After the promises of Reconstruction began to wither, Black Americans searched for freedom in radically different locales. Caleb Gayle is a journalist, author and professor at Northeastern University, and he is also a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine. He joins guest host John McCaa to tell the story of Edward McCabe, who made it his life’s work to set up a Black state in Oklahoma. His book is “Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State.” This episode airs December 10th, 2026. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has again blocked promotions for Black servicemen a pattern within the administration. Clint Smith, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his interviews with dozens of enlisted and civilian Black servicemembers who feel the accomplishments of Black servicemembers are being erased by the military and what that means for the how we tell the story of Black service in America. His article is “The Betrayal of Black Patriots.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dating should be fun, but single, straight people are finding it a drudgery or even worse cringe. Magdalene J. Taylor, senior editor at Playboy, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss “heteropessimism” where straight people don’t have positive feelings about playing the field why men label women as self-absorbed and women call men “toxic,” and why we need to turn these ideas on their heads. Her essay “There’s Nothing Wrong With Wanting Men” was published in The New York Times. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The common evolutionary question centers around nature vs. nurture, but maybe we should be asking if we are designed to cooperate or compete? Jonathan R. Goodman is a social scientist based at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge and is the author of “Invisible Rivals: How We Evolved to Compete in a Cooperative World.” He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Darwinian survival vs. species interdependence, what makes us either selfless or selfish and how humans respond in real-world situations that test these theories. His article in Aeon is “How selfish are we?” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Imagine what you can learn about a city by picking up the garbage of the people who live there. Simon Paré-Poupart, a sociologist and garbageman in Montreal, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his life on the back of a garbage truck, why he prefers the term G-men to garbagemen, and the people who are called to do this dirty job well and with pride. His book is “Trash!: A Garbageman’s Story,” and his companion piece in Harper’s is “The Conscience of the City.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

In many Black households of yesteryear, portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr. hung alongside pictures of John F. Kennedy and Jesus. Sharron Wilkins Conrad, fellow at Southern Methodist University’s Center for Presidential History, joins guest host John McCaa to discuss how Black families viewed martyred leaders who advocated for change and how that respect didn’t extent to President Johnson, who was tasked with actually passing Civil Rights legislation. Her book is “The Trinity: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Civil Rights in African American Memory.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Soccer has a massive following around the world. So why do teams lose money? Stefan Szymanski is professor of sport management at the University of Michigan and a leading sports economist. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why, with all the money and sponsorships and hype around professional soccer teams, they operate on thin margin and how “moneyball” style analytics could change the game. His book, written with co-author Simon Kuper, is “Soccernomics (2026 World Cup Edition): Why European Men and American Women Usually Winand American Men Don’t (Yet).” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The new American pope has been a very vocal critic of American foreign and domestic policy. Victor Gaetan, senior international correspondent for National Catholic Register, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Pope Leo’s policies which have been met with ire by President Trump why he is orienting the church away from Europe and the West to be more global, and what Catholics think of him so far. His article “The Not-So-Quiet American” was published in Foreign Affairs. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Microbes have lived on this planet since long before humans, and they’ll be here long after we’re gone. Shayla Love is a journalist who writes about science, health and the mind. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss these masters of evolution that can mutate in a single generation, why climate change is making harmful microbes adapt even faster, and the good news about how these organisms are good for our body and our planet. Her article “Breeding Ground” was published by The New Yorker. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The damage caused by alcohol costs Americans billions of dollars, and it largely goes unnoticed. Isabella Cueto, chronic disease reporter for Stat, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the harms of alcohol from elevated cancer risk to liver damage to its impact on violent crime and why public health officials don’t seem to have a cohesive strategy to combat its very real consequences. Her series, written with Lev Facher, is “The Deadliest Drug.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For two-time National Book Award winner Jesymn Ward, the deep South is the only place she can call home. The author talks with host Krys Boyd about the pain and heartbreak she’s felt in rural Mississippi, why the draw of family keeps hope alive, and why she writes for anyone experiencing loss or grief. Her book of essays is “On Witness and Respair.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Creativity knows no bounds but it’s best captured within set limits. Author and journalist David Epstein joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why too many choices make it hard to start a project, how to avoid leaning on the status quo when we don’t know where to start, and how we can unlock our unlimited potential. His book is “Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices