Winamp Logo
Apple News In Conversation Cover
Apple News In Conversation Profile

Apple News In Conversation

English, Interview, 1 season, 122 episodes, 2 days, 7 hours, 6 minutes
About
Apple News In Conversation brings you interviews with some of the world’s best journalists and experts about the stories that impact our lives. Join us every week as we go behind the headlines.
Episode Artwork

The WNBA is building something — and it’s not just the women’s version of the NBA

Sheryl Swoopes, often called the “female Michael Jordan,” was the first player signed to the WNBA. Her story is featured in the new documentary Shattered Glass, which takes a look at how far the league has come since Swoopes’s early days — and what today’s pro athletes say they still need from the league. Guest host David Greene spoke with Swoopes and the film’s director, Andrea Buccilla.
2/22/202426 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Former elite gymnast Maggie Nichols speaks out about Larry Nassar’s abuse

Guest-hosted by David Greene: Maggie Nichols was the first athlete on the national team to report former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse to the organization in June 2015. A year later, she was not selected for the U.S. Olympic team. She spoke with guest host David Greene about her new memoir, Unstoppable! Warning: This episode includes descriptions of sexual violence and restrictive eating.
2/15/202422 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Why America is obsessed with the NFL. (It’s not just the Taylor Swift effect.)

Guest-hosted by David Greene: The NFL accounted for 93 of the top 100 U.S. broadcasts in 2023, according to Nielsen ratings. But not that long ago, the league was reeling from controversies around head injuries, allegations of racism in its hiring practices, and players protesting police brutality. To better understand the NFL’s staying power, Apple News In Conversation guest host David Greene spoke with sports journalist Pablo Torre, host of the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out. They dig into the league’s ups and downs, America’s obsession with football, and the Taylor Swift effect.
2/9/202431 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

College sports are a multibillion-dollar business. Why aren’t athletes getting a cut?

College football and basketball are multibillion-dollar industries. But while some Division 1 coaches and athletic directors make millions of dollars each year, the players themselves are not paid by the schools they compete for. That may soon change. The NCAA is facing a slew of lawsuits that could lead to student athletes being treated and compensated as university employees. ESPN panelist and Washington Post columnist Kevin Blackistone spoke with Apple News In Conversation guest host David Greene about the case against the NCAA — and the role that race plays in this debate.
2/1/202423 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Inside the mind of one of the New Yorker’s most iconic cartoonists

Roz Chast started at the New Yorker in 1978, when there was only one other woman cartoonist at the magazine. Decades later, she is a celebrated figure in the cartoon world and has become well-known for her distinctive style and humor. Her latest book, I Must Be Dreaming, is an illustrated guide to Chast’s dreams and the inner workings of her mind. Chast spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about following her artistic intuition, the popularity of New Yorker cartoons, and her collection of canned goods.
1/25/202431 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

“There is a government cover-up around UFOs. It’s just not the one that you think.”

Have we been visited by extraterrestrial life? And how much does the government really know when it comes to UFOs? Garrett Graff’s latest book, UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government’s Search for Alien Life Here — and Out There, investigates these questions and more. The national-security reporter recently sat down with Apple News In Conversationhost Shumita Basu to share his findings.
1/18/202435 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

How the evangelical church became so political, according to a pastor’s son

Journalist Tim Alberta was raised in the evangelical church and is a practicing Christian. But he’s grown increasingly concerned about how entrenched politics has become in the evangelical movement. In his latest book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, Alberta lays out the state of the evangelical church today and its shift toward the cultural and political fringes. Below are excerpts from Alberta’s interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu.
1/11/202429 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Esther Perel on the real reasons couples fight

Esther Perel is the relationship expert many couples dream of scheduling a session with. Her podcast, Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel, offers the next best thing. In it, she helps real couples work through their issues, often providing insights that are relevant to other relationships. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Perel about how she approaches her work, the challenges of modern love, and how to resolve conflict.
1/4/202432 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Rebroadcast: Your brain is hardwired to resist change. Here’s how to retrain it.

This is an episode from our archives. Transitions can feel intimidating and destabilizing. But these moments can also be opportunities for growth, reflection, and self-discovery — especially when you have the right tools. In this episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu talks to Hidden Brain’s Shankar Vedantam about why pivot points can feel so challenging and how to embrace them as opportunities, rather than obstacles.
12/28/202329 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Rebroadcast: ‘The Office’ star Rainn Wilson on how to let go of resentment and find happiness

This is an episode from our archives. Rainn Wilson understands why so many people are rejecting religion today. But he argues that the core aspects of faith still have something important to offer us. Spirituality has brought him community, purpose, and joy — even as he’s struggled with depression, anxiety, and addiction. The actor explores these themes and shares what he’s learned in his book Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution and docuseries, Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss.
12/21/202333 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

How to unlock your family’s history

Elizabeth Keating didn’t realize how little she knew about her mother’s life until after she had died. A trained anthropologist, Keating decided to develop a guide for interviewing and recording loved ones’ histories before it’s too late. Her book, The Essential Questions: Interview Your Family to Uncover Stories and Bridge Generations, offers a blueprint for these conversations along with thought-provoking questions. On Apple News In Conversation, Keating shares what this process can teach us about ourselves and our families with host Shumita Basu.
12/14/202326 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

A guide to smarter, more ethical shopping this holiday season

Holiday spending is expected to reach record levels this year. That makes for a lot of packages — and a lot of returns, donations, and junk. On Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu speaks with The Atlantic’s Amanda Mull, who reveals the strategies retailers use to get you to buy more stuff, and what you can do to have a more sustainable holiday.
12/7/202320 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rachel Maddow on America’s history of fighting fascism

Rachel Maddow is best known for her show on MSNBC. But she’s also a serious history buff. In her latest book, Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism, Maddow lays out the rise of a dangerous antidemocratic movement in the United States in the 1930s and ’40s and how Americans stopped that campaign from flourishing. Maddow spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about this forgotten piece of history and what it can teach us about responding to threats to democracy today.
11/30/202329 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rebroadcast: Why relationships fall apart over dirty dishes — and how to avoid the trap

In this episode from our archives, Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu talks with Kate Mangino, a gender expert and the author of the book Equal Partners: Improving Gender Equality at Home. Mangino points to research that shows women still take on the majority of household responsibilities in different-sex relationships — and she argues there’s a better way for partners to balance the mental and physical labor of running a home.
11/23/202335 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

What a former astronaut says TV gets right and wrong about space

What if the United States had lost the space race — and the Soviet Union had been the first to land a man on the moon? These are the driving questions behind the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind. The show explores the ripple effects of what coming in second could have meant for American culture, the feminist movement, geopolitics, and technology over several decades. And while fiction, it offers warnings about the future of space travel. On this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu talks to the show’s technical adviser and former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman about how he helps ground the series in science.
11/16/202334 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

