Dating apps are reporting record breaking numbers. Yet surveys show people across generations and sexualities are partnering less, having less sex, and are feeling increasingly pessimistic about the state of American romance. So what’s going on? Audie sits down with Faith Hill – staff writer at The Atlantic, who closely covers ‘The Slow, Quiet Demise of American Romance’ – for a breakdown of the uniquely modern challenges and consequences of searching for love on your phone.   --  This episode was Produced by Jesse Remedios and Lauren Kim.   Senior Producers: Matt Martinez and Dan Bloom Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Audie talks with artist and organizer Kennedy McDaniel about how she, and others in her generation -- Gen Z -- are finding connection and power offline through an old school medium: zines.  This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta.   Senior Producer: Matt Martinez Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kamala Harris is stepping back. And Jasmine Crockett – the fiery Texas congresswoman known for viral clapbacks – is turning heads. This week, Audie asks: are “respectability politics” still the price of power for Black politicians, or are the rules finally changing in the age of Trump? NOTUS White House Correspondent Jasmine Wright and GOP Strategist Melik Abdul to help her parse it out.  The Assignment is a production of CNN Podcasts. This episode was Produced by Jesse Remedios and Sofia Sanchez. Our Senior Producer is Matt Martinez. Dan Dzula is our Technical Director and Steve Lickteig is Executive Producer of CNN Podcasts.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re living in a golden age of yachts, bunkers, and ultra-wealth – and social media is eating it up. Audie talks with journalist and author Evan Osnos about what this era reveals about American culture and class. His book is called, “The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich.”  The Assignment is a production of CNN Podcasts. This episode was produced by Lori Galarreta and Grace Walker. Our Senior Producer is Matt Martinez. Dan Dzula is our Technical Director and Steve Lickteig is Executive Producer of CNN Podcasts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the early 2000s, girlhood became a spectacle. It was sold through reality TV, tabloid scandals, and the early Internet. And it’s still shaping the way we see women today. Audie talks with Sophie Gilbert, culture critic and author of “Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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