Factually! with Adam Conover
Comedian Adam Conover talks to the most interesting experts and thinkers on Earth about today's most pressing topics. From the rise of AI to the fight for workers’ rights, from porn bans to microplastics, Adam and his guests reveal shocking truths and thought-provoking new perspectives. It’s an investigative comedy interview podcast for curious people who never stop asking questions.
Episodes
Debunking the “Life Extension” Industry with Saul Justin Newman
You are going to die. And I am too! But because of this fact, we are fascinated by people who push the final day off as long as possible, and those who promise to prevent it. But what if I told you that pretty much all of it is BULLSHIT? Today I'm joined by Dr. Saul Justin Newman, a research fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing. He won an Ig-Nobel prize for showing most cla
The Fight Against Flock with Chad Marlow
You may have heard of Flock cameras, a network of automatic license plate readers that track not only license plates, but what vehicles look like, and even descriptions of people inside them. If this sounds like the makings of a surveillance network that is both antithetical to our values, and ripe for abuse: it is! And here to talk about it is Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel at the AC
How Corporations Jack Up Prices with Lindsay Owens
Life in America is becoming less and less affordable. Politicians tend to blame it on inflation and supply chain issues, but what if corporations are just...price gouging because they can? Today I'm joined by economic sociologist Lindsay Owens to discuss why price gouging is easier and more prevalent than ever, and what we can do about it.SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.c
How Big is Elon’s DOGE Death Toll?
He can deny it all he likes, but Elon's got blood on his hands. Visit https://groundnews.com/factually to stay fully informed, see through biased media and get all sides of every story. Subscribe for 40% off unlimited access through my link.--SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factua
Hyperscale: The Ambition and Excess of Big Tech's Data Empires with Paris Marx
Data centers actually predate the internet, but with the growing demands of cloud storage, crypto and of course AI, companies are scaling up, and finding new ways to deceive and exploit us all in the process. Journalist Paris Marx joins me today to examine how big tech is gambling away our planet in the pursuit of digital power. SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/ad
End Times Fascism with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
Fascism has a different face in 2026. Not only are we facing very real existential threats in the form of climate change and AI, the millenarians who once sat on the fringes of society now wield the most power. Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor join me today to unpack our current era of 'apocalyptic fascism' and what we can do about it. SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adam
Why AI Can’t Replace You with Cory Doctorow
We've been told AI is supposed to be a tool for us to use. But more and more it feels like we're the ones being used to feed the machines, before they inevitably replace us. Joining me today is author and journalist Cory Doctorow, whose new book The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI examines how we can survive the post-AI world, and how we can help burst the bubble.SUPPORT THE SHOW
Is The Video Game Industry Collapsing?
The gaming industry's old model is falling apart. RAM costs are skyrocketing, making new consoles scarce and unaffordable. The industry is beset by layoffs and studio closures, and indie developers aren't doing much better. Will there be anything left for young gamers beyond Fortnite and Roblox? Videogame journalist and podcaster Robert Zacny joins me to discuss the predicament
AI Has Ruined the Internet
Get 20% off DeleteMe by going to https://joindeleteme.com/adam and use code adam to protect your privacy!--Does the internet seem a lot worse lately? Here's why.https://www.yachtclubgames.com/games/... https://www.404media.coSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Philosophy of Good Sex with Quill R. Kukla
Consent has been the focal point of discussions around sex in our society, and rightly so. But consent is, or should be, the bare minimum. Philosopher Quill R. Kukla joins me to examine how we can prioritize not just consent, but agency, and dare I say...pleasure? SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/S
Your Wine and Beer are Deadlier than Fentanyl with Isabella Cueto and Lev Facher
Alcohol kills more Americans each year than all other drugs combined. So why aren't we treating it like the public health crisis that it is? Today I'm talking to health journalists Lev Facher and Isabella Cueto to unpack how it harms us, who benefits, and what we can do about it. National helpline for substance use concerns: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/helplines/national-helplin
Leaf Blowers are Killing Us
Leaf blowers: a study in how to suck and blow at the same time. Visit https://groundnews.com/factually to stay fully informed, see through biased media and get all sides of every story. Subscribe for 40% off unlimited access through my link.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Unsung Queer History of Pop Music with Barry Walters
Queer artists have had a profound and wonderful influence on our society throughout history, and nowhere is that more evident than in the field of Pop Music. Journalist and music historian Barry Walters joins me today to uncover the powerful queer subtext behind our most beloved hits.SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.
