Adam’s new series The G Word is out this Thursday on Netflix! To commemorate the premiere, this week The Fifth Risk author Michael Lewis turns the tables on Adam, interviewing him about how made the show. In the second half, they explore Michael's own reporting on how the CDC bungled COVID-19, and how Michael goes about writing his best-selling works of journalism.
 You can purchase The Fifth Risk at http://factuallypod.com/books, and watch The G Word on Netflix starting May 19th!

Do we really own the devices we buy? ‘The Right to Repair’ author Aaron Perzanowki joins Adam to explain how companies are using their power to control the products we buy from them, even after they’ve left the store, and prevent us from repairing them ourselves. They discuss how this affects the environment, the livelihood of farmers, and the longevity of AirPods, and Aaron shares resources on how we can take power back and do our own repairs. You can purchase Aaron’s book at http://factuallypod.com/books

Instead of debunking religious beliefs, what if we investigated where religion comes from, and why it’s virtually universal across human cultures? Anthropologist and “How Religion Evolved And Why It Endures” author Robin Dunbar joins Adam to discuss the origins of religion. He describes how touch, laughter, and song bonded people together, and the social role of religious rituals such as sin-eating. You can purchase Robin’s book here: http://factuallypod.com/books

The IPCC Report is one of the biggest, most important scientific projects ever undertaken by humankind, bringing together thousands of scientists from around the world to collect and evaluate our most up-to-date knowledge on climate change. Today on the show, Adam speaks with one of the lead authors of that report, Sarah Burch. Sarah explains where we are, where we’re headed, and what we can do to stop it, straight from the horse’s mouth; and she shares why she is optimistic about humanity’s future. You can follow her work at @SarahLynnBurch.

We’ve known about climate chance since the 80s. So why has action been so slow? Journalist and author of Fire and Flood, Eugene Linden, joins Adam to discuss how climate change went from an issue of non-partisan agreement to one that is highly politicized. They explore 30+ years of climate inaction, and how the novel idea of “going core-ward” could be one solution to carbon emissions. You can order his book here: http://factuallypod.com/books

The 1960’s are often depicted as the the golden age of air travel, but the reality for the stewardesses who worked the skies was far from gilded. “The Great Stewardess Rebellion” author Nell McShane Wulfhart joins Adam to explain the ludicrous conditions that flight attendants worked under, and how their effort to unionize and fight back sparked changes that still benefit working women today. You can pre-order her book here: https://bit.ly/3vgyjaM

The early Internet was open, exciting, and deeply optimistic. So how did we end up, just a few decades later, with one that’s closed, exploitative, and makes most of us incredibly depressed? Longtime Internet gadfly and author of How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism, Cory Doctorow, joins Adam to break down how the Internet has changed for the worse, and what we can do about it. Check out his book at https://factuallypod.com/books

Why do we have such a cultural aversion to human poop, when it’s so fascinating and useful? Stay with us: in this episode, science journalist Lina Zeldovich and author of the new book The Other Dark Matter educates Adam on why poop is an awesome substance, the history of sewage and how we should rethink poop’s role in our lives. Check out her book at http://factuallypod.com/books

Around the world and for most of history, human societies have been dominated by men. Why? Professor and author of the forthcoming “The Great Gender Divergence”, Dr. Alice Evans, joins Adam to explain how male governance springs from systems of inheritance, why matrilineal systems tend to convert to patrilineal ones, and why we’re seeing progress on gender equality around the world. You can follow Alice's work on Twitter at @_alice_evans

China is now one of the world’s most powerful nations. But how did its unique and formidable language shape its rise? Jing Tsu, the author of Kingdom of Characters, joins Adam to explain the history of the Chinese language, and the amazing innovations that brought it into the modern world. Check out her book at http://factuallypod.com/books

Why is housing so expensive, when other human needs like food are relatively cheap? Brookings Senior Fellow and author of Fixer-Upper, Jenny Schuetz, joins Adam to explain why our entire system is tilted to protect wealth rather than provide housing, and how we can change the system to fix that. Pick up her book at http://factuallypod.com/books

The American conversation about reparations is sadly narrow. But what if reparations could address not just the sins of the past, but the injustices of the present? Olufemi Taiwo, author of the new book Reconsidering Reparations, joins Adam to explain. Check out his book at http://factuallypod.com/books

Despite how much our media talks about China, most Americans don't really know all that much about it. What is China’s view of itself and its recent history? What is life like in the country for the average Chinese citizen? On the show this week Kaiser Kuo, host of the Sinica podcast, joins Adam to help answer these questions and more.

