today's episode of Possessed, we consider whether stories are supposed to make sense. From childhood on, we're taught that stories have a moral, a lesson to teach, some edifying message. In other words, stories are supposed to make sense. But it wasn't always this way. What are the educational, cultural, spiritual consequences of believing that the stories that inspire our lives should have a single main point? Our guest today is Mary Beth Gorman Craig. Mary Beth is an actor, director, intimacy coordinator, and text dialect coach. She teaches in the Department of Theater and Dance at USC.

Today on Possessed, we talk about our assumption that the natural is better than the artificial. But there's a lot of natural things that are pretty terrible--think cyanide, pain in childbirth, E. Coli--and there's a lot of non-natural things that are pretty wonderful--think glasses, surgery, breastpumps. How do we make sense of our enduring preference for the natural? Our guest is Dr. Heather Staples, a pediatric pulmonologist who serves on the executive committee of the South Carolina chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, teaches at the School of Medicine, and serves on an ethics board at a local hospital.

On today's episode of Possessed, we discuss the pull that specialization continues to have over us in today's world. Our guest is Ella Lukowiak, the producer of Possessed.