My guest today is Jia Tolentino. Jia is the author of the essay collection Trick Mirror, which was named one of the best books of 2019 by The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The Paris Review, and more. She won a National Magazine Award for her work at the New Yorker, where she’s been a staff writer since 2016. Her writing covers so many different topics, from Roe V. Wade to the internet to pop culture and music. And today, we’re going to talk about the 1996 pop hit “I Love You Always Forever” by Donna Lewis.
Today we talk about Trump’s bid to create a sovereign wealth fund by investing in private companies, the parallels these actions have to his shakedowns of elite universities and Zohran’s attempt to throw up 135 on the bench press. We also talk about the “Badasses,” a group of Democrats who are trying to blend suburban mom vibes with their former careers in the CIA and military.
Enjoy!
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Plus: The FBI says that the scale of China’s “Salt Typhoon” espionage campaign far exceeded initial estimates. The Trump administration takes control of Washington, D.C.’s Union Station. Pierre Bienaimé hosts.
An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor.
Steep tariffs have been imposed on India by the US, doubling an existing duty, as President Donald Trump seeks to punish India for buying Russian oil and weapons. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has called it economic coercion and is urging Indians to buy more locally produced goods. Also: there's a growing diplomatic row between Denmark and the US over reports of covert influence operations in Greenland; we have a report on how some people are exploiting emotions surrounding the Holocaust by creating fake images produced by AI to earn money; the role of peat in boosting a country's natural defences; and the successful launch of SpaceX's tenth test- we get a former NASA employee's view on Elon Musk's efforts to go to the Moon and ultimately Mars.
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Botswana's president Duma Boko, has declared a public health emergency as the country faces a shortage of essential medicines and medical equipment.
Africa's defence chiefs discuss collective strategies and joint responses to insecurity in the continent.
And why is the northern Nigerian state of Kano losing its famous yellow buses?
Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Yvette Twagiramariya, Priya Sippy and Stefania Okereke in London with Ayuba Iliya in Lagos
Technical producer: Jonathan Greer
Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga
Editors: Maryam Abdallah, Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
While Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook's lawyer says she will sue to challenge the president's move to fire her, the White House is reportedly getting ready to appoint Cook’s replacement. Today, we'll unpack how this battle is impacting markets as the Trump administration continues to test the limits of its authority. And later, we'll hear about tariff-related anxiety from India, including from a South Indian hub supplying global clothing brands and Mumbai’s diamond workshops.
Is there a larger cultural meaning to the engagement of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce? Does it connect somehow to Cracker Barrel ditching its redesign? And what does it all say about American happiness and connection? Give a listen.
Donald Trump's steep 50% tariffs on India have kicked in, weeks after the US president issued an executive order imposing an additional 25% penalty on India over its purchases of Russian oil and weapons. Also on the programme, we speak a US senator recently back from Syria on the situation in the country; and, how a K-Pop animated movie became Netflix's biggest hit.
(Photo: A man counts Indian currency notes at a shop in the old quarters of Delhi, India, August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis)
Plus: Apple is making a push into radio after losing ground to Spotify. And OpenAI to update ChatGPT to support users exhibiting mental distress. Anthony Bansie hosts.
Sally Adee is the author of We Are Electric: Inside the 200-Year Hunt for Our Body's Bioelectric Code, and What the Future Holds. Adee joins Big Technology Podcast to pull back the curtain on the body’s hidden wiring and brain-computer interfaces. We dig into how electricity drives every thought and twitch, why Neuralink’s first patient blew our minds, and what it will take to keep implants working long after the hype cycle fades. Tune in for a tour of limb-regrowing tadpoles, cancer cells that short-circuit, and the uncomfortable ethics of pleasure buttons and startup bankruptcies. We also tackle the hard numbers—electrode counts, word-per-minute Hit play and get current.
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