18 Minutes From Nuclear Annihilation

Discarding the limits on a leader's time in office is a classic autocrat's move. So when Xi Jinping began to clear a path for an indefinite term as China's president, he dimmed many once-bright hopes that he would speed the nation's path toward a new era of openness and reform. For James Fallows,The Atlantic's national correspondent, it was a sad vindication of a warning he issued two years ago in the magazine, of “China’s Great Leap Backward.” As the 15th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq approaches, we review the developments in China, and look back at another warning that proved prescient: Fallows's National Magazine Award-winning essay, "The Fifty-First State?" Fallows joins our hosts, Alex Wagner and Matt Thompson, along with The Atlantic's global editor Kathy Gilsinan.   Links - “China’s Great Leap Backward” (James Fallows, December 2016 Issue) - “Xi Jinping Reveals Himself As An Autocrat” (James Fallows and Caroline Kitchener, February 26, 2018) - “China Is Not a Garden-Variety Dictatorship” (David Frum, March 5, 2018) - “The Myth of a Kinder, Gentler Xi Jinping” (Isaac Stone Fish, February 27, 2018) - “China's Surveillance State Should Scare Everyone” (Anna Mitchell and Larry Diamond, February 2, 2018) - China's Trapped Transition (Minxin Pei, 2006) - “The Fifty-First State?” (James Fallows, November 2002 Issue) - “The Obama Doctrine” (Jeffrey Goldberg, April 2016 Issue) - Steve Coll on “The Atlantic Interview” (February 7, 2018) - A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East(David Fromkin, 1989) - On Grand Strategy (John Lewis Gaddis, 2018) - An American Tragedy (Theodore Dreiser, 1925) - “Babylon Berlin” on Netflix - “Christopher Steele, the Man Behind the Trump Dossier” (Jane Mayer, The New Yorker, March 12, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Mar 201849min

Moviegoers across America are filling theaters to see, as The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer describes it, “a high-tech utopia that is a fictive manifestation of African potential unfettered by slavery and colonialism.” Wakanda, the setting of Marvel’s blockbuster film Black Panther, is suddenly everywhere, which means people the world over are seeing something that’s never had this widespread an audience: Afrofuturism. “Blockbusters rarely challenge consensus, and Disney blockbusters even less so,” Vann Newkirk wrote for The Atlantic in an essay about the film. “That’s what makes the final provocation of Black Panther so remarkable and applicable today.” But what is Black Panther’s remarkable provocation, and how does it apply to our world? Black Panther is only one part of a sudden explosion of Afrofuturism into mainstream American culture, from a new visual concept album by Janelle Monae to Children of Blood and Bone, a forthcoming YA book series by Tomi Adeyemi that has already become part of a seven-figure deal. Adam Serwer and Vann Newkirk join our hosts to talk about what this genre encompasses, and what its newfound popularity means. Links - “The Tragedy of Erik Killmonger” (Adam Serwer, February 21, 2018) - “The Provocation and Power of Black Panther” (Vann Newkirk, February 14, 2018) - “What Chadwick Boseman and Lupita Nyong'o Learned About Wakanda” (David Sims, February 28, 2018) - “Why Fashion Is Key to Understanding the World of Black Panther” (Tanisha C. Ford, February 14, 2018) - “Why I'm Writing Captain America” (Ta-Nehisi Coates, February 28, 2018) - “‘Black Panther’ and the Invention of ‘Africa’” (Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker, February 18, 2018) - “The Surprising Optimism of African Americans and Latinos” (Russell Berman, September 4, 2015) - Standing at Armageddon (Nell Irvin Painter) - Autonomous (Annalee Newitz) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Mar 201852min

After Rick Magnis, a Texas judge, reviewed the evidence in Benjamine Spencer’s case, he recommended a new trial for Spencer “on the grounds of actual innocence.” But Texas’s highest criminal court took the rare step of rejecting the judge’s ruling. Why? Because Spencer did not meet the state’s “Herculean” standard of unassailable proof, such as DNA, that would remove all doubts of his innocence. According to the judge who wrote the opinion denying Spencer a new trial, this standard has kept innocent people in prison without a possibility of getting out. In this third and final chapter of “No Way Out,” we reveal more evidence that points to Spencer’s innocence: A new witness who confirms his alibi, new technology that calls into question the testimony of the star eyewitness in his trial, and a full recantation by another key eyewitness against him. We also share a stunning discovery: potential DNA evidence that offers Spencer the thinnest hope of meeting the state’s astronomical burden of proof. And yet, none of this may be enough to exonerate Benjamine Spencer. In this episode, we explore why that is, and what it means. Links: - A list of key individuals mentioned in this story - "Can You Prove Your Innocence Without DNA?" (Barbara Bradley Hagerty, January/February 2018 issue) - "Innocence Is Irrelevant" (Emily Yoffe, September 2017 issue) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Feb 201857min