Bernie Sanders’ Plan to Stop AI Theft
It's no secret that AI is stealing from us. From data to intellectual property to our very humanity, it's clear we need more time to take control of our future. Adam talks to the legend himself, Senator Bernie Sanders, about the urgent need for data center moratoriums, and for us to have a say in where AI goes from here.SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE A
Work From Home is Making Us Miserable
You might think you like working from home, but we're starting to see the harm.--SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fK8WJw4ffMc2NWyd
Yep. Data Centers Suck A**. with Brian Frange and Memo Torres
The dems just opened their pockets and a metaphorical moth flew out, but at least we have all these new data centers, eh? It's so cool. It's all just so cool.--SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam
Billionaires are Lying About Giving Away Their Wealth, with Glen Galaich
Philanthropy is broken. Or maybe it’s not—after all, the funds that billionaires set up are deliberately cumbersome tax havens rather than any genuine attempt at giving. The real surprise is in learning how deep the hole truly goes. Today, Adam is joined by Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation and author of CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short. Find a copy of Glen's book at fac
Rise of the Diarrhea Parasite with Trixie Mattel and Dylan Adler
Move over World Cup halftime show, the biggest shitshow this week is still the cyclospora outbreak. Unless, of course, you’re counting the Trump administration literally trying to pump the military full of testosterone. This week, Adam’s joined by podcaster and crossdresser Trixie Mattel and comedian Dylan Adler. --SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE A
The World According to the Chinese Internet, with Yi-Ling Liu
Seriously, what is life actually like in China? The American discourse on China is so bad, so poisoned, so laden with agendas, it’s difficult to understand what life looks like in one of the largest countries on Earth. This week, Adam speaks with Yi-Ling Liu, author of The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet, about what we can learn about life in Chi
ICE Murders and the Maine Senate Scramble with David Dayen and David Weigel
More horrific murders from ICE, an exhausting scramble to find a candidate to replace Graham Platner in the Maine Senate race, and a massive lawsuit to stop the Paramount/Warner Brothers Discover merger. The news doesn’t slow down, so we can’t either. This week, Adam is joined by David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect, and David Weigel, national political editor at Semafor
Queer Parenthood, Grief, and Salmon with Joe Osmundson
Choosing whether or not to become a parent can be a profoundly difficult decision, but it only becomes more difficult when you’re queer. Joe Osmundson is a professor of biology at NYU, and the author of Spawning Season: An Experiment in Queer Parenthood. This week, Joe talks with Adam about the life-defining grief that followed his experience of losing a chance to become a father, and wha
Platner Drops Out, Trump Interferes in World Cup, with Amy Silverberg and Julia Wick
It’s been a week of twists and turns with Graham Platner dropping out of the Maine Senate race, and Trump interfering with the World Cup only for the USA to promptly lose. And for LA locals, all of this is in the warm, chemical-y afterglow of the Boyle Heights cold storage facility fire! Smell that? No, not the ash and carcinogens! It’s a fresh news roundup with writer and comedian Amy Si
BoJack Creator’s Comedy Origins, with Raphael Bob-Waksberg
For the past decade, Raphael Bob-Waksberg has pioneered the niche genre of hilarious-yet-heartwrenching animated TV comedies. The BoJack Horseman creator’s new show, Long Story Short, recently landed on Netflix and was immediately met with praise for its perfect balance of madcap humor and intricately layered storytelling. It’s not the kind of show one puts together without many years of
Is Facebook Finally Dying? with Julia Angwin
Meta is on the decline. For the first time ever, they’ve shown a decline in active users. They’ve lost ungodly amounts of money on projects that have gone nowhere. They’re burning cash to participate in an AI race that’s also destined for failure. Could their stranglehold on our society finally be loosening? And what happens when they lose their grip entirely? This week, Adam is joined by
Why Hollywood Killed the TV Sitcom
(In addition to your weekly Factually! episode, this week we're bringing you a monologue from Adam. This short, researched monologue originally aired on the Factually! YouTube page, but we are sharing audio versions of these monologues with our podcast audience as well. Please enjoy, and stay tuned for your regularly scheduled episode of Factually!Sitcoms from decades ago are dominating s
The AI Bubble is Ready to Burst, with Brennan Lee Mulligan and Ed Zitron
Smell that? Is that the stench of the algae bloom in Washington? Or maybe the odor of a big honkin’ AI bubble that is ready to burst? I’ll tell you what doesn’t stink: the huge sweep in Left Wing candidates in Mamdani’s New York. This week, Adam is joined by friends of the show Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20, Critical Role), and Ed Zitron (Where’s Your Ed At?). --SUPPORT THE
