Matt Greene’s new novel The Definitions starts with new college dormmates getting to know each other. But there’s a dystopian twist: The students have survived a virus that has erased people’s memories. Nameless students attend school at The Center, where they’re told their memories will one day return to them. In today’s episode, Greene chats with NPR’s Lauren Frayer about the philosophy of language, the pandemic, and some unresolved questions from his book.
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The Indicator from Planet Money - How far can philanthropy go to fill government gaps?
While Americans are known for their generosity, the U.S. government, increasingly, is not. The Trump administration’s cuts to SNAP benefits among other aid programs have forced states, foundations and donors to fill the gaps. But can they? On today’s show, the limits of philanthropic efforts to supplant federal aid.
Related episodes:
Why tech bros are trying to give away all their money (kind of)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Related episodes:
Why tech bros are trying to give away all their money (kind of)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1507: Lighter Than Air
Episode: 1507 Rediscovering lighter-than-air flight. Today, do you suppose you'll ever get to ride in a dirigible?
Audio Poem of the Day - Riches
by Amit Majmudar
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Pod Save America - 2026’s Biggest Questions
Will the Supreme Court destroy what remains of the Voting Rights Act? How much influence will America's 250th anniversary have on the midterm elections? If the Democrats win those elections, who in the administration will they investigate first? Jon Favreau and Alex Wagner share their biggest questions for year two of Trump 2.0 in search of some hope for the year ahead.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engnines of Our Ingenuity 1506: The First Mechanical Clocks
Episode: 1506 The invisible invention of the clock. Today, we look for the first mechanical clock.
Audio Poem of the Day - Conversation 23: On Cause
by Rosmarie Waldrop
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Audio Mises Wire - Did the Articles of Confederation Fail? Probably Not
The standard explanation for the Constitutional Convention was that the Articles of Confederation were a failure. However, the Articles actually worked the way they were supposed to work. Unfortunately, the advocates of a strong central government ultimately got their way.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/did-articles-confederation-fail-probably-not
The Ezra Klein Show - Venezuela, Renee Good and Trump’s ‘Assault on Hope’
The shocking events of January have sent a message: America works differently now.
M. Gessen is a Times Opinion columnist and the author of books about living under autocracy, including the National Book Award-winning “The Future Is History.” They have been a clear, relentless and perceptive voice on what it means and what it is like to live in a country that is turning into a different kind of regime. And they wrote an essay on the seizure of the president of Venezuela, calling it “a blow — quite likely fatal — to the new world order of law, justice and human rights that was heralded in the wake of World War II.”
Mentioned:
“329 Days of Trump” by Michael M. Grynbaum and Stuart A. Thompson
“Two Middle East Negotiators Assess Trump’s Israel-Hamas Deal” by Ezra Klein
The Future Is History by M. Gessen
Book Recommendations:
Tomorrow Is Yesterday by Hussein Agha and Robert Malley
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
The Hill by Harriet Clark
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin and Marie Cascione. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota and Isaac Jones. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1503: New Women Fliers
Episode: 1503 The second generation of women fliers comes to maturity. Today, a new generation of women fliers.