“It’s intolerable”: the New Yorker’s David Remnick on the Israel-Hamas war

David Remnick has reported on Israel and the Palestinian territories for many years. But his most recent trip to Israel was like nothing he’d seen before. In an article for the New Yorker, Remnick writes about visiting with survivors of the Hamas massacre, Israel’s assaults on Gaza, and what comes next. Below are excerpts from his interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu.
11/9/202331 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

How facial-recognition technology is upending privacy as we know it

Big tech companies first started working on artificial facial recognition more than a decade ago. But they chose not to release it, worried about who might use it and how. Then, in 2017, the small startup Clearview AI debuted its facial-recognition app and began marketing its tool to law-enforcement agencies. This week on Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu talks to Kashmir Hill, a New York Times tech reporter and author of the new book Your Face Belongs to Us, about what this technology is capable of, what guardrails exist, and what the future of privacy might look like.
11/2/202333 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Marriage, murder, betrayal: the true story behind ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

After striking oil on their reservation, members of the Osage Nation became some of the richest people in the world in the 1920s. Then white Oklahomans began killing them for their wealth in a sinister and elaborate plot. These events are detailed by David Grann in his book Killers of the Flower Moon, which has recently adapted into a Martin Scorsese–directed movie for Apple TV+. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Grann and Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, a consultant on the film, about bringing this history to the big screen.
10/26/202325 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

The realities of living in the Palestinian territories

A winding drive along the tall separation wall. An agonizing wait at the checkpoint. An identification card that only allows access to some hospitals. These are the obstacles that kept Abed Salama from reaching his 5-year-old son after a bus accident in 2012. On this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu talks to Nathan Thrall, author of A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy, about what life is like for Palestinians in the West Bank. Warning: This episode describes graphic content, including the death of children.
10/19/202328 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

A guide to help you understand the Israel-Hamas war

The news coming out of Israel and Gaza this week has been fast-moving and devastating. It’s always hard, during a rapidly-changing news event, to know where to find accurate, contextualized information. It’s especially challenging in this particular war, where the history of conflict is so long, complicated, and emotionally-charged. For this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, we’ve compiled some of the best reads and listens to help you follow what’s happening today. An Israeli journalist speaks with Radio Atlantic about how his family survived when Hamas attacked their community. Fox News reporter Trey Yingst takes cover from a Hamas rocket attack during a live report. On Channel 4 News, a filmmaker shows life inside Gaza: “It feels like the world is collapsing.” Journalist Maram Humaid documents the bombardment and the sleepless nights in Gaza with a daily diary on Al Jazeera. The Washington Post shares a timeline of the big turning points and lesser-known moments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Historian Rashid Khalidi talks about the origins of this conflict on Throughline. Vox offers an explainer on the militant group Hamas. The Hamas attack was launched from the Gaza Strip. NBC breaks down what you need to know about this area between Israel and Egypt. Wall Street Journal correspondent Dov Lieber talks about how Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shaped this conflict on the What’s News podcast. The New Yorker’s David Remnick writes about the grief and rage felt by people on both sides of the Israel-Gaza border. The Washington Post explores why our brains believe lies. Poynter explains how to avoid false information on social media about the war.
10/13/202318 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

America loves the AR-15. Here’s how that happened.

In the United States, AR-15s grace bumper stickers, mugs, and politicians’ Christmas cards. They’re also the weapon used in some of the deadliest mass shootings in modern American history. Wall Street Journal reporters Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson trace the rifle’s rise in their new book, American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15. They spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how this weapon became a symbol of both gun rights and horrific tragedies.
10/5/202337 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

The secret to finding joy in running

Martinus Evans did not have an easy start to running. Weighing over 300 pounds, he set out to finish a marathon after a doctor told him to “lose weight or die.” He writes about his running journey in his new book, Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run. In this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, Evans talks with host Shumita Basu about the lessons he’s learned from being a “back-of-the-packer.”
9/28/202324 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Elon Musk’s biographer on two years of shadowing the tech billionaire

Walter Isaacson, author of the new biography Elon Musk, spent two years following the world’s richest man in an effort to understand what drives him. Isaacson joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to explain what he learned about Musk’s reach and power, how his childhood shaped him, and why he has weekly meetings about colonizing Mars.
9/21/202331 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Why so many American kids are struggling to learn how to read — and how to fix that

America has long struggled with how best to teach kids to read. But a new approach, called the science of reading, is gaining steam — and it’s proving successful. At the same time, many classrooms haven’t caught up to it, and some students are being left behind. In the latest episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu talks to Karen D’Souza, a reporter for EdSource, about how our understanding of literacy has evolved over time, and what educators, parents, and lawmakers are doing to better prepare young readers.
9/14/202319 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Her family had always kept her aunt a secret. She set out to uncover the truth.

Growing up, Jennifer Senior thought her mom was an only child. But when she was 12 years old, she learned her mom had a sister, named Adele, who was institutionalized as a baby. Adele had spent almost her entire life separated from her family. Decades later, in 2021, Senior reconnected with her aunt and uncovered the dark history of institutionalizing children with intellectual disabilities. Senior wrote about her aunt’s story in the Atlantic and spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about her experience.
9/7/202327 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Think Again: The signs that you’re ready to retire

When longtime LA Times columnist Steve Lopez reached his mid-60s, he started to think about retiring. But he wasn’t sure how to go about it — or if he should do it all. He gave himself one year to decide and spoke with many different people — Norman Lear and Mel Brooks, among others — about their thoughts on retirement. He wrote a book about his journey, called Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement From Some Who’ve Done It and Some Who Never Will. Lopez’s conversation from earlier this year with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu wraps up this summer’s Think Again series.
8/31/202330 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Think Again: What losing family taught Anderson Cooper about grief and gratitude

Anderson Cooper is now the only living member of the family he grew up with. When he was 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack. His brother died by suicide about a decade later. And in 2019, his mother died at the age of 95. It’s only recently that Cooper has been able to talk about and process these deaths. For Apple News In Conversation’s Think Again series, he spoke with host Shumita Basu about what he’s learned by talking to people about death and grief on his podcast, All There Is — and the advice he has for those who are struggling with loss.
8/24/202333 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Think Again: Why people lose themselves in parenthood — and how to reclaim your sense of self

You’ve prepped the nursery, read all the books, and are eagerly waiting to meet the new member of your family. But are you also ready to meet the new version of yourself? For Apple News In Conversation’s Think Again series, host Shumita Basu talks to Jessica Grose, author of Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood, about the ways parenthood can change you, the lack of societal support for this seismic life shift, and how reconnecting with your sense of self can help you navigate it.
8/17/202329 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Think Again: The most confusing years of your life — and strategies to get through them

Early adulthood can be a particularly confusing and unsettling phase of life. You’re figuring out how to get a job, pay rent, and plan meals. At the same time, you’re also determining your values and the kind of person you want to be. It can feel like being pulled down two completely opposite life paths. In the latest episode of Apple News In Conversation’s Think Again series, host Shumita Basu talks to psychotherapist Satya Doyle Byock about how to balance the tugs of purpose and survival during the period she calls “quarterlife.” She’s even written a book on it, called, Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood.
8/10/202324 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Think Again: Your brain is hardwired to resist change. Here’s how to retrain it.