You Deserve to Be Paid More, with Dino Guastella
Politicians love to talk about lowering prices, but they really don’t like to talk about the other half of the equation: actually raising wages. That’s because the institutions of our government treat us as consumers first, and actual human beings with a role in society second. This week, Adam speaks with Dustin "Dino" Guastella, Director of Operations for Teamsters Local 623 and research
Iran Deal, World Cup, and Trump’s UFC Birthday Party with Alissa Walker and Chris Estrada
It's a big week for global humiliation! This week, Adam is joined by journalist Alissa Walker and comedian Chris Estrada to talk about the Iran "Deal" and baby Trump's big boy UFC birthday bash. Also, have you heard about this World Cup? --SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually
How to Save Our State Governments with Daniel Squadron
Our federal government is clearly, visibly fucked on too many levels to count. Even scarier? Our state legislatures have immense power and far fewer eyes on them, making them even easier to sway. But this also means they’re attainable targets for us, the people, to organize and take back. This week, Adam speaks with former New York senator Daniel Squadron, author of The Fourth Branch: How
Spencer Pratt Crashes and Burns, and a Historic Knicks Comeback with Cassie Willson and Dave Roth
This week, Adam is joined with Dave Roth from Defector and comedian Cassie Wilson to discuss the Knicks historic comeback, and how all the crystals in the world couldn’t keep Spencer Pratt from being defeated in the LA mayoral race by Nithya Raman.--SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/SUBSCRIBE to and RATE
Hollywood's Given Up on Progressive Politics, Joel Kim Booster Hasn't
Hollywood’s been collapsing to the right. Cancelling projects that lean right, refusing to acknowledge the genocide in Palestine, and generally capitulating to Trump’s second term. Many people in the entertainment industry are doing their best to just keep their heads down, but not Joel Kim Booster. On top of being a successful actor, writer, and comedian, over the past few years Joel has
Freedom 250 Concert Flop and Pattie Gonia v. Patagonia, with Bethy Squires & Sabrina Jalees
(In addition to your regularly planned episode of Factually, we’re bringing you a Friday news roundup where we check in on the week’s biggest stories as well as some that need amplification.) This week, Adam is joined by Sabrina Jalees, host of Good Enough, and Bethy Squires, writer at The Vulture and Pin-Up. It’s time to talk cities banning A.I. data centers, Pattie Gonia v. Patagonia, a
Here's Proof EVERYONE hates A.I.
(In addition to your weekly Factually! episode, this week we're bringing you a monologue from Adam. This short, researched monologue originally aired on the Factually! YouTube page, but we are sharing audio versions of these monologues with our podcast audience as well. Please enjoy, and stay tuned for your regularly scheduled episode of Factually!Everyone besides tech CEOs has been sayin
Elon Musk’s Dark Ideology, with Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian
Elon Musk sucks so bad, dude. We all know this already. Unfortunately, however, he remains one of the most consequential people on the planet. This means that understanding him, his philosophy, and his goals for the planet (and human species) is actually… kinda important. This week, Adam speaks with Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian, authors of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed, about who
The Texas Primary and the Pope Hates A.I. with Erin Ryan and Andra Whipple
(In addition to your regularly planned episode of Factually, we’re bringing you a Friday news roundup where we check in on the week’s biggest stories as well as some that need amplification.) This week, Adam is joined by political writer and podcaster Erin Ryan and comedian Andra Whipple to discuss the Texas primary, the Pope dunking on A.I., and the new trend book publishers have of upda
Nithya Raman’s Optimistic Vision for LA
Adam has been friends with LA city councilmember Nithya Raman for a long time now, and certainly didn’t expect that one day she would be running for mayor of Los Angeles. This week, Adam sits with Nithya to talk about her vision for what this city could do for its residents, how it’s already one of the greatest cities on Earth, and how Nithya made Adam believe in her before she even got i
LA Mayoral Race Heats Up and Supreme Court Dumps Voting Rights w/ Guy Branum & Sam Roudman
(In addition to your regularly planned episode of Factually, we’re bringing you a Friday news roundup where we check in on the week’s biggest stories as well as some that need amplification.) This week, Adam is joined by comedian Guy Branum and show producer Sam Roudman to talk about the LA mayoral race, the Supreme Court dumping minority voting rights, and Harvard dumping giving out so m
How to Cure Perfectionism with Oliver Burkeman
Like it or not, we all have our limits. But this world seems to want to make us feel guilty for not constantly trying to outdo ourselves—we’re made to feel like failures if we’re not always becoming more efficient, more optimized, more “together” versions of ourselves. To put it frankly, this sucks. Author and previous guest Oliver Burkeman has written a book on how the pursuit of optimiz
