Menu
Plain English with Derek Thompson
Podcast image
Why Elite College Admissions Are Biased Toward the Superrich
50 mins; August 01, 2023
Oppenheimer: The Genius, the Film, and the Project That Changed the World
56 mins; July 25, 2023
How Hollywood Drove Its Business Model Off a Cliff
61 hours 34 mins; July 19, 2023
Americans Think the Economy Is Terrible. The Data Tell Another Story.
57 mins; July 11, 2023
How the Digital Workplace Broke Our Brains
63 hours 7 mins; July 05, 2023
What Just Happened in Russia This Weekend?
57 mins; June 27, 2023
The Science of Procrastination—and How to Really Get Stuff Done
56 mins; June 20, 2023
Why Fertility Rates Are Plunging—in the U.S., South Korea, and Everywhere Else
64 hours 45 mins; June 13, 2023
Why So Many Young Men Are Lonely, Sexless, and Extremely Online
53 mins; June 06, 2023
How Hollywood's Writers Strike Could Change the Future of TV and Movies
50 mins; May 30, 2023
Why Youth Sports in America Are in Decline
45 mins; May 23, 2023
The Future of War Is Here
88 hours 11 mins; May 16, 2023
A Diet Conspiracy: Is Ice Cream Secretly Good for You?
43 mins; May 09, 2023
An Optimistic Guide to America’s Clean-Energy Future
85 hours 24 mins; May 02, 2023
The Most Important Thing Most Americans Misunderstand About Insomnia
65 hours 5 mins; April 25, 2023
How American Cities Can Avoid the ‘Urban Doom Loop’
70 hours 12 mins; April 18, 2023
Americans Die Younger Than People in Any Other Rich Country. Why?
55 mins; April 11, 2023
How Strong Is the Case Against Donald Trump?
58 mins; April 05, 2023
Myth-Busting Wellness Hacks: Cold Plunges, Coffee, Alcohol, and Fitness Trackers
55 mins; April 04, 2023
Eight Burning Questions About the Donald Trump Indictment
26 mins; March 31, 2023
Why the Cult of Achievement in Schools Is Making People Miserable
50 mins; March 28, 2023
A Mind-Expanding Conversation About Human History and Happiness With Tim Urban
56 mins; March 24, 2023
The AI Revolution Could Be Bigger and Weirder Than We Can Imagine
61 hours 13 mins; March 21, 2023
MAILBAG: Why Does the Internet Make Us Depressed? Where Does Good Writing Come From? Is College Worth It Anymore?
38 mins; March 17, 2023
The SVB Debacle: The Biggest Myths, the Out-of-Control Blame Game, and the Worst Takes
42 mins; March 15, 2023
Silicon Valley Bank Collapse FAQ: Whose Fault Is It? How Can We Stop a Bank Panic? What Comes Next?
38 mins; March 13, 2023
"Industrial Policy" Is the Hottest Idea in Economics. What Could Go Wrong?
51 mins; March 10, 2023
How the Media Failed Its COVID Test: The Truth Behind the Lab Leak and Masking Debates
94 hours 40 mins; March 07, 2023
Why Are American Teens So Unhappy? How Do We Solve This Crisis?
55 mins; March 03, 2023
Happiness in America, Part 1: The Secret to a 'Good Life,' According to an 80-Year Study
58 mins; February 28, 2023
The Science of How Music Hits Have Changed in the Last 60 Years
52 mins; February 24, 2023
Bing Chatbot Gone Wild and Why AI Could Be the Story of the Decade
51 mins; February 21, 2023
UFOs and Aliens and Drones and Balloons: Understanding the U.S. Sky Wars
50 mins; February 17, 2023
Why Everybody Is Wrong About a Recession and Housing’s Great Comeback
34 mins; February 14, 2023
The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Fake Meat in America
38 mins; February 10, 2023
China’s Spy Balloon Is Down. Cold War 2.0 Risks Are Rising.
