Factually! with Adam Conover

How to Fix the Housing Crisis with Brian Hanlon

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The housing crisis seems like one of the most intractable problems threatening America. But slowly and surely, we’re solving it, and you can be a pa...

How to Solve the Climate Crisis with Bill McKibben

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Climate change is the biggest disaster facing humanity. And yet so often, our solutions seems to be limited to buying slightly better grocery bags and...

How to Organize a Movement with Mie Inouye

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How do we fight back against those who are trying to take away Americans’ civil rights? Scholar and organizer Mie Inouye joins Adam to explain how A...

Thinking Seriously About Comedy with Nick Marx and Matt Sienciwicz

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Comedy is one of world’s oldest, most popular art forms, but almost no one thinks seriously about what comedy is or what it’s for. Is comedy inher...

The Facts About Immigration with Leah Boustan

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Americans are trapped in two competing narratives about immigration: That we’re a nation of immigrants, and that outsiders are invading to steal our...

Are We Fucked? with Chris Hayes

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Climate change, racial inequality, and the anti-rights revolution all feel like comets heading towards our inevitable destruction. If you’re depress...

How to Fix Transportation with Secretary Pete Buttigieg

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why is it so hard to get around in America? Why is it so much more expensive to build a mile of transit here than it is in any country? And will we ev...

How to Do Nothing with Jenny Odell (Re-Broadcast)

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In honor of our move to Starburns Audio, we’re taking a week off and running a Factually classic. In this interview from 2019, Adam speaks with Jenn...

Animal Crisis with Lori Gruen and Alice Crary.

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How can we best help animals, when it’s we humans who cause their suffering? Animal Crisis authors Alice Crary and Lori Gruen join Adam to explain...

The Rise and Reign of the Mammals with Stephen Brusatte

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In times of turmoil, it can be useful to take a longer view of history. Like, a LOT longer. Paleontologist and author of “The Rise and Reign of the...

Governing Trans Identity with Paisley Currah

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Trans people have existed as long as, you know, people have. But the barriers to legal inclusion and equality are still higher than most people realiz...

Asian American Histories Of The U.S. with Catherine Choy

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Asian Americans are an essential part of the history of this country, but the true story is all too little told, especially in a time of rising anti-A...

Popping the Crypto Bubble with Nicholas Weaver

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Crypto is crashing, which makes it the perfect time to ask whether blockchain technology is actually — you know — useful for anything. Computer sc...

The Real Problem with A.I. with Emily Bender

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Is artificial intelligence a problem, or is the real problem how we’re using the term in the first place? Linguistics professor Emily Bender joins ...

Psychiatry’s Desperate Remedies with Andrew Scull

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Despite our efforts, we seem to be no better at treating mental illness than we were hundreds of years ago. Desperate Remedies author Andrew Scull jo...

What Happened to Criminal Justice Reform? with James Forman Jr.

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, America went through a national reckoning about our racist criminal justice system. Just under two years later, has all that progress evapora...

Robots, Robots, Robots! with Kate Darling

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When we picture robots, we normally think of an artificial being created in our own image. But what if this were deeply misleading? Author ofThe New B...

Junk Science and the Criminal Justice System with Chris Fabricant

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our criminal justice system gives the impression of being impartial and fact-based, but in reality, it’s anything but. Innocence Project lawyer and ...

The G Word and the Truth About Our Government with Michael Lewis

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Adam’s new series The G Word is out this Thursday on Netflix! To commemorate the premiere, this week The Fifth Risk author Michael Lewis turns the...

The Right to Repair with Aaron Perzanowski

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Do we really own the devices we buy? ‘The Right to Repair’ author Aaron Perzanowki joins Adam to explain how companies are using their power to co...

How Religion Evolved with Robin Dunbar

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Instead of debunking religious beliefs, what if we investigated where religion comes from, and why it’s virtually universal across human cultures? ...

The Latest Science on Climate Change with Sarah Burch

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The IPCC Report is one of the biggest, most important scientific projects ever undertaken by humankind, bringing together thousands of scientists from...

A People’s History of Climate Change with Eugene Linden

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve known about climate chance since the 80s. So why has action been so slow? Journalist and author of Fire and Flood, Eugene Linden, joins Ada...

The Great Stewardess Rebellion with Nell McShane Wulfhart

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The 1960’s are often depicted as the the golden age of air travel, but the reality for the stewardesses who worked the skies was far from gilded. “...

The Long, Slow Death of the Internet with Cory Doctorow

06 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The early Internet was open, exciting, and deeply optimistic. So how did we end up, just a few decades later, with one that’s closed, exploitative, ...

The Power of Poop with Lina Zeldovich

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why do we have such a cultural aversion to human poop, when it’s so fascinating and useful? Stay with us: in this episode, science journalist Lina Z...

Why Do Men Rule the World? with Dr. Alice Evans

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Around the world and for most of history, human societies have been dominated by men. Why? Professor and author of the forthcoming “The Great Gender...

China's Kingdom of Characters with Jing Tsu

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

China is now one of the world’s most powerful nations. But how did its unique and formidable language shape its rise? Jing Tsu, the author of Kingd...

Why Is Housing So Expensive In America? with Jenny Schuetz

09 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why is housing so expensive, when other human needs like food are relatively cheap? Brookings Senior Fellow and author of Fixer-Upper, Jenny Schuetz, ...

Reconsidering Reparations with Olufemi Taiwo

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The American conversation about reparations is sadly narrow. But what if reparations could address not just the sins of the past, but the injustices o...

What Americans Don’t Get About China with Kaiser Kuo

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Despite how much our media talks about China, most Americans don't really know all that much about it. What is China’s view of itself and its recent...

Indigenous Science with Jessica Hernandez

16 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What would our world look like if we paid more attention to the knowledge indigenous communities have discovered about the world around us? On the sho...

The Great Resignation and the Rebirth of American Labor with Hamilton Nolan

09 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As we head into the third year of the pandemic, US workers are organizing and unionizing like it’s the early days of the Industrial Revolution. But...

Is Virtual Reality… Real? with David Chalmers

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We spend more time in digital, virtual spaces than ever. But are those places really real? If they are, does that mean we could be living in virtual ...

The Philosophy of Games with C. Thi Nguyen

26 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Playing games is a fundamental human activity. But despite their ubiquity, they’ve never gotten the serious study from scholars they deserve. Why do...

Death to Medical Debt! with Allison Sesso

19 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our abusive, for-profit healthcare system has left Americans swimming in harmful medical debt. On this week’s episode, Adam meets someone who’s do...

How Modern Medicine Has Failed Women with Elinor Cleghorn

12 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A deeply embedded idea in our culture is the sexist notion that men are the “default” human, and women the unknowable “other". Nowhere is this m...

The Downfall of the NRA with Tim Mak

05 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The NRA has been unbelievably successful in achieving its goals. Now, it's falling apart. How is that possible? On the show today is National Public R...

The Mass Disappearance of Insects with Akito Kawahara (Re-Release)

29 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Factually we’re re-releasing one of our favorite episodes. Entomologist and professor Akito Kawahara joins Adam to discuss why insects ...

Does Pfizer Have Too Much Power? with Hannah Kuchler

22 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Even though the COVID-19 vaccines were born of publicly-funded research, our privatized medical system has left them to for-profit companies like Pfiz...

How Water Shaped Humanity with Giulio Boccaletti

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As humans, we like to believe that we shape the natural world. But in reality, its laws and patterns have deeply structured our own society. To tell t...

George Orwell's Love of Nature with Rebecca Solnit

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Orwellian” has become such an overused adjective that we’ve forgotten what George actually believed and cared about. In her new book, Orwell's ...

The Intertwined History of America and Cuba with Ada Ferrer

01 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s impossible to discuss the history of Cuba without talking about the history of America; the stories of the nations are simply too intertwined. ...

Revolutionary History with Mike Duncan

24 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

No periods in history are more fascinating than those moments when the status quo is overthrown and everything changes. This week, podcaster and autho...

A New History of Humanity with David Wengrow

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When telling the history of our species, why do so many writers keep regurgitating the same centuries-old just-so story? If we had a more accurate, tr...

What is Xenophobia Exactly? with George Makari

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Human beings have long been afraid of the "other." But is this fear ingrained in our psyche, or a product of our surroundings? And where does the word...

Why Single Party Rule is Bad For Democracy with Stan Oklobdzija

03 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Once one party totally controls the government in a state or city, it should be easy for that party to pass all the laws it wants to, right? Well, wro...

How Genres Shape Music with Kelefa Sanneh

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Many musicians and fans reject genre labels as narrow-minded restrictions on what music can be. But what if the opposite is true? What if our notions ...

On Animals and Humans with Susan Orlean

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bestselling author and acclaimed journalist Susan Orlean joins Adam to discuss our complex, often contradictory relationships with the animals we love...

How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Went Mainstream with Tara Haelle

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fear of vaccination has been around since the first vaccine over 200 years ago. But now the anti-vaccine has grown from a fringe phenomenon to a mains...

