Top of Mind with Julie Rose

Can We Repair Historic Injustice?

16 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Can a nation truly heal from historic injustice, or does there come a point when it’s simply too late? In this episode of Top of Mind, we explore w...

Should Christians Support the Death Penalty?

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The death penalty - maybe more than any other question of crime and punishment - poses a conundrum for America as a majority Christian nation. Sinc...

How Work Became Our Identity in America

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Americans work more hours than people in nearly every other wealthy country—are we better off for it? In this episode of Top of Mind, we unpack the ...

The Risks and Rewards of Doing Family History

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Family history can sometimes feel distant, irrelevant, or even risky. Why look back when the past may hold stories we’d rather not claim? In this ep...

Why We Feel Disgust—and What It Reveals About Us

19 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Disgust is one of our most primal emotions—hardwired into the brain, yet shaped profoundly by culture, upbringing, and personal experience. While we...

What We Get Wrong About Autism — Told by Autistic Voices

05 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What if the world believed you couldn’t understand it—while inside, your mind was full of thoughts, poetry, and frustration you had no way to expr...

The Power of Nostalgia: How Community Traditions Shape Who We Are

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What makes you nostalgic for home? In this episode of Top of Mind, we explore the surprising science behind place attachment — why certain places ...

Is Higher Education a Good Investment for American Taxpayers?

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Confidence in America’s higher education system is slipping, even as the government spends nearly half a trillion dollars a year on it. The average ...

How Small Acts of Service Saved a Life and Changed a Family (#LightTheWorld)

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From a small town in Wasatch County, Utah, comes the remarkable true story of the Karren family — a journey through illness, unlikely connections, a...

Is There a Right Way to Grieve?

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why are we so uncomfortable with grief? In this episode of Top of Mind, we explore America’s fear of grief and mourning and what we lose when we ru...

What Does It Mean to Be Patriotic in America?

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

American patriotism is at a historic low. Gallup polls show fewer and fewer Americans say they feel “extremely” – or even “very” proud to be...

Wrongful Convictions: How Innocent People End Up Behind Bars

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when the justice system convicts an innocent person? Anthony Graves spent 18 years in prison—12 of them on Texas death row—for a crim...

Why are Americans Having Fewer Kids?

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Americans are having fewer babies than ever before. The fertility rate in the United States has dropped to an all-time low of 1.6 births per woman. In...

Too Hot to Handle? America’s Deadly Heat Problem

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Extreme heat kills more Americans most years than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined, but we don’t give it the same emergency treatment. The ...

Does America Have a Balance of Power Problem?

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How is the balance of power supposed to work when a U.S. President aggressively pushes for more? In his first 100 days of his second term, President D...

Can Free Housing Solve Homelessness? The Housing First Experiment

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is Housing First a viable solution or just repeating the past? What actually works to end homelessness? Communities across the U.S. have debated and t...

Feeling Unheard by Congress? Here's What You Need to Know.

04 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s easier than ever to connect with our representatives in Congress, so why doesn’t it feel like they’re listening? The 1st Amendment guarant...

Should Kids Have Smartphones in the Classroom?

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Smartphones have become an essential part of daily life, but should they have a place in the classroom? Half of U.S. states have recently passed laws ...

Who Counts as American? The Birthright Citizenship Debate

07 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For over 150 years, the U.S. has granted automatic citizenship to babies born on American soil, a principle rooted in the 14th Amendment and seen by m...

Rethinking Drinking: America’s Evolving Relationship with Alcohol

23 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Alcohol is a deeply embedded part of American life—woven into celebrations, identity, and social norms. But from health warnings to sober-curious tr...

The Unfinished Business of School Integration in America

09 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

School integration in America is widely viewed as a civil rights milestone— but decades later, U.S. schools are as segregated as they were in the 19...

BONUS: The Credit Card Debt Conversation - A Closer Look at the Role of Credit Counseling

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this special bonus episode of Top of Mind, Julie Rose revisits the challenge of credit card debt - a topic that hits home for many of us – by sit...

Making Sense of America’s Credit Card Debt

26 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Credit card debt is at an all-time high in America. Half of all Americans with a credit card have carried a balance in the past year, and one in three...

ISIS and the New Threat of Radicalization in America

12 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2017, the US and a coalition of more than 80 countries ran ISIS out of its strongholds, killed the group's top leaders, and declared victory. Bu...

Americans Are Reading Fewer Books Than Ever. Does That Matter in 2025?