What would our world look like if we paid more attention to the knowledge indigenous communities have discovered about the world around us? On the show this week is indigenous environmental scientist Jessica Hernandez. You can check out her book, Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science, at factuallypod.com/books.

As we head into the third year of the pandemic, US workers are organizing and unionizing like it’s the early days of the Industrial Revolution. But can they reverse decades of labor erosion in America? On the show to answer that question is labor reporter Hamilton Nolan, who joins Adam to talk about how the pandemic has changed the labor movement and what the future might hold.

We spend more time in digital, virtual spaces than ever. But are those places really real? If they are, does that mean we could be living in virtual reality right now? Or does it even make sense to ask such a question? Philosopher David Chalmers joins Adam to talk about consciousness, the nature of reality, and the limits of digital technology. Pick up David's latest book, Reality+, at http://factuallypod.com/books. Support Adam at http://patreon.com/adamconover

Playing games is a fundamental human activity. But despite their ubiquity, they’ve never gotten the serious study from scholars they deserve. Why do we play them? And what, exactly, ARE games? On the show this week is C. Thi Nguyen, philosophy professor at University of Utah, and author of the book, Games: Agency as Art. Check it out at  factuallypod.com/books. You can also find the first chapter free online here: https://philpapers.org/go.pl?id=NGUTAO-8&aid=NGUTAO-8v1. 

Our abusive, for-profit healthcare system has left Americans swimming in harmful medical debt. On this week’s episode, Adam meets someone who’s doing something about it: Allison Sesso, executive director of RIP Medical Debt, a non-profit which uses donations to buy and abolish medical debt for good. Check them out at ripmedicaldebt.org. 

A deeply embedded idea in our culture is the sexist notion that men are the “default” human, and women the unknowable “other". Nowhere is this more visible than in the history of medicine, with disastrous consequences for women’s’ health. On the show this week to discuss her new book is Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World. You can check out her book at factuallypod.com/books. 

The NRA has been unbelievably successful in achieving its goals. Now, it's falling apart. How is that possible? On the show today is National Public Radio's Washington Investigative Correspondent and author Tim Mak. You can check out his book, Misfire, at factuallypod.com/books.

This week on Factually we’re re-releasing one of our favorite episodes. Entomologist and professor Akito Kawahara joins Adam to discuss why insects are disappearing at an alarming rate, how humans must play a critical role in their survival, and how incredible insects truly are. Happy Holidays!

Even though the COVID-19 vaccines were born of publicly-funded research, our privatized medical system has left them to for-profit companies like Pfizer to distribute, giving these private companies massive power in a time of great need. On the show this week to dive into the ways Pfizer has used and abuse its power is Financial Times global pharmaceutical correspondent Hannah Kuchler.

As humans, we like to believe that we shape the natural world. But in reality, its laws and patterns have deeply structured our own society. To tell the story of how water has shaped humanity, on the show this week is Giulio Boccaletti, author of Water: A Biography. Check it out at http://factuallypod.com/books

“Orwellian” has become such an overused adjective that we’ve forgotten what George actually believed and cared about. In her new book, Orwell's Roses, Rebecca Solnit argues that George Orwell's love of gardening reveals striking facets of his character and his work. You can check out Orwell’s Roses at factuallypod.com/books. 

It’s impossible to discuss the history of Cuba without talking about the history of America; the stories of the nations are simply too intertwined. To unpack this complex and fascinating history, on the show this week is Professor Ada Ferrer. You can check out her book, Cuba: An American History, at factuallypod.com/books.