Transitions can feel intimidating and destabilizing. But these moments can also be opportunities for growth, reflection, and self-discovery — especially when you have the right tools. In the first episode of Apple News In Conversation’s monthlong ‘Think Again’ series, host Shumita Basu talks to Hidden Brain's Shankar Vedantam about why pivot points can feel so challenging and how to embrace them as opportunities, rather than obstacles.
8/3/202329 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Sneak Peek: Life’s big transitions, reimagined

Apple News In Conversation is coming out with our monthlong ‘Think Again’ series, where we rethink deeply held notions and common experiences. This year, we’re diving into some of life’s big pivot points — from early adulthood to parenthood to retirement — to explore ways to move into these new chapters with greater ease and clarity. This is a series preview. Check back for the first episode later this week.
8/1/20232 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

The dangers of extreme heat — for our health and our planet

July is on track to be the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. Millions of people in the U.S. are living in areas with dangerous levels of heat — and a growing death toll. In a new book, The Heat Will Kill You First, reporter Jeff Goodell warns that heat is pushing us into a new climate era, with dire implications for individuals, society, and our planet. Goodell spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the changes we need to make today and the reasons he still has hope for the future.
7/27/202333 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rebecca Lowe can’t believe how far women’s soccer has come

The Women’s World Cup is underway. With 32 nations fielding teams, it’s the biggest tournament yet. Rebecca Lowe, host of Apple News’s unofficial World Cup podcast, After the Whistle, and NBC Sports’ Premier League coverage, offers her predictions and reflects on the success and incredible growth of women’s soccer over her lifetime. Plus, she gives her take on Lionel Messi’s move to Major League Soccer.
7/20/202322 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Tom Hanks on what it takes to make a movie

Tom Hanks has learned a thing or two about moviemaking during his decades-long career. Ultimately, he says, it’s not about one person’s vision or direction; it’s about the countless people behind the camera — and a few in front of it — who make a movie possible. That’s the foundational idea behind his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece. Hanks spoke to Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu before SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents actors, decided to strike. But his book and their conversation are a reminder of all that goes into creating the entertainment many of us take for granted.
7/13/202320 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Playing Dwight on ‘The Office’ didn’t make Rainn Wilson happy. Here’s how he’s seeking real joy.

Rainn Wilson understands why so many people are rejecting religion today. But he argues that the core aspects of faith still have something important to offer us. Spirituality has brought him community, purpose, and levity — even as he’s struggled with depression, anxiety, and addiction. The actor explores these themes in his new book, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution, and TV show, Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss. Wilson shared what he's learned with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu.
7/6/202333 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rebroadcast: The real problem with elite-college admissions

This is an episode from our archives. This week the Supreme Court put an end to affirmative action in college admissions, meaning universities can no longer consider race as a factor when accepting a new class of students. The ruling is expected to have pretty big repercussions for schools and students. But Evan Mandery, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, says we’re talking about the wrong issue. In his book Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us, Mandery explains how top schools disproportionately favor wealthy white students — and why that’s dangerous.
6/29/202324 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Enduring advice for this year’s graduating class (and nongraduates too)

At their worst, graduation speeches are boring, trite, and pedantic. But at their best, they’re touching meditations on what it means to live a purposeful, fulfilling life. On this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu speaks with commencement-speech connoisseur Cristina Negrut, who has read hundreds of speeches and cataloged many on the website Best Graduation Speeches.
6/22/202319 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Writer Samantha Irby makes the case for enjoying frivolous things

Samantha Irby is many things: blogger; essayist; and writer for shows like Shrill, And Just Like That …, and Work in Progress. Above all, she is a master of transforming seemingly mundane moments of everyday life into high comedy. Irby sat down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about her new book, Quietly Hostile, her writing process, turning herself into a TV character, and why frivolous things matter.
6/15/202336 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

His father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He went looking for answers.

Around 2013, author and cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar started noticing some worrying changes in his father. He would forget the code to their safe; he couldn’t remember what he did the day before and would get lost driving home. Eventually, his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. In his new book, My Father’s Brain: Life in the Shadow of Alzheimer’s, Jauhar chronicles the challenges of caring for a sick parent and explains where medicine is today when it comes to treatment for this incurable illness.
6/8/202334 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

What you should know before buying an EV

Electric vehicles may be better for the planet in a lot of ways, but there are huge, often-unseen environmental and human costs associated with harvesting the minerals needed to make EV batteries. On the latest episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu spoke with Washington Post reporters Rebecca Tan and Evan Halper about the paper’s series “Clean Cars, Hidden Tolls.”
6/1/202325 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rebroadcast: Malcolm Gladwell on why changing your mind can be so difficult

This is an interview from our archives. It’s part of a series called Think Again, a guide to reimagining work, home, relationships, and more. In this episode, Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu talks with best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell about how to be more open-minded and rethink old ideas.
5/25/202326 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

How unreported gifts and luxury travel are harming the Supreme Court’s legitimacy

Recent allegations of ethical violations have reignited a debate about establishing an enforceable code of conduct for Supreme Court justices. University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck argues the latest revelations concerning several justices speak to a much larger breakdown in the way the court operates today. He writes about this in his new book, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic. Vladeck spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the absence of accountability on the court — and how reforming it could lead to a stronger, more trusted institution.
5/18/202334 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

The secrets our government keeps from us — and why

Documents marked “top secret” have been turning up in a lot of unexpected places recently. But America has another problem with classified documents: There’s too many of them. By some estimates, it would take 250 years for these documents to be reviewed and released to the public. On the latest episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu spoke with Matthew Connelly, author of The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America’s Top Secrets, about the government’s culture of secrecy.
5/11/202325 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

What makes a murderer? These investigators might have the answer.

