Ezra Klein talks with historian Helena Rosenblatt about how liberalism narrowed from an older ethic of liberality, moral formation and devotion to the common good into a thinner politics of rights and individualism. Their conversation traces that history through revolution, religion and the welfare state to ask what kind of civic language might revive liberal democracy in an age of demagogues and institutional distrust.

Molly Graham talks with former Microsoft executive and Gates Foundation founding CEO Patty Stonecipher about the personal mission statement that has guided decades of career choices, from high-profile yeses to disciplined noes. Their conversation turns work into a question of values, asking how ambition, love, justice, learning and humor can shape a life rather than merely a résumé.

Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar argues that sudden upheaval can shatter the identities people build around work, but also open the door to a sturdier sense of self. Drawing on her own career-ending violin injury and research on resilience, she offers a case for anchoring identity to purpose rather than title, and for treating disruption as a chance to grow into someone new.

A lively conversation about why even wedding skeptics end up throwing weddings, and how consumerism, social media, class signaling and community needs have reshaped the ritual. Amanda Montell and Anne Helen Peterson parse everything from Princess Diana and Pinterest to child-free receptions, bachelorette parties and the false promise of “timeless” taste.

Product leaders are grappling with AI-driven urgency, layoffs, and a collapsing sense of the old career ladder, while trying not to lose sight of the human capacities that make good judgment possible. Executive coach Molly Graham argues that the central challenge is not time but capacity, and that better leadership begins with noticing how we actually move through work, stress, and ambition.

A trip to the blackjack table opens into a broader story about the seductive logic of beating the house, from card counters chasing a mathematical edge to gamblers and casino workers describing how skill, compulsion and self-deception blur together. The hour follows the thrill of advantage play and the far darker machinery that keeps people betting long after reason gives out.

Leadership is less a title than a shift in stance, and this conversation maps the uneasy passage from capable contributor to credible decision-maker. Amy Su and Muriel Wilkins unpack how women can claim authority, build visibility and trust, and avoid confusing gratitude for permission.