Boomers Are Wealth Hoarders, the AI Revolt, and California’s Cursed Governor’s Race with Brian Merchant and Andrea More
(In addition to your regularly planned episode of Factually, we’re bringing you a Friday news roundup where we check in on the week’s biggest stories as well as some that need amplification.)This week, Adam is joined by journalist Brian Merchant and comedian Andrea More to talk about the mountain of wealth that boomers have hidden in a figurative mountain hoard, like some kind of greedy d
Sonic the Hedgehog vs. the Real Housewives and Urkel with with Exploration: LIVE!
Did you know that there are other podcasts out there besides Factually? And some are even… good?! This week, Adam talks to Headgum network colleagues Charley Bardey and Natalie Rotter-Laitman from Exploration: LIVE! about how to balance the business of being funny with the sheer horror of everyday existence. Check out Exploration: LIVE! wherever you get your podcasts.--SUPPORT THE SHOW ON
The Edge of Space Time with Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
When the world gets to be too much, contemplating the endless wonder and beauty of the cosmos can be a huge relief. After all, we’re insignificant in the grand scale of space and time. But cosmic thinking can also teach us so much about ourselves. This week, Adam sits with Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, professor of physics and faculty member in women’s and gender studies at the University of
Trump made gas expensive and now his supporters hate him.
(In addition to your weekly Factually! episode, this week we're bringing you a monologue from Adam. This short, researched monologue originally aired on the Factually! YouTube page, but we are sharing audio versions of these monologues with our podcast audience as well. Please enjoy, and stay tuned for your regularly scheduled episode of Factually!)Trump's tired. Constantly owning yoursel
The Warehouse Workers Who Beat Amazon with Derrick Palmer
The Amazon warehouse floor is infamous for poor working conditions, but the workers themselves know it best. Recently, the workers of warehouse JFK8 in Staten Island successfully organized to gain the basic working conditions many of us take for granted. In the face of one of the largest companies on the planet, and without the aid of a major union, they secured a huge victory. We’ve prev
Sammy Mowrey Inflicts Psychic Damage on Adam Conover for 60 Minutes
After a year and a half, Adam has finally capped off his standup tour. Friend and fellow comedian Sammy Mowrey was there to open for him at nearly every single date, and together they encountered the high highs, low lows, and strange strangeness of performing comedy across America. Today, the two look back at 18 months of touring to talk about giant puppets, Rhode Island sandwich shops, a
Nintendo's Empire of Secrets with Keza MacDonald
The video game industry is in a state of chaos. Layoffs, buyouts, studio closures, mergers—the entire industry seems plagued. Except for Nintendo. The Japanese video game giant is over one hundred years old, and since they dominated the home console market in the 80s, they’ve been generally unwavering in their success, and all without succumbing to the pitfalls of other game companies. Bu
How 30,000 People Formed an Impossible Union, with Ethan Bakuli and Rodney Tate
It’s easy to feel powerless with everything going on, but there are normal people out there every day banding together to change the world for the better. Even so, their stories are not amplified as much as they should be. Over the past few years, over 30,000 Michigan home health care workers were able to successfully form a union despite not having a shared workplace, or even having cowo
Fighting ICE with Journalism, with Memo Torres
Trump’s assault on immigrants is ongoing. ICE continues to raid neighborhoods, kidnap people, and commit the occasional murder. Time and again, it’s been proven that standing together with the community is the most effective response. Memo Torres is a multimedia journalist with the esteemed L.A. Taco, which had roots as a local food scene blog before becoming an award-winning journalism o
White Collar Workers are Radicalizing with Noam Scheiber
For nearly two decades, prospects for college graduates have been dwindling. The worth of a degree has suffered greatly, and it’s become increasingly clear that college grads suffer many of the same hardships as those seeking employment without degrees. With this change, there’s been a push to the left as well as a new level of organization in industries that previously had been without u
Debunking AI’s “Existential Risk” with Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor
Will AI obliterate all of humanity? Will it destroy all of our jobs? There are so many questions swirling around the existential threat that AI poses, and even more completely hypothetical answers. This week, Adam brings back past guests Arvind Narayanan, professor of Computer Science at Princeton, and Princeton PhD student Sayash Kapoor to give expert perspective on our current moment. T
Ballet isn't dead, movies are.
