Best Placement Theory Podcasts (2025)

A KCRW listener weighed in with some criticism on Substack. Brian (our host) got involved. Some advice for journalists ensued. It ended up inspiring an entire segment on KCRW’s show Left, Right & Center, which we’re sharing with you here. This is the kind of action that’s happening over on our new Substack – which you should subscribe to! If you do…

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The New Dentist–Lab Playbook: Faster Full-Arch, On-Demand Design, Trial Smiles (w/ BJ Kowalski) 37:35

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27d ago37:35

37:35

The dental lab–dentist relationship has transformed dramatically over the past 25 years—and it’s evolving faster than ever. From the rise of digital workflows to the pressure of pricing and competition, today’s labs aren’t just making products, they’re providing services, designs, and collaborative support that shape the future of dentistry. In thi…

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Case Acceptance Starts Before the Patient Arrives 34:48

1M ago34:48

34:48

Do you ever wonder why some dental practices struggle with case acceptance—even when the clinical work is top-notch? Often, the real issue starts long before the patient ever sits in the chair. The truth is, your front office team may be unintentionally sabotaging big cases without even knowing it. From missed opportunities on the phone to using th…

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How Personality Types Transform Dental Teams: What Every Dental Leader Needs to Know 1:01:02

1M ago1:01:02

1:01:02

Do you find yourself running a dental practice with great clinical skills—but constant team conflict is draining your energy? Are you frustrated when staff nod in meetings, only for nothing to change later? Do you wish people just got it and kept up with your fast pace? In this episode, we’re getting real about the emotional dynamics inside dental …

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The Four Revenue Killers Keeping Your Dental Practice Below $100K/Month 30:43

2M ago30:43

30:43

Do you ever feel like your dental practice is running at full capacity, but your bank account tells a different story? You're not alone—and more importantly, you’re not stuck. Many dentists fall into a cycle of high-effort, low-return, feeling like they’re working harder than ever but still struggling financially. In this powerful episode of the De…

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Why Your Patients Aren’t Saying Yes — And What to Do About It 23:52

2M ago23:52

23:52

Do you keep hearing “I’ll think about it” from patients—and wonder what went wrong? The truth is, when patients stall, it’s not them. It’s you. This episode breaks down why treatment acceptance often stalls, what “I’ll think about it” really means, and the systems you need to replace polite rejections with confident yeses. Join us as we expose the …

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Brian Can't Stop Fact-checking His Mother-In-Law (from “Proxy with Yowei Shaw”) 53:40

2M ago53:40

53:40

After her NPR show was canceled some years back, producer and host Yowei Shaw gave herself a new title: “Emotional Investigative Journalist.” She started a podcast called Proxy, where she helps people who are facing unique emotional or personal obstacles by connecting them with a proxy who’s uniquely positioned to help them. Our host, Brian, recent…

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Create a Practice Language Playbook That Converts Patients with Confidence 11:57

2M ago11:57

11:57

Have you ever walked past your front desk and thought, "That's not how I would have said that to a patient"? Yeah, me too. I used to get frustrated, but then I realized something important—it's not their fault. It's ours as leaders. If our team doesn’t speak with the same confidence and clarity we do, it’s because we haven’t taught them how. In thi…

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The Future of Dentistry: DSOs, Hygiene Light, and How to Pivot with Dr. Alan Mead 1:02:48

3M ago1:02:48

1:02:48

Do you feel like the world of dentistry is shifting faster than you can keep up? Are the rising wages, dwindling hygiene staff, and growing influence of DSOs leaving you wondering what’s next for private practice? In this episode, I sat down with my longtime friend and podcasting pioneer Dr. Alan Mead to unpack a critical and controversial topic th…

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The 3 Shifts That Changed My Dental Practice - From Burnout to Breakthrough 13:36

3M ago13:36

13:36

Do you feel like the dental industry keeps getting more complicated, with more tech, more demands, and more chaos? You’re not alone—and this week’s episode delivers a refreshing return to simplicity, clarity, and strategy. After a six-month podcast hiatus, I’m back with a powerful solo episode unpacking the three key shifts that transformed his pra…

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Badass Local Journalists on How to Fight Corruption 55:24

3M ago55:24

55:24

Local reporters from around the country tell stories of using the experiences of their neighbors to confront people in power. Featuring: Anna Wolfe with Mississippi Today Lisa Halverstadt with Voice of San Diego Alissa Zhu with The Baltimore Banner Tony Plohetski with The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE Austin Lisa is a part of the Homelessness …

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Who’s Behind the Raids? A Mystery in Marion (Part Two) 41:03

3M ago41:03

41:03

A TV reporter from Kansas City hears about the brazen newspaper raids over in Marion. Her interest is piqued by the fact that the police chief who oversaw the raids had recently left Kansas City PD. So she heads to Marion to see what she can find out. And what she finds…is basically a Bravo reality series, small-town prairie style. Part One of this…

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Who's Behind the Raids? A Mystery in Marion (Part One) 29:14

4M ago29:14

29:14

On a Friday morning in rural Kansas, the publisher of a tiny local newspaper hears a knock at the door. It’s the police—with a search warrant. Within minutes, they’re inside his home, seizing his electronics. At the same time, officers are raiding his newsroom, confiscating computers and phones. No subpoena. No warning. And, according to legal expe…

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The Fight for Your Attention with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes 1:14:22

4M ago1:14:22

1:14:22

MSNBC host Chris Hayes discusses his book The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource, and reckons with his own culpability in the corruption and commercialization of our attention. Thanks to “Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso” for sharing this interview with us. “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement T…

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The Hunt for a Journalist’s Killer 36:21

4M ago36:21

36:21

A group of reporters recently uncovered a closely held secret: the identity of the Israeli soldier who shot and killed renowned veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022. This is the story of how they figured it out. Sign up for our newsletter: www.kcrw.com/questioneverything You can watch the documentary "Who Killed Shireen?" on Zeteo. “Questio…

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From the Fringe Web to Real Life: How Seriously Should We Be Taking Conspiracy Theories? 27:36

5M ago27:36

27:36

Back in December, we did an episode about Pyrra, an AI-powered software that tracks sifts through the far corners of the internet – in some places you probably haven’t even heard of – to see what narratives are emerging from the people who post there. A lot of these are conspiracy theories, and also violent threats. This week, we check back in with…

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Rümeysa Öztürk is Locked Up for an Op-ed: An Urgent Summit with the Student Newspaper that Published It 1:18:34

5M ago1:18:34

1:18:34

Where better to huddle up and discuss what to do about Rümeysa Öztürk and the chilling effect that is happening in journalism than on campus at Tufts University with the student journalists at The Tufts Daily? This week Brian and Question Everything co-host a live event with the editor-in-chief and associate editor from The Tufts Daily – Arghya Tha…

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Pounding Beers in a Shed, and Other Dispatches from the War on Free Speech 26:49

5M ago26:49

26:49

Last episode we discussed the campaign to overturn the Supreme Court decision that protects reporters’ ability to criticize and investigate people in power. But even with that decision still in place, reporter David Enrich has discovered a shocking wave of legal attacks that is being waged on journalists in towns and cities across the country. Thes…

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Freedom of the press is great, until you're the target 40:26

5M ago40:26

40:26

For decades, a Supreme Court decision called New York Times vs Sullivan was widely beloved by people across the political spectrum. Hailed as a decision that gives the first amendment teeth and sets our country apart, as a place that prizes free speech. But recently, right under our noses, some of the same people who once sang Times v Sullivan's pr…

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The masterpiece Prince documentary Netflix won’t let you see. 48:42

5M ago48:42

48:42

The best documentary filmmaker in America spent nearly five years of his life making a nine-hour masterpiece for Netflix. It will never see the light of day. After a nasty estate battle, the series won't be released. No one will ever see it. In his first sit-down interview about this scandal, the filmmaker Ezra Edelman seeks catharsis – if not clos…

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He quit journalism to fight authoritarianism. How’s that going? 24:39