The Joy of Sweat with Sarah Everts

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we're talking about sweat. Yes, sweat! Science journalist Sarah Everts is on the show this week to unpack her new book, The Joy of Sweat: Th...

Labor under Big Tech with Veena Dubal

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The job market is now dominated by tech monopolies that are using their power to lower wages and squeeze workers. Luckily, the workers are finally fig...

Confronting a Future without Roe v. Wade with Mary Ziegler

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The right to an abortion has been in legal limbo in America for years. What does the passage of SB8 in Texas mean for abortion access in this country,...

The Spectacular Social Lives of Crows with Anne B. Clark

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Crows may seem like garbage birds that only live to pick through trash on your street, but they're actually some of the most intelligent animals on Ea...

The Future of Money with Eswar Prasad

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With the rise of mobile payment services and cryptocurrencies, money is at a moment of profound transformation. What is happening to money now, and wh...

Our Anti-Monopoly Moment with Zachary Carter

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We've suddenly gone from a world with little antitrust enforcement to one in which strong anti-monopoly action has broad bipartisan support. How did t...

The Science of Addiction with Judith Grisel (Re-Release)

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Factually we're re-releasing one of our favorite episodes, in which Adam and renowned behavioral neuroscientist Judith Grisel discuss the...

Watching Paradise Burn to the Ground with Lizzie Johnson

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The California Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history. This week investigative reporter Lizzie Johnson is o...

What Happened in Hong Kong? with Victoria Hui

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In just a few years, the Chinese government has wiped out the political freedoms once promised to Hong Kong. How did this happen, and what is next for...

Is My ADHD Real? with Stephen Hinshaw

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ever since he was diagnosed as a kid, Adam has wondered if ADHD is a serious psychological condition, or a false diagnosis pushed by an overzealous in...

Is AI Really Inevitable? with Glen Weyl

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Everywhere you look, some pundit is claiming that AI is soon to replace humanity. But is that really inevitable - or are we choosing to make it happen...

How The Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax with Jesse Eisinger

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist Jesse Eisinger joins Adam to explain how he and his colleagues at ProPublica exposed how little billionaires pay in taxes – often, nothin...

Your Ring Doorbell is Working with the Cops with Johana Bhuiyan

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

LA Times reporter Johana Bhuiyan joins Adam to explain how Ring built a private surveillance empire by promising kickbacks to an unlikely accomplice: ...

Seashells Contain an Ocean with Cynthia Barnett

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Seashells may seem like a small topic for a book, or a podcast. But when we look into them deeply, we find that they reveal startling truths about our...

What Do We Owe Wild Animals? with Emma Marris

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What are our moral obligations to nature, and the wild animals that live in it? Should we vaccinate them? Should we feed them when they're starving? S...

Why Self-Driving Cars Aren’t Coming Any Time Soon with Dr. Missy Cummings

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tesla and other automakers have convinced the public that fully automated vehicles are just around the corner. But what if … they aren’t? Dr. Miss...

12,000 Years of Humans Altering Earth with Dr. Jacquelyn Gill

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As nature lovers, we prize the idea of places untouched by human influence. But new research shows that such places were few and far between as long a...

The Unheralded Story of Native Americans in Comedy with Kliph Nesteroff and Adrianne Chalepah

09 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Despite their limited representation in the media, Native Americans have had a profound influence on American comedy. So why isn't Charlie Hill a hous...

Making Sense of Quantum Mechanics with Carlo Rovelli

02 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Quantum mechanics is over a century old, yet most of us still struggle to truly understand it. This week theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli is on the...

Why Trust Science? with Naomi Oreskes

26 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We know that not all American trust science. But why, exactly, should they, when scientists are fallible humans, just like the rest of us? Acclaimed s...

Premium Preview: Questions & Adam

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're bringing you a FREE episode of Adam's STITCHER PREMIUM show, Questions & Adam. In it, Adam chats and answers questions with comedian frien...

The Truth about the Americas in 1491 with Charles C. Mann

19 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week Adam welcomes an author whose book blew his mind more than perhaps any other. Americans are typically taught that prior to the arrival of Eu...

Toil and Turmoil in the Video Game Industry with Jason Schreier

12 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If you love video games, working in game development sounds like a dream job — especially since the industry now grosses more than movies and sports...

Democracy is in the Details with Tomas Lopez

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Voting rights are under assault around the country. And while we tend to see “democracy" as a big, abstract noun, it’s the smallest, most mundane ...

