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Winning November’s presidential election will likely mean turning out a whole host of people who have never voted before. In our new series, First-Timers, we speak with voters from around the country and across the political spectrum to ask them what’s bringing them to the ballot box for the first time.Guest: Dewayne Comer, a formerly incarcerated first-time voter from Syracuse, New York.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A spike in COVID cases this fall led to new restrictions in several parts of New York. Many of these locations were home to Orthodox Jewish communities which were hard hit early on in the pandemic.Feeling singled out by these new rules, Orthodox communities across the city rebelled and began protesting by burning masks and flouting social distancing guidelines. That anger has given rise to a new political figure whose openly squaring off with the mayor, the governor, and the media.Guest: Jacob Kornbluh, national reporter at Jewish Insider.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Ilyse Hogue, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America and the author of The Lie that Binds to discuss the Senate Judiciary Committee’s confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett and what her nomination to the Supreme Court means for reproductive rights. In our Slate Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Professor Pamela Karlan of Stanford Law School to discuss all the other questions that went unanswered at the hearings.Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show.Podcast production by Sara Burningham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Anna Szymanski talk tax evasion at Vista Investment Group, the issues with company performance reviews and auction theory. In the Slate Plus segment: What news is wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night news?Email: [email protected] production by Jessamine Molli.Twitter: @felixsalmon, @Three_Guineas, @EmilyRPeck Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss Barrett’s confirmation hearings; the First Amendment and disinformation; and the latest election machinations.Here are some references from this week’s show:Emily Bazelon for the New York Times: “The Problem of Free Speech in an Age of Disinformation”On Liberty by John Stuart Mill The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill LeporeThe New York Times interactive: “How To Vote”“Better Know A Ballot: Stephen Colbert's State-By-State Guide To Voting In The 2020 Election”Here are this week’s cocktail chatters: Emily: Angela Morris for Texas Lawyer: “Chief Justice's Election Bid Puts Spotlight on Texas' Mandatory Judicial Retirement”; Shtisel John: “Learning in War-Time” by C. S. Lewis; Antonia Cundy for the Financial Times: “What Would a City Designed by Women Look Like?”; McDonald & DoddsDavid: Dan Goodspeed’s data visualization of COVID cases state-by-state by date; Fighting With My Family; Ted Lasso Listener chatter from Kevin O'Donnell @kevinodIRL: Patrick Blanchfield for The New Republic “The Town That Went Feral”Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, and John discuss their voting plans.You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is [email protected]. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years ago, Mark Zuckerberg held up Holocaust denial as an example of the type of speech that would be protected on Facebook. The company wouldn’t take down content simply because it was incorrect. This week, Facebook reversed that stance. Is this decision the first step toward a new way of policing speech on the social network?Guest: Evelyn Douek, Lecturer at Harvard Law School and affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & SocietyHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years ago, Mark Zuckerberg held up Holocaust denial as an example of the type of speech that would be protected on Facebook. The company wouldn’t take down content simply because it was incorrect. This week, Facebook reversed that stance. Is this decision the first step toward a new way of policing speech on the social network?Guest: Evelyn Douek, Lecturer at Harvard Law School and affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & SocietyHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olivia Troye spent nearly two years in Trump’s White House. In that time, she sat in on meetings about natural disasters, border security - and the coronavirus task force.In July, she announced she had resigned. The White House says she was fired. One way or another, she’s speaking out about what she saw, why she stayed, and what ultimately pushed her out the door.Guest: Olivia Troye, former Homeland Security, Counterterrorism, and Coronavirus Task Force advisor to Vice President Mike Pence.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The White House, Senate Republicans and the House Democrats are all on completely separate pages about another coronavirus relief package. With the election just three weeks away, is now the best time to strike a deal? And what would it look like? Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate senior economic and business correspondent.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this summer, Senator Kelly Loeffler leaned into a war of words with the WNBA. She may have underestimated her opponents. Guest: Amira Rose Davis, assistant professor at Penn State and cohost of the Burn It All Down podcast. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Robert Raben, a former senior Hill staffer, former assistant attorney general in Bill Clinton’s Department of Justice, and founder of the Raben Group, for some real talk about next week’s Senate confirmation hearings. Next, Brian Kalt, Michigan State University College of Law professor and author of Unable: The Law, Politics, and Limits of Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, joins Dahlia to clarify what’s really on the table as Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Jamie Raskin introduce a bill that would form a commission to rule on the president’s fitness for office. In our Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern on what you may have missed from the the start of the Supreme Court’s new term, the signal to LGBTQ people from Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito this week, and the worrying federal court decision about voting in Wisconsin. Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Yuen Yuen Ang joins Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Anna Szymanski to discuss her book China’s Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption and how it relates to China and the United States.In the Slate Plus segment: China’s future. Email: [email protected] production by Jessamine Molli.Twitter: @felixsalmon, @Three_Guineas, @EmilyRPeck Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the last decade, born from the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis, automated tenant screening has grown into a billion-dollar industry. Now, nine out of 10 landlords rely on automated tenant-screening reports, scraped from eviction history, criminal background records, and terror watchlists, to decide if they can trust potential renters. The problem? Often, the reports contain major errors, mistaken identities, and criminal records that are supposed to be expunged. Can these reports really be trusted?Guest: Lauren Kirchner, investigative reporter at The MarkupOriginal reporting with Matthew Goldstein, reporter at The New York Times HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the last decade, born from the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis, automated tenant screening has grown into a billion-dollar industry. Now, nine out of 10 landlords rely on automated tenant-screening reports, scraped from eviction history, criminal background records, and terror watchlists, to decide if they can trust potential renters. The problem? Often, the reports contain major errors, mistaken identities, and criminal records that are supposed to be expunged. Can these reports really be trusted?Guest: Lauren Kirchner, investigative reporter at The MarkupOriginal reporting with Matthew Goldstein, reporter at The New York Times HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the White House virus outbreak, vice-presidential debate, and Senate racesHere are this week’s cocktail chatters: Emily: Matt Zapotosky for the Washington Post: “New Justice Dept. Election Fraud Guidance Could Allow Boosting Of Trump’s Exaggerated Claims, Legal Observers Say”; Jim Rutenberg for the New York Times Magazine: “The Attack on Voting”John: Dave Philipps for the New York Times: “The Army Rolls Out a New Weapon: Strategic Napping”David: 99% Invisible podcast; The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt Listener chatter from Kevin Collins @kevinkwc: colorized footage of an 1896 snowball fight in Lyon, France.Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, and John discuss whether White House staff and journalists should report for work at the White House during the outbreak.You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is [email protected]. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who will be able to cast a vote in Texas? And will Texans be able to figure that out before election day -- or after?Guest: Emma Platoff, justice and politics reporter for the Texas Tribune. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If Vice President Mike Pence does agree to show up at the debate on Wednesday in Salt Lake City, he’ll have plenty to answer for -- in particular, why the White House’s coronavirus task force wasn’t able to do more to fight the pandemic here in the U.S. Guest: Dan Diamond, reporter for Politico and author of the Politico Pulse newsletter. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have a sitting senator with a COVID-19 positive test. We have his opponent, admitting to an extramarital affair. And we have a surge in mail-in ballots, even as absentee rules change before voters’ eyes. Guest: Michael Bitzer, professor of politics and history at Catawba College. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The president has tested positive for COVID. Does he realize what that means for the rest of us?Guest: Slate’s Will Saletan, author of Bearing Right. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by election law professor Rick Hasen of UC Irvine, author of Election Meltdown, for an update on the state of the election given the president’s COVID diagnosis. They are joined by Professor Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler professor of African American Studies at Emory University, to discuss the president’s undermining of the election. Podcast production by Sara Burningham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Anna Szymanski discuss Trump’s taxes, controversy at Coinbase, and spoofing. In the Slate Plus segment: Palantir.Email: [email protected] production by Jessamine Molli.Twitter: @felixsalmon, @Three_Guineas, @EmilyRPeck Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode of Slate's Political Gabfest, Emily, John and David talk about President Trump's coronavirus diagnosis and what happens next.Here are some references from the show:Matt Stevens for the New York Times: “Kristin Urquiza, a Debate Attendee Whose Father Died of the Virus, Says Trump Showed ‘No Regard For Human Life.’You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is [email protected]. