The next time you go for a job interview, you might want to ditch the Che Guevara shirt or the MAGA hat — because what you reveal about your political leanings could determine if you land the gig. Our guest this episode is Jill Ellingson, the Dana Anderson Professor of Management at the University of Kansas School of Business.

Molecular biologist and coronavirus researcher Anthony Fehr discuss the rollout of the new vaccines and what’s understood about COVID transmission at this point. He also says the coronavirus variant that’s prevalent in the U.S. might be more easily spread, accounting for at least some of our higher rates of infection and death than seen in other countries.

Could the social and economic pressures faced by essential workers during the current pandemic be similar to those faced by women in the porn industry? Guest Akiko Takeyama, author and associate professor of women, gender and sexuality studies, says in both the pandemic and porn, economic and structural issues make it hard for workers to say no.

Thomas Frank, author of “What’s the Matter with Kansas” and more recently “The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism,” explains that populism — a term invented in Kansas — has been commandeered by political opportunists in the U.S. and Europe.

Margaret Kelley is interested in firearms, and why people own them. In this episode, the University of Kansas researcher tells our own Jon Niccum it’s not just the fear of violence or belief in constitutional rights that provide Americans with reasons to own guns. Concerns about Armageddon and “supernatural evil” also enter into people’s decision-making. Kelley’s research is part of a larger book project about “normal people using normal guns,” specifically focusing on the average woman gun owner in middle America.