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Masks were uncontroversial for many state leaders at the onset of the pandemic last year. But now, masks have become politicized, and in Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves has reversed his previous stance, refusing to order a mask mandate and leaving local school districts to fend for themselves during a massive surge in COVID cases. Guest: Nick Judin , reporter for the Mississippi Free Press.  If...

Experts say that a “fully approved” designation for the vaccines could have sweeping effects. Broader vaccination mandates, inclusion for new age groups, and reassurance for those hesitant to take a vaccine without the designation. As calls for approval grow louder and more urgent, the Food and Drug Administration is yet to give its blessing. What’s happening inside the FDA as they work toward thi...

Experts say that a “fully approved” designation for the vaccines could have sweeping effects. Broader vaccination mandates, inclusion for new age groups, and reassurance for those hesitant to take a vaccine without the designation. As calls for approval grow louder and more urgent, the Food and Drug Administration is yet to give its blessing. What’s happening inside the FDA as they work toward thi...

Last week, the northern California mountain town of Greenville was wiped out by the Dixie Fire, which has lasted for nearly a month and is now the largest wildfire in California history. Greenville residents have just begun to assess the damage to their homes and businesses. Is it safe to rebuild? Is it even ethical, when wildfires are only expected to get worse?  Guest: Margaret Garcia, also know...

We’re still learning the details about how Donald Trump and his supporters tried to get the 2020 presidential election results overturned. One scheme involved attorneys general across several states, and lawyers deep in the Department of Justice. This is the story of one of those lawyers, Jeffrey Bossert Clark, and his desperate attempts to keep Trump in power. Guest: Mark Joseph Stern , staff wri...

For decades, Richard Trumka was the head of the country’s largest labor federation. Widely considered to be the face of the American labor movement while workers faced a surge in union busting campaigns, Trumka presided over an organization that was diverse and fractious. Last week, he passed away. What is the state of the labor movement without its longtime leader? And how can his successor steer...

The delta variant is making its way through the country, becoming the leading strain of the coronavirus and increasing case counts as it goes. In few places is the crisis more severe than in Florida, where new daily case counts are hitting all-time highs and vaccination rates have leveled out around 50%. Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused to instate a mask mandate and insists that the spike is just a “...

America used to be at the vanguard of railroad technology. What went wrong? And can the new infrastructure bill fix our broken system? Guests: Alon Levy and Eric Goldwyn of the Marron Institute at NYU  Host Henry Grabar   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America used to be at the vanguard of railroad technology. What went wrong? And can the new infrastructure bill fix our broken system? Guests: Alon Levy and Eric Goldwyn of the Marron Institute at NYU  Host Henry Grabar   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Federal Election Commission can barely get anything done. With its commissioners stuck in partisan gridlock, one is finding new ways to make sure election law is upheld.  Guest: Ellen Weintraub , commissioner at the FEC. 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 a...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is back on his heels again, following the release of the state attorney general’s extensive report on his pattern of sexually harassing women working around him. Now, even former allies of the governor are calling for him to resign or face impeachment. How long can Cuomo hang onto his office? Guest: Brigid Bergin , political reporter for WNYC.  If you enjoy this show...

After months of negotiation, an infrastructure bill is finally on its way to the Senate floor. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are touting their one big successful bipartisan move, but what’s actually in the legislation? And why are Republicans willing to sign off on a win for Joe Biden?  Guest: Jordan Weissmann , Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent. If you enjoy this show, pl...

Why aren’t people returning to jobs they lost during the pandemic? The answer is more complicated than generous unemployment checks.  Guest: Bram Sable-Smith , investigative reporter at Wisconsin Watch.  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...

Whether it’s a phone screen or a coffee machine, why is it so hard to fix our own stuff? And what can we do to make it a bit easier? Guest: Jason Koebler , editor-in-chief of Motherboard and contributor to the CYBER podcast Host Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether it’s a phone screen or a coffee machine, why is it so hard to fix our own stuff? And what can we do to make it a bit easier? Guest: Jason Koebler , editor-in-chief of Motherboard and contributor to the CYBER podcast Host Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, four officers from the U.S. Capitol Police and D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department testified in front of a bipartisan House select committee investigating the events of January 6. They each gave powerful and emotional statements, describing the harrowing moments the Capitol was attacked. But what can the committee actually do about it?  Guest: Jeremy Stahl , senior editor at Slate. If...

On Tuesday morning, Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, withdrew from the team all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics citing mental health concerns. Biles’ move shocked most watchers but may reveal a deeper cultural shift happening within USA Gymnastics.  Guest: Rebecca Schuman, former gymnast and the author of Schadenfreude, A Love Story . If you enjoy this show, please co...

The delta variant is now the most-prevalent strain of COVID-19, causing a handful of so-called “breakthrough” infections in fully-vaccinated people. Unvaccinated people account for 97% of severe cases of the virus. How worried should you be about infections as the delta variant continues to dominate? And is it time to mask up again? Guest: Susan Matthews , Slate’s news director.  If you enjoy this...

The fires raging across the American West are like the climate crisis itself: Too big and too extreme to understand all at once. So today, we’re zooming in on some of the people fighting those fires: crews of incarcerated women. In California, they risk their lives for abysmal pay, and officials are just starting to realize how essential they are to the state’s fire response.  Guest: Jaime Lowe, a...

This week, Amnesty International and a French journalism nonprofit named Forbidden Stories revealed that technology from a spyware firm called NSO Group is being deployed on a massive scale. The spyware, called Pegasus, gives the user access to every part of a victim’s smartphone -- notes, messages, photos, and recordings.  What’s it like for security researchers to see their worst fears about dig...

This week, Amnesty International and a French journalism nonprofit named Forbidden Stories revealed that technology from a spyware firm called NSO Group is being deployed on a massive scale. The spyware, called Pegasus, gives the user access to every part of a victim’s smartphone -- notes, messages, photos, and recordings.  What’s it like for security researchers to see their worst fears about dig...

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has a problem. She’s ready to get beamed up to national political stardom, but she’s polling near the bottom among 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls. What issues can she use to raise her political profile? The answer came swiftly this year: anything and everything.  Guest: Joe Sneve , political reporter for the Argus Leader in South Dakota. If you enjoy this show, pl...

Six months after the Capitol riot, plea deals from cases against the rioters have begun to trickle in. Will the courts be able to do what Congress couldn’t, and insist on a shared version of events on January 6th?  Guest: Zoe Tillman , senior legal reporter at BuzzFeed News. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slat...

It’s becoming harder to get all Americans vaccinated. While millions of people still get the shots each week, some conservatives are becoming more difficult to convince, and some politicians are increasingly hostile towards the public health departments tasked with helping fight COVID-19.  Guests: Michelle Fiscus, former medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization programs a...

At the height of the pandemic, New York city put up some of its homeless population in the city’s empty hotels. Now, as the city comes back to life, the program is ending -- but the city’s unhoused population doesn’t want to go “back to normal” Guest: Jacquelyn Simone, Senior Policy Analyst for the Coalition for the Homeless. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate...