Plain English with Derek Thompson Podcast
1) Russia’s Economic Meltdown, Putin’s Big Mistake, and the West’s Financial War Against Vlad and the Oligarchs
Things are moving very, very fast in Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine—and in the global response to punish Russia. The U.S. and Europe are not engaged in a literal war against Putin, and hopefully...Show More
2) Plain English BEST OF: The Modern World Is Changing America’s Personality for the Worse
Throughout December and January, we’re going to be re-airing some of our favorite episodes of the past year and beyond. This list includes interviews that really stuck with me and some others that you...Show More
3) Plain English BEST OF: If GLP-1 Drugs Are Good for Everything, Should We All Be on Them?
Throughout December and January, we’re going to be re-airing some of our favorite episodes of the past year and beyond. This list includes interviews that really stuck with me and some others that you...Show More
4) Plain English BEST OF: What Experts Really Think About Smartphones and Mental Health
Throughout December and January, we’re going to be re-airing some of our favorite episodes of the past year and beyond. This list includes interviews that really stuck with me and some others that you...Show More
Plain English BEST OF: What Experts Really Think About Smartphones and Mental Health
1:06:36 | Dec 30th, 2025
5) Plain English BEST OF: How Gen Z Sees the World
Throughout December and January, we’re going to be re-airing some of our favorite episodes of the past year and beyond. This list includes interviews that really stuck with me and some others that you...Show More
6) Plain English BEST OF: A Grand, Unified Theory of Why Americans Are So Unhealthy
Throughout December and January, we’re going to be re-airing some of our favorite episodes of the past year and beyond. This list includes interviews that really stuck with me and some others that you...Show More
Plain English BEST OF: A Grand, Unified Theory of Why Americans Are So Unhealthy
38:44 | Dec 16th, 2025
7) Plain English BEST OF: The Antisocial Century
Throughout December and January, we’re going to be re-airing some of our favorite episodes of the past year and beyond. This list includes interviews that really stuck with me and some others that you...Show More
8) Plain English BEST OF: How to Be Happy and the Science of Cognitive Time Travel
Throughout December and January, we’re going to be re-airing some of our favorite episodes of the past year and beyond. This list includes interviews that really stuck with me and some others that you...Show More
Plain English BEST OF: How to Be Happy and the Science of Cognitive Time Travel
1:05:38 | Dec 2nd, 2025
9) A Grand Unified Theory of Cultural Stagnation
One of my favorite theories about the modern world is the idea that culture is "stuck." Whether the decline of ornamentation in modern architecture, or the fact that every corporate logo looks the sam...Show More
10) The American Math Crisis
The University of California San Diego is one of the best public colleges in America. So it was fairly shocking when the school released a report on the steep decline in academic preparedness of its f...Show More