For the last three years, we've been making an enormous bet on AI. It's woven into our investments, our pension funds, even the stability of our economy. But, the bet hasn't paid off yet - and many aren't sure it ever will.

AI expert Gary Marcus - who’s been excited about the technology for a long time - explains why society's all-in wager on large language models could be far riskier than we realize.

Marcus is author of the book Taming Silicon Valley from MIT Press.

MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group recently took a close look at how companies are using agentic AI - one of the most discussed topics in AI right now. Check it out here: sloanreview.mit.edu/ai2025

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What if we've spent the last year having the wrong debate about higher education? Former college president Brian Rosenberg explains why higher ed has become so resistant to change.

Should professors teach the way they do? Does having a major actually make any sense? Should colleges only meet - as they often do - eight months a year? And how will the Trump Administration's attack on higher ed shape the future?

Rosenberg is author of the book Whatever It Is, I'm Against It from the Harvard Education Press.

For a big-picture look on how higher ed is funded, please check out this overview from our friends at The Journalist's Resource at the Harvard Kennedy School.

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Over the last 40 years, many of the wealthiest Americans have effectively seceded from taxation.

While regular Americans - from surgeons to bus drivers - pay large chunks (sometimes half!) of their income in taxes, lots of those with billions of dollars pay a teeny, tiny sliver of their wealth in taxes each year. And their heirs can inherit billions of dollars tax free.

How have we let this happen? And why don't most people know about it? Boston College scholar Ray Madoff - author of The Second Estate - talks about what the heck is going on.

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Why do affluent suburbs in Boston and Houston vote completely differently, yet share one surprising thing in common? Economist Melissa Kearney, author of The Two-Parent Privilege, reveals that one of America's most consequential divides isn't about red states versus blue states. It's about whether you're raising kids with a partner, and the economic advantages are stark and surprising.

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"It Turns Out" reveals the hidden realities reshaping our world—from how marriage impacts inequality to the way that the tax code has transformed wealth. Through conversations with experts who challenge conventional wisdom, award-winning journalist Kara Miller focuses each episode on groundbreaking research, changing how listeners see society, economics, technology, and human behavior. “It Turns Out” delves into data that directly impacts your life—whether you know it or not.

Is healthcare eating the US economy? Affordable Care Act architect Jon Gruber explains why healthcare became the issue that keeps employees - and employers - up at night. And how it came to paralyze the government. Why does an MRI cost $1,500 in the US but only a fraction of that in Japan? Why is the idea of "competition" a talking point, not a solution? Gruber also explains why Democrats moved to the right on healthcare, only to see Republicans move further to the right. Plus, hear Gruber’s "magic wand" solution for fixing the broken American system.

Gruber co-edited the book Long-Term Care around the World from The University of Chicago Press.

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Why have so many boys and men fallen behind in America?

Boys are behind girls in K-12 education. They are behind girls in getting to college - and staying in college. Millions of prime-age men are missing from the labor force. And men die deaths of despair - suicide and overdoses - at much higher rates than women.

Richard Reeves talks about what has shifted culturally for men.

How do you turn this around? Why do these issues affect even upper-class boys? How has this issue hurt Democrats - and what can they do about it?

Reeves is the author of "Of Boys and Men," the founding president of the American Institute For Boys and Men, and a senior fellow at Brookings.

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Why do we prioritize larger homes over shorter commutes, even when it costs us our happiness? Redfin's Chief Economist and author Daryl Fairweather joins host Kara Miller to reveal how applying economic research can help you optimize your home, your career, and your relationships.

In this episode of It Turns Out, Fairweather breaks down the complexities of the 2026 housing market, explains how to free yourself from psychological biases like "anchoring,” and explains how Beyoncé - and Destiny’s Child - can help you understand workplace power dynamics.

From her own move out of a high-pressure tech hub, to the surprising data behind the "coin-flip" method for making life-altering choices, Fairweather shares how to challenge the status quo and use data to design a life that aligns with your values.

Fairweather is author of the book Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work

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For decades, Americans have gravitated to the southern US - from Florida to Arizona. But that may be about to change.

This change will also shuffle our finances - and create enormous winners and losers.

In this eye-opening interview, ProPublica’s Abrahm Lustgarten, author of On the Move, exposes the "Great American Climate Scam" that is artificially propping up real estate values in high-risk zones like Florida and California. And he talks about how a collapse in one market could become a contagion that spreads across the country.

We break down the looming insurance crisis that threatens to bankrupt entire states, why millions of Americans may soon be forced to migrate to northern "climate havens" like Cincinnati and Buffalo, and how extreme heat is widening the economic gap between the rich and the poor.

If you want to understand the future of property values, the hidden financial risks of climate change, and who will be the winners and losers of the next great migration, don't miss this deep dive into the shifting US economy.

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What happens when a culture is suddenly engulfed by 24/7 betting, wagering, and prediction markets?

In this episode of It Turns Out, host Kara Miller sits down with Dr. Timothy Fong, a psychiatrist and co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, to explore the hidden costs of America's new favorite pastime: "solitude entertainment."

From the staggering story of a student who drained his $180,000 college fund in just 18 months, to the psychological traps of treating apps like DraftKings and Polymarket as second jobs, Fong explains how the normalization of digital gambling is rewiring our brains and deepening the wealth gap.

Discover the science behind addiction, the reality of why the house always wins, and what this unprecedented surge in financial risk-taking means for society's future.

For more on the massive growth of sports gambling, check out the work of The Journalist's Resource at Harvard's Shorenstein Center.

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Traffic isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a thief. It robs you of time, health - and sometimes sanity. But the "obvious" fixes, like widening freeways or upgrading subways, often leave us stuck in the exact same spot. In this episode of It Turns Out, Kara Miller talks with UCLA urban planning expert Michael Manville about how to really fix traffic (it’s doable). Discover why the one scientific solution to gridlock is uniquely "uncontagious" among politicians, but quite popular among those who’ve experienced it. How do you get traffic to move at 50mph? Here’s your answer.

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What happens when the world’s most powerful tech leaders decide they are the architects of humanity's future? Astrophysicist Adam Becker, author of More Everything Forever, takes a hard look at the "Plan B" visions of Silicon Valley’s elite.

From Elon Musk’s mission to colonize a "poisonous" Mars to Jeff Bezos’ dream of trillion-person space colonies, Becker argues that these blueprints are often more science fiction than scientific fact.

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