Reflector
This podcast investigates surprising stories behind fascinating debates and pressing societal issues. By examining historical context and how we arrived at current situations, it aims to foster a deeper understanding of where society might be headed next. Each episode explores a specific topic in depth, uncovering lesser-known angles and complexities. The show seeks to provide thoughtful insight into the forces shaping our world.
Episodes
Book Keeper
Today on Reflector we are bringing you a very special episode from a new series that found its beginnings right here. It is called Book Keeper. Last year we released the episode Hallelujah, where Megan Phelps-Roper revisited the Bible to ask what still endures when belief is gone. That episode inspired us to continue telling these stories.
In our first episode of this series Meg
Can Gambling Make Us Wiser?
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Prediction markets have exploded from a niche financial concept into a multibillion-dollar industry — one that's reshaping how we understand information, trust, and the future. But as these markets promise to make us wiser — cutting through noise, humbling the pollsters, giving us a cleaner read on what's actually going to happen
To Snip or Not to Snip
Katie Herzog never planned to become a dog person and she definitely never planned to agonize over her goldendoodle's testicles. But when it came time to neuter Moose, she couldn't find a good answer to a simple question: why? What follows is a reported journey through canine bodily autonomy, the surprisingly short history of spay/neuter as gospel, and what the best available science actually says
Wetwear
What if the next great leap in computing wasn't made of silicon — but of living human brain cells? Reporter Greg Warner takes us inside the lab of Hon Weng Chong, an Australian computer engineer who has built a biological computer: a device that houses actual human neurons in a petri dish, teaches them to play Pong using reward and punishment, and is now being sold to medical researchers, crypto g
Strange Bedfellows Part III: Backlash
The final chapter of Reflector’s tour of LGBTQ activism examines some of the controversies currently roiling society—starting with a look at one of the most contentious subjects in American history: sex education. With interviews with some of the minds behind the National Sex Education Standards, reporter Ben Kawaller offers a rare look into the philosophical underpinnings of the new ideas about s
Strange Bedfellows Part II: The Q
You can hear Part 3 of this series right now when you become a Longview subscriber by visiting us here
Part two of Reflector’s dive into the LGBTQ+ movement picks up with the arrival of the Qs…and all that came after. Featuring interviews with prominent trans advocates and former leaders of major LGBTQ groups, episode 2 reveals the philosophical differences lurking beneath the surface within thi
Strange Bedfellows Part I: When LGB met T
You can hear Part 2 and 3 of this series right now when you become a Longview subscriber by visiting us here
Reflector goes gay with a three-part look at the movement known as LGBTQ. Episode one looks at how homosexuals went from being social outcasts in post-war America to the 21st century’s most successful civil rights story and what happened when transgender activists started getting in on the
Paid Protesters
From abolitionists to the Tea Party, accusations of “paid protesters” have shadowed American political movements for centuries. But what if the reality is more nuanced (and more interesting) than the talking points suggest?
In this episode, Andy Mills sits down with Adam Swart, founder and CEO of Crowds on Demand, a company that quite literally pays people to demonstrate. Swart pulls back the cur
Propaganda of the Deed (Part 2)
Political tensions across the country continue to rise. Today, we spoke with protesters who believe the time for debate, peaceful protest, and civil disobedience has passed, asking what they think must now be done to defend their values.
From the anti-ICE protests to the fans of Luigi Mangione, we also explore the similarities—and the key differences—between this moment and the anarchist wave tha
Propaganda of the Deed (Part 1)
As demonstrators openly debate whether violence is justified to resist the Trump administration, we step back to ask: Have we been here before?
This episode traces a largely forgotten chapter of American history – from the Haymarket Riot to anarchist assassinations, government crackdowns, and the birth of the FBI and the ACLU – to show how cycles of political violence and state power have shaped
The Hallelujah
After leaving the church that both defined and destroyed her family, Megan Phelps-Roper turned away from the Bible. In this episode, she returns to one of its dark tales to ask what still endures when belief is gone – and why some stories refuse to let us go.
CREDITS:
This episode of Reflector was written by Megan Phelps-Roper and produced by Andy Mills and Matthew Boll
Music for this episode w
The Last Invention
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Extra! Extra! We Have An Announcement
We are living through one of the most unpredictable periods in recent history. A time of profound, destabilizing social upheaval. A time of barely-imaginable technological advancements. A time of emerging new philosophies that will reshape the world around us (for better or for worse).
And, it’s a very exciting time to be a curiosity-driven, non-ideological journalist.
But there's a problem: trus
Breaking USAID
Should the U.S. stop giving foreign aid?
This is a question many have been asking long before Elon Musk and Donald Trump launched DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and began dismantling USAID and its work around the globe.
Critics of foreign aid, like Bill Easterly, author of The White Man’s Burden, and Dambisa Moyo, author of Dead Aid, argue that foreign aid often does more harm than goo
A Nation of Immigrants Votes for Deportations
Despite its reputation among many on the political left, the United States has welcomed more immigrants than any other nation in history. Today, the U.S. is home to more immigrants than any other country in the world. Even amid a heated political battle over the future of immigration, it’s undeniable that a core part of America’s national identity is its image as “a nation of immigrants.”
Many Ame
Why Doesn't Anyone Trust The Media?