Nearly 30 years ago, James Bernard Belcher was sentenced to death for raping, strangling, and drowning 29-year-old Jennifer Embry. Recently, he was given a second chance: a resentencing, this time with new evidence unearthed by a mitigation specialist. These life-history investigators seek to contextualize a defendant’s violent crimes, often by surfacing childhood traumas. On the latest episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu spoke with Maurice Chammah, a reporter for the Marshall Project, about shadowing one specialist as she excavates Belcher’s past in a bid to spare his life.
5/4/202320 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

What a top couples therapist wishes more people knew

The Showtime documentary series Couples Therapy allows viewers to watch real-life therapy sessions. Couples hash out their conflicts and challenges with Dr. Orna Guralnik as their guide. Guralnik is a psychoanalyst who prompts people to examine their instincts, listen to their partners, and do some deep self-discovery. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Guralnik about her approach to therapy — and her relationship advice.
4/27/202327 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Why Sienna Miller and Scott Z. Burns made a climate-catastrophe show

What would a future look like where climate change has become a truly unavoidable part of all of our daily lives? This is one of the questions the new Apple TV+ show Extrapolations tries to answer. Series creator Scott Z. Burns was a producer of the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth and the writer behind the eerily prescient 2011 film Contagion, about a global pandemic. Burns, along with one of the stars of the series, Sienna Miller, spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the making of Extrapolations — and how dystopian portrayals of the future can mobilize and motivate people to take serious action.
4/20/202335 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

What Fox News insiders are saying as the network faces a landmark trial

The Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation case against Fox News is set to begin on April 17. At the core of Dominion’s case are pages of internal messages showing that many people at Fox didn’t believe the election lies they were promoting on the air. On the latest episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu spoke with Brian Stelter, the former chief media correspondent at CNN who spent years talking to people at Fox, mostly as anonymous sources, about the inner workings of the organization. He’ll also be covering the trial for Vanity Fair. Stelter breaks down the case, what’s at stake, and the potential consequences.
4/13/202336 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Why we don’t take postpartum mental health seriously enough — and what that means for new parents

This episode includes descriptions of violence and mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.Earlier this year, a woman named Lindsay Clancy was charged with the murder of her three children — who were 5 years, 3 years, and 7 months old. Though Clancy never formally received a PMAD diagnosis, her story has ignited conversations about postpartum care in the United States. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with New Yorker editor Jessica Winter about the mental-health challenges many new birthing parents face — and the lack of support provided to them.
4/6/202331 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Why there’s so much poverty in America — and what you can do about it

More than 38 million people live in poverty in the United States, one of the world’s richest countries. In a new book, Poverty, by America, sociologist and writer Matthew Desmond sets out to figure out why. In an interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu, Desmond lays out the ways that so many of us benefit from a system that keeps people poor, and he offers concrete actions we can all take to dismantle the status quo.
3/30/202331 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

What A.I. will make better — and much, much worse

Ever since the introduction of the artificial-intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, people can’t stop talking about what the latest wave of A.I. is able to do — from acing standardized tests to composing detailed essays to writing code. But it also has people asking: What does a world look like where A.I. plays a larger role in our lives? Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with editor in chief of the Verge, Nilay Patel, about this rapidly evolving technology and how it could shape our future.
3/23/202336 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Havana syndrome looks very real on brain scans. Why is it still a mystery to the U.S. government?

In 2016, U.S. government officials began reporting a mysterious set of symptoms. They first appeared in Havana, but then showed up in other countries around the world. In a podcast for Vice World News, reporters Adam Entous and Jon Lee Anderson explain everything they’ve learned about what’s now commonly called Havana syndrome, and why the U.S. still can’t explain what causes it. On this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, Entous and Anderson discuss their reporting with host Shumita Basu.
3/16/202328 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Inside the most shocking moments in Oscar history

New Yorker staff writer Michael Schulman has been an Oscar enthusiast for decades. He’s even memorized every acceptance speech ever given by Meryl Streep. Now he’s out with a new book called Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears. It’s a deep dive into key moments in the Oscars’ history that signaled shifts in the culture and industry. Schulman spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about this evolution — and what to watch for at this year’s awards.
3/11/202333 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

After a reporter’s killing, journalists came together to finish his last investigation

Jeff German was a legendary reporter in Las Vegas known for holding power to account. He was killed last September, and a local official has been charged with his murder. After German’s death, the Washington Post reached out to the Las Vegas Review-Journal — where he had worked since 2010 — offering reporting resources to help finish the work still sitting on his desk. The story the Post ultimately took on was assigned to reporter Lizzie Johnson. Johnson spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about completing German’s unfinished work — and honoring his legacy.
3/4/202320 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

How new weight-loss drugs are changing conversations about obesity

There’s no such thing as a “miracle pill” for weight loss. But for many people who’ve struggled with their weight, drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro come pretty close. These medications — some of which were originally developed to treat diabetes — have been flying off the shelves, but a number of experts are concerned they could be misused. On Apple News In Conversation, health reporter Julia Belluz breaks down how these drugs work, who they’re for, and how they are impacting conversations about obesity, weight loss, and stigma. 
2/25/202322 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Why the economy is so weird right now

Recent economic indicators point to a relatively healthy U.S. economy. That’s despite an economic slowdown caused by the pandemic, inflation, a wacky housing market, and fears of a recession. On Apple News In Conversation, Vox senior correspondent Emily Stewart breaks down how we got here and what government officials need to do now to keep the economy trending in the right direction.
2/18/202326 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Money ruins marriages. It doesn’t have to.

When it comes to love and money, the old adage is true: Opposites do attract. But with that can come a lot of disagreements over how to spend and save. In the latest episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Julia Carpenter about the challenges couples face when managing their finances — and what experts say about how to more successfully build wealth together.
2/11/202337 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

The deadliest wave of the fentanyl crisis is here. Why aren’t we doing more to stop it?

Every day, nearly 200 Americans die from a fentanyl overdose. This synthetic drug represents the latest phase of the decades-long opioid epidemic that began with prescription pain pills. Scott Higham is part of a team of reporters at the Washington Post that investigated the crisis — and the government failures that led us here. Higham spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the Post’s investigation.
2/4/202325 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

The real problem with elite-college admissions

The Supreme Court is expected to soon hand down a ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, a case that could end affirmative action in college admissions. But professor Evan Mandery says we’re talking about the wrong issue. In his new book, Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us, Mandery explains how top schools disproportionately favor wealthy white students — and why that’s dangerous. Mandery spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the problem with elite colleges today and how to make them better.
1/28/202323 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

They thought their crimes were untraceable. Then their dark-web empire collapsed.

