How Is This Better?

Hollywood used to feel like a place where anything could happen. Akilah Hughes talks to Stinson Carter about the strange magic of 2000s Hollywood, the Chateau Marmont, Entourage, and whether the Hollywood dream still exists.

Check out Stinson's piece for Esquire, "Bartending at the Edge of Fame."

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Face it: Americans have a literacy problem. Host Akilah Hughes is joined by Oliver Speaks, author of the memoir Unread and literacy advocate, and Lauren Coffey, a journalist with EdSurge, to get to the bottom of why no one wants to read anymore.

If you're inspired to pick up a book, start with Oliver's! You can find it here.

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It seems like everyone is talking about AI. Because they are.Across both sides of the aisle, whether you support it or you loathe it, AI is one of the most talked-about hot-button issues of 2026. It's everywhere — in our phones, on our computers, at our jobs, and even in our backyards thanks to data centers and flock surveillance cameras. Hell, even the Taco Bell drive-thru isn't safe anymore. Understandably, a lot of folks want AI gone, but are they actually convincing anyone to put down Chat GPT? Our guest Dr. Fatima is an Astrophysicist-turned-creator who made a video about "how to anti-AI better". According to her, shame isn't the most effective method to get people to turn on our new robot overlords. The question is: what is?

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When students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School launched March For Our Lives after the Parkland shooting, they helped spark one of the largest youth-led movements in American history.

But nearly a decade later, gun violence remains the leading cause of death for American children and teens—and the issue no longer commands the same national attention it once did.

This week, Akilah Hughes talks with March For Our Lives Executive Director and Parkland survivor Jaclyn Corin about what comes after the marches, how activism has changed since 2018, and why the organization is shifting its focus toward culture, media, and the battle for attention itself.

Support March for Our Lives: https://marchforourlives.org/

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Today, we are sharing an episode we first-aired a year ago (nearly to the day). Back then, Trump and his administration would not stop saying "DEI" as if it were a slur. Their efforts to white-wash history have not gone away, so we wanted to share this episode again, today, on Juneteenth.

Guests:


Roy Wood, Jr., actor and comedian


Kali Holloway, columnist, The Nation


Jeremy Taché, Miami-based sports reporter and host

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