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Houston residents and elected officials are trying to stop the largest urban highway project of their lifetimes -- one that would clear out more than 1,000 homes in primarily Black and Latin neighborhoods and, they say, introduce additional flooding and health risks. Now, residents have a powerful new ally in Washington: the Biden administration. The fate of I-45 may tell us something about what 21st-century infrastructure will look like. Guests: Tomaro Bell, Houston resident and community leader, and Oni Blair, executive director of LINK Houston. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has become a Republican celebrity for his notably lax coronavirus policies, keeping the state mostly open during the pandemic. But in Miami Beach, tourists are using the lack of restrictions to their advantage, exposing the difficulty of managing a world that isn’t quite done with COVID-19, but desperately wants to be. Guest: Verónica Zaragovia, healthcare reporter at WLRN. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in April 2020, AstraZeneca was hailed as a frontrunner in the race to get an effective vaccine to market. A year later, after a series of trial pauses, communication blunders, and PR problems, the vaccine is on the cusp of FDA approval. By all accounts, the company succeeded in making a safe, effective vaccine. So why has there been so much confusion about its rollout?Guest: Peter Aldhous, science reporter at Buzzfeed NewsHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in April 2020, AstraZeneca was hailed as a frontrunner in the race to get an effective vaccine to market. A year later, after a series of trial pauses, communication blunders, and PR problems, the vaccine is on the cusp of FDA approval. By all accounts, the company succeeded in making a safe, effective vaccine. So why has there been so much confusion about its rollout?Guest: Peter Aldhous, science reporter at Buzzfeed NewsHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Colorado Rep. Tom Sullivan counts the number of Fridays since his son was killed in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012. The latest mass shooting in Boulder, which left 10 people dead, was yet another reason Sullivan says he’s continuing his quest to curb gun violence in the state.Guest: Colorado State Rep. Tom Sullivan.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After four years of President Trump’s harsh immigration policies, many advocates for Central American migrants welcomed a change in administration. But after two months in office, President Biden has given a clear message to people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border: “don’t come.” Still, thousands of people, including an increasing number of unaccompanied children, are making the trek and forcing Biden to face his first big immigration test.Guest: Adolfo Flores, national security for immigration correspondent at Buzzfeed.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, were left without water for weeks after a deep freeze hit the south, bursting pipes and forcing people to rely on bottled or collected rain water. But even though the water is back on, Jackson’s next water crisis might not be so far off.Guest: Nick Judin is a reporter at the Mississippi Free Press. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On March 16, a white gunman killed eight people - six of them Asian-American women - during shootings at three different spas in Georgia. The shooter claims he was driven by a “sex addiction,” but his actions fall into a complicated legacy where race, sex, and the fetishization of Asian women all intersect. That legacy is now in full view as the nation grapples with this latest tragedy and a rise in anti-Asian violence. . Guest: Lisa Hagen is a reporter for WABE in Atlanta and the co-host of No Compromise, a podcast about a grassroots movement for gun rights.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Facebook’s failure to contain the spread of dangerous misinformation is no secret. For years, the company has pledged publicly to fix the problem. But in the wake of the Capitol riots, it’s clear that there’s more work to be done. So, why isn’t the social media giant using its powerful AI to contain hate and lies?Guest: Karen Hao, senior AI reporter at MIT Technology ReviewHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Facebook’s failure to contain the spread of dangerous misinformation is no secret. For years, the company has pledged publicly to fix the problem. But in the wake of the Capitol riots, it’s clear that there’s more work to be done. So, why isn’t the social media giant using its powerful AI to contain hate and lies?Guest: Karen Hao, senior AI reporter at MIT Technology ReviewHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo faces calls to resign over accusations of sexual harassment and allowing a toxic workplace culture to persist. But to the people who know him best, it’s unlikely the governor will ever bow to those demands. Guests: Jimmy Vielkind, Wall Street Journal reporter covering New York politics & government.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 COVID-19 pandemic exposed crucial gaps in the public health system, including the government’s inability to gather data quickly and accurately. After a year of lockdowns and isolation, a return to life resembling normalcy is in sight, but how will we know when we get there? Guests: Alexis Madrigal, co-founder of The COVID Tracking Project, and staff writer at The Atlantic.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to the past year, we’ve all lost something -- or someone. Time with friends and family. A job. A loved one. But when we think about the 530,000 people in the U.S. who died because of COVID-19, the magnitude makes it hard to see the individuals. Today, we remember one loss, out of many.Guests: Alicia Montgomery, executive producer of podcasts at Slate, and her cousin, Yvonne Tilghman.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down cities across the U.S. and forced many people to work from home, others deemed “essential” still had to show up for their jobs. A year later, the gap between the need for essential workers and the way they’re treated is all too apparent. Guests: Henry Grabar, staff writer at 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.

