Season 2

Many of us assume that tech is neutral, and we have turned to tech as a way to root out racism, sexism, or other “isms” plaguing human decision-making. But as data-driven systems become a bigger and bigger part of our lives, we also notice more and more when they fail, and, more importantly, that they don’t fail on everyone equally. Glad You Asked host Joss Fong wants to know: Why do we think tech is neutral? How do algorithms become biased? And how can we fix these algorithms before they cause harm?

Housing policy in the United States has a long history of deepening segregation. Redlining, exclusionary lending, and targeted zoning laws have all played a role in isolating minority populations while simultaneously privileging white residents. Glad You Asked host Lee Adams wants to know how this happened, and what effect residential segregation has on your future.

Education in the United States is supposed to be meritocratic, meaning a student’s achievement is measured solely by their efforts. But how do class and privilege affect opportunity, and does everyone really get the same shot? Glad You Asked host Fabiola Cineas explores how the myth of meritocracy perpetuates racism while keeping the American dream achievable only for a privileged few.

After the events of 2020, we are no strangers to stress and anxiety. But for Black and brown Americans, that stress was nothing new. Racial health gaps have always existed, and socioeconomics and racism within the medical system have long kept equal healthcare out of reach. But what kind of toll does the experience of racism itself have on your body? Glad You Asked host Christophe Haubursin wants to know.

Glad You Asked host Cleo Abram is pretty sure she wants kids, but doesn’t feel like she has enough information to truly understand the impact of that decision. She’s not alone - even though the majority of American women do decide to have children, the number of births in the United States has been creeping downward, and women are having kids later and later in life. But while no one but you can answer if you want to have kids, join Cleo as she gathers more data and perspective on what it means to be a parent.

Most of us aren’t getting enough sleep. But whether you struggle to fall and stay asleep or because you decide sleep is the first thing you can cut out to make time for other things, we all underestimate the power of a good night’s rest. Glad You Asked host Christophe Haubursin wants to know why we aren’t sleeping well, what impact too little sleep has on your body and how we can get enough shuteye.

Close your eyes and open your ears. What do you hear? Do the sounds you hear bother you? And, more importantly, do you have control over those sounds? As more and more the population migrates to urban environments - the urban population of the world has quadrupled since 1960. In fact, unwanted noise has become an increasingly critical problem. Join Glad You Asked host Joss Fong as she explores how noise pollution is becoming an ever greater concern for our health, how the negative effects of noise are unequally distributed, and how we can learn to find peace.

Are you seeing a therapist? If not, why? Is it because you think it’s ineffective? Is it too expensive? Or is it because the very idea of mental wellness has been stigmatized? After the events of 2020, more and more of us reported feeling depressed or anxious, but plenty of people still find therapy to be out of reach. Glad You Asked host Fabiola Cineas explores why we don’t prioritize our mental health and how you can seek out the mental health care that’s right for you.

Race is not genetic. It’s a concept most of us are familiar with, and yet, we haven’t really questioned why race plays a crucial role in medicine and scientific research. It’s one of the first things your doctor asks when filling out your charts, it can determine what your insurance will cover, and we paid special attention to how Covid-19 spread in BIPOC communities. But more and more, doctors are beginning to question whether a patient’s race should be considered when providing care, and if it’s eliminated from the equation, what should be included instead. Glad You Asked host Lee Adams wants to know: What role should race play in medicine?