What Would Convince a Lab Leak Skeptic?

State court rulings have ended partisan gerrymandering in North Carolina on both the state and congressional levels. The rulings could lead the way for progressive activists who’ve been shut out at the Supreme Court.This episode is a part of Slate’s Who Counts? initiative. In the run-up to the 2020 election, Slate will be investigating who counts in the voting booth, who counts as an American, whose money counts in the democratic process, and whose doesn’t. And we need your help. Your support will let us assign more stories, travel to overlooked places, commission special podcast projects, and pay for reporting we otherwise would not be able to do. To learn more about this project and how to support our work, please go to slate.com/whocounts.Guest: Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 Okt 201920min

There’s a story unfolding in the courtroom of a small town in Kansas. It’s a story about runaway medical costs, aggressive debt collectors, and jail. Guest: Lizzie Presser, reporter for ProPublicaSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Okt 201921min

This month, the New York City Council approved a plan to close Rikers Island in 2026. The jail has become a potent symbol for those fighting to reform the criminal justice system. Where do reformers go from here? Guest: Aaron Morrison, senior reporter for The Appeal Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Okt 201920min

Kentucky’s Republican Gov, Matt Bevin won a decisive victory in 2015 and has tethered himself to President Donald Trump ever since. But now, he’s up for reelection and his popularity has taken a nosedive—it doesn’t help that thousands of public school teachers have been aggressively protesting against his plan for pension reform. Can the Republican Party boost him through to a second term?Guest: Ryland Barton, statehouse reporter at Kentucky Public Radio.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28 Okt 201917min

We survey this week’s developments: the testimony from Ambassador Bill Taylor, a stunt at the SCIF, and what the founding fathers might have thought of our reticence to impeach. Guests: Dahlia Lithwick and Jim Newell. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Okt 201918min

Over the last week, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have been under fire for declining to fact-check political ads. But a former insider says this is the wrong debate to be having—and it misses a more fundamental problem: Facebook’s business model itself. Guests: Yael Eisenstat, former head of global elections integrity operations at Facebook and Charlie Warzel, an opinion writer at the New York Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Okt 201918min

Over the last week, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have been under fire for declining to fact-check political ads. But a former insider says this is the wrong debate to be having—and it misses a more fundamental problem: Facebook’s business model itself. Guests: Yael Eisenstat, former head of global elections integrity operations at Facebook and Charlie Warzel, an opinion writer at the New York Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Okt 201918min

Hey If Then listeners! As of now, the new Slate podcast What Next: TBD will be taking over this feed. What Next: TBD is a weekly analysis with host Lizzie O’Leary of how technology is impacting our lives, and where we’re headed. From fake news to fake meat, algorithms to augmented reality, we’ll be examining the often hidden forces shaping our world, and we’ll talk to the people who are studying those forces, impacted by them, and creating them. What Next: TBD is a spinoff from the Slate daily news show What Next. If you’re not already subscribed, go find it in your podcast app: there you’ll find the brilliant Mary Harris every Monday through Thursday to help you make sense of the news, sifting through the frenetic cascade of headlines to go deep on one story at a time. Then you’ll get this show, What Next: TBD, on Fridays. So listen here, or get all of Slate’s morning news in the What Next feed, starting tomorrow, October 25th. See you then! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Okt 201954s