(In addition to your weekly Factually! episode, this week we're bringing you a monologue from Adam. This short, researched monologue originally aired on the Factually! YouTube page, but we are sharing audio versions of these monologues with our podcast audience as well. Please enjoy, and stay tuned for your regularly scheduled episode of Factually!)Timothee Chalamet needs to be looking at
AI, Mergers, and This Week's News Onslaught, with Dylan McKeever and Jason Koebler
The news is relentless in pace as well as issues, isn’t it? This week we’re trying something a bit different: Adam sits with previous guests Jason Koebler, tech journalist from 404 Media, and comedian Dylan McKeever to wade through the muck of this week’s biggest stories. The trio talks about the government’s stiffy for AI-powered war machines, the whoever-wins-we-lose Warner Bros. Discov
Why the F#!@ Are We at War with Iran? with Reza Aslan
What are we doing in Iran? No, seriously. Why? Call it what you will, but we’ve just gone to war for seemingly no reason whatsoever. In a bonus episode, Adam invites past guest Reza Aslan back on the show to make sense of what’s happening, how this will affect the people of Iran, and what this means on the world stage.--SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE A
Joel McHale is Nicer Than We Deserve, with Joel McHale
Actor and comedian Joel McHale isn’t just one of the nicest people working in entertainment; he’s also got a unique, firsthand perspective on the massive shifts that have occurred in the television industry over the past twenty years. From the TV-skewering comedy of The Soup to the metatextual self-awareness of Community, Joel’s career has served to comment on the evolution of the medium
Anti-Trans Playbook is Designed to Hurt Women, with Paisley Currah
Why is it that the anti-trans movement is so ferociously set on upending the livelihood of people who are simply trying to live their lives? As it turns out, it’s because it’s part of a larger playbook to dismantle civil rights as we know them. Paisley Currah is a Professor of Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, the author of
Tech Giants Are Nothing But Middlemen, with Tim Wu
The tech industry no longer serves human needs. According to legal scholar and writer Tim Wu, the tech industry has shifted away from providing services and now only exist to extract our money, data, and time. This week, Adam sits with Tim to talk about his new book, Age of Extraction. Together, they chart exactly how we came to find ourselves in this mess and what it might take for us to
How to Beat the Gamification of Our Lives with C. Thi Nguyen
The scoring mechanics of video games are ostensibly how the player is directed to have fun. Scores put interesting bounds on the experience of play, lead to creative solutions, and even inspire entirely new models of play, like speed running a video game. But when systems of metrics are applied to our actual lives, it’s… not as nice. “Gamification” is just one symptom of our society’s obs
Is the Trump Regime Crumbling? with Osita Nwanevu
After the madness of the past decade, it can feel impossible to tell where we’re at in our political story as a country. Between Trump kidnapping the president of Venezuela, his ludicrous threats toward Greenland, and the ICE murders in Minneapolis, are we seeing the literal death of American democracy, or are we seeing the last gasps of a dying reactionary movement that has overextended
What Nuclear War Would Actually Look Like with Annie Jacobsen
For decades, the threat of total nuclear annihilation cast a long shadow on everyday life. Nowadays, it almost seems like an old-fashioned kind of fear. Unfortunately, the possibility of human civilization ending at the touch of a button is more real than we think. Journalist Annie Jacobsen’s book NUCLEAR WAR: A Scenario outlines an excruciating and fascinating play-by-play of how the wor
Susan Orlean Shares the Secrets of a Lifetime of Reporting
Susan Orlean is one of the greatest living nonfiction writers. She has an uncanny ability to find stories in mundane, unexpected places, and approach them with such a level of authentic fascination that the reader can’t help but become fascinated too. This week, Adam sits with Susan to talk not just about her work, but the very idea of what a storyteller is. Find Susan’s new memoir, Joyri
You Are Being Robbed of Your Attention with D. Graham Burnett and Peter Schmidt
Would you rather that your attention were a resource freely directed toward your interests, or a measure of how many ads can be propelled into your eyeballs in a single session? Our attention has been commodified, and an entire industry is trying to wring out every possible instance of it. D. Graham Burnett, a professor of history at Princeton, and experiential organizer Peter Schmidt are
