In the Meanwhile
In the Meanwhile
Podcast Description
No hot takes. No empty platitudes. No easy hope. Just real talk about how we hold onto our humanity, build something better—and maybe even laugh along the way.
Bring snacks. Bring questions. We’re figuring this out together.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
Focuses on societal challenges, civic courage, and personal growth, with episodes exploring topics such as the aftermath of the pandemic, immigration enforcement, and collective endurance in a divided society. Examples include profound discussions on civic bravery in the face of ICE raids and the psychological impacts of 2020 on families and communities.

No hot takes. No empty platitudes. No easy hope. Just real talk about how we hold onto our humanity, build something better—and maybe even laugh along the way.
Bring snacks. Bring questions. We’re figuring this out together.
America is lonely, angry, unequal, and increasingly wondering whether democracy is still working or just buffering indefinitely.
This week on In The Meanwhile, Nora and Marcus sit down with U.S. Senator Chris Murphy to discuss his new book, Crisis of the Common Good, and his argument that beneath our political dysfunction is something even harder to filibuster away: a crisis of belonging, meaning, and human connection. We get into loneliness, capitalism, higher education, AI, faith, family, political tribalism, and the apparently radical proposition that billionaires maybe shouldn’t get to purchase democracy wholesale. It’s a conversation about what politics can fix, what it can’t, and whether we can build a new social contract before the old one completely rage-quits.
Mentioned in the episode:
Crisis of the Common Good | Orcas at the Ballard Locks! | Trump’s School Sports Day | LES Tenement Museum
Related Episodes:
Gina Baskin | Julie-C | Dean Spade
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Read Nora and Marcus’s Books:
Crowded Out: The True Costs of Crowdfunding Healthcare | Readying to Rise
Music: No Tears for a Wolf · Ahamefule J. Oluo · Okanomodé. Used with permission.
Logo by Nikki Barron.
Transcripts are machine-generated and imperfect.
Nora and Marcus’s work on the podcast is separate from their professional roles and does not represent the views of their employers.
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