PEN15’s Anna Konkle on how life inspires art

The U.S. military attack on Venezuela was fast and surgical — so how is the country doing now? Missy Ryan, staff writer for The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what Venezuelans on the ground think of the regime change, how the new government is faring and whether legitimate democracy now has a foothold there. Her article is called “Venezuela Seems to Be Going … Well?” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

 For children who felt responsible for their parents’ happiness: There’s a way to turn that into joy. Anna Konkle is co-creator and co-star of the Hulu series “Pen15,” and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her childhood – when her parents fought all the time and she felt like the peacemaker – her complicated relationship with her father and how she turned that experience into comedy for her critically acclaimed series. Her book is called “The Sane One.”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

President Trump’s threats to attack drug cartels inside Mexico have put the bilateral relationship on edge. Arturo Sarukhan served as Mexican Ambassador to the United States from 2007 to 2013, and he joins guest host John McCay to discuss why he believes the U.S.-Mexico relationship hasn’t been this fractured since the 1980s, how the previous Mexican president known as AMLO played into this, and how nations across the world are watching and reacting to this new rhetoric. His article “Can Mexico Avoid a Confrontation With the United States?” was published in Foreign Affairs.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The super rich are wildly different than the rest of us, in part by the way they’ve designed their lives. New York Magazine features writer Lane Brown joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the frictionless world of the extremely wealthy – where access to just about anything is automatic – the differences between old and new money and the everyday stressors that they feel that those with less don’t. His article is “What Does Extreme Wealth Do to the Brain?”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Many of us offload heavy thinking to A.I., and our brains are going soft in the process. Cal Newport, professor of computer science at Georgetown University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how employing computers to do our deepest thinking dulls our ability to concentrate and the things we can do right now to keep us sharp and alert. His recent essay published in The New York Times is “There’s a Good Reason You Can’t Concentrate.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Recent graduates take heart: There is meaningful work out there for you.  Jodi Kantor, Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times investigative reporter, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how to find passion in your work, what it takes to find out what we’re good at and how to choose work that the world needs. Her book is “How to Start: Discovering Your Life's Work.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If you know someone who falls in love at first sight over and over again, there’s a word for that: emophilia. Daniel N. Jones is professor of management in the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno and core faculty within the Interdisciplinary Social Psychology Program. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the red flags for people in love with falling in love, why they might be missing huge pitfalls of potential partners and ways to build healthy partnerships beyond the initial butterflies. His book is “Falling Fast: The Perils and Possibilities of Emophilia.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

 Putting your cute family on social media is clickbait gold — but what does it do to the kids? Journalist Fortesa Latifi joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss family reality content and the perks, money and fame that come with it, the dangers of celebrity, and why, as viewers, we’re so hooked on the every move of total strangers. Her book is “Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online.”    Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Schools around the country are shuttering their Black studies departments—often without regulatory prompting. Jafari S. Allen is a professor of African American and African diaspora studies at Columbia University. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why schools, now admitting less Black students than before DEI crackdowns, are blaming low enrollment for shutting down these departments, and why these cuts are often preemptive, before any penalties are incurred. His article “The Erasure of Black Studies” was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

We’ve heard a lot about the loneliness epidemic in this country, but it might be worth asking: Do we even like spending time with people anymore? Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the phenomenon where we’re on our phones but digitally surrounded by people, and how this isolation is rewiring us to be more anti-social – including in both our personal relationships and political lives. His article is “The Anti-Social Century.”This episode originally aired February, 6th 2025. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices