost Cities wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is humanity innately good or bad? Historian and author Rutger Bregman joins Adam to discuss his decidedly optimistic answer to this question. They discuss research showing that people are more likely to help each other during national disasters, the true story behind Kitty Genovese, and how the real-life Lord of The Flies had a very different ending. You can find Rutger Bregman’s book, Humankind: A Hopeful History, wherever books are sold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Dr. Carl Hart - professor of neuroscience and psychology at Columbia - joins Adam to argue that we’ve been approaching recreational drugs all wrong. Together they discuss how we have historically exaggerated the harmful effects of drugs on the brain, how stigma and criminalization create greater adverse effects than the drugs themselves, and more. Dr. Hart’s new book, Drug Use for Grown Ups, is out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To stop a deadly disease, you need more than medicine -- you need to change people’s minds. Journalist and doctor Seema Yasmin joins Adam this week to discuss how to combat harmful medical myths. They discuss how much more powerful narratives are than statistics, the difference between being anti-vaxx and being vaccine-hesitant, and why you shouldn’t eat your placenta after giving birth no matter what the celebrities tell you. Dr. Seema Yasmin's book - Viral BS: Medical Myths and Why We Fall For Them - is out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Aaniin - which is hello in the Algonquin language of Ojibwe! This week, Adam speaks with Anton Treuer, the professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University. He walks us through where Ojibwe language has historically been spoken - as well as where it is spoken now, why we should keep this and other indiginous languages alive, how native culture is both historical and modern, what we AREN’T taught about native communities, how stereotypes aren’t always incorrect, but are often incomplete, and why Anton is hopeful for continued culture change and growth away from oppression. Check out his book, The Language Warrior’s Manifesto: How To Keep Our Languages Alive No Matter The Odds, out February 1st. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Rebecca Puhl, Deputy Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, joins Adam to deep dive into the concept of weight stigma and how often we misunderstand the science of weight gain. Rebecca covers the relationship between weight stigma and eating disorders, the role personal behavior does and does not play into weight gain, how “genes load the gun but environment pulls the trigger,” weight bias in the medical field, what to say to yourself when you look in the mirror, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just in time for the lazy holiday break, legendary game designer Sid Meier joins Adam to discuss the genesis of his seminal game series “Civilization.” Sid and Adam explore how the early years of game design were driven by programmers following their passions, how good games need “interested decisions,” and the advice he gives budding young game designers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

LA Times reporter Liam Dillon joins Adam to discuss his recent exposé on how “crime-free housing” policies discriminate against black renters and deepen the housing crisis. They also break down the coming Covid-caused eviction wave, and how we might finally dig our way out of the housing crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Distinguished research scientist at NYU’s AI Now Institute and former Google employee/organizer Meredith Whittaker joins Adam to break down Prop 22. They cover workers’ rights for tech companies like Uber and Doordash, why Uber and others spent 200 million dollars on Prop 22’s ad campaign, Meredith’s experience organizing at Google and pushing back at their foray into military tech, and the dangerous myths around artificial intelligence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.