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Spanish-speaking voters in Florida have been exposed to a steady uptick in falsities and conspiracy theories. This misinformation is shared in WhatsApp groups, Facebook groups, and YouTube channels, then amplified by enormously popular local radio stations. Now there are signs that the flood of misinformation is having an effect. Groups that voted Democrat in 2016 seem to be leaning to the right.Will this onslaught of misinformation tilt the Latino vote in Florida? And if so, what does that mean for Florida’s 29 electoral votes?Guest: Eduardo Gamarra, professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University. HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Spanish-speaking voters in Florida have been exposed to a steady uptick in falsities and conspiracy theories. This misinformation is shared in WhatsApp groups, Facebook groups, and YouTube channels, then amplified by enormously popular local radio stations. Now there are signs that the flood of misinformation is having an effect. Groups that voted Democrat in 2016 seem to be leaning to the right.Will this onslaught of misinformation tilt the Latino vote in Florida? And if so, what does that mean for Florida’s 29 electoral votes?Guest: Eduardo Gamarra, professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University. HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig and Mike McIntire for the New York Times: “Long-Concealed Records Show Trump’s Chronic Losses And Years Of Tax Avoidance”Adam Davidson’s Twitter thread on signs that Trump might have engaged in money laundering.Daniel Shaviro for Just Security: “Ten Quick Takeaways from the New York Times’ Bombshell Article on Trump’s Tax Returns”NYT: Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Noah Weiland for The New York Times: “Study Finds ‘Single Largest Driver’ of Coronavirus Misinformation: Trump”Nathaniel Persily and Charles Stewart III for the Wall Street Journal: “Actually, We Will Know a Lot on Election Night”Edward-Isaac Dovere for The Atlantic, “The Deadline That Could Hand Trump the Election”Here are this week’s cocktail chatters: Emily: Jordan Nickerson and David H. Solomon: “Car Seats as Contraception”John: McDonald and DoddsDavid: Raymond Antonio Vargas for the New Orleans Advocate: “In New Orleans, Case of Staged Accidents, Disbarred Lawyer, Stuntwoman Attorney Takes a Dark Turn”Listener chatter from Megan Murray @mkmurray9: Alec MacGillis for The New Yorker: “The Students Left Behind by Remote Learning”Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, and John discuss what unprofitable businesses they would like to run if they were engaging in tax evasion or avoidance schemes.You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is [email protected]. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There have been instances in the past when kids did not go to school for long periods of time. The history and research show that it’s devastating for kids. Will this period of remote learning have lasting effects on the most vulnerable students?Guest: Alec MacGillis, reporter at ProPublica. Read his story The Students Left Behind By Remote Learning in the New Yorker.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special bonus episode Emily, John and David debrief and decompress after the first presidential debate of 2020.You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is [email protected]. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump has spent the last four years refusing to release his tax returns. When the New York Times published 20 years worth of them, it revealed a possible reason why. The president’s balance sheet listed huge losses, which he used to dramatically cut down what he owed in taxes. Were these the dealings of a savvy businessman, or an unscrupulous swindler? And what does it mean for the election to have a candidate who still has a stake in their business and an alarming amount of debt?Guest: Andrea Bernstein, co-host of the Trump, Inc. podcast and the author of “American Oligarchs: the Kushners, the Trumps and the Marriage of Money and Power.”Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Elena Schwartz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you settle in to watch the Presidential debate tonight, maybe you’ll be listening to hear how Trump talks about the New York Times story regarding his tax returns. Maybe you’ll want to hear what Joe Biden has to say about the Supreme Court. But Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UC-Irvine, says he’ll be listening for something else: how the two candidates talk about the integrity of this election.Guest: Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UC-Irvine and the author of “Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy.”Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the weekend, President Trump announced that Amy Coney Barrett would be his pick to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. What can we glean from her biography and past rulings about what kind of Justice she would be? Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, covers the courts and the law for Slate.