The Assignment with Audie Cornish

The Assignment with Audie Cornish

Every Thursday on The Assignment, host Audie Cornish explores the animating forces of this extraordinary American political moment. It’s not about the horse race, it’s about the larger cultural ideas driving the conversation: the role of online influencers on the electorate, the intersection of pop culture and politics, and discussions with primary voices and thinkers who are shaping the political conversation.

Episodes

How Algorithms Are Rewiring the Way We Talk

September 11, 2025 • 27 mins
Social media doesn’t just decide what you see — it shapes how you speak. Audie talks to linguist, author and educational influencer, Adam Aleksic to explore how the way we communicate is mutating in the age of TikTok, Trump, and ChatGPT.  Adam’s book is called, “Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language.”  --  This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta  Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  Technical Directo...
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Why Are Shows Like ‘Hunting Wives' and ‘Yellowstone’ So Popular Now?

September 4, 2025 • 24 mins
One of the biggest shows of the summer was Netflix’s “Hunting Wives,” a raunchy, soapy thriller about gun-toting Texas housewives. It’s the latest hit in a growing wave of so-called “red state entertainment” finding audiences everywhere. Audie calls up comedian and longtime television producer Larry Wilmore to find out what’s driving Hollywood’s pronounced shift away from the hard lean into wokeness we saw just a few years ago. Is ...
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The Generation That Inherited Hurricane Katrina

August 28, 2025 • 27 mins
It’s been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. But for many, the storm is not just a memory, it’s an inheritance. At Be Loud Studios, an after-school program that helps young people tell their stories through radio, educator Alex Owens created Born After the Storm a podcast where local teens reflect on Katrina’s legacy. Audie sits down with high school senior Amari Walton, one of the storytellers, and Alex, who ...
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Dating Apps and the Demise of American Romance

August 21, 2025 • 22 mins
Dating apps are reporting record breaking numbers. Yet surveys show people across generations and sexualities are partnering less, having less sex, and are feeling increasingly pessimistic about the state of American romance. So what’s going on? Audie sits down with Faith Hill – staff writer at The Atlantic, who closely covers ‘The Slow, Quiet Demise of American Romance’ – for a breakdown of the uniquely modern challenges and conse...
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The Offline Rebellion of the Most Online Generation

August 14, 2025 • 26 mins
Audie talks with artist and organizer Kennedy McDaniel about how she, and others in her generation -- Gen Z -- are finding connection and power offline through an old school medium: zines.  This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta.   Senior Producer: Matt Martinez Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Are Respectability Politics Over?

August 7, 2025 • 35 mins
Kamala Harris is stepping back. And Jasmine Crockett – the fiery Texas congresswoman known for viral clapbacks – is turning heads. This week, Audie asks: are “respectability politics” still the price of power for Black politicians, or are the rules finally changing in the age of Trump? NOTUS White House Correspondent Jasmine Wright and GOP Strategist Melik Abdul to help her parse it out.  The Assignment is a production of CNN Podc...
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What the Recent Obsession with Yachts Says About Class in America

July 31, 2025 • 27 mins
We’re living in a golden age of yachts, bunkers, and ultra-wealth – and social media is eating it up. Audie talks with journalist and author Evan Osnos about what this era reveals about American culture and class. His book is called, “The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich.”  The Assignment is a production of CNN Podcasts. This episode was produced by Lori Galarreta and Grace Walker. Our Senior Producer is Matt M...
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How Early 2000s Pop Culture Pitted Women Against Each Other

July 24, 2025 • 25 mins
In the early 2000s, girlhood became a spectacle. It was sold through reality TV, tabloid scandals, and the early Internet. And it’s still shaping the way we see women today. Audie talks with Sophie Gilbert, culture critic and author of “Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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What ICE’s Rapid Expansion Could Mean for Your Community

July 17, 2025 • 26 mins
President Trump's megabill sets Immigration and Customs Enforcement up to be the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency. Journalist Garrett Graff tells Audie how a relatively new federal agency rose to the top and why people should “get used to” seeing ICE agents in their community. Garrett Graff writes the newsletter Doomsday Scenario and hosts the Long Shadow podcast. For more CNN reporting on ICE’s expansion: https://ww...
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Will Tariffs Bring Trouble to Toyland?

