Plain English with Derek Thompson
The RingerLongtime Atlantic tech, culture and political writer Derek Thompson cuts through all the noise surrounding the big questions and headlines that matter to you in his new podcast Plain English. Watch Derek and guests engage the news with clear viewpoints and memorable takeaways. New episodes drop every Tuesday and Friday, and if you've got a topic you want discussed, shoot us an email at plainenglis... more
| Publishes | Daily | Episodes | 415 | Founded | 5 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | News CommentaryNews | |||
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Latest Episodes
No matter how you look at it, Netflix is having a pretty bad year. Stock is down, growth has slowed, the company recently laid off roughly 1,000 people, and it dismissed its chief content officer and its head of film. After a decade of explosive grow... more
What exactly is effective altruism? Beginning in the early 2010s as a nerdy way to rethink the most cost-effective charity, the movement has since grown into a broader philosophy for thinking about just about everything in our lives, from the careers... more
The answer to whether AI is a bubble comes down to supply and demand. Is there enough demand to justify the enormous investment in chips and data centers? If businesses keep paying more for AI every year, the debt is manageable and the buildout will ... more
AI can analyze anything, write anything, solve almost any puzzle. But struggle strengthens our brains and sharpens our minds ... and removing it entirely may come with a dire cost.
Derek Thompson explores the paradoxes of AI with Ethan Mollick, whos... more
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Reviews
- Glass half empty
Gosh, this is an upbeat podcast.
Apple Podcasts3batwood14
United States21 days ago - Above the fray is overrated.
No doubt like many listeners of this podcast, I keep up with AI developments and the likes of Sam Altman, Dario Amodei and Demis Hassabis. But enough already. It’s a shame really: The host is so talented but he appears to waste his talents on various subject matter a bit narrow in scope. Why be so esoteric when there are so many current abuses committed against this country to choose from for material? My advice to Derek would be to stop nibbling around the edges of academia and do deep and hone... more
Apple Podcasts3Elisabeth-AnnUnited States21 days ago - Don’t!
Do NOT pander to PedOTUS Trump and call it superintelligence! Geez!
Apple Podcasts1DoctorDaveCUnited States24 days ago - Love the pod just feedback
For the episode on using AI at universities - defence of dissertation absolutely disadvantages those who have challenges with oral expression but may be brilliant writers. As a psychologist this is not uncommon.
Apple Podcasts1MattandJ
Australia2 months ago - good but…
this is normally a very enjoyable and informative podcast, but it fell far short with the most recent episode featuring Liaquat Ahamed for several reasons, the most jarring of which was when he referred to the winners of the 1870-71 war with France as Germany, when in fact, Germany did not exist at that time. The conflict in question war was fought between France and Prussia. He also referred to the reparations exacted by Germany as starting in 1870 when the war did not finish for another year. ... more
Apple Podcasts4lairdofoceanparkUnited States2 months ago
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Chart Rankings
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Spotify | #32 | United States/News |
Apple Podcasts | #16 | United States/News/News Commentary |
Apple Podcasts | #100 | United States/News |
Apple Podcasts | #16 |  Canada/News/News Commentary |
Apple Podcasts | #35 |  United Kingdom/News/News Commentary |
Apple Podcasts | #152 | Canada/News |
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Frequently Asked Questions About Plain English
What is Plain English about and what kind of topics does it cover?
Thoughtful, data-driven conversations across politics, technology, culture, and history drive current events with nuance. Episodes frequently feature researchers, academics, policy experts, and journalists who unpack complex topics—ranging from cannabis policy and literacy trends to AI, drones, foreign policy, and aging—with clear takeaways and practical implications for readers, listeners, and decision-makers. The show stands out for its rigorous guest selection, ability to connect deep scholarship with timely public discourse, and a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom while staying accessible to a broad audience.
Where can I find podcast stats for Plain English?
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Plain English. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Plain English and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
How many listeners does Plain English get?
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Plain English, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
What are the audience demographics for Plain English?
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Plain English, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
How many subscribers and views does Plain English have?
To see how many followers or subscribers Plain English has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
Which podcasts are similar to Plain English?
These podcasts share a similar audience with Plain English:
1. The Bill Simmons Podcast
2. The Ezra Klein Show
3. The Press Box
4. The Watch
5. The Zach Lowe Show
How many episodes of Plain English are there?
Plain English launched 5 years ago and published 415 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
How do I contact Plain English?
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Where can I see ratings and reviews for Plain English?
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Plain English from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Plain English?
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Plain English. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
What guests have appeared on Plain English?
Recent guests on Plain English include:
1. Ara Kharazian
2. Ethan Mollick
3. Josh Harder
4. Adam Grant
5. Ashish Jha
6. Kevin Roose
7. Nate Silver
8. Chuck Klosterman
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.