Byline with Ben Dennis: The Forces Behind the Headlines

Ben Dennis
  • 5.0 (8)
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  • Weekly

Candid conversations about what power leaves unsaid—and the questions shaping what happens next. Byline with Ben Dennis is a weekly interview series that goes beyond the headlines to examine how consequential decisions are made and who influences them. Journalist Ben Dennis brings together experts, policymakers and people with firsthand experience for thoughtful conversations about politics, media, technology, law, national security and the forces reshaping public life. Each episode cuts through the noise to explain why the story matters—and what it could mean for everyday people.

  1. Oct 27

    The One Thing That Predicts Whether You Survive a Disaster

    The strongest predictor of whether a community survives a disaster isn't money, infrastructure, or government aid. It's whether the people there know each other. That's the argument at the center of Daniel Aldrich's research. A professor at Northeastern University and author of Beyond Common Ground | How Everyday Places Solve Big Social Challenges. Aldrich is himself a Hurricane Katrina survivor, and he has studied communities recovering from earthquakes in Japan, tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, and hurricanes on the Gulf Coast. In this episode, Aldrich discusses the role of social capital in disaster recovery, including the distinction between bonding ties — connections within a group — and bridging ties — connections across groups — and why his research finds both matter. He also discusses "zero responders," neighbors who act before emergency services arrive; the spread of misinformation after Hurricane Helene in Asheville, where armed residents turned FEMA teams away; and his view that political division in the United States is comparable to levels around the Civil War. The episode closes with practical steps for building connections in your own neighborhood.

  2. Oct 13

    Why ChatGPT Tells You What You Want to Hear—and When Its Maker Could Be Sued

    What happens when a chatbot tells you exactly what you want to hear—and the conversation leads to harm? Jess Miers, who previously worked in trust and safety at Google, joins Ben Dennis to explore how AI keeps people engaged and the legal fight over who should be held responsible when things go wrong. Miers explains why she believes chatbot validation deserves closer scrutiny, how courts’ treatment of AI could shape company liability, and where free speech enters the debate. She also questions what Silicon Valley leaders actually mean when they call for a slowdown—and whether regulations intended to protect the public could help the biggest companies maintain their advantage. Byline with Ben Dennis explores “The Forces Behind the Headlines”—and what they mean for your life.

  3. Oct 7

    Russia’s Plague Scare: What Should We Actually Worry About?

    A laboratory worker’s death in Russia has fueled alarming reports about plague. What do we actually know—and what should Americans be more concerned about? Gigi Gronvall, PhD, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, joins Ben Dennis to separate the unanswered questions from the speculation. She explains how pneumonic plague spreads, why she sees little immediate risk to Americans from the Russian case, and what information would help clarify what happened. Then the conversation turns closer to home: bird flu, measles, vaccine development and whether the United States has carried the lessons of COVID-19 into its preparations for the next outbreak. Gronvall also discusses where AI could accelerate scientific discovery—and why she argues technology and private investment cannot replace publicly funded research. Recorded Oct. 6, 2026, as information about the Russian case continued to develop. Byline with Ben Dennis: The Forces Behind the Headlines.

  4. Sep 29

    Can the U.S. Win the Iran War Without Boots on the Ground?

    Can the United States win the war with Iran without putting American troops on the ground? Retired Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland joins Ben Dennis to examine what a successful U.S. strategy would actually require — and whether Washington has clearly defined what victory looks like. MacFarland, who commanded the coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria, discusses the limits of air power, pressure on U.S. weapons stockpiles, the changing role of drones and AI in warfare, the threat from ISIS and Iranian-backed groups, and what lessons the United States should — and should not — take from Ukraine. The conversation also turns to China and Taiwan, the balance between military tactics and political strategy, and the larger question hanging over the conflict: if the United States does not intend to fight a ground war, how does this war end?

  5. Sep 15

    Should We Panic About AI? A Former Facebook Insider Weighs In

    AI leaders are openly warning about what could go wrong as increasingly powerful models are developed and deployed. So how worried should the rest of us actually be? Katie Harbath says: “panic responsibly.” Harbath spent a decade at Facebook working at the intersection of technology, elections and democracy. She is now CEO of Anchor Change and the author of the forthcoming book Disrupting Politics: A Front Row Seat to the Collision of Technology & Democracy. In this episode of Byline with Ben Dennis, we start with the new warnings surrounding AI safety and ask what happens when technology advances faster than government can respond. Katie and Ben discuss why AI companies are talking more openly about safety, whether greater transparency should reassure or alarm the public, why Congress has struggled to regulate technology, what power the White House and states actually have, and whether the enormous infrastructure demands of AI could themselves slow its expansion. Then we look backward to understand what could come next: what Katie learned inside Facebook after the 2016 election, why she believes the industry underestimated the consequences of social media, and what those failures can teach us about governing AI before another crisis forces the issue. They also examine a larger question running through both eras: How much power should unelected technology executives have over systems increasingly woven into politics, information and everyday life? Disrupting Politics is scheduled for release October 6. Subscribe to Byline with Ben Dennis for conversations about the forces behind the headlines—and what happens next.

  6. Sep 8

    Food Recalls: Can You Trust What’s in Your Fridge?

    After losing his 16-month-old son, Riley, during the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak, Dr. Darin Detwiler devoted his career to food safety. He explains what today’s recalls reveal about our food supply, how convenience can increase risk, what consumers can do—and why preventing the next outbreak cannot rest on shoppers alone. And, as always, I have questions of my own.

  7. Sep 1

    Trump Is Expanding Presidential Power. What Happens When a Democrat Inherits It?

    President Trump is testing how far executive power can reach. But could the precedents he establishes outlast his presidency? Bowdoin College professor Andrew Rudalevige explains what a future Democratic president could do with that authority, why Congress has struggled to serve as a check and whether the founders’ system can still restrain the White House. His proposed solution begins not with the president, but with changing Congress.

  8. Aug 25

    AI in Schools: Can It Help Students Learn Without Removing the Challenge?

    AI can solve a math problem, rewrite an essay and return an answer in seconds. But can it help students learn without removing the challenge learning requires? In the latest episode of Byline with Ben Dennis, Ben Dennis speaks with Dr. Jonathan Strecker—head of school at Valley School of Ligonier and author of Emergence—about what happens when artificial intelligence enters the classroom. The conversation explores when assistance becomes avoidance, why friction and boredom still matter, and whether parents and teachers can give students the benefits of AI without allowing it to do the thinking for them. “AI in Schools: Can It Help Students Learn Without Removing the Challenge?” Watch the full conversation on YouTube, listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and read the companion essay on Substack.

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About

Candid conversations about what power leaves unsaid—and the questions shaping what happens next. Byline with Ben Dennis is a weekly interview series that goes beyond the headlines to examine how consequential decisions are made and who influences them. Journalist Ben Dennis brings together experts, policymakers and people with firsthand experience for thoughtful conversations about politics, media, technology, law, national security and the forces reshaping public life. Each episode cuts through the noise to explain why the story matters—and what it could mean for everyday people.

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