The novelist Patricia Highsmith is rarely praised for her characters. But are the critics making a mistake? And does the way we assess a novel’s chara...

It seems like people used to believe that important cultural conversations and insights could be found within fiction.  Has that changed?  And if so, ...

Many fans think The Dark Knight is the greatest superhero movie ever made.  But what do they love about it?  And are they right? (Intro: Traveling in ...

In this episode we discuss Aldus Huxley’s celebrated novel Brave New World.  Does the novel still have things to teach us?  (Intro: Traveling in Your ...

Major soccer leagues and tournaments are adopting VAR, a video replay system. But is it ruining soccer? (Intro: Traveling in Your Mind (edited) by Loy...

What can we demand of celebrities, athletes, and artists?  Should Magnus Carlsen have played on in the last world chess championship rather than takin...

Many of you emailed questions after our last podcast about single payer healthcare. In this episode, we discuss your questions about the effects of un...

As we approach the 2020 election, we hear a lot about single payer healthcare. But what is it? Should we like it? Along the way we discuss Alex’s new ...

After our last podcast about utopia, we wondered if utopias are more credible in science fiction than in realistic fiction. Are space adventures like ...

Few people enjoy reading about utopia. Why do we prefer visions of chaos to dreams of order? Are we all dystopians at heart?  (Intro: Traveling in You...