646. An Air Traffic Controller Walks Into a R...

It’s a hard time to run a university: public trust is low, political pressure is high, and finances are fragile. But Daniel Diermeier, who trained as a political scientist, has Vanderbilt humming. How? He says the key is choosing magnets over wedges. SOURCES: Daniel Diermeier, ch ...  Show more

Insurance forms that make no sense. Subscriptions that can’t be cancelled. A never-ending blizzard of automated notifications. In this update of a 2025 episode, Stephen Dubner discovers where all this sludge comes from — and how much it’s costing us. SOURCES: Benjamin Handel, pro ...  Show more

A longtime educator discusses getting an aviation education. In the news, companies partner to address corporate aviation safety and security, an A321 engine shutdown after a birdstrike, a proposal to remove ATC from the FAA, and when pigs fly. Also, notable flybys, AI flight con ...  Show more

We speak with a KC-135 pilot and licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic who runs a business specializing in aircraft maintenance, avionics upgrades, and aircraft management. In the news, budget cuts at NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Office, a ruling in the so-called “ ...  Show more

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to controllers from the UAE and Sweden about guiding aeroplane take-offs and landings and dealing with the extreme stress of the job.Helena Sjöström Falk is the first woman president of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associati ...  Show more

A look at aviation ground operations technology, recent fatal aviation accidents, fire aboard an A321, the successful XB-1 supersonic flight, the sentencing of a drone operator, and the threatened readiness of the US Air Force. Guest Loren Mathis is the Chief Strategy Officer of ...  Show more