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by the Nation’s justice correspondent Elie Mystal and Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern for some hard truths about the future of the Supreme Court and what, if anything, Democrats can do about it. In this week’s Slate Plus segment, Mark sticks around to delve into the worrying news coming out of Pennsylvania and other adventures in pre-election litigation. Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show.Podcast production by Sara Burningham.Slate’s Amicus on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amicuspodcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Anna Szymanski discuss the FinCEN files, Buzzfeed News and ICIJ’s big report on money laundering and banks, the economic stress of getting COVID-19, and the big money in exercise, In the Slate Plus segment: COVID-19 thoughts.Email: [email protected] production by Jessamine Molli.Twitter: @felixsalmon, @Three_Guineas, @EmilyRPeck Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As of Sept. 24, there are 42 vaccines in clinical trials on humans. At least 92 others are being developed but have not yet gone to trial. For months, the world has tracked the progression of these vaccines closely, with the expectation that once one arrives on the market, we can finally start to go back to normal. But, is that true? Does the world really look much different with an effective vaccine?Guest: Dr. Paul Offit, professor of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As of Sept. 24, there are 42 vaccines in clinical trials on humans. At least 92 others are being developed but have not yet gone to trial. For months, the world has tracked the progression of these vaccines closely, with the expectation that once one arrives on the market, we can finally start to go back to normal. But, is that true? Does the world really look much different with an effective vaccine?Guest: Dr. Paul Offit, professor of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marking the passing of a constitutional titan, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Columbia Law professor and former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gillian Metzger. And a special remembrance from Justice Ginsburg’s law school classmates Flora Schnall and Judge Carol Brosnahan. Podcast production by Sara Burningham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss the unseemly rush to replace Justice Ginsburg, the coming presidential debates, and 200,000 COVID-19 deaths.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “Why Ruth Bader Ginsburg Refused to Step Down”The Long Game by Mitch McConnell Thomas B. Edsall for the New York Times: “Five Things Biden and His Allies Should Be Worried About”Linda Chavez for the New York Times: “Democrats, You Can’t Count On the Hispanic Vote”John Dickerson for the Atlantic: “The Slow-Fingered President”Here are this week’s cocktail chatters: Emily: Shaila Dewan for the New York Times: “Few Police Officers Who Cause Deaths Are Charged or Convicted”; Michael Tanenbaum for Philly Voice: “Pennsylvania's 'Naked Ballot' Ruling Will 'Cause Electoral Chaos,' Philly Commissioner Warns”John: Tariro Mzezewa for the New York Times: “The Flight Goes Nowhere. And It’s Sold Out.”David: Tara Parker-Pope for the New York Times: “Does Wearing Glasses Protect You From Coronavirus?”Listener chatter from Katerina Barry: Mike Pomranz for Food & Wine: “Italy's 'Wine Windows' Were a Product of the Plague—Now They're Making a Comeback”Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, and John discuss where they’ve found moments of peace amidst the chaos.You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is [email protected]. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Lindsey Graham gears up to push the President Trump's nominee through to the Supreme Court, he’s fighting another battle back home in South Carolina -- for his senate seat. The polls have him neck and neck with Democrat Jaime Harrison, but will deep red South Carolina really go blue?Guest: Megan Kinnard, national political report for Associated PressSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Senate Republicans are almost certainly going to fill Justice Ginsburg’s vacant Supreme Court seat ahead of the election. It may look like Democrats are backed into a corner but they have ways to check a SCOTUS supermajority.Guest: Jamelle Bouie, New York Times opinion columnist We want to know how you are preparing for the election. Leave us a voicemail at 202-888-2588. We might use your message on the show. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Megan Brown’s family has worked their land in Northern California for 170 years. Fire was always a normal part of the ecosystem but Megan says, in recent years, “it’s become a monster.” Guest: Megan Brown, rancher from Northern CaliforniaSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a replay of a special bonus live episode from the National Constitution Center. Dahlia Lithwick in conversation with Jeffrey Rosen about his 2019 book Conversations With RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsberg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law. Podcast production by Sara Burningham, with thanks to the National Constitution Center.Slate’s Amicus on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amicuspodcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Friday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87. Her work as a lawyer and a judge forever changed how women are viewed under United States law. As the nation mourns, her absence sparks a fight in the senate about who is going to choose the next Supreme Court Justice. Guest: Dahlia Lithwick, host of Slate’s Amicus podcast. