Chorus is not a Coen Brothers film

How Epstein Taught Us About Systems of Power

Yes, we could make it all about Epstein, but I thought it was more important to understand the systems that produced the outcome. Why aren't powerful people held accountable? Why don't systems work to protect the very people they're created to protect? How do systems fail, and when they do, is it actually a failure?

Couples Therapy For My Country

I was sitting in the Admiral's Lounge at DCA, waiting on a long flight delay, and spoke at length with a couples therapist about the realities of couples therapy. Sometimes, even when you're trying to be an impartial third party, you definitely know one person is to blame. Someone is making it worse, and you have to reconcile this, while still making sure the couple has a positive outcome. (Or not. Sometimes a couple therapist may realize it just ain't going to work.) In this episode, I examine America from the standpoint of a couples therapist, trying to look at "The Two Americas" to decide if one side actually owns more blame for the dysfunction. The answer, unequivocally, is yes.

The Geometry of Grief

The problem with reality is its stubborn insistence on existing -- even when we've already decided what we need it to mean. On a Wednesday morning in Minnesota, a 37-year-old woman named Renee Good did something that was simultaneously the most ordinary and most extraordinary thing a person can do: she saw something wrong happening in her neighborhood and she said "not here." In this episode, I examine why Renee Good earned the right to live an ordinary, messy life -- and why we identified with her.

Chorus is not a Coen Brothers film

The Chorus story has all the elements of a film by the Coen Brothers, and yet we watched it play out in real time, as a live-action drama. Bumbling social media stars tried to turn into political operatives. Billionaire dark money groups secretly funding an "incubator" program, and a fierce journalist holding the line. WIRED magazine reports on the plot, social media stars turn on each other, and a five-day-blowup ensues.

Putin and 28-3: How a former KGB Agent Won the Cold War

Everyone assumed the Cold War was over. The 90s were here, and everything was fun and light. Then, the information age dawned with the internet, and a jilted, vengeful man turned everything upside down. This is a story about cognitive warfare, the battle for your thoughts, and what happens when people stop understanding who they can trust. This is the true story…of many nations…picked to live on a planet… trade together, and have their lives taped… to find out what happens…when people stop being polite…and start getting real…The ACTUAL Real World.