Plain English with Derek Thompson

What makes a hit a hit? Why do some bands make it while others fade into obscurity? Chuck Klosterman’s new book imagines an alternate history of 20th century music and uses it to explore why some things become popular and just how much culture depends on chance.

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Host: Derek ThompsonGuest: Chuck KlostermanProducer: Devon BaroldiAdditional Production Support: Ben Glicksman
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With new breakthroughs in math and biology alongside reports of AI agents escaping and hacking systems, suffice it to say AI has had an interesting few weeks. How worried should we be about it all?

Derek talks with researchers Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, authors of the “AI as a Normal Technology” framework, about a simple question: Is AI actually just a normal technology? And if today’s AI is as powerful as it seems, why does the world still look so normal?

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If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com.

Host: Derek Thompson

Guests: Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor

Producer: Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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Education outcomes have been getting worse across much of the world, with reading and math scores falling to historic lows. The U.S. has seen some of the steepest declines in decades.

But, why does Mississippi look so different?

Mississippi education reformer Rachel Canter has been at the forefront of the state’s dramatic improvement in reading and math over the past few decades. Today, Derek is joined by Rachel to discuss the so-called “Mississippi miracle” (a name she says misses the mark!). Together they break down how years of policy changes and implementation transformed the state’s schools and how other states can replicate their success.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson

If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com.

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Rachel Canter

Producer: Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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Expert economists keep making predictions about America’s financial future, and those predictions keep being … wrong. Over the past few years, we’ve heard warnings about a recession, inflation, tariffs, wars, deficits, and an AI bubble, yet the economy continues chugging along. Today, Derek talks with economist Jason Furman about what economists and commentators might be missing and why exactly the U.S. economy has been so much more resilient than many expected.Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompsonIf you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com.Host: Derek ThompsonGuest: Jason FurmanProducer: Devon BaroldiAdditional Production Support: Ben Glicksman
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Trust in American higher education is near a historic low. Tuition has soared, and the payoff for a college degree is now in question as graduates face a weird and challenging job market. Simultaneously, AI is transforming everything around them, from academic fraud to job applications. It all raises the question: What role does college play in the year 2026?

Harvard is tackling this question by trying something … different. Instead of shunning new tech, Dean David Deming recently told students that the university would embrace a controversial policy of AI “encouragement,” which many saw as an attack on academic integrity itself.

Today, Derek talks with Deming about why exactly Harvard is embracing AI, what college is supposed to teach students in the first place, and how higher ed can preserve the value of deep thinking when modern technology can do so much of the thinking for us.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson

If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com.

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: David Deming

Producer: Devon Baroldi

Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman

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