In the wake of the election results, many Democrats are doing some serious soul-searching (and a fair amount of blame-gaming) to understand why they lost. But it’s not just Democrats reckoning with their loss of trust from the American people. New polling from places like Gallup shows historically high levels of distrust in journalists. Meaning that a profession built on the delivery of trusted in
The Comeback of Donald Trump
Here comes the much-anticipated (maybe dreaded? Obnoxiously over-covered?) 2024 US presidential election, and no one knows who will emerge as the next President of the United States.
Today’s episode was inspired by a conversation I had last week with a former colleague from The New York Times. She shared her concern that we in the media might have done it again. That just like in 2016, we may have
Growing Support at American Universities for Violent Palestinian Resistance
Wars—like the one between Israel and Hamas—are not only fought on the battlefield, but they are also fought through stories. In today’s episode, I interview Eman Abdelhadi, an American academic, activist, and organizer in the Free Palestine movement. Abdelhadi shares a perspective on Israel that, while controversial, is gaining influence across the United States, particularly on college campuses.
The Whole World Is Watching
Today: Fears of another world war, a high stakes presidential election and the very divisive subject of American support for Israel. We speak with progressive voters who are considering staying home in November, even if it could lead to another Trump presidency. We unpack our reporting from the 2024 March on the DNC, examining the ways it compares—and doesn’t—to the 1968 March on the DNC.
We also
Why Do Politicians Lie?
We are hard at work on several stories that we hope to share with you soon, but today we’re trying something a bit different. We're bringing you a roundtable discussion with Sarah Isgur and Mike Pesca on why politicians and world leaders lie—and what those lies reveal about the state of our society.
Sarah Isgur is a lawyer, senior editor at The Dispatch, host of the legal podcast Advisory Opinions
Hindsight: Emily Bazelon on Election Denial 2024
In today’s Hindsight we are looking back on our coverage of stolen election claims (No, You Stole the Election!) with journalist, lawyer, and podcast royalty, Emily Bazelon. We discuss gerrymandering, voter ID laws, growing distrust in institutions, and we debate the power of elites and whether we should be worried about Election Day 2024.
We have a lot of new listeners here, and we’re very excite
No, You Stole the Election! (Part 3)
Today in our third and final installment of this series, we delve into what may be the most contested election in American history. We also take stock of the already historic and unprecedented 2024 presidential campaign season. What happens when both sides of our political divide increasingly view the other as an anti-democratic threat?
Our aim with these episodes is to listen carefully to those w
No, You Stole the Election! (Part 2)
Here in our second installment into the recent history of stolen election claims, we’ve got angry voters, disappointed politicians, and a few tech-savvy democrats who see signs of hacking, fraud, and illegitimacy in three different elections.
We’ll discuss the allegations about hacked voting machines in Ohio in 2004, claims that the 2016 election was stolen from Hillary Clinton, and how stolen ele
No, You Stole the Election! (Part 1)
Claims that a US election was rigged, fraudulent, illegitimate, or stolen are not new. But in recent years—despite the fact that our elections have grown increasingly secure—these claims have grown louder and more impassioned. Today, we begin our look back on past claims of stolen elections in American history, in the hopes that understanding them in their context will help shed light on our curre
Hindsight: Stagger Lee & Killer Mike
Today we’ve got a very special Hindsight episode that revisits the themes explored in our "Filthy Slime" episodes (Parts 1 & 2). We’re delighted to be joined by living legend and recent Grammy winner Killer Mike. He discusses his view of "rap on trial" and the complex relationship between art, crime, and life for young people in some of America’s toughest neighborhoods.
We also explore the legend
You Can't Say That (Part 2)
Today, we continue our examination of difficult public debates, one year after concluding our series, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling. In Part 1, we provided updates on women's sports, women-only spaces, and transition medicine for minors. This week, we hear from three different trans individuals who share their perspectives on the state of the debate, J.K. Rowling in particular, and the larger i
You Can't Say That (Part 1)
About a year ago, the team that makes this show (Matt Boll and me, Andy Mills) along with our dear friend Megan Phelps-Roper (who also helps with each episode of Reflector), put out the final installment of The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling.
The show was a big hit with millions of listeners, even as it split — and in some cases enraged — media critics. Our aim was to tell the story of Rowling’s tw
Hindsight: The Sea Change
Today we're excited to share the first Hindsight episode of Reflector. This is the free version of this episode. To listen to the full version you can become a subscriber today by visiting us at reflector.show
The idea behind these particular episodes is to embody our commitment to transparency in journalism by following up on each of our stories with a less formal deep dive into our reporting an
Filthy Slime (Part 2)
While all of hip hop prizes authenticity, as Van Lathan put it in Filthy Slime Pt 1: “In street rap authenticity is more important than skill”. Today we dive into the ways that this genre’s prizing of authenticity has evolved to a point where some rappers aren’t just merely making artful commentary or provocations about gang life, but are using their lyrics to document and at times admit their inv
Filthy Slime (Part 1)
Music has been a feature of American culture wars since at least the time of Elvis Presley’s gyrating dance moves on The Ed Sullivan show in 1956. But amidst all the moral panics about hip-shaking and backmasking, there is a legitimate and fascinating question about the role and influence that popular music plays on human behavior and on society more broadly.
Today, we are publishing the first ep
The Sea Change
Why aren’t Americans embracing the most promising medications for treating over-drinking?
Become a subscriber today: reflector.show/subscribe
Alcohol consumption increased more during the COVID-19 pandemic than it had at any time in the past 50 years. Even though bars were closed for weeks on end and fewer people were out on the road doing their daily commuting, Americans were drinking so much tha
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