Back in 2014, Google released in-depth diversity data for its workforce for the first time. 1.1 percent of its tech team identified as Black. Six years later, after millions of dollars spent and a much-hyped partnership program with historically Black colleges and universities across the country, that number is up to 2.4 percent. How did such a promising effort yield such incremental change?Guest: Nitasha Tiku, tech culture reporter at the Washington PostHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 2014, Google released in-depth diversity data for its workforce for the first time. 1.1 percent of its tech team identified as Black. Six years later, after millions of dollars spent and a much-hyped partnership program with historically Black colleges and universities across the country, that number is up to 2.4 percent. How did such a promising effort yield such incremental change?Guest: Nitasha Tiku, tech culture reporter at the Washington PostHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why did schools stay closed for so long in Memphis? And why weren’t parents clamoring for them to reopen? To answer those questions, you have to tell a longer story about the relationship between a majority-Black, Democratically-controlled city and a largely white, Republican-controlled state. Guest: Laura Faith Kebede, reporter for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly a third of republican voters say they’re not interested in getting a COVID-19 vaccine. What does that mean for the spread of the virus? Guest: Dan Diamond, national health reporter for the Washington Post. 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 117th U.S. Congress is the most diverse ever. But that distinction does not extend to senior staff on the Hill. How does the makeup of Congressional staff influence legislation?Guest: Maya King, author of Politico’s Recast newsletter on how race and identity shape politics, policy, and power. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police last year sparked an international protest movement and amplified calls for police accountability. Now, as the former police officer Derek Chauvin goes on trial, Minneapolis is preparing for another public reckoning. Guest: Jon Collins, senior reporter for Minnesota Public Radio.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 federal Lifeline program was intended to bridge the gap between Americans who could comfortably pay for phone and internet service, and those who couldn’t. But in the midst of the pandemic, Lifeline is falling woefully short.How did a program meant to help connect low-income Americans with phone and internet service ended up making them second-class digital citizens at the worst possible moment? Guest: Tony Romm, senior tech policy reporter at the Washington Post, author of“How the Federal Lifeline Program Failed Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic”HostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The federal Lifeline program was intended to bridge the gap between Americans who could comfortably pay for phone and internet service, and those who couldn’t. But in the midst of the pandemic, Lifeline is falling woefully short.How did a program meant to help connect low-income Americans with phone and internet service ended up making them second-class digital citizens at the worst possible moment? Guest: Tony Romm, senior tech policy reporter at the Washington Post, author of“How the Federal Lifeline Program Failed Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic”HostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Joe Biden’s surprising win in Georgia, Republicans in the state started in on legislation to limit voting access in the state. Their efforts mirror what’s happening in state houses across the country. Is there any way to slow down these efforts to limit access to the ballot? Guest: Ari Berman, writer for Mother Jones and the author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As legislative sessions begin across the country, a rash of anti-trans bills have been brought to the floor by Republican legislators. Many of the proposals target trans youth -- both in sports, and access to medical care. If any of these bills become law, what will it mean for trans rights across the country? Guest: Kate Sosin, Reporter for the 19thSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Joe Biden has said he wants to focus his foreign policy on rebuilding international alliances and standing up to China and Russia. But just five weeks into the new administration, the Middle East has already started to demand Biden’s attention. Guest: Josh Keating, senior editor at 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.

