Radio Atlantic

The Atlantic has long been known as an ideas-driven magazine. Now we’re bringing that same ethos to audio. Like the magazine, the show will “road test” the big ideas that both drive the news and shape our culture. Through conversations—and sometimes sharp debates—with the most insightful thinkers and writers on topics of the day, Radio Atlantic will complicate overly simplistic views. It will cut through the noise with clarifying, personal narratives. It will, hopefully, help listeners make up their own mind about certain ideas.

The national conversation right now can be chaotic, reckless, and stuck. Radio Atlantic aims to bring some order to our thinking—and encourage listeners to be purposeful about how they unstick their mind.

News
Society & Culture
Politics
176
Remembering Ferguson with DeRay Mckesson
The activist sits down with Matt Thompson and Gillian White at The Atlantic Festival.
37 min
177
Is the Public Square Gone?
With the speed and volume of news these days—not to mention the myriad business and technological pressures—how does the media serve its role as the fourth estate?
55 min
178
The Reputations and Reckonings of #MeToo
Alex Wagner, Megan Garber, and Gillian B. White join Matt Thompson to discuss Kavanaugh, Moonves, and the #MeToo movement one year in.
45 min
179
Is Democracy Dying?
Jeffrey Rosen and Anne Applebaum—scholars of America’s past and Europe’s present—discuss our precarious moment in history and what could come next.
43 min
180
How Much Longer Can Football Last?
The inside view of America’s two swampiest reality shows: politics and football.
42 min
181
The Endless Devastation of Hurricane Season
A year after Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, we finally know: the hurricane season of 2017 was one of the deadliest in North America in a century. What have we learned in the aftermath?
53 min
182
Trump’s Worst Day
What does the guilt of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen mean for President Trump?
44 min
183
When Does Hollywood’s Diversity Become Real Rep...
Matt discusses how well movies and shows represent diverse experiences with senior editor Gillian White and culture writer Hannah Giorgis.
43 min
184
Charlottesville: One Year Later
Adam Serwer and Gillian White join Matt and Alex to discuss what’s changed—and what hasn’t—in the year since a violent white supremacist rally in Virginia.
49 min
185
Keepers of the Year 2018
To commemorate the show’s first anniversary, we lift up above the fog of news and discuss what’s most important to remember at this moment.
66 min
186
The Future of Europe
This week’s NATO Summit in Brussels comes as Trump and other leaders express unprecedented levels of doubt about decades of western cooperation.
44 min
187
Are We Ready for the Next Pandemic?
A century ago, the 1918 flu pandemic killed five percent of humanity—have we become safer in the hundred years since or actually grown more vulnerable?
57 min
188
The View from the Border
Jeremy Raff and Priscilla Alvarez join to discuss what this week's news means for families separated at the border.
47 min
189
Being Black in America Can Be Hazardous to Your...
Staff writers Olga Khazan and Vann Newkirk join Matt and Alex to discuss how prejudice and poverty shorten African-American lifespans.
45 min
190
The North Korea Summit
Can Trump and Kim cut a deal that works?
35 min
191
A White House Troll ‘Owning the Libs’
What happens when right-wing trolls grow up to run the world?
51 min
192
Is the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Past Solving?
Two American-born writers – an Israeli author and a Muslim journalist – grapple with the bleak state of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
55 min
193
Happy Mueller-versary
Staff writers Rosie Gray and David A. Graham join Matt and Alex to discuss the Mueller investigation as it begins its second year.
48 min
194
Introducing Crazy/Genius: Why Can't Facebook Te...
Is Facebook fixable, or is its business model designed to sell us lies?
21 min
195
Is Politics Ruining Pop Culture?
Entertainment has always been political. But what happens when the entertainment we consume feels like a litmus test for our beliefs?
54 min
196
Is the Presidency Broken?
John Dickerson joins Matt, Jeff, and politics writer Elaina Plott to discuss whether the job of the president has become impossible.
50 min
197
The Syria Disaster, Seven Years In
Atlantic editors Matt Thompson and Kathy Gilsinan ask Syria expert Andrew Tabler to explain how the conflict has worn on for years and what the path forward might be.
48 min
198
Becoming White in America
Alex Wagner discusses the American immigrant story (and her new book) with Matt, Jeff, and editor Adam Serwer.
50 min
199
News Update: Who Could Tame Facebook?
After CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony, are U.S. legislators prepared to regulate the social network? Should they?
43 min
200
Trumpocracy
David Frum joins Matt, Jeff, and Kathy Gilsinan to discuss how American democracy has fared under President Trump.
48 min