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Listeners of Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast have mobilized to take over the GOP from the ground up. Convinced the 2020 election was stolen, many far-right Republicans are moving to run elections themselves as precinct officers.  Guest: Isaac Arnsdorf , national politics reporter for ProPublica. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits li...

As the fall semester begins at U.S. universities, faculty and staff and institutions of higher education are at a breaking point. Widespread feelings of burnout were laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic, but the conditions leading to them were present long before.  Guest: Lindsay Ellis , senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for...

The coronavirus pandemic has left no part of the world untouched, including global manufacturing supply chains. The complex system that keeps goods moving throughout the world has struggled to catch up ever since it was disrupted in early 2020. Now, 18 months later, product delays aren’t going anywhere.  Guest: Austen Hufford , U.S. manufacturing reporter for The Wall Street Journal.  If you enjoy...

The Colorado River Basin is experiencing its 22nd year of drought. Its reservoirs are at their lowest-ever levels. The water stored in the system is at just 40 percent of its capacity. How did the situation on the Colorado become so dire? And what does the shortage mean for the 40 million people who rely on its waters? Guest: Abrahm Lustgarten , senior investigative reporter at ProPublica Host: Li...

The Colorado River Basin is experiencing its 22nd year of drought. Its reservoirs are at their lowest-ever levels. The water stored in the system is at just 40 percent of its capacity. How did the situation on the Colorado become so dire? And what does the shortage mean for the 40 million people who rely on its waters? Guest: Abrahm Lustgarten , senior investigative reporter at ProPublica Host: Li...

For Muslim Americans, the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks marks a full generation of routine Islamophobia. In the years that followed, the war on terror wounded the nation’s Muslim communities in ways that still feel fresh today.  Guest: Aymann Ismail , staff writer at Slate.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefit...

Four conservative talk radio hosts have died of COVID-19 this summer, further revealing the consequences of a politicized pandemic. Why aren’t prominent right-wing figures doing more to embrace the coronavirus vaccine?  Guest: Brian Rosenwald , fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Talk Radio’s America . If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus...

Texas has passed a new law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, enforced by citizens launching lawsuits against anyone suspected of “aiding and abetting” the procedures. And the Supreme Court has declined to stop it - effectively ending the precedent set by Roe v. Wade . How are Texas organizations supporting reproductive rights adapting?  Guest: Anna Rupani , Co-Executive Director of F...

A medicine meant to treat parasites is the latest unproven COVID treatment craze. With warnings from the FDA, and prescribers clamping down, some are going to extreme lengths to get their hands on the drug. What’s behind Ivermectin’s sudden rise? Guest: Brandy Zadrozny , senior reporter for NBC News  Host: Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A medicine meant to treat parasites is the latest unproven COVID treatment craze. With warnings from the FDA, and prescribers clamping down, some are going to extreme lengths to get their hands on the drug. What’s behind Ivermectin’s sudden rise? Guest: Brandy Zadrozny , senior reporter for NBC News  Host: Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

U.S. officials announced the end of the American military presence in Afghanistan this week, but thousands of people desperate to leave — American citizens and Afghans alike — remain in the country. A loose collection of volunteers is working to get them out.  Guest: Matt Pelak , soldier in the Army National Guard and veteran of the war in Iraq. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

The United States is the only rich industrialized nation without a universal paid family leave policy. But as child and home care costs balloon, and the pandemic continues to leave families in precarious work situations, many caretakers have hit a wall. Congress might finally be ready to do something about it. Guest: Chabeli Carrazana , economy reporter for the 19th. If you enjoy this show, please...

Flying has been a drag for years now. But there’s an extra level of stress on commercial flights this summer. Why is flying so terrible at this moment? And what’s a traveler to do?  Guest: Scott McCartney , the Middle Seat columnist for the Wall Street Journal.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bo...

On Friday, in the midst of the effort to evacuate thousands of people from Kabul, two suicide bombers attacked the Kabul airport, killing about 160 people. A jihadi group ISIS Khorasan, or ISIS-K, claimed responsibility. Who are these extremists? And how do they impact the Taliban’s plans to govern after the U.S. completely pulls out of Afghanistan?  Guest: Colin Clarke , a Senior Research Fellow...

Elizabeth Holmes convinced countless people that her company would change the world. Can she convince 12 jurors that she didn’t intend to deceive her company’s patients and investors? Guest: Rebecca Jarvis , host of “The Dropout” podcast and ABC News Chief Business, Technology & Economics Correspondent  Host: Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elizabeth Holmes convinced countless people that her company would change the world. Can she convince 12 jurors that she didn’t intend to deceive her company’s patients and investors? Guest: Rebecca Jarvis , host of “The Dropout” podcast and ABC News Chief Business, Technology & Economics Correspondent  Host: Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OnlyFans, a website famous for empowering sex workers, decided to ban -- and then unban-- sexual content. According to Charlotte Shane, sex workers find this story all too familiar.  Guest: Charlotte Shane, co-founder of the TigerBee Press. Author of the memoir, Prostitute Laundry . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The compounding crises in Haiti aren’t a product of bad luck. They are the result of hundreds of years of international interference and poorly-designed aid programs.  Guest: Jonathan M. Katz, author of the forthcoming book, Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America’s Empire . Check out his Substack newsletter, The Long Version .  Hosted on Acast....

Celebrated R&B star R. Kelly is accused of using his music empire to sexually exploit women and minors for decades. Currently on trial in New York, the singer also faces federal charges in Illinois, and state charges in both Illinois and Minnesota. But will Kelly finally be brought to justice? And if he is, what took so long? Guest: Jim DeRogatis , co-host of Sound Opinions and the author of S...

With just a month left, the California recall election is looking a little too close for comfort for Democrats. Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval rating is doing alright at the moment, but because of the way California conducts its recalls, if more than 50% of voters vote to oust Newsom, he loses his office, and whichever candidate garners even a small plurality of votes becomes his replacement. Ho...

The Biden administration says a third dose of vaccines for all American adults will end the pandemic faster. And experts say there is evidence of waning vaccine effectiveness against mild-to-moderate disease. But globally, what’s the best use of the next available dose?  Guest: Saad Omer , director of the Yale Institute for Global Health.  Host: Lizzie O’Leary This episode was produced by Alyssa E...

The Biden administration says a third dose of vaccines for all American adults will end the pandemic faster. And experts say there is evidence of waning vaccine effectiveness against mild-to-moderate disease. But globally, what’s the best use of the next available dose?  Guest: Saad Omer , director of the Yale Institute for Global Health.  Host: Lizzie O’Leary This episode was produced by Alyssa E...

The rapid collapse of the Afghan government has left tens of thousands of people struggling to leave their country. Afghans who helped U.S. forces were promised a life in the states, but many of them have been mired in paperwork as they try to obtain their visas. What hope do they have now that they’ll be able to leave before an expected Taliban crackdown? Guest: Ahmadullah Sediqi of No One Left B...

The Texas state legislature is at a standstill. A month ago, House Democrats fled to DC to prevent the passage of a restrictive voting law but as time ticks by it’s becoming clear that they might have to go back to the drawing board -- and back to Texas.  Guest: Ashley Lopez , Senior Reporter at KUT Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

American forces are leaving Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting the country’s longest war. Following a hasty withdrawal of U.S. forces, the Taliban now controls most of the country, including the capital of Kabul. The U.S.-backed government has fled, leaving many civilians desperate to find a way out. How did things get so bad so quickly? Guest: Fred Kaplan , Slate’s War Stories columnist. Kapl...