The power’s back on in Texas, but many residents are still struggling to clean up after a disastrous winter storm. The cold snap knocked out electricity for several days and froze water lines. Some Texans are still without water; others are bailing out flooded homes. But this storm was just the latest in a series of catastrophes to hit Texas in the past several years, leaving the state’s most vulnerable residents in ever more precarious positions. Guest: Amal Ahmed, reporter at the Texas Observer. 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 last year, the Australian government has been waging a quiet war against Facebook and Google. Through a new law, it plans to force the big tech companies to pay news outlets in exchange for linking to their sites.Will this new law have the intended effect? Or will it set a dangerous precedent that cedes even more power over to the tech giants?Guest: JR Hennessy, editor at Business Insider AustraliaHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the last year, the Australian government has been waging a quiet war against Facebook and Google. Through a new law, it plans to force the big tech companies to pay news outlets in exchange for linking to their sites.Will this new law have the intended effect? Or will it set a dangerous precedent that cedes even more power over to the tech giants?Guest: JR Hennessy, editor at Business Insider AustraliaHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After years of policy work in Washington, Neera Tanden is more than qualified to serve as Biden’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget. But her open scorn for conservatives and progressives alike, often expressed through aggressive Twitter barbs, has made her confirmation the most tenuous of the new president’s picks.Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer.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 U.S. military has long had a sexual assault problem. And the Marine Corps - the final service branch to gender-integrate - is no exception. Though multiple scandals have rocked the Marines, continued abuses make it clear that deeper changes are needed to make all service people safe.Guest: Erin Kirk-Cuomo, founder of #NotInMyMarineCorps.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Democrats are divided over student debt forgiveness. President Joe Biden is trying to get $10,000-per-borrower canceled, while more progressive members of the party want $50,000 wiped out. So whom would these proposals help? And what can be done to keep the student debt crisis from happening all over again? 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.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has attracted national praise for his buck-stops-here leadership throughout the pandemic. But he's made some major missteps in his coronavirus response - the lack of transparency around COVID-related deaths in nursing homes is only the latest example. And his efforts to evade scrutiny have drawn fire from critics and constituents. Guest: Jimmy Vielkind, reporter for the Wall Street Journal covering New York politics and government.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 last week, millions of Texans have been forced to live without power or heat. At least 16 have died since Monday. In a state that’s no stranger to extreme weather and high power demand, how did it all go so wrong?Guest: Josh Rhodes, research associate at the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin HostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the last week, millions of Texans have been forced to live without power or heat. At least 16 have died since Monday. In a state that’s no stranger to extreme weather and high power demand, how did it all go so wrong?Guest: Josh Rhodes, research associate at the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin HostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rush Limbaugh’s radio show provided a roadmap that the Republican Party has been following, more or less faithfully, for decades. Guest: Nicole Hemmer, author of Messengers of the Right and co-host of This Day in Esoteric Political History. 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 the year since the pandemic began, the number of attacks against Asian Americans has skyrocketed. The most recent wave of assaults left a number of victims injured and one man dead. Many Asian American activists say the attacks reflect a pattern of violence “as old as America itself.” Guest: Kim Tran, an anti-oppression consultant and the author of the forthcoming book, The End of Allyship: A New Era of Solidarity.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gustavo Arellano’s father is what he would call a ‘pandejo’ - someone who doesn't take COVID safety seriously. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Gustavo has been fighting the uphill battle to dissuade him of his skepticism. And two weeks ago, his father finally got vaccinated. We all know a ‘pandejo.’ What can we learn from Gustavo’s relationship with his father?Guest: Gustavo Arellano, columnist for the LA TimesSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For most of the last year, Clubhouse—the audio-only social media app—has been dominated by conversations about business, branding, and Elon Musk. But as users picked up the app around the globe, something extraordinary happened. Censors in mainland China overlooked it. And for two weeks in February, it hosted a series of unusual, unfiltered conversations. Han Chinese, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, and Uighurs all flooded to the app to speak freely about authoritarianism, democracy, and propaganda. Here’s what happened when the censors looked the other way. Guest: Melissa Chan, journalist with the Global Reporting CentreHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For most of the last year, Clubhouse—the audio-only social media app—has been dominated by conversations about business, branding, and Elon Musk. But as users picked up the app around the globe, something extraordinary happened. Censors in mainland China overlooked it. And for two weeks in February, it hosted a series of unusual, unfiltered conversations. Han Chinese, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, and Uighurs all flooded to the app to speak freely about authoritarianism, democracy, and propaganda. Here’s what happened when the censors looked the other way. Guest: Melissa Chan, journalist with the Global Reporting CentreHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Tuesday, workers in an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama started voting on whether or not to form a union. Amazon has been fighting the vote on multiple fronts. A “yes” vote could possibly spark unionization drives in warehouses all across the country. Guests: Jay Greene, tech reporter for the Washington PostSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As soon as the Democrats won a slim 50-50 majority in the senate, the jokes about President Joe Manchin started flying. The Senate's self described “conservative Democrat” from West Virginia is in a key position to influence legislation during the Biden administration. How will he wield that power? Guests: Jim Newell, senior politics reporter for SlateKen Ward Jr., co-founder of Mountain State Spotlight and distinguished reporting fellow for Pro-PublicaSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the insurrection at the nation's capitol on January 6th, the House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump for a second time. The only article charges him with high crimes and misdemeanors for inciting a riot. There's no shortage of evidence backing up that claim, but the politics make it an open question if the senate will convict. 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.

The COVID-19 vaccine roll-out has been a mess across the country, but the failure has been particularly egregious in Philadelphia. The city entrusted a large part of its vaccine distribution to a start-up company run by a 22-year-old with zero medical experience. It wound up with a shuttered clinic and stolen vaccine doses. Guest: Nina Feldman, health reporter for WHYY.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, in response to protests by farmers outside New Delhi, India, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi restricted access to the mobile web in areas where the protests were unfolding. The move is the latest in the Indian government’s long history of throttling internet access and censoring speech online. Why is the Modi government increasingly shutting down the internet and stifling digital dissent? And what does the party’s history of internet shutdowns tell us about India’s future?Guest: Pranav Dixit, correspondent for Buzzfeed NewsHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, in response to protests by farmers outside New Delhi, India, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi restricted access to the mobile web in areas where the protests were unfolding. The move is the latest in the Indian government’s long history of throttling internet access and censoring speech online. Why is the Modi government increasingly shutting down the internet and stifling digital dissent? And what does the party’s history of internet shutdowns tell us about India’s future?Guest: Pranav Dixit, correspondent for Buzzfeed NewsHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic has hit many of us in different ways. But women in particular find themselves at the intersection of multiple crises. Across the economy, jobs in female-dominated industries are disappearing. Inside the home, moms are often shouldering the brunt of the extra childcare burden that comes with school closures. How are women getting by right now? And will the setbacks they’re experiencing be permanent?Guest: Jess Calarco, professor of sociology at Indiana University.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 week, Senate Republicans offered President Biden a stimulus deal one-third the size of the administration’s plan. With a compromise looking less likely, Democrats might have to resort to reconciliation to get it passed - a process fraught with headaches. 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.

Dubbed “the QAnon candidate,” Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has her Republican colleagues doing some major handwringing. But does her presence on Capitol Hill actually represent a war within the GOP or more of a polite disagreement? Guest: Greg Bluestein, political reporter at the Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thousands of people are signing a petition to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom. The Democrat was praised for his response to the coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic, but he has started to lose his constituents’ trust. Now, it could take just one big endorsement to end his term. Guest: Angela Hart, correspondent at California Healthline. 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 story of how GameStop went from the verge of a bankruptcy to a $15 billion market value isn’t an easy one to wrap your head around. But it helps to go back to the beginning; almost three years ago, in a subreddit called r/wallstreetbets.Guests: Brandon Kochkodin, reporter at BloombergHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.