Deported—To a Country You've Never Been To

On today’s show, host Will Oremus will talk about the employee uprising at Google, and the changes that it and other tech companies have made to their sexual harassment policies in response. Joining him is Caroline O’Donovan, senior technology reporter for BuzzFeed News, who was there to cover the employee walkouts in person and has continued to report on the fallout from them.And then, a story that has been making headlines for months, and finally reached its culmination this week with a big announcement. That would be Amazon’s HQ2 contest—or maybe now it’s HQ2.5, or HQ2 and 3, HQ2a and HQ2b. Whatever you call it, we’ll talk about the company’s decision to open not one but two new headquarters. One will be in Arlington, Virginia, just outside DC. And the other in Long Island City, just across the East River from Manhattan. That, of course, prompted an outcry from critics around the country, not to mention all the cities that weren’t chosen. Here to help Will make sense of all this will be Tim Bartik, a Senior economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. He’s done some fascinating research on the incentives that cities offer to companies to try to get them to locate there--and whether it really pays off for their residents in the long run.2:47 - Interview with Caroline O’Donovan14:32 - Interview with Tim Bartik32:00 - Don’t Close My TabsDon’t Close My Tabs:The Atlantic: The Problem with FeedbackGoFundMe: How To Help Those Impacted By The Fires In CaliforniaChico Enterprise Record: How You Can Help Camp Fire VictimsTwitter: Martha McSally For Senate (Concession Video)Podcast production by Max JacobsIf Then plugs: You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on Twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment, you can email us at ifthen@slate.com.If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Listen to If Then via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Marras 201841min

Stephen Pyne has made fire his life’s work. He put them out for 15 summers and has thought about them ever since. Today on the show – the conversation we’re not having about wildfires and why despite the devastation in California this week, he remains hopeful that we can figure this out.Here’s how you can help the victims of the California wildfires. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Marras 201816min

Rick Hasen, founder of the Election Law Blog, explains how we got here: Shrinking away from the hard election reforms, ignoring the easy reforms, and enacting short-sighted remedies. Hasen is a professor at UC Irvine and a Slate contributor.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Marras 201818min

Just as he was getting kicked out the door, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions wanted to do one last thing: strongly limit the strength and use of consent decrees moving forward. It’s a move that deals a significant blow to the Department of Justice’s ability to reign in police abuse across the country.Today on the show: what is a consent decree? And what happens in one small town in Louisiana when Jeff Sessions takes office and decides to turn a blind eye to its abuses? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Marras 201817min

Ben Wittes of Lawfare and the Brookings Institution tells us four things to watch for in the wake of the ouster of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. For more from Wittes on this, check out the latest episode of The Lawfare Podcast. Plus, Mary McCord, who used to lead the National Security Division at the Department of Justice, explains why she remains hopeful that her old agency can keep its blinders on and stay above politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Marras 201818min

Democrats ran all sorts of different campaigns and won (or lost) in all sorts of different ways. Is there a lesson they could take from the midterms and carry into the next election? Plus, how did racism figure into the Florida and Georgia governor’s races? Jamelle Bouie joins the show to nurse our election hangover. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Marras 201819min

Alfredo Corchado calls in from the border to talk about voter enthusiasm in his area. Amy Walter from the Cook Political Report shares her tips for watching election night returns. Slate’s Molly Olmstead explains why she’ll be eyeing the teacher candidates tonight. The Root’s Jason Johnson is our man in Atlanta following the Georgia gubernatorial contest.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Marras 201825min

With less than 36 hours to go until the final voting deadline for the midterm elections, it's important to know what's at stake. Amy Walter, a host on The Takeaway and National Editor of the Cook Political Report, knows that each election tells us a story and this one is no different. She joined us today to talk about what signals and trends she's looking out for and what that means for our future as a country and how we understand ourselves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Marras 201814min