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Americans reported reading 12 books on average in 2022. That’s the lowest number since Gallup started polling on this in the 90s. Survey data from 2...

America is Rethinking Public Education. What Will the Future of School Look Like?

14 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The current state of education in America is a troubling picture. Reading proficiency scores have reached historic lows. Chronic absenteeism is on the...

Is Marijuana Legalization Working Out Like We Thought it Would?

31 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More Americans use cannabis every day, or almost every day, than use alcohol on a daily basis. That's in large part because marijuana is a lot more ac...

An Unlikely Friendship and the Fight to Make America Safer

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

They started off as ideological enemies. Mark Rosenberg pioneered the public health approach to preventing gun violence and opened a branch of the ...

Is AI Killing Our Creativity?

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been about two years since the public got a taste of ChatGPT for the first time. Now, artificial intelligence has seeped into nearly every aspe...

Free Speech on Campus: Protect Students or Speech?

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A 2024 Knight Foundation report found one in four college students think schools need to protect students by banning speech they may find offensive or...

How Do We Solve Loneliness in America?

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In his parting prescription for the country, outgoing US Surgeon General, Doctor Vivek Murthy writes that he is worried about how exhausted and alone ...

Does IQ Really Matter?

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why is insulting someone’s intelligence such a potent put down? It’s more than saying someone lacks knowledge or book learning. It’s a statement...

The Surprising Truth About Reconciliation After Estrangement

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More than a quarter of Americans are estranged from at least one family member. Parent/child estrangement is the most common – especially between da...

Christian or Not? Unpacking America's Religious Identity

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Can America guarantee free expression of religion in public as an officially secular, but culturally Christian nation? Expressing religious faith in p...

The Pandemic Shook America's Trust in Vaccines—and Taught Us Something About Building Trust in Institutions

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Trust in institutions like the media, the medical system, public schools, all branches of government, and science is at an all-time low. When it comes...

Why It's So Easy to Ignore Caregivers (Especially Moms) and How to Change That

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Care work is the labor essential to life. But two-thirds of caregiving goes uncompensated. What do we miss when we don’t value care work and how doe...

America Has an Organ Shortage. Could Paying Donors Close the Gap?

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are more than 100,000 people on the waitlist for an organ transplant. Every day 17 of them die. Most organs for transplant come from deceased do...

Why We Choose to Lean into the Discomfort of Making this Podcast

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Meet the teams behind Top of Mind and Uncomfy in this special crossover episode, where we share stories of sticking with a challenging perspective whi...

What Will it Take to Rebuild American Trust in Elections?

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Only 44% of Americans say they have a "great deal" or "quite a bit of confidence" that the results of the 2024 election will be accurate. But party af...

What Can We Do About America’s Money in Politics Problem?

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Presidential elections in the US are twice as expensive as they were just a decade ago, and so are the most competitive Congressional races. Even stat...

Do Jury Trials Work the Way We Want Them To?

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A trial by jury is an important American right, enshrined in the 6th and 7th amendments of the constitution. But do jury trials work the way we want ...

Funny or Offensive? Why It's So Hard to Draw the Line in Humor

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why is it so hard to draw the line between what’s funny or offensive? We love to laugh and we prize a good sense of humor in ourselves and others. B...

The Changing Ways We Decide Who Gets into College and Why it Matters

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For a century, the ACT and SAT played a central role in filtering college applicants. Most colleges and universities stopped requiring standardized te...

Why We’re So Anxious About Retirement in America – And How We Can Fix It

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Most Americans are anxious about when – or even if – they’ll be able to retire. And we’re not wrong. Social Security is on shaky footing. Half...

American roads are dangerous. How can we make them safer?

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Compared to other wealthy nations, America has twice as many traffic deaths per capita. And in recent years, pedestrian and cyclist deaths have spiked...

Inside the Changing Role of Fathers in America

08 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be a father in 2024? In the US, the “primary breadwinner dad” is increasingly rare, while the "primary caregiver dad” is be...

Why America's Childcare Crisis is an Equation We Can't Seem to Balance

24 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

More than two-thirds of children under the age of 6 in the U.S. live in a household where all available parents work. But in most communities, there’...

Is Our Perception of Crime in America Accurate?

10 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Americans have a perplexing perception of crime. One in three Americans report watching, listening, or reading true crime on a weekly basis. But our f...

Violence, Opioids, Loneliness, Obesity — The Pros and Cons of Treating Social Issues as Epidemics

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

These days anything that's widespread might be called an "epidemic." Violence, obesity, opioids, even loneliness. But in the public health space, the ...

