Apple News In Conversation

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Apple News In Conversation with Shumita Basu brings you interviews with some of the world’s best journalists and experts about the stories that impact our lives. Join us every week as we go behind the headlines.

  1. The best music, movies, and TV of 2025

    5D AGO

    The best music, movies, and TV of 2025

    The end of the year is a moment to reflect on the art and culture that stood out. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu sat down with two culture critics — Sam Sanders, the host of The Sam Sanders Show on KCRW, and Anne Helen Petersen, creator of the podcast and newsletter Culture Study — to break down their top releases. They talk about the music, film, and TV they loved most in 2025. Plus, our listeners share their own picks for this year’s can’t-miss shows and albums.

    32 min
  2. How RFK Jr.’s tumultuous past has shaped his convictions

    DEC 11

    How RFK Jr.’s tumultuous past has shaped his convictions

    Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of the most influential — and controversial — figures in American public health. And some of the changes he’s pushing, especially around vaccines, have drawn sharp criticism and resistance from many scientific experts. In a recent Atlantic profile, staff writer Michael Scherer examined how Kennedy’s background, including immense privilege and trauma, has shaped the perspective he now brings to his role at HHS. Scherer interviewed and traveled with Kennedy to report his piece. He sat down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to discuss Kennedy’s worldview and what it could mean for federal public-health policy.

    31 min
  3. ‘The Rest Is History’ hosts on their top moments from America’s past

    DEC 4

    ‘The Rest Is History’ hosts on their top moments from America’s past

    At a time when interest in history is surging, millions of listeners are tuning in to hear historians Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland dive into the past on their hit podcast The Rest Is History. Known for sharp banter, vivid details, and engaging narratives, the show has become the world’s most popular history podcast and was named Apple Podcasts’s Podcast of the Year. Sandbrook and Holland join Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to reflect on their favorite moments in American history — from Abraham Lincoln’s presidency to the upheavals of 1968.

    32 min
  4. Rebroadcast: Should you cut ties with a family member? A therapist offers advice.

    NOV 27

    Rebroadcast: Should you cut ties with a family member? A therapist offers advice.

    This is an episode from our archives. Even before the divisive presidential election, family estrangement was on the rise. Now, as holiday gatherings approach, many people are grappling with difficult family dynamics. Psychologist Joshua Coleman, the author of Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties & How to Heal the Conflict, talks to Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how to navigate strained relationships and what steps you can take to bridge divides.

    30 min
  5. Samin Nosrat doesn’t love Thanksgiving food. Here’s what she says will improve it.

    NOV 20

    Samin Nosrat doesn’t love Thanksgiving food. Here’s what she says will improve it.

    With the release of her James Beard Award–winning cookbook, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, Samin Nosrat catapulted to international fame. But amid big life changes and loss in the years that followed, she struggled to redefine her connection to cooking. With her second book, Good Things, Nosrat is back with a fresh approach to preparing food — one that’s centered on spending precious time with loved ones. She sat down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about what makes a good recipe, her weekly dinner-party group, and how to alleviate the stress of cooking a high-stakes holiday meal.

    30 min
  6. She documents war’s darkest truths — then returns home to her family

    NOV 13

    She documents war’s darkest truths — then returns home to her family

    Pulitzer Prize–winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario has spent the past two decades on the front lines of many of the world’s defining conflicts and humanitarian crises — from Iraq and Afghanistan to the Arab Spring, the Libyan civil war, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A new documentary from National Geographic, Love+War, explores not only her extraordinary career in conflict zones but also her life at home in London with her husband and their two young sons. Addario sat down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about her high-risk work, motherhood, and what the film reveals about the complexity of both.

    34 min
  7. The hidden dangers of being pregnant in America

    NOV 6

    The hidden dangers of being pregnant in America

    The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income nations — and, according to the CDC, more than 80% of maternal deaths are preventable. In her new book, Unbearable: Five Women and the Perils of Pregnancy in America, journalist Irin Carmon follows families as they navigate fertility struggles, pregnancy, birth, and loss within a health-care system that too often fails them. Carmon sat down with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to talk about how the history of maternal health care in the U.S. continues to shape the lives of pregnant people today.

    25 min
  8. The little-known official quietly driving Trump’s second term

    OCT 30

    The little-known official quietly driving Trump’s second term

    Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, has become one of the most influential figures shaping Trump’s second term. He’s the main driver of efforts to weaken federal agencies and push through sweeping government layoffs. In a recent piece copublished by ProPublica and the New Yorker, reporter Andy Kroll reveals how Vought’s ideas about federal bureaucracy are being put into action. Kroll joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to explain why some in Washington call Vought the “shadow president.”

    35 min
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About

Apple News In Conversation with Shumita Basu brings you interviews with some of the world’s best journalists and experts about the stories that impact our lives. Join us every week as we go behind the headlines.

Information

  • Channel
    Apple News
  • Creator
    Apple News
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    217
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © 2022 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Apple News In Conversation
  • Provider
    Apple

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