When Bitcoin was first created, it was believed to be an untraceable form of currency. This promise attracted tons of bad actors — and it turned out to be untrue. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with journalist Andy Greenberg about his new book, Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency. Greenberg lays out how U.S. authorities used cryptocurrency tracing to take down some of the most prolific criminals on the dark web.
1/21/202324 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Inside one of the NFL’s most stunning failures

The majority of NFL players are Black. So how is it possible that the league has only had 20 Black head coaches since 1990 — compared to 154 white coaches? The glaring disparity is at the center of an ongoing lawsuit against the NFL brought by former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores. Washington Post reporter Michael Lee talks to Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about this persistent problem — and how the NFL needs to change, fast. 
1/14/202325 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

The signs that you’re ready to retire

When longtime LA Times columnist Steve Lopez reached his mid-60s, he started to think about retiring. But he wasn’t sure how to go about it — or if he should do it all. He gave himself one year to decide and spoke with many different people — Norman Lear and Mel Brooks, among others — about their thoughts on retirement. He wrote a book about his journey, called Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement From Some Who’ve Done It and Some Who Never Will. He spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how to emotionally and mentally prepare for retirement.
1/7/202330 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rebroadcast: The health and wellness myths almost everyone falls for

This is an interview from our archives. It was part of a series called Think Again — a guide to reimagining work, home, relationships, and more. In this episode, Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu talks with Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes, hosts of the Maintenance Phase podcast, about how to outsmart the wellness industry, spot junk health science, and find information that will actually help you live healthier. Below are excerpts from the interview.
12/31/202229 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rebroadcast: She teaches Yale’s famous class about the science of happiness. Here’s what she’s learned.

This is an episode from our archives.At Yale University, psychology professor Laurie Santos saw firsthand how so many college students were anxious or depressed. So she decided to teach a class on the science of happiness — and how to apply it in real life. It became the school’s most popular course ever. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Santos about her podcast, The Happiness Lab, and the evidence-based strategies that can help us improve our lives and outlook. Below are excerpts from the interview.
12/24/202228 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Microplastics are everywhere. Here’s what that means for your health.

Microplastics cover every inch of our world, from the rain forest to Mount Everest — they’re even in our lungs. Much remains unknown about their impact on our health, but so far the research paints a bleak picture. In his new book, A Poison Like No Other, science journalist Matt Simon breaks down some big and small changes we can all make to mitigate our exposure to microplastics and reduce their spread. Below are excerpts from his interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu.
12/17/202222 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Nobel Peace Prize–winning journalist Maria Ressa on how to stand up to a dictator

Nobel Peace Prize–winning journalist Maria Ressa has a warning for the world. In her new book, How to Stand Up to a Dictator, Ressa lays out how social media has been weaponized to support the rise of authoritarianism in the Philippines — and why the rest of the world needs to pay attention. She spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the urgent actions needed to safeguard democracy today.
12/10/202227 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

A growing scientific field saves lives. It’s also rife with controversy.

Cellular biology has already transformed medicine. It’s the science behind treatments like blood transfusions, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and chemotherapy. But as the field continues to develop, it keeps pushing up against one question: What’s a disease — and what’s a desire? In his new book, The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and cancer researcher Siddhartha Mukherjee takes a deep dive into the perils and potential of advancing cellular science. Below are excerpts from his interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu.
12/3/202220 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Traveling for the holidays? Here’s what to know before your next flight

This is an episode from our archives. Scott McCartney has been covering the airline industry for more than two decades. He spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about why air travel is such a mess — and what can we do about it.
11/22/202226 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Introducing ‘After the Whistle,’ a podcast all about the World Cup

We’ve got something special for you this weekend. Apple News is launching a new World Cup podcast — hosted by Brendan Hunt (who plays Coach Beard on ‘Ted Lasso’) and Rebecca Lowe (who covers the English Premier League for NBC Sports). We’re bringing you the podcast’s first episode. In this inaugural episode, Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe gear up for the World Cup. Hear them battle out their national allegiances to the U.S. and England, reflect on the human-rights abuses taking place in Qatar, and share the story of how ‘Ted Lasso’ brought them together eight years ago.  ‘After the Whistle with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe’ is an Apple News Original podcast produced by Meadowlark Media. For around-the-clock World Cup news, plus live scores and standings, follow along on the Apple News app in My Sports, where available. https://apple.co/afterthewhistle
11/19/202228 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

What the lottery reveals about the American dream

This week, the Powerball topped $2 billion, making it the biggest jackpot ever. Historian Jonathan D. Cohen is the author of the book For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America. He spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about our enduring obsession with the lottery — and the industry’s most troubling problems.
11/12/202226 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Which party will control Congress? Three experts weigh in.

This episode is part of a special series from Apple News Today exploring the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections. Which party will control Congress? What are the most crucial races to watch? What do voters say they want? Apple News editor Gideon Resnick put these questions and more to a panel of election watchers: Amy Walter, the editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report, Errin Haines, the editor-at-large for the 19th, and Mike Madrid, a GOP consultant and co-host of the Latino Vote podcast.
11/5/202229 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Something is deeply broken in American news. Can it be fixed?

A recent study by the Reuters Institute found that only 29% of Americans say they trust the news most of the time. Where has the press gone wrong — and how can it change to better serve the public? Longtime media critic Margaret Sullivan explores these questions in her new book, Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) From an Ink-Stained Life. Below are excerpts from her interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu.
10/29/202226 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

What happened to Mahsa Amini: Inside Iran’s extraordinary uprising

In September, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was visiting Tehran when she was arrested by the country’s morality police for improperly wearing her hijab. She died while in custody. Since then, anti-government demonstrators — many of them women — have taken to the streets in cities across the country and around the world to demand more freedom and civil liberties in Iran. Pardis Mahdavi is a scholar of feminist movements in the country. In her interview with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu, she provides context for these demonstrations and the possible changes they could bring. Below are excerpts from the episode.
10/22/202232 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

What will happen if Trump returns to the White House? This book offers clues.

Many books have been written about Donald Trump’s presidency. But one stands out from the rest. It’s called The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017–2021, and it’s by New York Times journalist Peter Baker and New Yorker writer Susan Glasser. The husband-and-wife coauthors exhaustively cataloged Trump’s four years in office and interviewed more than 300 people, including Trump, for the book. They spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about their reporting.
10/15/202233 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Does the TSA actually keep anyone safe?

