RadCasts

The modern world is a noisy, chaotic place. News about what’s happening in the world is constantly available on a device in your pocket. The internet offers more content than any person could consume in their lifetime, or in 10 lifetimes.

Politics can feel unstable, with elected officials changing the norms and rules of our political system. AI is upending our ideas about what work will look like in the next few decades. And social media, designed by technology companies to monetize attention, offers up millions of rabbit holes in which to lose yourself — self improvement hacks, niche interests, impossible beauty standards.

Taking all of that in can feel like an insurmountable task most days. So try doing it with a brain and a body that are changing dramatically at the same time.

How do young people — adolescents going through puberty — experience the world today? How is the adolescent experience changing? And how can adults make their journey easier?

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Neuroscientist Nicholas Wright explains why big powers "lose" wars they dominate on the kill ratio—and why counterinsurgencies (Vietnam, Afghanistan, maybe Iraq) reliably punish the side with less at stake. His new book, Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, argues that identity, surprise, and revenge are ancient brain features, while metacognition—the mind watching itself—can be the thin guardrail against strategic self-harm. Along the way: post-1945 German polling as a reminder that political "reconstruction" happens on a years-long timetable, not on an American attention span. Plus, a Trump "warrior dividend" of $1,776 per service member—tariffs funding patriotism, one numerology check at a time.

Produced by Corey Wara

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On this episode of “The Kylee Cast,” Ericka Andersen, a Christian mom, writer, and author of the forthcoming book “Freely Sober,” joins Kylee Griswold to share how she found freedom from alcohol addiction. They discuss how the pressures of womanhood and “wine mom” culture encourage women to drink, why willpower often isn’t enough to stop, how the church can help people who are struggling, and the role of faith in recovery. 

Find Ericka’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Freely-Sober-Rethinking-Alcohwineol-Through/dp/1514013363?sr=8-1

Find more resources at SobrietyCurious.com.

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