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Last week, the Remington Arms Company reached a $73 million dollar settlement with the families of nine victims killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre—the largest payout by a gun manufacturer in a mass shooting case.  Federal law protects manufacturers from a broad swath of liability in civilian shootings, so the families’ legal team took an interesting tack: they sued under Connecticut’s consumer...

Over two years into the pandemic, much of the world remains either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or lacking access to mRNA vaccines entirely. How did the leading effort to vaccinate the world go so wrong? Guest: Achal Prabhala, coordinator of the AccessIBSA project and a fellow of the Shuttleworth Foundation, in Bangalore. Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Over two years into the pandemic, much of the world remains either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or lacking access to mRNA vaccines entirely. How did the leading effort to vaccinate the world go so wrong? Guest: Achal Prabhala, coordinator of the AccessIBSA project and a fellow of the Shuttleworth Foundation, in Bangalore. Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Last week, California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Tesla. It accuses the electric vehicle maker of fostering a workplace rife with racism and discrimination. What's happening inside Tesla's Fremont plant? Guest: Dana Hull , reporter for Bloomberg Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olympic athletes and commentators were stunned this week to learn that 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will be allowed to compete in Beijing’s Winter Games, despite testing positive in December for a banned substance. The controversy has kicked up raw feelings about Russia’s history of doping and the fecklessness of Olympics officials to apply rules evenly across countries.    Gue...

Florida governor, Ron DeSantis has been on a tear promoting hyper-conservative policies – from his “Stop Woke Act” to gerrymandering, he’s shocking even fellow Republicans. Is this his way of preparing for a 2024 presidential run? Guest: Mary Ellen Klas is the Miami Herald Capitol Bureau Chief. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like...

For decades, the press has enjoyed a wide latitude when writing about public figures. But the high legal standard for defamation may be coming in for some scrutiny in the libel suit of Sarah Palin versus the New York Times.  Guest: Slate contributor Seth Stevenson . Read his latest coverage of the trial of Sarah Palin v. New York Times .  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slat...

Old wounds are open again in Minneapolis. The city is struggling to investigate a police shooting from earlier this month, when officers carried out a “no-knock” search warrant and fatally shot a 22-year-old Black man in bed. The victim, Amir Locke, was not a suspect in the crime police were investigating. The shooting comes months after city voters rejected a plan to defund the police, and some c...

In just a few short years, the Chinese fast fashion company Shein upended the way countless young women shop online. It’s approach could soon shape the way everyone else shops, too.  Guest : Louise Matsakis , freelance technology reporter Host: Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Facebook’s first crack at the metaverse has a problem: kids. Underage users seem to be flooding Horizon Worlds, potentially putting themselves at risk.  Is Meta doomed to repeat Facebook’s mistakes? Guest : Will Oremus, technology news analysis writer for the Washington Post.  Host: Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Winter Olympics unfold in Beijing, a darker reality remains: China’s abuses against the Uyghurs, an ethnic minority in the country’s Xinjiang region. While much of the world remains glued to the sports coverage, Uyghurs in the diaspora are calling on people to pay attention to China's treatment of their family members back home. Guest: Gulchehra Hoja, a Uyghur journalist with Radio Free Asi...

The Ottawa truckers protest is neither exclusive to Ottawa nor strictly composed of truckers. And its supporters are hoping to head to a city near you.  Guest: Jesse Brown , editor-in-chief of Canadaland. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and...

With Roe v. Wade on the chopping block, abortion access is under fire in states around the country. At Planned Parenthood’s Knoxville location, the clinic faced that literally when an arson attack burned the building to the ground. How will providers rebuild when the things they stand for are so threatened? Guest: Tory Mills , director of community engagement for Planned Parenthood’s Knoxville Hea...

Until last month, Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, and one of only three Black head coaches among the NFL’s 32 teams. That number has since dropped to one.  On Tuesday, Flores announced he was suing the NFL, alleging that the league's hiring practices are racist. His suit comes almost 20 years after the creation of the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview ethnic-min...

Banks, healthcare providers, and retailers around the world still rely on COBOL, a programming language originally developed in the 1960s. By all accounts the code is powerful, practical, and very rarely problematic. But the small group of people who still know the language are aging out of the workforce.  What happens when there are no more COBOL coders left? Guest : Clive Thompson , journalist a...

For Spotify, the last month has seen a cascade of controversies around its exclusive podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Is it time for the streaming service to rethink its role as a podcast publisher? And is it even possible to moderate podcast misinformation? Guest : Evelyn Douek , lecturer at Harvard Law School, and Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society Host: Lizzie O’...

A popular, outgoing liberal mayor in Silicon Valley is taking on gun rights groups with a splashy municipal ordinance fashioned to curb gun violence—and be the first of its kind. Gun rights groups are foretelling doom for the new law, and the NRA called it a “ridiculous publicity stunt.”  Does this city’s initiative have the hallmarks of a breakthrough on gun violence prevention? Will lawsuits tan...

Cobalt is the most important mineral of the future. It’s a key part of lithium-ion batteries, which power cell phones and laptops, not to mention electric cars. That demand is giving rise to a mining industry in Idaho, which sits atop a giant cobalt deposit. But the environmental costs of extraction raise questions about what “clean energy” really means. Guest: Michael Holtz , freelance journalist...

The expanded Child Tax Credit slashed childhood poverty in the U.S. by an estimated 30%. Why won’t congress revive it? Guest: Jordan Weissmann , writer and editor at Slate focused on economics, politics, and public policy. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and...

No one is happy with the way this year’s Winter Olympics are unfolding. Athletes are frustrated with China’s excessive pandemic precautions. Diplomatic tensions are rising. Are the second COVID games on thin ice?  Guest: Henry Bushnell , features writer for Yahoo Sports. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate po...

Ten years ago, IBM made a gamble. Through a monumental advertising and PR campaign, it promised that its AI technology–Watson–would transform the health care industry as we know it. A decade and billions of dollars later, Watson Health is being sold for parts.  What went wrong with IBM’s “moonshot?” And what does Watson’s failure tell us about the promise of AI for health care? Guest : Casey Ross,...

This week, Justice Stephen G. Breyer is expected to announce his plan to retire from the Supreme Court at the end of its term this summer. Breyer’s signal comes after a year-long pressure campaign from the political left and others anxious to ensure that Democrats control who replaces the court’s most senior liberal justice.  Guest: Mark Joseph Stern , who covers courts and the law for Slate. If y...

The odds of a Russian invasion of Ukraine are increasing, with thousands of Russian troops stationed near the two countries' border. Vladimir Putin is set on ensuring Ukraine gives up its ambitions to join NATO and the European Union, and it’s unclear how much he’s willing to risk to meet that objective.  How far will the Russian leader go to get what he wants? Is there any way to end the standoff...

Over the last few years, a sleepy southern town has seen its arrest rate grow more than 1100%. It’s not because of a spike in crime in Brookside, Alabama; instead, the town’s law enforcement has adopted a policing-for-profit model that treats citizens as revenue generators and cracks down on them accordingly. In turn, some residents enter debt spirals as the town’s police force rakes in more cash,...

Stuart Frisch gave security training to the members of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, less than six months before they found themselves under siege and held hostage—a training the rabbi cited when explaining how they managed to escape.  How does Frisch approach protecting spaces that aren’t meant to be fortresses? Can faith and security coexist? Guest: Stuart Frisch, advisor for t...