The Pattern Problem

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Content Warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual abuse.

A panel of judges sits to decide the fate of the young woman. She's the child of addicts and an ex-addict and ex-felon herself, and she's asking the court to trust her to become an attorney. The outcome of her case hinges on a question we all struggle with: are we destined to repeat our patterns, or do we generally stray in surprising directions? - a question increasingly relevant in an age when algorithms are trying to predict everything about our behavior.

Special thanks to the following musicians:

Rick Klaras for his song "Rain"

Aimee Mann for her song "Stuck in the Past"

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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