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Millions of Americans associate the number 65 with the end of their working years and the start of what they hope is a long and pleasant retirement. But why 65, as opposed to younger, older, or never? Joe and Mark trace the history of social insurance programs, including the American and European precursors to Social Security; discuss how and why 65 became the magic number; and ponder whether full retirement age (which is now 67 in the U.S.), benefit levels, or payroll tax revenues will have to change to accommodate increases in life expectancy. (Recorded February 6, 2026.)

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There’s a strong anti-intellectual vibe running through American politics and culture. It’s visible in MAGA’s ongoing assault against the administrative state, in the growing distrust of educational institutions, and in anti-vaccine sentiment—the last of which started as a left-wing movement before being coopted by the right. It’s so palpable today that it makes you wonder what the proper role of expertise in a democracy might be. Mark and Joe plumb the history of this tension, the spectrum of positions it produced, and how experts’ recent missteps fanned the flames of distrust in an already skeptical populace. (Recorded January 23, 2026.)

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The fact that the heavy drama The Bear has won Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series speaks volumes about how the industry values drama in comparison to comedy. Indeed, the last time a real comedy film won the Best Picture Oscar was 1977, nearly a half-century ago. Why do critics think dark material is so much better than light? Joe and Mark explore the long history of this cultural bias, why it’s important to think about who’s making such determinations, and whether great comedy will ever receive the recognition it deserves. (Recorded January 9, 2026.)

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For Mansplaining’s 6th annual holiday episode, we examine the holiday music that gets played endlessly, in our homes and everywhere we go, at this time of year. What makes a holiday song good? Which songs resonate for Mark and Joe, and why? And which can we do without? For us, at least, the best holiday songs not only feature strong melodies well sung and played, but they also forge emotional connections in our lives, whereas the worst holiday songs are nothing more than crass attempts to make a buck. (Recorded December 20, 2025.)

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Psychoactive substances have been ingested by human beings for millennia. But for a few decades at the end of the 20th century, many were banned in the U.S. as part of a cultural backlash manifesting itself in the disastrous War on Drugs. Now that’s slowly changing, as the medical industrial complex reconsiders the use of psychedelic drugs like MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD for treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorders, and much more. Joe and Mark discuss the history of psychedelics, their therapeutic use in psychotherapy, and why they might be game changers for the many people for whom existing treatments and medications just don’t work. (Taping date: December 5, 2025.)

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A few years ago, we all started hearing about how gas ranges, which have been popular in our country for at least a century and are favored by professional chefs, were dangerous to our health and should be replaced by electric or induction cooktops. That revelation begs a couple of obvious questions about how such an unsafe appliance became so ubiquitous in the first place, and why we’re only hearing about its dangers now. Mark and Joe recount how natural gas became the go-to power source in our kitchens, how Big Gas suppressed safety concerns in a way that would make Big Tobacco proud, and what we can do to mitigate the perils of cooking with gas. (Recorded November 7, 2025.)

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Back in its early days, this podcast explored the cultural and economic juggernaut that is Christmas. Time now to take a gander at Halloween. It’s unique among American holidays in that it’s neither religious nor patriotic nor sentimental, yet it’s hugely and increasingly popular for kids and grown-ups alike. How did that come to be? Attention, trick-or-treaters—Joe and Mark leave this sweet offering for you: a tale about how Halloween’s centuries-long metamorphosis from pagan festival to secular holiday embodies America’s boundless power to assimilate seemingly contradictory cultural traditions and make them its own. (Recorded October 24, 2025.)

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Overshadowed by all the anti-immigrant rhetoric afflicting our country today are wonderful stories of non-human immigration, such as the ones about how certain foods made their way from the New World to the Old World. Take potatoes and tomatoes, for example. They’re staples of Irish and Italian cuisine, respectively, but neither was native to those countries—both originated in the Americas. Mark and Joe tell the story of how these two hardy pioneers with humble roots in Mesoamerica came to dominate European cuisine. Like that of modern-day human migrants, their road to acceptance was a bumpy one full of fear, suspicion, and misinformation with some tasty twists and turns along the way. (Recorded October 3, 2025.)