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Plain English with Derek Thompson: Daily Summaries Delivered
by The Ringer
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.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- Yesterday53 min
"The End of Reading Is Here"
There’s no doubt that reading is in decline. But what is that decline doing to the way we think? Derek talks with The Atlantic's Rose Horowitch about why Americans are reading fewer books than ever and struggling more with complex texts and what that means for education, work, politics, and culture. Together, they discuss this phenomenon’s effects on literacy and attention as they examine the surprising consequences of living in an increasingly post-literate world. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek ThompsonGuest: Rose HorowitchProducer: Devon BaroldiAdditional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 6 days ago59 min
What Translator Emily Wilson Thinks of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey'
Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' has brought one of history's oldest stories back into the spotlight. It’s also sparked a fresh debate about what it means to adapt a classic. Today, Derek is joined by acclaimed classicist and translator Emily Wilson, whose celebrated translation of 'The Odyssey' helped inspire Nolan's film. They explore why Homer's epic has remained the foundation of so much Western storytelling and what gets lost and gained in the act of translating. Thenm Wilson gives her take on Nolan's adaptation. She lets us know what it captures brilliantly, where it departs from Homer, and what those changes reveal about both the ancient world and our own. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Emily Wilson Producer: Devon Baroldi Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago1h 3m
Why 'The Odyssey' Is the West’s Greatest Story
Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' is finally here, but how exactly has a 3,000-year-old story endured long enough to become the foundation of Western storytelling? Derek is joined by Karen Ní Mheallaigh, chair of Classics at Johns Hopkins University, to explore the mysterious origins of Homer's epic and the timeless themes that have captivated audiences for millennia. They discuss how 'The Odyssey' outlived thousands of other ancient poems, how its story of homecoming and hospitality shaped Western literature, and why filmmakers and creatives like Christopher Nolan keep returning to its core ideas. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek ThompsonGuest: Karen Ní MheallaighProducer: Devon BaroldiAdditional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago58 min
A Philosopher’s One-Word Theory for Why the World Feels So Weird
Why does it feel like everything is more divided and exhausting than it used to be? Philosopher Agnes Callard has a surprisingly simple answer: the unicontext. It's her term for what happens when billions of people are all forced to inhabit the same global conversation through the internet and social media. In this episode, Derek talks with Callard about how the unicontext has reshaped the way we experience time, attention, and morality. They explore why online life feels overwhelmingly negative and why public discourse has become so focused on outrage and identity. It's a conversation that connects philosophy with the modern experience of living online, ultimately offering a framework for understanding why our world just feels so weird. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek ThompsonGuest: Agnes CallardProducer: Devon BaroldiAdditional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 3 weeks ago1h 4m
How Israel Is Transforming American Politics
Peter Beinart joins Derek to unpack a major shift inside the Democratic Party. As Democratic Socialist-backed candidates notch a string of surprising primary victories, one issue has emerged as a defining political litmus test: Israel and the war in Gaza. But it's difficult to hold two ideas at once … that the war in Gaza is a moral catastrophe, and that antisemitism is rising in some of the spaces where that catastrophe is being debated. Derek and Peter discuss why the conflict has become so central to Democratic primaries, how debates over anti-Zionism and antisemitism are reshaping public life, and what it all means for the future of the Democratic coalition. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek ThompsonGuest: Peter BeinartProducer: Devon BaroldiAdditional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 3 weeks ago1h 9m
MEGAPOD: The Most Overrated American Who Ever Lived
To celebrate America's 250th birthday, Derek is joined for a history draft by three of the country's leading historians: Beverly Gage, H.W. (Bill) Brands, and Richard White. The goal isn't to revisit the familiar stories everyone learned in school. It's to uncover the people, events, and ideas that deserve far more attention. The historians make their picks for the most underrated president, the most overrated American, the historical figure who ought to be a textbook star, and the dark-horse event that changed the course of the country. Along the way, they debate what we get wrong about the American story, why some figures become legends while others are forgotten, and history’s most overlooked chapters. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek ThompsonGuests: Beverly Gage, H.W. Brands, and Richard WhiteProducer: Devon BaroldiAdditional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- 4 weeks ago56 min
A Surprising Theory About the Future of War
From the bombing campaigns of World War II to the precision strikes of the modern era, for 80 years air power has defined modern warfare. But today, a new technology is changing the battlefield: drones. From Ukraine to the Middle East, cheap drones are transforming how wars are fought, giving countries and even small groups capabilities that once belonged only to the world's most powerful militaries. They’re changing not just how wars are fought, but who can fight them. Today, Derek is joined by Erik Lin-Greenberg, an MIT professor and author of 'The Remote Revolution: Drones and Modern Statecraft,' to explore how drones are reshaping modern warfare and what this new era could mean for the future of conflict. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Erik Lin-Greenberg Producer: Devon Baroldi Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- Jun 26, 202653 min
The Age of the Trillion-Dollar, Zero-Profit Company
For decades, investors valued companies based on a familiar formula: Grow revenue, earn profits, and reward shareholders. But a new era may be beginning - one where trillion-dollar companies can lose billions of dollars a year and still command enormous valuations. SpaceX recently became one of the world's most valuable public companies despite reporting multibillion-dollar losses. Meanwhile, OpenAI and Anthropic are also racing toward public markets with sky-high valuations and no expectation of near-term profitability. These companies are spending staggering sums on chips, data centers, and AI infrastructure, as they bet that today's losses will create tomorrow's economic winners. Today, Derek is joined by Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson of Ritholtz Wealth Management and the Animal Spirits podcast to explore the rise of the trillion-dollar, zero-profit company and what it says about the future of technology, investing, and the American economy. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Ben Carlson and Michael Batnick Producer: Devon Baroldi Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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About 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.
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