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
201
Midterms in the Wake of Political Violence
Executive Editor Matt Thompson discusses the upcoming midterms with two reporters in the field: Emma Green in Pennsylvania and Adam Serwer in Texas.
44 min
202
The Murder of Jamal Khashoggi
Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg sits down with Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt to discuss Jamal Khashoggi, Mohammed bin Salman, and the future of Saudi Arabia.
37 min
203
The Politics of Ancestry
Executive Editor Matt Thompson and Staff Writer Sarah Zhang join Cherokee writer and organizer Rebecca Nagle to discuss DNA tests, Elizabeth Warren, and how we define heritage.
46 min
204
America's Higher Education Crisis
As a new affirmative action lawsuit heads to federal court, Alia Wong and Adam Harris join Matt Thompson and Gillian White to discuss the challenges in American higher education.
52 min
205
Remembering Ferguson with DeRay Mckesson
The activist sits down with Matt Thompson and Gillian White at The Atlantic Festival.
37 min
206
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
207
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
208
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
209
How Much Longer Can Football Last?
The inside view of America’s two swampiest reality shows: politics and football.
42 min
210
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
211
Trump’s Worst Day
What does the guilt of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen mean for President Trump?
44 min
212
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
213
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
214
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
215
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
216
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
217
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
218
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
219
The North Korea Summit
Can Trump and Kim cut a deal that works?
35 min
220
A White House Troll ‘Owning the Libs’
What happens when right-wing trolls grow up to run the world?
51 min
221
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
222
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
223
Introducing Crazy/Genius: Why Can't Facebook Te...
Is Facebook fixable, or is its business model designed to sell us lies?
21 min
224
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
225
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