Episodes

  • What Nuclear War Would Actually Look Like with Annie Jacobsen
    Jan 28 2026

    For decades, the threat of total nuclear annihilation cast a long shadow on everyday life. Nowadays, it almost seems like an old-fashioned kind of fear. Unfortunately, the possibility of human civilization ending at the touch of a button is more real than we think. Journalist Annie Jacobsen’s book NUCLEAR WAR: A Scenario outlines an excruciating and fascinating play-by-play of how the world as we know it could go up in smoke. Find Annie's book at factuallypod.com/books

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    About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.

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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • Susan Orlean Shares the Secrets of a Lifetime of Reporting
    Jan 21 2026

    Susan Orlean is one of the greatest living nonfiction writers. She has an uncanny ability to find stories in mundane, unexpected places, and approach them with such a level of authentic fascination that the reader can’t help but become fascinated too. This week, Adam sits with Susan to talk not just about her work, but the very idea of what a storyteller is. Find Susan’s new memoir, Joyride, at factuallypod.com/books

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    » Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577

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    About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.

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    1 hr and 33 mins
  • You Are Being Robbed of Your Attention with D. Graham Burnett and Peter Schmidt
    Jan 14 2026

    Would you rather that your attention were a resource freely directed toward your interests, or a measure of how many ads can be propelled into your eyeballs in a single session? Our attention has been commodified, and an entire industry is trying to wring out every possible instance of it. D. Graham Burnett, a professor of history at Princeton, and experiential organizer Peter Schmidt are two of the spokespeople of ATTENSITY!: A Manifesto of the Attention Liberation Movement. This week, Adam sits with Graham and Peter to talk about attention, and how to take it back. Find the Friends of Attention's book at factuallypod.com/books

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    SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconover

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    SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:

    » Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577

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    About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.

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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption with David Sirota
    Jan 7 2026

    It kind of seems like political corruption should be illegal, doesn’t it? Whether it’s happening on the right or the left, the whole filthy ordeal has made our government more dysfunctional for everyone. How did we get to this place where corruption isn’t just allowed but expected? This week, Adam talks with investigative journalist David Sirota about his new book, based on his podcast, MASTER PLAN: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America. Find David's book at factuallypod.com/books

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    » Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577

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    About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.

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    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • An AI Expert Challenges an AI Skeptic, with Ethan Mollick
    Dec 31 2025

    Even if the AI bubble bursts, the technology won’t just disappear. We’re going to live alongside some version of AI, so we have to ask: what does our future with AI look like? This week, Adam invites Ethan Mollick, AI expert and professor at Wharton School of Business, to challenge his skeptical view on AI and look at how it might impact our daily lives. Find Ethan's book at factuallypod.com/books

    --

    SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconover

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    SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:

    » Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577

    » Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fK8WJw4ffMc2NWydBlDyJ

    About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.

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    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • An AI Safety Expert Explains the Dangers of AI with Steven Adler
    Dec 24 2025

    Why should we assume that AI is safe? As the technology has grown at an alarming rate, companies like OpenAI have seen wrongful death lawsuits begin to stack up as their product drives users to suicide. With the mental health risks, the societal risks, and the unknown risks, we have to ask, can AI ever really be safe? This week, Adam speaks with Steven Adler, an A.I. researcher who led product safety at OpenAI, about the dangers of AI and our best prospects for living alongside this technology.


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    SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:

    » Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577

    » Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fK8WJw4ffMc2NWydBlDyJ

    About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.

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    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    1 hr and 35 mins
  • Exploring the Depths of Wikipedia with Annie Rauwerda
    Dec 17 2025

    While it feels like the very concept of an accepted collective reality has crumbled around us, Wikipedia has gradually revealed itself to be our accepted arbiter of truth. How did this social project, built on the backs of countless volunteers, come to be the one site on the internet that we all pretty much agree to be “true”? Or mostly true, at least. Annie Rauwerda is a Wikipedia editor known for her incredible social media account Depths of Wikipedia. Today, she joins Adam to give an insider view on how the Wikipedia community tries to navigate our insane modern moment.

    SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconover

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    SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:

    » Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577

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    About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.

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    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • Plastic Pollution is Killing Us with Judith Enck
    Dec 10 2025

    Plastic is everywhere. Over the past century, we’ve stuffed our landfills, lined the bottom of the ocean floor, and even managed to get microscopic particles floating through our blood and bodies. Topping things off, the industry is only growing. Plastics simply do not go away, and neither will this problem unless we do something about it. This week, Adam talks about ending plastic pollution with Judith Enck, a former EPA official under President Obama, and the author of the new book The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late. Find Judith's book at factuallypod.com/books

    --

    SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconover

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    SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:

    » Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577

    » Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fK8WJw4ffMc2NWydBlDyJ

    About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.

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    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    1 hr and 5 mins