Filmmaker Sandi Tan told the Cut that her next project would be an adaptation of Elif Batuman's novel The Idiot — it's a book about a hapless college freshman. So we brought Elif and Sandi into the studio to talk. Sandi pumped Elif for autobiographical details, Elif told us her big revelation of 2018, and they agreed that people who lose touch with their past selves — however idiotic — are the worst.

Cynthia Nixon joins us this week as we consider the past and future of abortion. What does it look like to end a pregnancy when the law stands in your way? Wendy Zukerman from Science Vs tells us about a group of women in the 60s who developed their own safe abortion kit. And we hear from a Dutch doctor who’s made it her mission to distribute abortion pills in countries without access... which has meant taking to the seas, and taking on the US government.

The spring thaw is here... or is it? The Cut staff tries to figure out what it means to be horny in 2019. (The answer involves asking Adam Driver to run you over with a bus.)

This week, we listen in on a conversation between Dr. Alexandra Sacks, host of the new podcast Motherhood Sessions, and Anne, who never wanted to be a mom.

How activists Topeka Sam and Holly Harris get it done.

Nicole Cliffe and Daniel Mallory Ortberg tell us about everything that's happened since they first bonded over Rebecca, answering questions like: How does a friendship change when one of you transitions? What about when one of you finds God? And who the fuck is Loretta?

How fashion designer Tamara Mellon gets it done

Author Curtis Sittenfeld talks about what it means to sell out -- from short stories on Chipotle cups to brand-written tweets.

How Global Executive Director for Equality Now, Yasmeen Hassan, gets it done.

Marriage: Why do we bother? Our theory is that it all comes down to a good story -- so this week, we've got two couples with really good stories.

On this week’s show, Stacey Abrams tells us how she wound up $200,000 in debt, and Abigail Disney explains why no one should have a private jet.

How author, podcast host, and self-described "tragedy connoisseur" Nora McInerny gets it done

We’re returning to the dawn of sexual knowledge to answer the question: what is sex?

We talked with Rukmini Callimachi, award winning journalist and host of the podcast Caliphate, about how she gets it done.

We talked with Sally Rooney, author of Conversations With Friends and Normal People, about why she writes, how she’s smuggled socialism into page turners, the best way to keep her readers hooked, and much more.

Natasha Lyonne, Greta Lee, Padma Lakshmi, Aidy Bryant, and Hope Solo tell us how they tackle rejection, imposter syndrome, new job stress, and get it all done.

This week, we take a look at ambition: the internal force that wakes you up at 2:30 am full of ideas, that makes you want to do more than you thought you could, or than anyone else said you can.

A cartoon, a genius, a man who hated sweatpants... Making sense of one of the greatest fashion designers of all time, with Vanessa Grigoriadis, Carl Swanson, and Cathy Horyn.

In the fight over later abortions, the political rhetoric is miles away from the lived reality. This week, we tell one woman’s story.

How are we feeling about weed? On this week's show, we talk to Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld of HBO's High Maintenance, Jia Tolentino, Aminatou Sow, Allison P. Davis, Nazanin Rafsanjani, Alex Blumberg, and many more.

When Lisa Miller's editor came to her with this story idea, she didn't want anything to do with it. But then she started poking around... and wound up spending the next year reporting what she found. On this week's show, the link between menopause and late-onset schizophrenia.

"Likeable" has always been a loaded word when it comes to women in politics--it sounds a lot like barely-veiled sexism. But what if everything's changing? How does a politician make voters like her in 2019?