What is Crypto Art, and Why? with Everest Pipkin

28 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It had to happen eventually: We’re doing an episode about crypto. This week artist and technologist Everest Pipkin joins Adam to discuss Bitcoin, th...

Why Facebook Refuses to Fix the Misinformation Crisis It Created with Karen Hao

21 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook pushes dangerous misinformation to billions of people every day. So why can’t it… stop? This week, MIT Technology Review’s Senior AI Re...

100th Episode! Samantha Bee Talks Comedy and Information

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's Factually's 100th episode! To celebrate, Adam is joined by Full Frontal host Sam Bee to discuss the art of combining fact with farce. They talk t...

Why Is the Fertility Rate Falling? with Dr. Shanna Swan

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are a lot of causes of the declining global birth rate – education, freedom, and even the decline of subsistence agriculture. But what if one ...

The High Cost of Cheap Clothes with Dana Thomas

31 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Clothes today cost a fraction of what they cost our grandparents — but why, and at what cost? Journalist and author Dana Thomas joins Adam to break ...

Why “Critical Thinking” Can’t Beat Misinformation, and How to Fight It with Michael Caulfield

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We’re flooded with misinformation, and new research shows that cliches about “thinking critically” and “doing your own research” are counter...

The Case for Medicare for All with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed

17 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why is America's health care system so effed up, and what can be done to fix it? Author, physician, and civil servant Dr. Abdul El-Sayed joins Adam to...

How Amazon Reshaped America with Alec MacGillis

10 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist and author of "Fulfillment", Alec MacGillis, joins Adam this week to discuss how Amazon’s unprecedented and wide-spread growth has reshap...

Humans Are An Invasive Species with Elizabeth Kolbert

03 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Adam is thrilled to introduce one of his absolute favorite journalists and authors to the show: Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the The Sixth Exti...

Why is Border Patrol Exempt from the Fourth Amendment? with Todd Miller

24 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

No feature of the American landscape is more absurd than the border. It cuts across natural landscapes, is highly militarized, and possesses the large...

Ending Climate Change with Saul Griffith

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 mo...

Four Lost Cities with Annalee Newitz

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 A...

Humankind’s Hopeful History with Rutger Bregman

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is humanity innately good or bad? Historian and author Rutger Bregman joins Adam to discuss his decidedly optimistic answer to this question. They dis...

Decriminalizing Drugs with Dr. Carl Hart

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Dr. Carl Hart - professor of neuroscience and psychology at Columbia - joins Adam to argue that we’ve been approaching recreational drugs...

Medical Myths and How to Fight Them with Dr. Seema Yasmin

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Keeping Native Languages Alive with Anton Treuer

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Aaniin - which is hello in the Algonquin language of Ojibwe! This week, Adam speaks with Anton Treuer, the professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State Univer...

What is Weight Stigma? with Dr. Rebecca Puhl

06 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ofte...

The History of Civilization (the Game) with Sid Meier

30 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Just in time for the lazy holiday break, legendary game designer Sid Meier joins Adam to discuss the genesis of his seminal game series “Civilizatio...

“Crime-Free Housing” and Modern-Day Redlining with Liam Dillon

23 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

LA Times reporter Liam Dillon joins Adam to discuss his recent exposé on how “crime-free housing” policies discriminate against black renters and...

Prop 22 and Tech Companies that Write Their Own Laws with Meredith Whittaker

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Distinguished research scientist at NYU’s AI Now Institute and former Google employee/organizer Meredith Whittaker joins Adam to break down Prop 22....

Understanding Asexuality with Angela Chen

09 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, journalist and author Angela Chen answers every question you have about asexuality. She and Adam discuss the difference between asexuality ...

Why Is America’s Internet So Slow? with Susan Crawford

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard law professor Susan Crawford joins Adam this week to discuss why America - the country that invented the internet - struggles to provide acces...

The Psychology Behind Conspiracy Theories with Rob Brotherton

25 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Adam brings on author and academic psychologist Rob Brotherton to discuss why our brains are wired for conspiracy. They how classism and elitism shape...

A Coronavirus Update with Dr. Ashish Jha

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic is worsening across the country, so past guest Dr. Ashish Jha is returning with more answers to Adam’s questions. They discuss...

The Myth of the Supreme Court

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Author and professor Eric J. Segall joins Adam to explode the myth that the Supreme Court makes decisions by a dispassionate evaluation of the law. In...

The Shocking Decline in Child Mortality with Dr. Perri Klass

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Just a century and change ago, it wasn’t a given that children would actually survive childhood. Dr. Perri Klass and Adam discuss the shocking decli...