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In January, Dahlia Lithwick spoke to Ruth Bader Ginsburg about the women of Harvard Law School’s class of 1959. Slate Plus members heard the interview in August as part of our feature on the women of Ginsburg’s class. We’re now making it publicly available for the first time.Go to Slate.com/RBG for more on all the women of the class. To support our work, join Slate Plus at Slate.com/amicusplus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Anna Szymanski discuss Snowflake’s crazy IPO, what’s wrong with Facebook, and the NVIDIA-Arm merger (which is more interesting than it sounds).In the Slate Plus segment: One Billion Americans by Matthew YglesiasEmail: [email protected] production by Jessamine Molli.Twitter: @felixsalmon, @Three_Guineas, @EmilyRPeck Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon joins Mike Pesca, host of Slate's Gist, for a special episode on the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. After discussing Ginsburg’s history as a justice and legacy on the court, they begin to unpack the future political ramifications of her death. Emily and Mike talk through the ways a nomination could quickly slip through the Senate before January, the impact a conservative court could have on issues besides abortion rights, and if Ginsburg should have stepped down under President Obama.Email us at [email protected] production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For pregnant women in the U.S., there are plenty of reasons to mistrust the medical establishment. Mortality rates are high compared to other western countries, and one-third of women in the U.S. give birth by C-section. It’s no wonder that many women turn to the internet for alternatives. This week, the story of one woman who was drawn into a network of private Facebook groups dedicated to the idea of ‘freebirth,’ or unassisted birth. And what happens when the misinformation shared in these private groups has real-life consequences. Guest: Brandy Zadrozny, reporter for NBC News. You can read her reporting on ‘freebirth’ here. This episode originally aired in March 2020 HostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For pregnant women in the U.S., there are plenty of reasons to mistrust the medical establishment. Mortality rates are high compared to other western countries, and one-third of women in the U.S. give birth by C-section. It’s no wonder that many women turn to the internet for alternatives. This week, the story of one woman who was drawn into a network of private Facebook groups dedicated to the idea of ‘freebirth,’ or unassisted birth. And what happens when the misinformation shared in these private groups has real-life consequences. Guest: Brandy Zadrozny, reporter for NBC News. You can read her reporting on ‘freebirth’ here. This episode originally aired in March 2020 HostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John, David and Jamelle discuss the impacts and threats of wildfires and the climate crisis, apocalyptic election talk, and the four of them envision a new and improved post-pandemic work week.Here are some notes and references from this week’s special show -- part of the Texas Tribune Festival!:Abrahm Lustgarten for The New York Times Magazine: “The Great Climate Migration”Galen Durke for FiveThirtyEight “The Challenges Of Holding An Election During A Pandemic”Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “Trump’s Perverse Campaign Strategy”Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times: “Whose America Is It?”Isaac Stanley-Becker for The Washington Post: “Pro-Trump Youth Group Enlists Teens in Secretive Campaign Likened to a ‘troll farm,’ Prompting Rebuke by Facebook and Twitter”Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne LamontHere are the week cocktail chatters for this week:Emily: Janet Malcolm for The New York Review of Books: “A Second Chance”John: @AmeliaFrappolli’s, twitter thread about the mad hatter who shot John Wilkes Booth, Boston Corbett, as chronicled in Legends and Lies: Great Mysteries of the American West by Dale L. Walker.Jamelle: Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin; The Mandalorian, Season 2 David: The Oddly Satisfying channel on YouTube.Listener chatter from Janet Green @janetcetera: Jonathan Ore and Kevin Ball for CBC: “Paddle of the Century”Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, John, and Jamelle take questions from viewers of the Texas Tribune Festival livestream. You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is [email protected]. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Democratic operatives who specialize in Latino voter outreach are sounding the alarm: The Biden campaign assumes Latino support at its own peril. Guest: Chuck Rocha, head of Nuestro PAC. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hybrid learning is a massive educational experiment playing out in schools across the country. No two classrooms are alike. We took a look at one teacher’s experience. Guest: Christopher Pinto, a high school math and statistics teacher at the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District outside Houston, Texas. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is what coronavirus purgatory looks like: Our present economic doldrums are brutal for service workers and tolerable for white-collar workers. Congress is deadlocked over a second coronavirus relief bill. And the market is performing as if help is on the way. Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.