The surprising power of willful forgetting

The Department of Education rolled out a new Federal Student Aid form, but its many glitches have negatively impacted students and colleges alike. Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, national higher education reporter for The Washington Post, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what was supposed to be an easier, more user-friendly FAFSA, how instead it now leaves students questioning if they’ll have funding, and the schools that are unable to tally enrollment dollars. Her article is “‘Very unpredictable’: Colleges fear FAFSA fiasco will hurt enrollment.” 

After a shaky debate performance, even loyal Democrats are wondering if it’s time for President Biden to remove himself from the 2024 ticket. Jeffrey Engel, David Gergen Director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the pressure Biden is under to step aside – and whether the Democratic Party would consider drafting another candidate regardless of the president’s wishes.

When it comes to prosecuting Jan. 6 cases, maybe we should take a top-down approach and not bottom up. Linda Kinstler is a visiting researcher at Georgetown University and a junior fellow at Harvard. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the idea of “oblivion,” allowing society to forgive low-level offenders in order to heal a fractured society. Her recent essay in The New York Times is “Jan. 6, America’s Rupture and the Strange, Forgotten Power of Oblivion.”

 New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how CoComelon, a low-tech animation show featuring nursery songs, capitalized on the untapped market of toddler viewing habits. 

If Donald Trump retakes the White House, will he pull out of NATO? Europe is bracing for the possibility. McKay Coppins, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss European anxieties of how Trump might approach the now 75-year-old allyship, what his demands might mean for defense spending in the E.U. and Russian aggression, and what the current U.S. ambassador to NATO is saying about these possibilities. His article is “What Europe Fears.”

The odds of a child and a wife being diagnosed with two different types of brain cancers are astronomically small – and yet, it happened to one family. Alan Townsend, dean of the University of Montana’s W. A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his daughter’s battle with an invasive tumor, then his wife’s devastating diagnosis, and how he used his training as a scientist to guide him through it all. His book is “This Ordinary Stardust: A Scientist’s Path from Grief to Wonder.”

We’re told to eat healthy fruits and vegetables, but how can we avoid the pesticides that cover them? Catherine Roberts, associate editor for health at Consumer Reports, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what to look for when picking produce to avoid harmful substances, why out of season fruits and vegetables might be a no-no, and why you don’t always have to buy organic to stay safe. Her article is “Produce Without Pesticides.”

Christian Paz, senior politics reporter at Vox, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the social media platform’s influence on voting habits, how stylized and highly emotional political videos grab attention, and how users end up in an echo chamber that doesn’t challenge their views.

The modern notion of the ideal man involves a lot of lean muscle mass — but why does our culture demand so much bulk from men whose lives for the most part no longer revolve around manual labor? Washington Post classical music critic Michael Andor Brodeur is a lifelong lifter, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his examination of modern masculinity, why the gym took over after the Industrial Revolution, and what building muscle means for healthy — or unhealthy — identities. His book is “Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle.”

Last summer, former military officials testified to Congress about UFOs, and once again the nation’s imagination was ignited. Greg Eghigian, professor of history and bioethics at Pennsylvania State University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the history of America’s fascination with UFOs — an obsession that spread globally — and what it all means for our civilization back here on Earth. His book is “After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon.”