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18 June 2026

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Dec 2, 2012 — Tamar Szabo Gendler & Andrew Solomon
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The Mind Report

On The Mind Report, Tamar speaks to Andrew Solomon, author of the new book, Far from the Tree. Andrew explains how his eyes were opened to the rich linguistic culture of the deaf community. Tamar asks him if he thinks schizophrenia or anorexia should be valorized as identities. Next, Andrew tells the moving story of Clinton Brown, a dwarf who exceeded all expectations, and two stories about parents of transgender children in radically different communities. Finally, Andrew has some closing words on identity, illness, and parenting.

Dec 1, 2012 — Dorian Warren & Josh Eidelson
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Fireside Chats

On Fireside Chats, Dorian and Josh talk about the recent Wal-Mart strike. Since Wal-Mart has over a million employees, why does it matter if 500 of them go on strike? Josh describes a horrible fire at a Wal-Mart supplier in Bangladesh as an example of the company’s workplace safety record. Dorian asks about the significance of the strikes to the wider retail industry, as well as the role of social media for labor organizing. Why do liberals love to beat up on Wal-Mart? And has 2012 been the year of the strike?

Nov 30, 2012 — Peter Beinart & Daniel Kurtzer
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Nov 29, 2012 — Bill Scher & Matt K. Lewis
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The DMZ
On The DMZ: The 2016 campaign is underway! Can Republicans forgive Chris Christie? Will Jeb Bush bigfoot Rubio, Jindal, et al? Has American politics become too dynastic? Is Newt right about the uselessness of campaign consultants? And could higher taxes ultimately help the GOP?
Nov 28, 2012 — Ali Gharib & Mosa'ab Elshamy
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Nov 28, 2012 — Matthew Duss & Elizabeth Tsurkov
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Foreign Entanglements
On Foreign Entanglements, Matt and Elizabeth discuss Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense. Who won the latest round of violence, and will Israel end its blockade of Gaza? Elizabeth argues that it is in Netanyahu’s interest to keep Gaza separated from the West Bank in order to divide Palestinians. Turning to Israel’s domestic politics, why is Ehud Barak retiring from politics? Is Likud drifting even further to the right? Will Tzipi Livni’s new party be able to unite the center-left? Finally, Matt asks whether and how the United States can work with a Likud-dominated Israel towards peace.
Nov 27, 2012 — Robert Wright & Kuti
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Worldwise
Nov 26, 2012 — Mike Konczal & Jeremy Kessler
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Fireside Chats
On Fireside Chats, Mike talks to Jeremy about law and the left. With regard to opponents of Obamacare, Jeremy discusses deficiencies in the conservative conception of freedom, and Mike wonders why Chief Justice Roberts ruled in favor of the law. Should liberals have been hoping for SCOTUS to strike down the individual mandate? And how has the notion of liberty changed since the Lochner era of the Supreme Court? Mike and Jeremy consider dissenting leftists, like civil libertarian Glenn Greenwald and the anti-statist members of Occupy. Finally, Mike turns a critical eye to the right-wing revolution in policing that’s taken place over the last 30 years.
Nov 25, 2012 — Glenn Loury & Louis Putterman
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The Glenn Show
Glenn and Louis discuss the causes of economic inequality among nations, based on Louis’s recent book, The Good, the Bad, and the Economy. Louis describes the different hypotheses explaining global inequality, contrasting them with his own focus on cultural attitudes propagated across generations within ethnic groups. Glenn wonders whether a history of conquest, colonization and enslavement and/or possible genetic differences between populations might explain some of Louis’s findings. Can the countries left behind ever catch up? Glenn suggests that modern communications technology is making cultural differences across nations less relevant. So is foreign aid a waste of money? And does democracy follow economic growth, or vice versa?
Nov 24, 2012 — Paul Bloom & David Pizarro
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The Mind Report
On The Mind Report, Paul talks to David about his recent TED talk about the politics of disgust. Paul asks David for a theory of why we connect repugnance and wrongness, and they argue about whether we pass moral judgment on a baby with a dirty diaper. Both Paul and David agree that disgust is not a good guide to morality. They next consider the dismissal of reason as a trend in academic psychology. Paul and David close by explaining how the lessons of social psychology can help with everyday life.

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