It Turns Out

Since 2020, more than a million kids have left American public schools. Meanwhile, enrollment in private schools and homeschooling has risen. What's going on? Have parents lost faith in public schools? And which sorts of kids are most likely to leave?
Kara speaks with Thomas Dee, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education, who has tracked students' movement out of public schools. How do fights over advanced math - and challenging content - affect schools' ability to retain students? How will a fast-growing school choice movement further reshape schools?
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For two decades, the global phenomenon of "Blue Zones" has shaped how we eat, live, and invest in our health. But what if the data behind these longevity hotspots doesn't quite stack up?
In this episode of It Turns Out, Kara Miller sits down with Dr. Saul Justin Newman, a senior research fellow at Oxford and University College London and author of Morbid (MIT Press).
Dr. Newman exposes the staggering reality behind world-famous longevity claims—from pension fraud and missing records that inflated centenarian counts in Japan, Greece, and Italy, to the commercial conflicts driving the industry. Tune in as we talk about purple sweet potatoes and anti-aging supplements to reveal what medical science actually says about living a longer, healthier life.
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What if being more social could change your life?
University of Chicago behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley talks with Kara about the surprising bump in happiness we get from being a little more social.
Being less lonely also has huge health benefits that often go unrecognized. But, as Epley points out, people routinely overestimate how unpleasant it will be to reach out to others. And they almost always underestimate how enjoyable the discussions will be.
Why do we put up these barriers to our own happiness? And how can introverts and extroverts effectively change their behavior?
Epley is the author, most recently, of A Little More Social (Knopf).
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Is a college degree actually worth it, or do universities simply accept students who were already destined for success?
Using a clever natural experiment - in an era when lots more folks doubt the usefulness of a college degree - University of Chicago economist Jack Mountjoy tries to figure out whether college really pays off. And for who?
Plus, how does your life change when you get off a waiting list from an elite college? And how are your marriage prospects altered depending on your major?
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Former NIH researcher Kevin Hall explains the science of why we eat what we eat, and debunks persistent myths about willpower, metabolism, and protein. He shares his startling findings from studying The Biggest Loser contestants—revealing why extreme exercise doesn’t prevent metabolic slowing—and explains how our modern food environment is engineered to override our conscious control. Plus, why MAHA has some good ideas, but isn’t on track to make America much healthier.
Hall is a co-author of Food Intelligence, published by Avery Books.
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