After 9/11, the U.S. spent billions of dollars establishing the Transportation Security Administration. After more than 20 years of pat-downs, barefoot X-rays, and so-called random screenings, evidence shows that the TSA has played almost no role in foiling terrorist plots. Journalist Darryl Campbell recently wrote for The Verge about the agency’s history. He spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the state of airport security today and what a better system could look like.
10/8/202228 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Inside Nina Totenberg’s Supreme Court career — and powerful friendship with RBG

During her long career covering the Supreme Court, journalist Nina Totenberg cultivated friendships with many justices, including Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Antonin Scalia. Totenberg spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how she maintained journalistic integrity while cultivating those relationships, what she thinks about the court today, and her new book, Dinners With Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships. 
10/1/202229 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

How the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders transformed sports

The Dallas Cowboys may be “America’s Team,” but the hundreds of women behind the Cowboys Cheerleaders deserve a lot of credit for its success. Journalist Sarah Hepola tells their story in an article for Texas Monthly, “Sex, Scandal, and Sisterhood: Fifty Years of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,” and in the podcast America’s Girls. Hepola spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how the squad’s choreography, costumes, and controversial codes of conduct have changed with American society.
9/24/202232 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

How America bungled COVID school closures — and failed to put children first

Schools across the U.S. closed their doors for 58 weeks during the pandemic. Journalist Anya Kamenetz writes about the ripple effects of school closures in her new book, The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children’s Lives, and Where We Go Now. Kamenetz spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about the consequences of our failure to prioritize kids.
9/17/202224 minutes
Episode Artwork

Think Again: How to master the art of doing nothing

This interview is part of a new series from Apple News In Conversation called Think Again — a guide to reimagining work, home, relationships, and more.  In this episode, In Conversation host Shumita Basu talks with Jenny Odell, an artist and the author of the book How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy. Odell provides strategies for training our attention away from devices and toward the world.
9/10/202218 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Think Again: Why Americans are so burned out — and how to fix your work-life balance

This is an episode from our archives. It’s re-airing as part of our new series, Think Again, a guide to reimagining work, home, relationships, and more.How’s your relationship to your job? For a lot of people, work-life balance has felt far from perfect for a while. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu speaks with Anne Helen Petersen about her book Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working From Home, coauthored with Charlie Warzel. It’s all about how we can adjust the role our jobs play in our lives and focus more time and energy on the things we care about the most. Below are excerpts from the interview.
9/3/202225 minutes
Episode Artwork

Think Again: The health and wellness myths almost everyone falls for

This interview is part of a new series from Apple News In Conversation called Think Again — a guide to reimagining work, home, relationships, and more. In this episode, In Conversation host Shumita Basu talks with Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes, hosts of the Maintenance Phase podcast, about how to outsmart the wellness industry, spot junk health science, and find information that will actually help you live healthier. Below are excerpts from the interview.
8/27/202228 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Think Again: Why relationships fall apart over dirty dishes — and how to avoid the trap

This interview is part of a new series from Apple News In Conversation called Think Again — a guide to reimagining work, home, relationships, and more.  In this episode, In Conversation host Shumita Basu talks with Kate Mangino, a gender expert and the author of the book Equal Partners: Improving Gender Equality at Home. Mangino points to research that shows women still take on the majority of household responsibilities in different-sex relationships — and she argues there’s a better way for partners to balance the mental and physical labor of running a home. Mangino offers strategies to bring more equity and fairness into our partnerships. Below are excerpts from the interview.
8/20/202234 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Think Again: Malcolm Gladwell’s tips for changing a stubborn mind

Think Again is a new series from Apple News In Conversation. It’s a guide to reimagining work, home, relationships, and more. In the first episode, In Conversation host Shumita Basu talks with Malcolm Gladwell about how to be more open-minded and rethink old ideas.
8/13/202226 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

What it took to bring down R. Kelly

For decades, R. Kelly’s career flourished despite disturbing rumors of sexual assault. Now the singer is finally being held accountable. He was sentenced in June to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking and racketeering, and a second federal trial starts August 15. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with journalist Jim DeRogatis, who broke the allegations against R. Kelly in 2000.
8/6/202220 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Inside the dark corners of the internet that breed mass shooters

There’s a common thread between the suspects behind the killing of 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso in 2019, the mass shooting in Buffalo in May, and the attack on a crowd in Highland Park on Independence Day: They were all radicalized online and left behind a trail of digital activity. NBC News reporter Ben Collins spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how online spaces are leading to extremism and producing a generation of mass shooters. Below are excerpts from the interview.
7/30/202225 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Why air travel is such a mess — and what to know before your next flight

This was supposed to be the summer of revenge travel. Instead, air travelers have faced long lines, lost bags, and canceled flights. Scott McCartney has been covering the airline industry for more than two decades. He spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how things got so bad — and what can we do about it. Below are excerpts from the interview.
7/23/202225 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Her son was briefly out of sight during a picnic. She was arrested for child abuse

Every year, hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S. are removed from their homes and placed in foster care by child-protective services. But is this the best way to protect our kids? Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Dorothy Roberts, author of the book ‘Torn Apart,’ who argues that America’s child-welfare system does more harm than good — and needs to be abolished.
7/16/202221 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Why the news is so broken, according to one of the first journalists to cover Trump’s campaign

Katy Tur’s parents were trailblazers in the journalism world. In the ’80s and ’90s, they revolutionized the breaking-news model, literally flying over the competition in their own chopper to capture Los Angeles’s biggest stories — from Madonna and Sean Penn’s wedding to the 1992 L.A. riots. Katy Tur grew up to be a journalist herself — she’s now an anchor on MSNBC — and she writes about her life in her new memoir, Rough Draft. In an interview with Apple New In Conversation host Shumita Basu, Tur discusses her unusual childhood and the direct line from the model of journalism her parents created to the rise of Donald Trump.
7/9/202226 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rebroadcast: Nikole Hannah-Jones on the 1619 Project and how the legacy of slavery shapes America

This is an episode from our archives. Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter for the New York Times Magazine and the creator of the 1619 Project. The initiative reframes America’s past around an important date that isn’t mentioned in many history books: 1619, the beginning of slavery in the U.S. Hannah-Jones has expanded on the idea and turned it into a book called The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story. Below are excerpts from Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu’s interview with Hannah-Jones about the project.
7/2/202224 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

She had an illegal abortion in 1970 — and was charged with manslaughter

In 1971, Shirley Wheeler became the first woman to be criminally charged for having an abortion. She was convicted of manslaughter and faced up to 20 years in prison. In the latest season of the podcast Slow Burn, host Susan Matthews explores what happened to Wheeler in the years leading up to the Roe v. Wade decision. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Matthews about Wheeler’s story — and why Wheeler’s case is a warning of what’s to come after the recent overturning of Roe.
6/25/202223 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

There’s a science to happiness. This Ivy League professor has cracked the code.

At Yale University, psychology professor Laurie Santos saw firsthand how so many college students were anxious or depressed. So she decided to teach a class on the science of happiness — and how to apply it in real life. It became the school’s most popular course ever. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Santos about her podcast, The Happiness Lab, and the evidence-based strategies that can help us improve our lives and outlook.
6/18/202228 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Are political insiders looking for a Biden backup plan?

Though he has yet to officially announce, President Biden has made it clear he’ll seek reelection in 2024. But given his age and approval ratings, a lot of Democrats are asking, “What’s the backup plan?” National correspondent for New York magazine Gabriel Debenedetti spoke with Washington insiders about the lead-up to the next presidential election. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Debenedetti about his reporting.
6/11/202227 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Why child suicide is on the rise

In April 2021, twelve-year-old Trevor Matthews took his own life. Andrew Solomon, a writer and clinical medical psychology professor, knew Matthews as the friend and former classmate of Solomon’s son, George. For the New Yorker, Solomon writes about the alarmingly high rate of youth suicide, why it's on the rise, and why it’s so difficult to prevent. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Solomon about this issue.   This episode is about suicide — and includes references to sexual abuse. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-talk (8255) or text talk to 741741.
6/4/202231 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

The school shooting generation

In light of the recent shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, we’re bringing you an episode from our archives. In 1998, a student opened fire at a middle-school dance, killing one teacher and wounding another teacher and two students. Journalist Marin Cogan was a sixth grader there, and she recalls the shock and horror she and her classmates felt. Back then, school shootings were far more rare; kids and educators didn’t have the language or the tools to talk about — much less process — their trauma. For Vox, Cogan connected with survivors of other school shootings that took place in the 1990s. She spoke with former Apple News In Conversation host Duarte Geraldino about coming of age in a world wholly unprepared to deal with the aftermath of mass school shootings.
5/28/202219 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

The anatomy of Trump’s Big Lie

In November 2020, a group of Trump allies gathered together to try to prove the election had been stolen. The only problem: there was no evidence to support any of their claims. ProPublica’s Doug Bock Clark reviewed internal documents and interviewed key participants in this effort to reveal how small untruths snowballed into Trump’s Big Lie. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Clark about his findings.
5/21/202223 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

What Queen Elizabeth is really like

This year’s Platinum Jubilee marks Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year anniversary on the throne. Journalist Tina Brown has been covering the Crown for decades, and in her latest book, The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor — Truth and Turmoil, she chronicles the British royal family’s struggle to reinvent itself after the Diana years. Below are excerpts from Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu’s interview with Brown.
5/14/202230 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

How the abortion news threatens the Supreme Court’s credibility

A leaked draft opinion on a Mississippi abortion law suggests that the Supreme Court is ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, a nearly 50-year precedent that protects abortion as a federally guaranteed right. This comes at a time when the Supreme Court is already facing a lot of scrutiny. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu talks with Slate writer and veteran court watcher Dahlia Lithwick about what this leaked opinion means for the future of abortion — and the future of the court itself.
5/7/202230 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

The people who got rich off the pandemic

When COVID-19 hit the United States, some saw it as an opportunity to make a fortune. Individuals and companies with no experience in the production of personal protective equipment made wild claims about what they could provide — and were awarded lucrative government contracts. They never delivered on their promises. ProPublica reporter David McSwane dives into this world of fraudsters and opportunists who profited off of COVID-19 in his new book, Pandemic, Inc.
4/30/202220 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

The network of activists preparing for a post-Roe future

The Supreme Court will soon announce a decision that could substantially weaken or even overturn Roe v. Wade. Jessica Bruder recently wrote for the Atlantic about the many groups of activists helping women get access to abortion, even if they have to work around the law. Bruder spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Duarte Geraldino about how this network first formed and the ways activists are laying the groundwork for a country without Roe.
4/23/202221 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

She thought she knew her family — until she took a DNA test

When Amber van Moessner was growing up, she never questioned whether the man who raised her was her biological father. But when she was in her late 20s, she took a 23andMe genetic test and discovered that she was conceived via a sperm donor. Van Moessner’s story kicks off the podcast series BioHacked: Family Secrets, hosted by T.J. Raphael. Hear Shumita Basu’s interview with Raphael and van Moessner about the donor-conception industry. 
4/16/202227 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

The transgender swimmer whose success made her a target

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas is the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA swimming championship, and the honor has put her at the center of the discussion about trans competitors. Sports writer Louisa Thomas (no relation) tells the swimmer’s story in the New Yorker. She spoke with Shumita Basu for the latest episode of Apple News In Conversation about the difficulty of creating fairness in sports when no two athletes’ bodies will ever be perfectly matched.
4/9/202217 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty. What about her COO?

When it came to light that the blood-testing technology behind the biotech startup Theranos didn’t work, the enigmatic founder, Elizabeth Holmes, became the subject of intense scrutiny. While Holmes has been in the spotlight, there’s another person at the center of this story: Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Balwani and Holmes dated in secret for more than a decade, and he eventually became COO of Theranos. Balwani’s trial is now underway. Apple News In Conversation’s Shumita Basu spoke with Rebecca Jarvis, host of ABC Audio’s podcast on Theranos, The Dropout, about what to expect in this latest court case.
4/2/202222 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

What happened when a man made a chatbot of his dead fiancée

Joshua Barbeau lost his fiancée, Jessica, nearly a decade ago. For Joshua, getting over her death felt impossible. He was still grieving when he came across a website that allowed him to feel like he was communicating with Jessica again — by creating a customized, A.I.-powered chatbot. San Francisco Chronicle journalist Jason Fagone spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how the Jessica bot helped Joshua process his grief.
3/26/20221 hour, 35 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Jon Stewart can’t fix America. But he knows people who can.

What’s the problem with America today? A lot of things, according to Jon Stewart. From the media to the way politics function to the fragility of democracy, Stewart is on a mission to look for solutions. That’s the premise of his show on Apple TV+, ‘The Problem With Jon Stewart.’ Stewart spoke with Shumita Basu for the latest episode of Apple News In Conversation.
3/19/202227 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

Apple News In Conversation

Shumita Basu sits down with some of the most influential journalists, celebrities, and thought leaders about the stories shaping our culture, politics, and lives.
3/14/20221 minute, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Uncovering slave-ship wrecks, a diver puts lost souls to rest

During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, an estimated 12.5 million people who were enslaved traveled from Africa to the Americas, on 36,000 voyages. Roughly a thousand of these vessels sank, but only a few have ever been found. National Geographic explorer and diver Tara Roberts spoke with “Apple News Today” host Duarte Geraldino about her experience identifying and documenting the remains of slave-ship wrecks — and how she’s hoping to honor the lives of these people who have been all but forgotten by history.
3/12/202218 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

How real is the threat of nuclear war?

NATO member states have been clear they will not directly intervene in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But many Ukrainians are calling on the West to do more. Apple News Today host Duarte Geraldino talks with Ukrainian activist Daria Kaleniuk, who is urging NATO allies to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine. In response, cohost Shumita Basu speaks with Vox senior correspondent Zack Beauchamp, who says any type of military intervention by the West would be catastrophic and could trigger a nuclear attack from Russia.
3/5/202225 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

David Remnick on Putin’s endgame

This week, Russia launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine — beginning what could be the largest war in Europe in decades. Apple News Today host Shumita Basu spoke with New Yorker editor David Remnick, a longtime expert on Russia, about how we got here and what this war means for the U.S. and the rest of the world.
2/26/202222 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Did a Texas man confess to a murder he didn’t commit?