6M ago24:39

24:39

Last year, we did an episode with Barton Gellman, who talked about the war games he was running with high-level military leaders and government officials to prepare for a second Trump term. A bunch of you have been asking us to have Barton back, to find out what he’s doing, now that the second Trump term is here. So we called him up. Barton works a…

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A Rant or a Slant: When Should Reporters Speak From the Heart? 40:15

6M ago40:15

40:15

It’s easy to get frustrated with the charade reporters are supposed to keep up, where they pretend they don’t have opinions or feelings or any kind of human thoughts about a story they’re telling. Plenty of journalists have been trying to break out of that charade. But the decision to do that: it can be a fraught one, with real implications. Dana B…

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Do you want to be on Question Everything? 1:35

6M ago1:35

1:35

Do you have questions for us? If so, we want to talk to you! If you have thoughts about Question Everything, critiques of our episodes, or anything you're curious about, that we're covering, or not covering…please tell us. We want to set up some conversations between listeners and Brian and our staff for an upcoming episode. Write to us at hey@plac…

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A Teen, a Reporter, and a Grand Jury Leak (Over BBQ) 33:34

6M ago33:34

33:34

Journalists jailed for an article they published. In America. How did this happen? Brian tells the story of a reporting trip he took to Alabama, where two small-town journalists had been locked up, which led to one of the most honest - and surprising - conversations about journalism he’s had in a long time. Sign up for our newsletter to see some st…

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The News is Coming from Under the Desk… on TikTok (live from On Air Fest) 51:18

7M ago51:18

51:18

As trust in traditional journalism plummets, social media content creator V Spehar of Under the Desk News is ascendant, with over 3.4 million TikTok followers. But recently, V found themself in a public dustup with NPR over, in part, how the outlet had classified V in an interview. In this special episode of Question Everything–largely recorded liv…

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Not Like Us: How Billionaires Think 39:04

7M ago39:04

39:04

As billionaires hoard more control over our politics, it seems more important than ever to ask: What makes them tick? Four reporters gather after hours at a wine shop to discuss – over drinks – what they’ve learned from covering billionaires for years, and how it can help us hoi polloi make sense of what the ultra-rich are doing right now. Featurin…

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And The Award Goes To...The Circuit Court of The Nineteenth Judicial Circuit In and For Okeechobee County, Florida 36:46

7M ago36:46

36:46

Ben Smith tells the story of the strange controversy over a journalism award that’s been going down in a Florida courthouse. Ben is Editor-in-Chief of Semafor and co-host of the Mixed Signals podcast. He used to be The New York Times media columnist and was founding editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News. Sign up for our newsletter to read the lengthy li…

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A reporter? A spy? Or something else? Israel arrests its first American journalist. 57:22

8M ago57:22

57:22

Locked up, alone, accused of being a spy, reporter Jeremy Loffredo has to defend the fact that he’s a journalist. To the Israeli courts. And then…to our reporter. Part two of our special series about Jeremy Loffredo, who in October became the first American journalist arrested by Israel. If you haven't listened to part one, check that out first in …

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Blindfolded And Arrested On Assignment In Israel 57:05

8M ago57:05

57:05

Just a few months ago, Israel did something it has never done before. It arrested an American journalist. His name is Jeremy Loffredo. This is his story. Part one of a special, two-part series. “Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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How Modern Dentists Can Thrive in a Changing Industry with Simplify Dentistry Podcast 46:01

9M ago46:01

46:01

In this episode of Dentistry Made Simple, T-Bone is joined by a guest from the Simplify Dentistry podcast for a heartfelt and eye-opening conversation about the evolution of modern dentistry. Together, they dive into how the industry has shifted from mom-and-pop practices to thriving businesses, and what that means for dentists today. They share re…

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When Hollywood Tells The Truth: with Tom McCarthy, Antonio Campos, Tina Satter, and Tobias Lindholm. 48:49

9M ago48:49

48:49

Four Hollywood directors gather after hours at a wine shop to drink and commiserate about the perils – and power – that come when you’re straddling fact and fiction. With behind the scenes stories about documentary romance, regret, and pirates. Featuring Tom McCarthy, who won an Oscar for Spotlight; Antonio Campos, creator of The Staircase for HBO;…