Heat waves, AI layoffs, Finnish saunas, and why Americans can't relax

What does heat reveal about culture?

Why your best friend can call you an idiot, why job hunting feels humiliating, HOA politics, honor cultures, and whether the internet deserves to die.

Kitchen gadgets, food allergies, dinner party etiquette, hospitality, beans, and why cooking is really about people.

This week on People Stuff, anthropologists Dan and Michael sink their teeth into the strange and the spooky — from vampire lifestyles and Nazi fanboys to the mysterious Jersey Devil lurking in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. They start with a “What Fresh Hell” segment exploring the surprising backlash against empathy, before diving into three listener questions that veer from the undead to the unhinged: High Stakes: A listener obsessed with vampires wonders — is it normal to want to become one? Dan a

An anthropologist, a game show champion, and an increasingly unhealthy relationship with television investigate why celebrities feel like friends, whether violent media changes us, and what TV is doing to modern human life.

Why do people in Los Angeles spend half their lives in cars? Is the Valley actually part of LA? And what does it mean that one of America's most disaster-prone cities keeps rebuilding itself? Dan, Michael, and guest Saanchi Shah explore the culture, contradictions, and enduring weirdness of Los Angeles.