News Commentary

Apple News In Conversation

Apple News

Apple News In Conversation with Shumita Basu brings you interviews with some of the world’s best journalists and experts about the stories that impact our lives. Join us every week as we go behind the headlines.

258 episodes

Americans want more kids. Here’s what’s stopping them. 1 Oct 2026 · 27 min Fewer people around the world are having kids — the global birth rate has been falling steadily since the 1970s — but, for many, it’s not because they don’t want to become parents…

The hidden tax Americans pay constantly — and how we can avoid it 24 Sept 2026 · 31 min Americans spend billions of hours a year navigating government bureaucracy, whether filling out forms, waiting on hold, or standing in endless lines. Researchers call this hidden…

The AI warnings are getting louder. Here’s what you need to know. 17 Sept 2026 · 33 min Unsettling headlines about AI are dominating the news. In the past few weeks, an Anthropic researcher quit his job out of fear that the technology could “kill us all,” OpenAI reve…

The dark side of America’s obsession with the Lindsay Clancy trial 10 Sept 2026 · 32 min Warning: This episode includes descriptions of violence against children, adult language, and mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, contact the Suicide &…

Forever chemicals are hiding everywhere. These five habits can help you avoid them. (From the archives) 3 Sept 2026 · 33 min This is an episode from our archives. It originally aired in May 2025. Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, are found in virtually every corner of the world, including in most p…

The real reason so many Americans are convinced sunscreen is dangerous 27 Aug 2026 · 31 min For the past few years, a campaign against sunscreen has been building — with social-media influencers claiming that sunscreen itself, rather than the sun, is damaging people’s sk…

Why men are suddenly so worried about their testosterone levels 20 Aug 2026 · 27 min Testosterone prescriptions are at an all-time high in the U.S., and according to a survey by Men’s Health, 70% of men say their levels of the hormone are important to them. This i…

The uncomfortable reasons human waste keeps turning up in your lettuce 13 Aug 2026 · 35 min This summer, the U.S. saw its largest cyclospora outbreak on record — with more than 22,000 suspected cases linked to contaminated iceberg lettuce, alongside a wave of other foodb…

This tick can give you a life-threatening allergy. It’s spreading across the U.S. 6 Aug 2026 · 29 min Peak tick season is here — and the fastest-growing tick-borne illness in the country is alpha-gal syndrome, a condition that causes an often-severe allergy to red meat and other a…

How America’s gun obsession really started 30 Jul 2026 · 30 min This year, the U.S. has seen more than 270 mass shootings — and firearms remain the leading cause of death for American children and teens. But solutions appear largely out of rea…

Inside the revelations from Trump’s $2 billion financial disclosure 23 Jul 2026 · 27 min President Trump earned more than $2 billion in his first year back in office. According to a mandatory financial disclosure released in June, most of that fortune came from crypto…

People are running their own experiments with GLP-1s — with stunning results 16 Jul 2026 · 25 min GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are being taken by millions of Americans. These medications have been approved for treating diabetes, obesity, and a small number of other chro…

The surprising ways the Supreme Court curbed Trump’s power 9 Jul 2026 · 24 min The Supreme Court just wrapped one of its most consequential terms in recent memory — issuing major rulings on presidential power, birthright citizenship, and the rights of transg…

Why the Constitution is making our politics worse (From the archives) 2 Jul 2026 · 30 min This episode originally aired on Sept 18, 2025. The Constitution has been amended 27 times, but the last meaningful change was over half a century ago. In historian Jill Lepore’s…

The little-known forces quietly killing the college degree 25 Jun 2026 · 25 min When New Yorker staff writer Jay Caspian Kang sat down to do his taxes, one question surfaced: Should he still be saving for his 9-year-old daughter’s college fund? What followed…

The U.S. is turning 250. These songs unexpectedly changed American history. 18 Jun 2026 · 24 min The United States turns 250 years old this summer — and there’s no shortage of ways to mark the moment. One of the most revealing lenses through which to view the country’s histor…

TV’s most beloved assistant coach says the World Cup is about to change America. Here’s how. 11 Jun 2026 · 27 min This year’s World Cup will be the largest in history, with 48 teams and 104 matches — and, for the first time in more than 30 years, the tournament is being played on American soi…

How the Texas floods forever changed one family 4 Jun 2026 · 24 min On July 4, 2025, catastrophic flooding tore through Central Texas, killing more than 130 people and destroying communities along the Guadalupe River. Aaron Parsley, a senior edito…

How to navigate summer air travel when everything costs more 28 May 2026 · 22 min The summer travel season is upon us — and this year is more complicated and more expensive than most. The war in Iran has driven up jet-fuel prices globally, and Spirit Airlines,…

Why America has more billionaires than ever (From the archives) 21 May 2026 · 30 min This episode originally aired on July 10, 2025. Americans have a long history of obsession with the ultrarich, from Carnegie and Rockefeller to Bezos and Musk. And today, the gap…

How one Supreme Court decision could shift political power for decades 14 May 2026 · 25 min At the end of April, the Supreme Court’s ruling on Louisiana v. Callais significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act. The decision made it easier for states to legally draw distri…

Rebroadcast: They work full-time jobs. Why are they homeless? 7 May 2026 · 40 min This week, Brian Goldstone was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his book, There Is No Place for Us, which is featured in this episode from our archives. Millions of Americans cannot a…

The real reason American men are struggling 30 Apr 2026 · 28 min The headlines say that American men are in crisis. But what does that actually mean — and what does it look like up close? Journalist Jordan Ritter Conn spent five years inside th…

The unique power of an American pope 23 Apr 2026 · 31 min Nearly a year ago, Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, the first pope in history from the U.S. His papacy so far has been relatively calm — until recent weeks, when a sharp public…

How to make nostalgia your psychological superpower 16 Apr 2026 · 28 min The 1990s are back — especially for Gen Z. CDs, flip phones, and ’90s beauty trends are all having a moment among people in their teens and 20s. To understand why this generation…

Why so many people are falling in love with AI chatbots 9 Apr 2026 · 25 min A medieval-monster slayer. A tiny alien named Roscoe. A talking plate of spaghetti. These are just a few of the customizable companions available through AI-chatbot apps like Kind…

He said yes to an IT job. He ended up enslaved in a scam compound. 2 Apr 2026 · 31 min Last June, journalist Andy Greenberg received an anonymous email from someone claiming to be trapped inside a scam compound in Southeast Asia. The source, using the pseudonym Red…

Americans are obsessed with protein. How much do you actually need? 26 Mar 2026 · 26 min We are in the middle of a protein boom. Protein food products make up a more than $100 billion industry — and it’s still growing. In a new book, Protein: The Making of a Nutrition…

How Elon Musk transformed Twitter — and what it means for online discourse 19 Mar 2026 · 31 min Twitter was created 20 years ago. Many saw the platform as an online public square — a place to connect with strangers, spark viral debates, and even launch careers and social mov…

What it actually costs to win an Oscar 12 Mar 2026 · 29 min The Academy Awards are finally here. The race to win isn’t just about art — it’s also about creating carefully orchestrated, big-budget campaigns. Katey Rich, awards editor at The…