What Does It Mean to Be White in America?

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since 2020 — when George Floyd's murder was seen around the world and protests for racial justice swept the country — many Americans with white sk...

Bonus Episode: When the People Decide - Putting Money and Power in People’s Hands

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re in between episodes this week on Top of Mind. In the meantime, we’ve got a story for you from a podcast we think you’re really going to li...

Moments that Challenged the Top of Mind Team to Stay Curious

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast episode, Julie and the other members of the Top of Mind team reflect on moments from previous episodes that challenged them to stay cu...

Avoiding the Outrage Trap, featuring David Beckemeyer of “Outrage Overload”

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with a story from David Beckemeyer, host of the podcast “Outrage Overload.” Be...

Facing the Rising Flood Problem in America

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Floods are the most common of all weather-related disasters in America. They cause more damage and kill more people than any other type of severe weat...

Ending Homelessness in America Feels Impossible. Is It?

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are more people homeless in America today than at any other time in the last 17 years. Those numbers might have gotten a lot worse during the pa...

Open, Partisan or Closed Primaries – The Quest to Fix Primary Elections

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly a dozen states have active campaigns to move away from partisan or closed primaries, motivated by a frustration among many voters that the way ...

Teen Mental Health in America is Getting Worse. What Can We Do About It?

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Overall mental health among Americans - young and old - took a nose-dive during the pandemic. But the trend among teens has been worrisome for at leas...

My Life Is Great. Why Am I Not Happy? A Personal Conversation with Life Reinvention Coach Karin Freeland

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Karin Freeland, host of the podcast “Rock Your Reinvention” and author of...

Dealing with a Disappointing Diagnosis, featuring Carolyn Cohen of “Wellness While Walking”

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with a story from health coach Carolyn Cohen, host of the podcast “Wellness Whil...

Tipping Culture is Changing. Here’s What You Need to Know

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re being asked to tip more – and in more places – than ever before in America. And surveys show we’re annoyed and confused by “tipflation...

An Explosion of Union Activity in the US and What it Means

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US is experiencing an unusual spike in union activity. Younger workers are organizing in workplaces that have not traditionally been unionized. Es...

Finding Empathy in the Abortion Debate with listener Heidi Thorpe

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with a story from one of our listeners, Heidi Thorpe. In 2022, she set out to bett...

Is Government Transparency Essential in a Democracy?

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Government transparency is a basic tenet of American democracy. But the US Constitution was drafted in total secrecy and the founders believed they co...

How American Boys and Men Are Falling Behind — And What We Can Do to Help Them

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the US, women and girls now outperform men and boys at every level of education. Boys are less likely to graduate from high school, enroll in colle...

Many Students Lack Motivation to Learn. What Can We do?

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

America’s students are struggling. Chronic absenteeism has doubled from pre-pandemic numbers. Districts are implementing grading floors to soften th...

Understanding Political News Bias with Isaac Saul, founder of Tangle

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with journalist Isaac Saul, founder of the daily political newsletter Tangle. He t...

Is Perspective-Taking the Key to Overcoming Polarization?

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why is it so hard to see things from a perspective other than our own? Our perspectives are shaped by our life experiences and our biology – some pe...

An Inside Look at Perspectives that Challenged the Top of Mind Team this Season

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve spent the last several months on Top of Mind assessing the assumptions that drive our decisions. And we hope you’ve had a few “Stick With ...

How Native Americans are Reclaiming Their Narrative

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

More than three-quarters of Americans say they know little to nothing about Native Americans. Nearly the same percentage also say they rarely or never...

Immigration and America's Labor Shortage – Are Guestworkers the Solution?

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

America is aging and many industries say they need more immigrant workers to do lower-skilled jobs Americans don’t want. Are they right? If so, how ...

The Hidden Cost of Fines and Fees

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Fines and fees have become the default way we punish people in America; deterrence is the ultimate goal, but do fines actually deter bad behavior? Oft...

Stick With It Stories: Monica Guzman of Braver Angels on the Power of Curiosity to Bridge Divides

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Monica Guzman, senior fellow at Braver Angels, host of A Braver Way podcast a...

Stick With It Stories: Monica Packer of "About Progress" on Coping With Criticism That Feels Personal

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Monica Packer, a personal growth coach and host of the popular About Progress...

We Don't Agree on America's Founding Story. Do We Need To?

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Americans struggle to agree on even the most basic parts of America’s founding story. Some say it was divine intervention. Others, a scheme to profi...

Who Owns Our Cultural Heritage? — Museums, Repatriation, and Appropriation

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Who should decide how the stories and artifacts of a cultural heritage are shared with the world? For a long time, the assumption has been that as lon...

Why Do We Insist on Proper English — and What Does That Say About Us?

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What's that one thing about how people speak English that gets on your nerves? When people say “like” a lot? Or say “literally” when they mean...

Stick With It Stories: Utah Governor Spencer Cox Learns to Disagree Better

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with several stories from Utah Governor Spencer Cox about staying open and curious...

Stick With It Stories: Finding Empathy in Doctrinal Disagreement

30 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with a story about finding empathy in a doctrinal disagreement. McArthur Krishna i...

Public Education is in Crisis. Are Elected School Boards the Problem?

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ninety percent of America's kids go to public schools. But public education in America is in crisis, with test scores in every subject at their lowest...

Owning a Home is the American Dream. At What Cost?

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Owning a home is the American Dream. It's the ultimate symbol of a successful adulthood and the best way to build wealth in this country. Why should y...

Are All Medical Treatments Safe and Effective?

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

People often assume that medical treatments prescribed by doctors and covered by insurance are safe and effective. After all, there’s a whole govern...

Stick With It Stories: How “Ye Gods!” Podcast Host Scott Carter Became a Standup Comic

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with playwright and producer Scott Carter. He was the long-time executive producer...

Stick With It Stories: A Tech Entrepreneur Makes a Viral Mistake

28 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Milan Kordestani – tech entrepreneur and author of “I’m Just Saying: A ...

Do Traffic Stops Contribute to Public Safety?

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Getting pulled over is the most common encounter Americans have with police, but how much do traffic stops really contribute to public safety? On a ty...

Adoption from the Adoptee Perspective: How Can We Do Better?

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We tend to view adoption in America as a win-win situation: a child in crisis is placed with new, stable parents who want to build a family. Everyone ...

When Living Longer Conflicts With Dying Well

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dying is inevitable. But medical advancements have made it possible to cheat death in many instances that would have been quickly fatal not so long ag...

BONUS: All the Best Advice from Guests on Top of Mind Season 3

26 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As a final bonus to finish Top of Mind Season 3 “Finding Fairness” we’ve compiled the best insight from guests throughout the season on how to b...

Stick With It Stories: Top of Mind Episodes That Challenged Us

19 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re wrapping up Season 3 of Top of Mind “Finding Fairness” with a look at some of the Stick With It moments it delivered for our team. One of ...

Stick With It Stories: Founder of The Period Project Takes on Menstruation Misconceptions

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with The Period Project founder Emily Bell McCormick’s story of rea...

Stick With It Stories: Greg Jackson Faces Regional Accents on 'History That Doesn't Suck” Podcast

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with historian Greg Jackson’s story of committing to get the region...

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Free Expression

29 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The right to free speech is considered a cornerstone of American democracy, but it can also be used to inflict harm. In this era of social media and p...

How Can We Help More Kids Thrive in America?

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Children in America face economic, emotional and educational challenges that only worsened during the pandemic. They are the poorest age group in the ...

Should Being a Bystander Be a Crime?

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We all like to think we’d help someone in danger, but too often people stand by because they’re afraid to intervene or assume someone else will do...

Stick With It Stories: Diversity Advocate Susan Madsen Gains New Empathy

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with diversity advocate Susan Madsen’s story about being invited to...

Stick With It Stories: Podcast Host Corey Nathan Dares to Talk Religion With His Dad

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Corey Nathan, host of “Talkin’ Politics and Religion Without...

What Are the Effects of Marijuana Criminalization?

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A decade ago, there was not a single state where it was legal to use recreational marijuana. Today, nearly half of Americans live in states where pot ...

Does the U.S. Have a Moral Obligation to Asylum Seekers?

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

People all around the world look to the United States as a land of opportunity and safety. Every month, tens of thousands of people arrive at US borde...

Who is Responsible for Combating Pollution?

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When we drink the water, breathe the air and dig in the soil in our communities, we expect it to be safe. In the United States, we have regulatory age...

Stick With It Stories: Sex Therapist Tammy Hill Faces a Crisis

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with sex therapist Tammy Hill’s story of feeling inspired to write ...

Stick With It Stories: Life Coach Jody Moore Gets Some Tough Feedback

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with life coach Jody Moore’s story about receiving some upsetting f...