Radio Atlantic

After a 2018 Supreme Court decision kicked off a wave of legalization across America, sports gambling has become an integral part of how fans consume sports and how leagues make money. But with high-profile athletes caught up in betting scandals, a windfall welcomed by the sports industry also poses serious risks to it.  Sports journalist and Atlantic contributor Jemele Hill joins guest host Adam Harris to discuss whether leagues can manage the mess of banning athletes who gamble, all while advertising sports betting. And what if any impact the spike in gambling will have on a new generation of fans. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden has announced he’ll no longer seek reelection. With a little over 100 days left until the vote, he’s endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.  Staff writer Franklin Foer wrote a book on the Biden administration. And staff writer Elaina Plott Calabro profiled Harris for the magazine. They come together at this extraordinary moment to share their knowledge of the two politicians and talk about what happens next and what to expect from Harris as the presidential candidate. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Republican Party is gathered in Wisconsin to renominate Donald Trump for president. The convention follows a near-miss assassination attempt on Trump and the announcement of Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his pick for running mate. All the while, President Biden faces calls from within the Democratic Party for him to step aside. Staff writer Tim Alberta has chronicled his fair share of GOP campaigns, but this one is unlike any he’s seen. He joins guest host Adam Harris from the RNC convention hall to give an inside view of the party and campaign that are planning for a landslide win in November. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America is not new to political violence, but the near-assassination of Donald Trump is an attack without comparison in 21st-century politics. How do  process it? What happens next? And how true are the claims, as President Joe Biden put it in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, that “this is not who we are?” For this bonus episode of Radio Atlantic, guest host Adam Harris speaks with staff writer Anne Applebaum and executive editor Adrienne LaFrance. Both have written and reported extensively about political violence in America and abroad. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After his disastrous debate performance in June, President Biden faced calls from Democratic lawmakers and power brokers to step aside. But with the president firmly committed to staying in, what recourse does the party have? How would the Democratic Party replace the presumptive nominee? Would such an extreme step be possible? And would it ultimately help against Trump?  Guest host Adam Harris is joined by staff writers Mark Leibovich and Elaine Godfrey to discuss.  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The prevailing narrative of remote work has often been boiled down to: Workers love it, and bosses hate it. But according to Natalia Emanuel, a labor economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, it may not be that simple. Emanuel co-authored a study, looking at software engineers at an unnamed Fortune 500 company where half of the workers were functionally remote. What she found was that there were varying tradeoffs for each scenario—working remotely or working in the office—depending on an employee’s age, experience, gender, and more. So was the Great Remote-Work Experiment a success? That’s what the first episode of The Atlantic’s Good on Paper podcast—hosted by Jerusalem Demsas—dives into. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parliamentary elections on July 4th look bleak for Britain’s ruling Conservative Party. The Tories will almost certainly lose power for the first time in 14 years. And lose big. Polls show they could see the largest swing between the main parties in modern history. Rishi Sunak could possibly become the first sitting prime minister to lose their own seat in a general election. So what have Conservatives done wrong? What has Labour done right? And as 2024 repeats 2016 with another pair of pivotal U.K. and U.S. votes, what can Americans look to learn from Britain? Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years now, the fanciest places in air travel keep getting fancier. Airport lounges have become bigger, nicer, and far more ubiquitous than only a few years ago. They’ve gone from a nice place to wait between flights to full-blown luxury hideaways complete with free spa treatments. What happened? Amanda Mull, former Atlantic staff writer and explainer of all things consumer culture, tells the curious history behind the airport lounge and why—even if you never set foot in one—you’re still paying for them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humanity’s transition to life online is disorienting, but perhaps not without comparison. According to the researcher danah boyd, people faced similar challenges in the transition to city life, meaning that the history of urbanization can offer lessons for humankind’s more recent mass digital migration. And if the rules and ways of cities have become clearer over the years, maybe there’s hope that the same can be said for life online. Boyd’s work is the focus of a recent episode of The Atlantic’s podcast How to Know What’s Real, with co-hosts Megan Garber and Andrea Valdez. This week, Radio Atlantic is showcasing that episode, with an introduction by host Hanna Rosin. Listen and subscribe to How to Know What's Real at any of these links:  Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Later this summer, the Supreme Court will rule on City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, one of the most important cases on homelessness to come up in a long time. The court will rule on whether someone can be fined, jailed, or ticketed for sleeping or camping in a public space when they’re homeless and have nowhere else to go. We talk to Atlantic writer and Good on Paper host Jerusalem Demsas about the case and what it may or may not solve. Homelessness has exploded since the 1980s, mostly in cities where housing costs have gone up. Criminalizing—or not criminalizing—people sleeping in public does not change the fact that many people have no other option, and that people who do have places to sleep can’t help but notice their cities have a huge homelessness problem. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sasha Velour won RuPaul's Drag Race with her spectacular rose-petal lip sync. She wrote and illustrated The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag, drew a New Yorker cover, and sells out almost every show of her New York revue, NightGowns. So why is she taking her act down to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Bartlesville, Oklahoma? We talk to Velour about this season of her HBO reality show, We're Here. At a moment when drag is both beloved and reviled, a powerful cultural force and a target, we ask Velour what exactly she's looking for in those places, and what essential truth about drag is hidden in the show's title. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After months of struggle with little movement, the war in Ukraine may be nearing a crucial point. With American aid stalled for months, the fight has not been going well for Ukraine. Weapons and ammunition are once again on the way after the long-delayed package passed last month. But will it be enough in time? Russia has broken through the lines around Ukraine’s second-largest city and appears ready to threaten a wider offensive. Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum joins to discuss the state of the war and how the fight extends well beyond the battlefield itself. Her June cover story in The Atlantic chronicles the “new propaganda war” that Russia, China, and other illiberal states are waging on the democratic world, and how that war can shape the fate of Ukraine. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers have been hard at work on a number of male contraceptives that could hit the market in the next couple of decades. Options include a hormone-free birth control pill, an injection that accomplishes the same thing as a vasectomy but is easily reversible, and a topical gel men can rub on their shoulders that doesn’t affect mood or libido.  There is a recurring theme in the research on male contraceptives: easy, convenient, minimal side effects. Which is very much not the focus of women’s contraceptive options. What changes in a future in which male contraceptives are readily available, and a routine part of men’s health care? We talk to staff writer Katie Wu. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when voices can be copied so well they can fool friends, family… and voters? Staff writer Charlie Warzel has followed the explosion of AI technology with a mix of fascination and fear. DALL-E, Midjourney, Chat-GPT. New leaps in AI tech seem to happen every month now. Recently, he narrowed in on AI voice cloning for a feature for The Atlantic. He and host Hanna Rosin cloned their voices and tested it out before a live audience at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival. What are the promises of the technology? And what are the perils? Related Atlantic Podcast: How to Know What's Real  Subscribe here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | | Pocket Casts Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Staff writer Zoë Schlanger is the proud owner of a petunia that glows in the dark. But she doesn’t just appreciate the novelty houseplant as work of science. Zoë sees its glow as a way to help us appreciate plants as more alive, more vital, and more complex than we humans typically do. Because in recent years, some scientists have reopened a provocative debate: Are plants intelligent? They’ve devised  experiments that break down elements of this big broad question: Can plants be said to hear? Sense touch? Communicate? Make decisions? Recognize kin?  Schlanger is the author of the upcoming book: The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life in Earth. How could a thing without a brain be considered intelligent? Schlanger has spoken with dozens of botanists, from the most renegade to the most cautious, and she reports back on the state of the revolution in thinking.  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer Gary Shteyngart set sail on the inaugural voyage of the biggest cruise ship ever built—the Icon of the Seas—in search of the "real" America. (And maybe to throw a great suite party along the way.) What he found instead, like many a great novelist before him, was a far more isolating experience. Shteyngart recounts his "seven agonizing nights" aboard a giant floating mall full of memorable characters, bad entertainment, even worse food—and the ever-present desire to keep up. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Stormy Daniels case may have a less serious fact pattern. But it might turn out to be the one chance to hold Donald Trump accountable for election interference. Atlantic staff writer David Graham explains the importance of the case and how Trump might actually be enjoying this new form of courtroom campaigning. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is having a Birkin bag ... a right? Earlier this year, two California residents filed a class-action lawsuit against the French luxury design company Hermès. Their grievance was that although they could afford a coveted Birkin bag made by the company, they could not buy one. We talk to Atlantic staff writer Amanda Mull about the lawsuit and the current state of the luxury market. What do we actually want from luxury these days? Is there even such a thing anymore as a rare luxury good? And what handbag is Amanda carrying? Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where were you for the 2017 total eclipse? Where will you be this year? And where will you be for the next one in 2045? Hanna talks to Atlantic staff writer Marina Koren about the eclipse as a peculiar event: a beautiful if not slightly unsettling moment that is also a strange marker of time. And we hear from retired astrophysicist Fred Espenak who's seen more than 20 total eclipses in his life and wonders which eclipse might end up being his last. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Atlantic political reporter John Hendrickson has had a stutter since he was a kid. Recently he heard Donald Trump make fun of Joe Biden’s stutter, and he noticed that the audience laughed. Hendrickson’s working theory has been that disability is apolitical, and he wondered what Trump supporters actually feel about him making fun of people with disabilities. We go to a Trump rally in Dayton, Ohio and poll the crowd.  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices