President Trump's megabill sets Immigration and Customs Enforcement up to be the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency. Journalist Garrett Graff tells Audie how a relatively new federal agency rose to the top and why people should “get used to” seeing ICE agents in their community. Garrett Graff writes the newsletter Doomsday Scenario and hosts the Long Shadow podcast. For more CNN reporting on ICE’s expansion: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/09/politics/ice-cbp-police-los-angeles-immigration Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These days, the toy industry isn’t all fun and games. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks sits down with Audie to talk about how trade wars and culture wars are shaping the state of play in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Star Trek legend George Takei has spent a lifetime confronting injustice: his family was sent to internment camps during World War II, he fought for civil rights in the 60’s, and later in life he became an activist in the LGBTQ+ community. Takei talks with Audie about his new graphic book, “It Rhymes with Takei,” a story about the experiences that shaped him, and what they say about patriotism, protest, and the state of American democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski spent the past two decades making a name for herself as a Republican who regularly straddles party lines. In a new book, Far from Home, Murkowski delves into her journey navigating hyper-partisan politics -- from the Tea Party to the Trump era. She sits down with Audie Cornish for a conversation about whether there’s still room for pragmatism and consensus-building in the modern-day GOP.  Watch this conversation on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just a few years ago, ‘body positivity’ was everywhere. Then came Ozempic. Audie talks with Virginia Sole-Smith, who spent the past decade writing about ‘diet culture.’ She weighs in on the future of the body positivity in an Ozempic world, and whether the movement and the revolutionary new class of weight loss drugs can coexist.  Virginia Sole Smith’s book is called “Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Protest has long been a tool for change in American life. But in an age of political gridlock and viral outrage, what actually works? Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible— one of several progressive groups organizing “No Kings Day” protests —joins Audie to talk about their strategy, and how they are preparing considering the Trump Administration’s reaction to ICE protests in Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some companies just build products. Others build empires — with innovative leaders who inspire fierce devotion. But when does innovation become something more like faith? Tech journalist Karen Hao joins Audie Cornish to talk about the rise of Sam Altman, the near-religious culture growing around AI, and what it all means for our future — whether you’re feeling hopeful, skeptical, or somewhere in between.  Karen Hao’s book is called Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI  Listen to our interview with the CEO of Microsoft AI, Mustafa Suleyman.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should you put your DoorDash burrito on a payment plan? Probably not. But Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski argues the rise of "buy now, pay later" -- or BNPL -- services like his are a good thing. He joins Audie to talk about his “healthier” credit alternative, and whether the rise of BNPL is a sign of larger economic strain.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Sean “Diddy” Combs stands trial in New York, the music industry is reckoning with a hard truth: how did he stay untouchable for so long? Music journalist Sowmya Krishnamurthy—who once interned at Bad Boy Records—joins Audie to unpack how hip-hop missed its Weinstein “Me Too” moment.   Krishnamurthy is the author of Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion.  Get a recap of the Combs trial in your podcast feed, subscribe to "Trial By Jury: Diddy” from CNN Audio.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conspiracy theories are not new. They’re as old as time itself. But if you feel like they’re everywhere right now, you’re not alone. So, what do you do when somebody you love has fallen down a rabbit hole? CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan has been covering the world of misinformation for more than a decade, but now he's less interested in what people believe than why they believe it. So, he’s trying to find out.  Listen to Persuadable and follow The Account from CNN here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Catholicism is having a moment. The election of a new pope set social media buzzing with silly songs and comedy sketches, fantasy pope drafts and power rankings, and last year’s Oscar-winner ‘Conclave’ provided an imaginary reference point for what was happening behind the Sistine Chapel’s closed doors. But the interest goes beyond the papal election: Reports point to a rise in young converts, from JD Vance to Shia LaBeouf to a wave of Zoomers. Audie talks with Christine Emba of the American Enterprise Institute to unpack what’s driving this renewed fascination. Editorial note: This episode was updated on 5/8/25 with language describing the election of a new pope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been called a ‘romantic recession.’ Has love and dating always been this hard? Orna Guralnik, a psychoanalyst and star of Showtime’s Couples Therapy, says she’s seeing political polarization take a toll on modern-day romance. She sits down with Audie for a session on repairing America’s divided relationships, and steps we can all take to find connection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The White House Correspondents Dinner takes place this weekend with at least one notable absence: comedy. Standup comic W. Kamau Bell visits Audie to talk about the tough decisions facing artists in the Trump era—and what institutional power plays, like the president’s takeover of the Kennedy Center and the abrupt cutting of Amber Ruffin from the White House Correspondents Dinner, mean for the future of comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The fallout continues from the president’s so-called “Liberation Day,” with the on-again off-again global tariffs and the rising tensions with China. This all has the financial markets bouncing like a yo-yo. Audie talks with CNN Business Senior Writer Allison Morrow about what this means for you and your finances, and whether we’re heading for a recession.   Allison writes the CNN Business Nightcap, subscribe here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Artificial Intelligence can be difficult to understand, but a few things are certain: it's here, it's reshaping entire industries, and it's making a lot of people nervous. Audie sits down with Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI and a cautious optimist about our technological future. They unpack what AI is already changing, what it can do next—and how we can prepare for what’s coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Detaining foreign students over their activism is the “kind of policy that ends democracies.” That’s what Jameel Jaffer tells Audie this week. He’s a law professor and Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. We also hear from Franziska Wild, student senior editor at The Georgetown Voice, about the chilling effect the detentions are having on campus.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What’s the way out of the political wilderness for Democrats? The mayor of Chicago says look to his city “leading the way in this moment around the value system that the people of America want to see carried out in governance.” Audie talks with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson about his political path forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For decades, college athletes made millions for everyone but themselves. Now, the NCAA’s Name, Image, and Likeness policy, NIL, has changed the game. Audie dives into the chaos of NIL with former All-American gymnast Savannah Schoenherr and Washington Post writer Jesse Dougherty to find out who’s winning, who’s losing, and what it's like navigating America’s latest “wild west.” And will it change the way you experience college sports? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sweeping cuts are throwing America’s national parks and forests into uncertainty. With fewer rangers, trail crews, and wildfire fighters, the effects could be immediate — closed campgrounds, neglected trails, and a fire season primed to be more dangerous than ever. Audie talks with veteran wildland firefighter Riva Duncan and CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir about what these cuts mean for public lands, outdoor tourism, and the communities—and economies— that depend on them.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned from office in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal. Now, he’s back and running for mayor of New York City. And he’s not the only one, other so-called “canceled” men from Hollywood, media and politics are being welcomed back to the public sphere. So what’s happened to the Me Too Movement? Audie talks with the founder of ‘Me Too’, Tarana Burke, and former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, about backlash, regrets, and the work they’re doing to move forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices