We sometimes hear of artists selling the rights to their work – but we rarely hear of them buying those rights back. But that is what award-winning author and professor Kiese Laymon has done.

In a troubling new report the United Nations warns an emboldened Taliban poses a severe and expanding threat to the Afghan government. It adds the Taliban believes it can return to power by force if necessary and that it still remains close to Al Qaeda--something the Taliban denies.

Lifelong Republican and former congressman Mickey Edwards walked away from the GOP earlier this year, saying it had become less a party than a cult. He speaks with Walter Isaacson about the persistent myth that the election was stolen -- and the question of whether the Republicans are fit these days to run a candidate for the highest office in America.

The year 1971 worked a transformation on popular music with a host of epic albums from Marvin Gaye, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and many more. A new Apple TV+ docuseries looks back 50 years to explore what made 1971 so sonically special. Joining the show is Danielle Peck, series producer and co-director of four episodes.

All four tennis Grand Slam tournaments have given their support to Naomi Osaka after the world's number two seed withdrew from the French Open. Osaka declined to speak with media in order to “protect her mental health,” and has since admitted experiencing bouts of depression since winning the 2018 U.S. Open. To discuss, former pro Pam Shriver and journalist Kavitha Davidson join the show.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s run as the longest-serving Israeli Prime Minister could be coming to an end tonight, as a coalition of opposition parties works to form a new government. Anshel Pfeffer, author of the biography "Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu," is also a columnist for Haaretz, and joins the show from Jerusalem to discuss.

Nav Bhatia got a championship ring when the Toronto Raptors won in 2019, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre – one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history. It’s estimated that as many as 300 Black Americans were murdered when a white mob attacked the area known as Black Wall Street.

In politics and government, it’s all about who has power, who has lost it, and what happens when it’s abused. Matthew Barzun explains this concept of power.

In Belarus, the editor-in-chief of a local news website was detained over the weekend while Russia cracks down on free speech. Journalists Alexey Kovalev and Hanna Liubakova share the latest.

Carol Anderson has devoted her career to investigating many such racial injustices that have scarred America. Now she turns her gaze to the Second Amendment in her new book.

Steven Johnson shares how through scientific advances, humans have gifted ourselves an extra life.

The pandemic has hit children in ways we may not yet be able to quantify. Clinical Psychologist Dr. Becky Kennedy studies these issues in her work.

History shows us that seemingly insurmountable obstacles can sometimes be overcome, and a new film offers a timely reminder of that. The hit play "Oslo" dramatized the genesis of the Oslo Peace Accords, which brought Israelis and Palestinians together in a bid for lasting peace. The play has now been adapted into a film.
Bartlett Sher directed “Oslo” for both stage and screen and joins the show.

More than 150 government agencies, think tanks and other organizations have been hit in a global cyberattack. According to Microsoft, the culprits are the same Russian-backed group that hacked U.S. federal agencies in the SolarWinds data breach last year. So far, the Kremlin says it has no information on the attack. Journalists Susan Glasser and Fintan O’Toole join the show to discuss.

You probably know John Green as the author of bestselling young adult novels like "The Fault in Our Stars," which was turned into a hit film. Also a prolific podcaster, Green has now adapted his podcast "The Anthropocene Reviewed" into a book of essays of the same name, covering everything from sunsets to Diet Dr Pepper to CNN – and ranking them all on a five-star scale.

Kathleen Kingsbury is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and this year took over as opinion editor for The New York Times. She speaks with Walter Isaacson about the modernization of opinion pieces in the digital age and how she decides what to print.

A U.S. intelligence report revealed that several researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill in November 2019. President Biden is now requesting a report into the origins of the virus, and Marc Lipsitch is one of a group of scientists calling for a thorough investigation.

If you ever wondered what might happen if Bach met Biggie Smalls, let us introduce you to the Grammy-nominated duo Black Violin. A classical/hip hop hybrid, they began their musical journey in the classroom, experimenting and pushing the boundaries of genre. Their mission: smashing stereotypes and assumptions about race through their art. They join the show to discuss and to perform.

Turning from the origins of the virus to the road ahead, one important question is: How will we emerge from the pandemic? Ed Yong has been chronicling COVID-19 extensively for The Atlantic, and in a recent piece he looks at “the pandemic’s mental wounds” and adds, “Things are getting better, so why don’t they feel better?”