When 52-year-old Larry Driskill was questioned by Texas Ranger James Holland in 2015, he thought he was helping police solve a cold case. But within 24 hours, Driskill confessed to a murder he says he didn’t commit. He’s now in prison. Maurice Chammah spent a year looking into this case and others like it for the Marshall Project. He spoke to Apple News Today host Duarte Geraldino about the techniques used by law enforcement that can result in false confessions.
2/19/202223 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Are we in the golden age of ‘Jeopardy’?

When host Alex Trebek died in 2020, Jeopardy’s future was unclear. Could the game show continue to be successful without him? So far, the answer is yes. Claire McNear, a reporter at The Ringer and the author of Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History and Insider’s Guide to Jeopardy!, spoke with Apple News Today host Shumita Basu about all things Jeopardy — from superfan online message boards to game strategy to Trebek’s legacy.
2/12/202220 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

They survived school shootings. How are they 20 years later?

In 1998, a student opened fire at a middle-school dance, killing one teacher and wounding another teacher and two students. Journalist Marin Cogan was a sixth grader at the time, and she recalls the shock and horror she and her classmates felt. Back then, school shootings were far more rare; kids and educators didn’t have the language or the tools to talk about — much less process — their trauma. For Vox, Cogan recently connected with survivors of other school shootings that took place in the 1990s. She spoke with Apple News Today host Shumita Basu about coming of age in a world wholly unprepared to deal with the aftermath of mass school shootings.
2/5/202219 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Nikole Hannah-Jones on the 1619 Project and reframing U.S. history

Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter for The New York Times Magazine and the creator of the 1619 Project. The project reframes American history around an important date that isn’t mentioned in many history books: 1619, the beginning of American slavery. Hannah-Jones has expanded on the idea and turned it into a book called The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story. Hannah-Jones spoke with Apple News Today host Shumita Basu about the project.
1/22/202224 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

How one journalist helped her dad die

If you’re suffering from a terminal illness and have only a few months to live, should you be allowed to choose how and when to end your life? Ten states in the country allow patients to do just that — a practice referred to as medical aid in dying — under highly regulated laws. In April 2020, Bloomberg journalist Esmé Deprez’s father became the second person to end his life under the Maine Death with Dignity Act. Deprez speaks with Apple News Today host Duarte Geraldino about that experience and a California case making its way through the courts now that could expand the scope of the law.
1/15/202228 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Feeling burned out? Here’s how to rethink work.

How’s your relationship to your job? Does it feel healthy? Sustainable? For a lot of people, it got worse during the pandemic. One survey in 2021 found that more than a third of the men and nearly half of the women feel burned out. So what’s going wrong here? Apple News Today host Shumita Basu speaks with Anne Helen Petersen about her new book, Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working From Home, coauthored with Charlie Warzel. It’s all about how we can adjust the role our jobs play in our lives and focus more time and energy on the things we care about the most.
1/8/202224 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Inside the secret prisons where migrants are tortured and beaten

For the New Yorker, journalist Ian Urbina traveled to Libya to report on an EU-funded shadow immigration system that holds migrants in brutal detention centers. While reporting this story, Urbina was kidnapped, beaten, and detained himself. Now safely back home, he spoke with Apple News Today host Shumita Basu about how this shadow system works and the horrific conditions inside the detention centers.
12/11/202125 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Jelani Cobb on the backlash to critical race theory

The New Yorker’s Jelani Cobb says conservatives weaponizing critical race theory aren’t acting in good faith. He speaks with Apple News Today host Shumita Basu about his recent piece for the New Yorker about the founder of the concept, Derrick Bell. Cobb says that Bell could have predicted today’s backlash and that real critical race theory can help us understand today’s debate over false depictions of this term.
11/20/202121 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Kids were jailed for a crime that doesn’t exist. How could that happen?

Nashville Public Radio’s Meribah Knight speaks with Shumita Basu about her reporting for ProPublica on the juvenile-justice system in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Knight reveals a disturbing pattern in which hundreds of kids — some as young as 7 years old — were being locked up every year. In many of these cases, the adults responsible acted illegally and faced no consequences.
10/30/202126 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Think the stock market is rigged? You may be right.

Data shows high-level execs often get unusually good returns trading their own companies’ stocks. But regulators say insider trading is hard to prove under current law. For Bloomberg Businessweek, Liam Vaughan explains why insider trading is more widespread than you might think — and why some experts argue the system is fundamentally unfair.
10/23/202115 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Bob Woodward and Robert Costa on the final months of Trump’s presidency

What was it like inside the White House when Donald Trump lost — then denied losing — the election? Journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, authors of the new book Peril, sat down with Apple News Today host Shumita Basu to discuss the chaotic period, which they consider one of the most dangerous in American history. Peril is available now on Apple Books.
10/2/202126 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

The story of Jane Roe, her baby, and abortion in America

Many people may not know that the woman at the center of Roe v. Wade — whose real name is Norma McCorvey — never got the abortion to which she won the right. Journalist and author Joshua Prager set out to find the daughter whom McCorvey ultimately gave up for adoption. In his new book, The Family Roe: An American Story, Prager details the lives of these women and explores how the issue of abortion became so divisive in the U.S.
9/18/202123 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

E. Alex Jung on who writer Anthony Veasna So might’ve been

Anthony Veasna So was a burgeoning literary star when he died of a drug overdose at 28 last year. For New York Magazine, Jung spoke with So’s friends, family, and partner about who he was. They all have different ideas.
8/14/202121 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Roxane Gay talks Kelis’s farm and the beauty of homegrown food

Kelis is a pop star most widely known for her 2003 hit single, “Milkshake.” She’s still performing, but her talents and interests extend beyond the music world. A few years ago, she and her husband bought a farm outside L.A. and started living off the land.   Best-selling author Roxane Gay wrote about Kelis’s experience running the farm for Harper’s Bazaar. In her article, Gay explores why Kelis started farming and the freedom it has brought her. Gay also looks at the barriers that often stand between Black people and homegrown food. Gay’s article, called “How Kelis Remixed Her Life,” is available to read (and listen to) in Apple News+.
7/31/202117 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Allison P. Davis on how Zola’s Twitter thread became a movie

A’Ziah King, also known as Zola, went viral on Twitter back in 2015. Her series of 148 tweets detailed a mostly true story about a trip down to Florida for an exotic-dancing gig that went awry. A film, titled ‘Zola’ and directed by Janicza Bravo, has now been made based on that viral Twitter thread.    Allison P. Davis, a features writer at New York Magazine, recently profiled Zola. Davis details how many different interests tried to take control of Zola’s story during the filmmaking process — and how Zola feels the final product centers her voice. Davis’s article, called “The Real Zola,” is available to read (and listen to) in Apple News+.
7/3/202123 minutes, 35 seconds