43 mins; February 07, 2023
Econ Megapod: The Debt Ceiling Is Dumb, and the Inflation “Crisis” Might Be Over
57 mins; February 03, 2023
The Dark Side of Being Obsessed With Productivity
48 mins; January 31, 2023
How AI Could Change Apple and Google, Writing and Music, and Everything Else
61 hours 49 mins; January 27, 2023
Why Big Tech's Jobs Bubble Burst. Plus, SBF's Scandal Deepens.
47 mins; January 24, 2023
America Isn’t Ready for the Weight-Loss-Drug Revolution That’s Coming
53 mins; January 20, 2023
How Americans Got Everything About Food—Fat, Sugar, and Obesity—‘Entirely Backwards’
47 mins; January 17, 2023
True or False: 10 Controversial Predictions About the Future of Streaming, Tech, and Media
40 mins; January 13, 2023
Why There Is So Much Bullsh*t in Science
60 hours 54 mins; January 11, 2023
The 2023 Economy FAQ: Is Recession Inevitable? Will Housing Crash? Can Tech Recover?
44 mins; January 04, 2023
PE Greatest Hits: Thompson and Klosterman Debate Why Society Got So Negative
49 mins; December 27, 2022
PE Greatest Hits: Derek and Ryen Debate the Most Impressive Sports Statistic of All Time
53 mins; December 20, 2022
ChatGPT, Obesity Drugs, Exoplanet Images, and Medical Miracles: The Most Amazing Breakthroughs of 2022
58 mins; December 13, 2022
Sperm Counts Are Falling All Over the World—Why?
49 mins; December 09, 2022
Who's Afraid of a Four-Day Work Week?
51 mins; December 06, 2022
Why the Bad Guys—in China, Russia, Iran, and the U.S.—Are Having a Terrible Winter
49 mins; December 02, 2022
Why America is Suffering a 'Friendship Recession'
59 mins; November 29, 2022
Thanksgiving Mega-Pod: Bob Iger’s Power Grab, SBF’s Scandal, and Elon Musk’s Omnishambles
86 hours 51 mins; November 22, 2022
If China Invades Taiwan, Is It World War III?
48 mins; November 18, 2022
A Crypto Catastrophe: The Stunning Fall of FTX—and What Comes Next
47 mins; November 15, 2022
Instant Reaction Pod: Midterm Election Winners, Losers, Surprises, and Takeaways
17 mins; November 09, 2022
Elon Musk's Reign of Chaos and Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse Madness
48 mins; November 07, 2022
America in the Age of Conspiracy: Q-Anon, JFK, Aliens, and More
62 hours 0 mins; November 04, 2022
How the U.S. Housing Market Became Such a Dumpster Fire
44 mins; November 01, 2022
How to Invest and Be Happy When It Feels Like the World Is Falling Apart
54 mins; October 28, 2022
Ben Smith on the Future of News, How to Start a Media Company, and Why TikTok Is a Time Bomb
38 mins; October 26, 2022
Midterm Election FAQ: Can We Trust the Polls? Are Democrats Doomed?
44 mins; October 25, 2022
The Case for Indicting Donald Trump
45 mins; October 18, 2022
Is Hybrid Work Doomed?
46 mins; October 14, 2022
Why the Future of AI Should Terrify and Thrill You
60 hours 38 mins; October 11, 2022
Bill Simmons on Aaron Judge, How Baseball Ruined Itself, and the Joy of Debating Sports Records
67 hours 55 mins; October 06, 2022
Could the Fed Break the World Economy?
41 mins; October 04, 2022
Scott Galloway on Why the Internet Is a Mess, Why the News Is So Angry, and Why American Men Are ‘Adrift’
57 mins; September 29, 2022
Is the Federal Reserve Making a Huge Mistake?
36 mins; September 27, 2022
Why America Has a Crisis of Masculinity
50 mins; September 23, 2022
Why the Voice Inside Your Head Can Sound Like a Jerk
