This year's Academy Awards nominations have almost everything: fast cars, conspiracies, classic tales, monsters, intrigue, and nature. It's a remarkable collection of films and pre-eminent film critic and awards columnist Pete Hammond has reviewed them all.

Journalists play a vital role in the health of a free society. But The New York Times' David E. McCraw isn't a journalist, he's a lawyer, reporting from the frontlines of the battle for freedom of the press.

From the oracles of antiquity to the AI-driven tech giants of today, humanity's desire to foresee the future is long-standing. AI ethicist Carissa Veliz warns that predicting the future is not the same as foretelling the truth.

Writing and creative expression are a frequent topic on this show, but scholar Naomi S. Baron challenges all of us to consider the joy, the practice, and even the challenge of reading, especially in a world where artificial intelligence can do the reading for us.

It's easy, in this 250th Anniversary year of the Declaration of Independence, to find things that divide Americans. But best-selling author Colin Woodard says we're still bound together as a people by the ideals of our founding.

There is a curious debate about the health of American elections. Some allege they are sick. Others say they are thriving. Fair-elections advocate Rebeka Caruthers peels away competing claims to help us understand the real challenges to American voting rights today.

For 30 seasons, female professional athletes in the United States have been part of an effort to build a professional basketball league while also confronting racism, sexism, and anti-LGBTQ bias. Award-winning journalist Tamryn Spruill recounts that history - and the players whose gritty determination on and off the court - built the league and changed the country.

Journalist Stuart Jeffries explores the concept of stupidity from the ideas of ancient philosophers to today's age of AI, examining how it has been defined throughout history and how it is monetized and exploited in contemporary culture.

The human mind has difficulty comprehending just how much money one billion dollars actually is. The New York Times' Steven Rich is part of a reporting team that has unpacked the power of billionaires in American communities and American politics - where their influence is substantial.

American audiences know the history of slavery in the United States - from 1619 to the emancipation proclamation. Historian Carrie Gibson reminds us that slavery in the Western hemisphere predates the British colonies of North America, lasted decades after the end of the American Civil War, and was punctuated by perpetual resistance, especially from enslaved persons themselves.

The history of American-Iranian relations is complex, sometimes contradictory, and repeatedly violent. Author Scott Anderson explains that history with a special focus on the Islamic revolution in Iran, the fracture that followed, and its continued relevance today.

Scholars of religion and philosophy, and even some spiritual leaders, have long identified key similarities in the world's different moral codes. Author and futurist Jamie Metzl asks whether artificial intelligence can distill a compelling moral code that synthesizes the greatest thinking from across humanity.

To Americans, it's soccer. To most of the rest of the world, it's football. Author and journalist Nick Greene traces the evolution of the game played with our feet from a 19th century British past-time to today's glittering World Cup.

Two-hundred and fifty years ago, patriots gathered in Philadelphia declared America's independence from England. Former U.S. ambassador David McKean and historian M. Todd Bennett explore the celebrations that have followed every 50 years since, revealing the enduring challenges and promise of the American republic.

Scholars of religion and philosophy, and even some spiritual leaders, have long identified key similarities in the world's different moral codes. Author and futurist Jamie Metzl asks whether artificial intelligence can distill a compelling moral code that synthesizes the greatest thinking from across humanity.

Whether it's the existence of God, UFOs, or the nature of consciousness, we all grapple with mysteries of the universe. Where some find answers in religious faith, New York Times bestselling science writer Michael Shermer challenges people to demand answers rooted in science and skepticism.

The United States and Israel began bombing Iran in February 2026. In the months that followed, we have seen spasms of violence and claims of diplomatic progress. New York Times reporter Farnaz Fassihi covers the conflict, its impact on the Iranian people, and the diplomatic efforts to end it.

The data says that more than half of the country's population is made up of women. But women's healthcare has grown increasingly politicized. Dr. Mary Fariba Afsari is on the front lines of care, offering healthcare from a mobile clinic that meets patients where they are.

The Vatican has long concerned itself with the practical interaction of theology with the world in which its followers live. Scholar Sean O'Callaghan says that the recent message from Pope Leo XIV on Artificial Intelligence follows in that tradition and offers profound insights for believers and non-believers alike.

Historian Nicholas Reynolds and award-winning journalist Katie S. Sanders tell the story of a combat-veteran of the French Foreign Legion who ultimately distinguished himself for valor as a U.S. Marine fighting in Europe during the Second World War.

Dr. Cheryl L. Willman, Director of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses cancer's toll as the second leading cause of death throughout the world and the research aimed at improving outcomes and bettering lives.

From the oracles of antiquity to the AI-driven tech giants of today, humanity's desire to foresee the future is long-standing. AI ethicist Carissa Veliz warns that predicting the future is not the same as foretelling the truth.