The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption with David Sirota
It kind of seems like political corruption should be illegal, doesn’t it? Whether it’s happening on the right or the left, the whole filthy ordeal has made our government more dysfunctional for everyone. How did we get to this place where corruption isn’t just allowed but expected? This week, Adam talks with investigative journalist David Sirota about his new book, based on his podcast, M
An AI Expert Challenges an AI Skeptic, with Ethan Mollick
Even if the AI bubble bursts, the technology won’t just disappear. We’re going to live alongside some version of AI, so we have to ask: what does our future with AI look like? This week, Adam invites Ethan Mollick, AI expert and professor at Wharton School of Business, to challenge his skeptical view on AI and look at how it might impact our daily lives. Find Ethan's book at factuallypod.
An AI Safety Expert Explains the Dangers of AI with Steven Adler
Why should we assume that AI is safe? As the technology has grown at an alarming rate, companies like OpenAI have seen wrongful death lawsuits begin to stack up as their product drives users to suicide. With the mental health risks, the societal risks, and the unknown risks, we have to ask, can AI ever really be safe? This week, Adam speaks with Steven Adler, an A.I. researcher who led pr
Exploring the Depths of Wikipedia with Annie Rauwerda
While it feels like the very concept of an accepted collective reality has crumbled around us, Wikipedia has gradually revealed itself to be our accepted arbiter of truth. How did this social project, built on the backs of countless volunteers, come to be the one site on the internet that we all pretty much agree to be “true”? Or mostly true, at least. Annie Rauwerda is a Wikipedia editor
Plastic Pollution is Killing Us with Judith Enck
Plastic is everywhere. Over the past century, we’ve stuffed our landfills, lined the bottom of the ocean floor, and even managed to get microscopic particles floating through our blood and bodies. Topping things off, the industry is only growing. Plastics simply do not go away, and neither will this problem unless we do something about it. This week, Adam talks about ending plastic pollut
Philosophers Explain How a Single Person Can Make a Difference with Alex Madva and Michael Brownstein
The rumors are true: our world is a dumpster fire, and it feels like it’s growing hotter and stinkier by the day. If it feels hopeless, like it’s useless for one person to even try, perhaps it’s a change in perspective. This week, Adam sits with two philosophers to explain why change is ALWAYS possible. Alex Madva is a professor of philosophy at Cal Poly Pomona, and Michael Brownstei
We All Feel Like the World's Ending Because It Is (Kind Of) with Lizzie Wade
Do you have the not-so-creeping feeling that the world is ending? You might be right. The world’s ended before, and the world will end again—just not in the way we see in TV and movies. Lizzie Wade’s new book, Apocalypse: How Catastrophe Transformed Our World and Can Forge New Futures, explores how events like the colonial extermination of indigenous peoples or the Black Death were the en
America’s Secret Technofacist Overlord, with Max Chafkin
You’ve almost certainly heard Peter Thiel’s name. You very likely even have an opinion about him. But how much do you actually know about him? One of the most powerful people in America is also one of the most secretive, because that lack of public visibility gives him much more room to exercise a scary amount of control over our country. This week, Adam gets the in-depth scoop on Peter T
Let’s Replace Our Elderly Politicians, with Amanda Litman
Our politicians are too f*#&ing old. We’ve covered the state of our dismal, sleepy, cranky gerontocracy before—but how do we actually get power into the hands of people who are not Boomers? Waiting for a mass die-off isn’t an option. This week, Adam speaks with Amanda Litman, co-founder and president of Run For Something, a PAC that recruits young progressive candidates, and the autho
Why Porn Bans Will Destroy the Internet with Siri Dahl and Noelle Perdue
Half the states in the US have passed age verification laws that put pornography under threat. Not only does this compromise a vital industry, it puts all of free speech in danger as well. Today, Adam is joined by Siri Dahl, an adult performer and outspoken critic of age verification laws, and Noelle Purdue, a writer and internet porn historian. Together, they discuss how attacks on porn