55 mins; September 20, 2022
The Housing Recession Is Coming
38 mins; September 15, 2022
Bill Gates on Progress, Food Technology, and the Battle Between Climate Change and Innovation
28 mins; September 13, 2022
How Ukraine’s New Offensive Could Win the War Against Russia
50 mins; September 12, 2022
The UK Is in Trouble: Economic Crises, Energy Shocks, and the Queen’s Death
50 mins; September 08, 2022
America’s National Teacher Shortage: Looming Crisis or Media Myth?
38 mins; September 06, 2022
Nate Silver on Why This Midterm Election Could Be the Weirdest in Decades
55 mins; September 02, 2022
The Messy Debate Over Student Loan Forgiveness
42 mins; August 30, 2022
Burning Questions on Media: Streaming’s Summer of Hell, Movie Theater Woes, and CNN’s Risky Pivot
50 mins; August 26, 2022
What’s the Secret of Success in America? This Economist Has Answers.
50 mins; August 23, 2022
Why Does It Seem Like Everybody Hates Everything?
52 mins; August 19, 2022
Donald Trump vs. the FBI: Everything We Know About the Investigation So Far
42 mins; August 16, 2022
A New Way to Think About Racism in America
44 mins; August 12, 2022
Carbon Removal Might Be the World’s Most Important Technology. How Does It Work?
46 mins; August 09, 2022
Curiosity Corner: Monkeypox Myths, Millennial Facts, and Overpopulation Fears
30 mins; August 05, 2022
Is Old Music Killing New Music?
53 mins; August 03, 2022
How the Democrats' New Climate Bill Could Change the World
24 mins; August 01, 2022
Why the Question "Are We in a Recession?" Is Impossible to Answer
39 mins; July 29, 2022
Crypto Crash, Part II: A Debate About the Future of Web3
54 mins; July 26, 2022
Crypto Crash Part I: The Case Against Crypto
49 mins; July 25, 2022
Why It Seems Like So Many Countries Are Falling Apart
53 mins; July 22, 2022
The World Is on Fire. Here’s a Realistic Plan to Save Humanity.
62 hours 47 mins; July 19, 2022
Three Ways the Elon Musk–Twitter Showdown Could End
41 mins; July 14, 2022
Burning Questions About the Future of Media: Netflix vs. Disney, TikTok vs. Everyone, and the Metaverse
72 hours 41 mins; July 12, 2022
Musk Meltdown: Elon’s Breakup With Twitter Is Going to Be Very Messy
17 mins; July 10, 2022
The Biggest Economic Question of the Moment: Is This Peak Inflation?
32 mins; July 08, 2022
Why Are the Police So Bad at Solving Murders?
47 mins; July 06, 2022
Abortion Pills Are a Game Changer, Plus Our Next Big Culture War
37 mins; July 01, 2022
Five Reasons Everybody Is Wrong About a U.S. Recession—Including Me
37 mins; June 28, 2022
The End of Roe v. Wade Changes Everything
42 mins; June 24, 2022
Click here to see more
Useful pages

Apply to teach

Reviews

Help & FAQs

Blog

Spanish Podcast

French Podcast

Italian Podcast

About Us

Contact Us

Terms & Privacy

Find a tutor

Arabic tutors

Chinese tutors

Dutch tutors

English tutors

French tutors

German tutors

Greek tutors

Italian tutors

Japanese tutors

Korean tutors

Portuguese tutors

Romanian tutors

Russian tutors

Spanish tutors

Swedish tutors

Thai tutors

More languages soon!

Languages

Learn Arabic

Learn Chinese

Learn Dutch

Learn English

Learn French

Learn German

Learn Greek

Learn Italian

Learn Japanese

Learn Korean

Learn Portuguese

Learn Romanian

Learn Russian

Learn Spanish

Learn Swedish

Learn Thai

© 2026 LanguaTalk, All Rights Reserved