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The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, started in China as a bat virus that eventually made contact with humans. Researchers say this leap between species was highly predictable – so why were communities and governments caught flat-footed? And what does the virus’s transmission from animals to humans say about how we interact with the greater ecosystem? Guest: Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Maalis 202019min

The Democratic primary field has been dramatically re-shuffled since Saturday. After Joe Biden swept up votes and delegates in South Carolina, moderate candidates dropped out to strengthen his challenge against front-runner Bernie Sanders. So, with over a thousand delegates on the table across a slew of states, are Democrats inevitably headed for a contested convention?  Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Maalis 202021min

Lower courts have consistently ruled against the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies. But at the Supreme Court, the conservative majority almost always reverses lower court opinions, even in the most shocking cases. Last week, justices ruled that a Customs and Border Protection agent cannot be sued for shooting and killing a Mexican teenager in 2010, presenting the grim prospect that federal agents are free to act with impunity.  Guest: Mark Joseph Stern covers the courts and the law for Slate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Maalis 202022min

OpenAI was founded in 2015 with a billion dollars and an idealistic mission: Create artificial intelligence that could address humanity’s biggest problems, and do it out in the open. Then came the money problems. Guest: Karen Hao, senior A.I. reporter at MIT Tech Review   Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 Helmi 202019min

As Bernie Sanders becomes the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, pundits have started wringing their hands about Bernie’s chances of winning in a general election. Are any of these fears grounded in reality? Guest: Steve Kornacki, National Correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Helmi 202022min

Colorado has one of the highest rates of officer involved shootings in the country. After looking at the data, reporters from Colorado Public Radio found that the problem is exacerbated by a complex mix of meth addiction, illegal firearms, and car theft. Guest: Allison Sherry, Reporter for Colorado Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Helmi 202024min

Attorney General William Barr has lost the confidence of more than 2,600 former Department of Justice employees. We talked to one of them.  Guest: Donald Ayer, who served in the Department of Justice under George H. W. Bush. Read his piece in the Atlantic, “Bill Barr Must Resign.” Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Helmi 202024min

Republicans have relied on one organization in particular to help pass conservative laws in states across the country: The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. The kicker is that ALEC learned its tricks from public-sector unions. Guest: Alex Hertel-Fernandez, Assistant Professor of Political Affairs at Columbia University.  Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

24 Helmi 202018min