July 10, 2025 • 25 mins
These days, the toy industry isn’t all fun and games. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks sits down with Audie to talk about how trade wars and culture wars are shaping the state of play in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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George Takei’s Journey Through Fear, Silence, and Activism

July 3, 2025 • 26 mins
Star Trek legend George Takei has spent a lifetime confronting injustice: his family was sent to internment camps during World War II, he fought for civil rights in the 60’s, and later in life he became an activist in the LGBTQ+ community. Takei talks with Audie about his new graphic book, “It Rhymes with Takei,” a story about the experiences that shaped him, and what they say about patriotism, protest, and the state of American de...
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Alaska’s Senator: 'You’re Roadkill in the Middle’

June 26, 2025 • 30 mins
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski spent the past two decades making a name for herself as a Republican who regularly straddles party lines. In a new book, Far from Home, Murkowski delves into her journey navigating hyper-partisan politics -- from the Tea Party to the Trump era. She sits down with Audie Cornish for a conversation about whether there’s still room for pragmatism and consensus-building in the modern-day GOP.  Watch this...
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Can Weight Loss Drugs and Body Positivity Coexist?

June 19, 2025 • 33 mins
Just a few years ago, ‘body positivity’ was everywhere. Then came Ozempic. Audie talks with Virginia Sole-Smith, who spent the past decade writing about ‘diet culture.’ She weighs in on the future of the body positivity in an Ozempic world, and whether the movement and the revolutionary new class of weight loss drugs can coexist.  Virginia Sole Smith’s book is called “Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture.”  Learn more ab...
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Can Protestors Manufacture a Tipping Point?

June 12, 2025 • 27 mins
Protest has long been a tool for change in American life. But in an age of political gridlock and viral outrage, what actually works? Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible— one of several progressive groups organizing “No Kings Day” protests —joins Audie to talk about their strategy, and how they are preparing considering the Trump Administration’s reaction to ICE protests in Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
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Is OpenAI Building an Empire or a Religion?

June 5, 2025 • 35 mins
Some companies just build products. Others build empires — with innovative leaders who inspire fierce devotion. But when does innovation become something more like faith? Tech journalist Karen Hao joins Audie Cornish to talk about the rise of Sam Altman, the near-religious culture growing around AI, and what it all means for our future — whether you’re feeling hopeful, skeptical, or somewhere in between.  Karen Hao’s book is calle...
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Klarna's CEO On Why You Should Buy Now, Pay Later

May 29, 2025 • 33 mins
Should you put your DoorDash burrito on a payment plan? Probably not. But Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski argues the rise of "buy now, pay later" -- or BNPL -- services like his are a good thing. He joins Audie to talk about his “healthier” credit alternative, and whether the rise of BNPL is a sign of larger economic strain.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Explaining Diddy’s Domination and Downfall

May 22, 2025 • 31 mins
As Sean “Diddy” Combs stands trial in New York, the music industry is reckoning with a hard truth: how did he stay untouchable for so long? Music journalist Sowmya Krishnamurthy—who once interned at Bad Boy Records—joins Audie to unpack how hip-hop missed its Weinstein “Me Too” moment.   Krishnamurthy is the author of Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion.  Get a recap of the Combs trial in your podcast feed, sub...
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Why We Believe Crazy S**t —And What We Can Do About It

May 15, 2025 • 32 mins
Conspiracy theories are not new. They’re as old as time itself. But if you feel like they’re everywhere right now, you’re not alone. So, what do you do when somebody you love has fallen down a rabbit hole? CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan has been covering the world of misinformation for more than a decade, but now he's less interested in what people believe than why they believe it. So, he’s trying to find out.  Listen to Persuadable and f...
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Catholicism Is So Hot Right Now. Why?

May 8, 2025 • 34 mins
Catholicism is having a moment. The election of a new pope set social media buzzing with silly songs and comedy sketches, fantasy pope drafts and power rankings, and last year’s Oscar-winner ‘Conclave’ provided an imaginary reference point for what was happening behind the Sistine Chapel’s closed doors. But the interest goes beyond the papal election: Reports point to a rise in young converts, from JD Vance to Shia LaBeouf to a wav...
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Why Does Dating Feel So Hard Right Now?

May 1, 2025 • 30 mins
It’s been called a ‘romantic recession.’ Has love and dating always been this hard? Orna Guralnik, a psychoanalyst and star of Showtime’s Couples Therapy, says she’s seeing political polarization take a toll on modern-day romance. She sits down with Audie for a session on repairing America’s divided relationships, and steps we can all take to find connection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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