Everyone Can Screw Us Now Thanks to Trump, with Julie Morgan
Everyone in their right mind already knows the gift: Trump ran on helping working people, then immediately threw working Americans to the wolves in favor of helping the ultra-wealthy. But it’s not just Trump who is screwing us; he’s made it easier for businesses to exploit the average American as well. He recently eviscerated the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has stood in pl
America is Addicted to Cars, with Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon
While we think of automobiles as an integral part of American life, the fact is that they’re just objectively a bad form of transportation. They’re costly, they don’t scale well, and they’re a leading cause of death in the country. The oil and automobile lobbies have done a lot of work to make it feel like there’s no way we could live without cars, but the fact remains that it’s very poss
Stand Up Comedy with Tourette's with Benny Feldman
Benny Feldman is one of the funniest new comics working today. He also has Tourette Syndrome, a neurological condition characterized by involuntary vocalizations and tics. Not only does this give Benny a unique rhythm to his performances, it also has helped him develop a fascinating personal understanding of how humor even works. This week, Adam talks with Benny about Tourette’s, comedy,
The Ensh*ttification of Everything with Cory Doctorow
The internet is getting shittier. Hell, the whole world is getting shittier. The thing is, it’s no accident—it’s by design. The tech giants who run the internet have figured out how to make bank off of making our everyday experience with the internet worse, and this process is bleeding over into the physical world. This process is called “enshittification”, a term coined by the massively
The Labor Movement Refuses to Be Destroyed By Trump with Julie Su
Trump despises the average worker and has spent the past several months doing everything he can to demolish the labor protections that Americans of previous generations fought and died to win. We’re at an inflection point for the future of American labor, with our very livelihoods in the balance. Julie Su has been a civil rights attorney, California’s Labor Commissioner, and then acting S
Will A.I. Slop Replace the Internet? with Jason Koebler
A.I. slop is competing for space all across the web, and it’s starting to edge out actual human creators. The internet, once rife with possibility, is rapidly turning into a depressing wasteland of mind numbing garbage. Despite the massive volume of brain-waste being sludged out every day, there are still some brilliant human minds trying to turn the tides of the battle. 404media is a wor
Being Funny in Deeply Unfunny Times with Gianmarco Soresi
Comedy has changed as an art form. On top of social media fundamentally reconfiguring the expectations of the audience for what the role of a comedian is meant to be, we live in deeply unfunny times. Despite these challenges, we still all need to laugh. This week, Adam talks with comedian Gianmarco Soresi about how to adapt to the times without compromising integrity. --SUPPORT THE SHOW O
What Labubus Say About Our F-d Up Economy
(In addition to your weekly Factually! episode, this week we're bringing you a monologue from Adam. This short, researched monologue originally aired on the Factually! YouTube page, but we are sharing audio versions of these monologues with our podcast audience as well. Please enjoy, and stay tuned for your regularly scheduled episode of Factually!)Our future is also a blind box. Visit US
Genocide Scholar: I Know It When I See It, with Omer Bartov
The Palestinian people are being killed en masse, they are being starved, and many are dying of preventable disease. More and more people are beginning to understand that it’s Israel’s intention to eliminate the entire Palestinian population of Gaza. Yet as untold thousands are dying, there are still people who insist that this is not “genocide” despite every bit of evidence to the contra
Why Strength Training Kicks Dieting’s Ass with Casey Johnston
Being in “good shape” doesn’t just mean changing your diet in pursuit of unrealistic standards of thinness; it means challenging your body to be more capable today than it was yesterday. In recent years, weight lifting has been catching on as a primary exercise focus for both men and women who are trying to live healthier lifestyles. This week, Adam sits with Casey Johnston, author of A P
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