Plain English with Derek Thompson

Plain English with Derek Thompson

Longtime Atlantic tech, culture and political writer Derek Thompson cuts through all the noise surrounding the big questions and headlines that matter to you in his new podcast Plain English. Watch Derek and guests engage the news with clear viewpoints and memorable takeaways. New episodes drop every Tuesday and Friday, and if you've got a topic you want discussed, shoot us an email at [email protected]! Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson

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Episodes (403)

Why Experts Keep Getting the Economy So Wrong

Sep 15, 2026

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What’s the Point of College?

Sep 11, 2026

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The New Book That Scares Big Tech

Sep 8, 2026

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AI Slop Is Breaking the Internet. Can We Save It?

Sep 1, 2026

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Why Everything Is Going to Keep Getting More Expensive

Aug 25, 2026

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Higher Education’s Age of ‘Insufferable Hypocrisy’

Aug 18, 2026

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It May Be Time to Freak Out About AI

Aug 14, 2026

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Why Americans Hate Data Centers

Aug 11, 2026

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Why America Is Switching From Booze to Weed

Aug 5, 2026

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"The End of Reading Is Here"

Jul 28, 2026

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What Translator Emily Wilson Thinks of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey'

Jul 22, 2026

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Why 'The Odyssey' Is the West’s Greatest Story

Jul 17, 2026

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A Philosopher’s One-Word Theory for Why the World Feels So Weird

Jul 14, 2026

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How Israel Is Transforming American Politics

Jul 7, 2026

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MEGAPOD: The Most Overrated American Who Ever Lived

Jul 3, 2026

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A Surprising Theory About the Future of War

Jun 30, 2026

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SpaceX, AI Bubble Fears, and The Age of the Trillion-Dollar, Zero-Profit Company

Jun 26, 2026

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The Iran War Is Ending. Everybody Lost.

Jun 23, 2026

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The Donald Trump Corruption Scandal Draft

Jun 19, 2026

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The Most Exciting Month of Medical Breakthroughs in Years

Jun 16, 2026

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Old-igarchy: How the Elderly Conquered American Power

Jun 12, 2026

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How Modern Fatherhood Is Changing Men’s Brains

Jun 9, 2026

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What 400,000 Essays Reveal About AI and Creativity

Jun 5, 2026

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The Surprising Truth About America's Friendship Crisis

Jun 2, 2026

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Why the NBA Feels Broken—and Why the League Can’t Fix It

May 29, 2026

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The Men Who Think Toxic Feminism Destroyed America

May 22, 2026

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Does Anybody Know How to Solve an American Debt Crisis?

May 19, 2026

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The Global Fertility Crisis Is Worse Than You Think

May 15, 2026

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The Case Against the AI Job Apocalypse

May 12, 2026

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Why American Happiness Just Fell Off a Cliff

May 8, 2026

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One of the Deadliest Cancers in America May Have Met Its Match

May 5, 2026

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Why Too Much Freedom Is the Enemy of Success

May 1, 2026

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Why the Iran War Is Tearing MAGA Apart

Apr 28, 2026

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The Triple Crisis That’s Breaking Hollywood—and Changing the Future of Movies

Apr 24, 2026

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The Most Powerful and Dangerous AI Model Yet

Apr 21, 2026

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The Whole World Is Fighting About Energy

Apr 14, 2026

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‘The Job Market for Young People Is Brutal’

Apr 10, 2026

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America's Religious Revival Is a Mirage

Apr 8, 2026

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Is China the Winner of the Iran War?

Apr 3, 2026

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Why We're Addicted to ‘Sh*tty Flow’

Mar 31, 2026

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Anthropic Thinks AI Might Destroy the Economy. It's Building It Anyway.

Mar 27, 2026

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America's Tax System Is Broken

Mar 24, 2026

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The Casino-ification of America

Mar 20, 2026

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"Yes, AI Is a Bubble. There Is No Question."

Mar 17, 2026

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The Pill That Works Even When You Know It's Fake

Mar 13, 2026

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The Economic Crisis of the Iran War Goes Far Beyond Oil

Mar 10, 2026

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"American Democracy as We Know It Might Not Survive This Technology"

Mar 9, 2026

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Trump Is Doubling Down on Iran. How Should Democrats Respond?

Mar 6, 2026

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The Four Ways That the Iran War Could End

Mar 3, 2026

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How Metrics Make Us Miserable

Feb 27, 2026

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