In part one of our three-part series "No Way Out," Barbara Bradley Hagerty told the story of how Benjamine Spencer was convicted for the murder of Jeffrey Young, and how much of the evidence that led to that conviction has fallen apart under scrutiny. But if Spencer did not kill him, who else could have? And if the evidence does point to another assailant, is that enough to free Spencer? In this episode, part two of three, Barbara explores an alternate theory of the crime. She talks with two friends of another man they say boasted about committing it. Their story, coupled with the shoddiness of the evidence that convicted Spencer, was enough to secure a recommendation that Spencer be given a new trial, "on the grounds of actual innocence." --- Key individuals mentioned in this story (listed in order of appearance): From Part I:Benjamine Spencer, the prisoner, convicted in October 1987, retried and convicted in March 1988, given life in prisonJeffrey Young, the victim, murdered in Dallas in March 1987Jay Young, Jeffrey’s son, the elder of twoCheryl Wattley, Spencer’s current attorneyTroy Johnson, a friend of Jeffrey Young’s, who tried calling him the night of his murderHarry Young, Jeffrey’s father, a senior executive in Ross Perot’s companyJesus “Jessie” Briseno, a detective for the Dallas Police Department, the lead investigator on the murder of Jeffrey YoungGladys Oliver, the prosecution’s star eyewitness in the trials of Benjamine SpencerRobert Mitchell, another man convicted a week after Spencer in a separate trial for the same crime, now deceasedFaith Johnson, the current district attorney in DallasFrank Jackson, Spencer’s defense attorney in the original trialAndy Beach, the prosecutor in the trial that sent Spencer to prisonAlan Ledbetter, the foreman of the jury that convicted SpencerDanny Edwards, the jailhouse informant who testified in Spencer’s original trials that Spencer had confessed to himDebra Spencer, Benjamine Spencer’s wife at the time of his convictionChristi Williams, the alibi witness who testified in Spencer’s defense at his trialsJim McCloskey, the founder of Centurion Ministries, the group that has aided Spencer's quest for exonerationDaryl Parker, a private investigator who has helped re-examine Spencer’s case and Young’s murderJimmie Cotton, one of three eyewitnesses for the prosecution in Spencer’s original trialsCharles Stewart, another of three eyewitnesses for the prosecution in Spencer’s trials, now deceasedSandra Brackens, a potential witness in Spencer’s defense who was not called to testify at his trialsNew to Part II:Michael Hubbard, an alternative suspect in Young's deathFerrell Scott, a childhood friend of Hubbard'sKelvin Johnson, a friend of Hubbard's who claims to have committed robberies with himCraig Watkins, a newly-elected District Attorney interested in reinvestigating claims of innocence Judge Rick Magnis, the judge of Texas' 283rd DistrictSubscribe to Radio Atlantic to hear part three in the “No Way Out” series when it's released. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Feb 201825min

In 1987, Jeffrey Young was robbed and killed, and his body was left on a street in the poor neighborhood of West Dallas. Benjamine Spencer was tried and convicted for the attack. Spencer was black, 22 years old, and recently married. Young was 33 and white, and his father was a senior executive for Ross Perot, one of the most prominent businessmen in Dallas. No physical evidence connected Spencer to the murder. Instead, he was convicted based on the testimony of three eyewitnesses and a jailhouse informant who claimed Spencer confessed to the crime. Spencer has now been in prison for most of his life. From behind bars, Spencer amassed evidence to support his claim of innocence, and secured the assistance of Centurion Ministries, a group that re-examines cases of prisoners like him. Together, they were able to convince a Texas judge of Spencer’s innocence. In investigating this story, not only did we confirm Centurion’s findings, but we’ve gathered new, exculpatory evidence, some of which appears first in this special, three-episode series of Radio Atlantic. --- Key individuals mentioned in this story (listed in order of appearance):Benjamine Spencer, the prisoner, convicted in October 1987, retried and convicted in March 1988, given life in prisonJeffrey Young, the victim, murdered in Dallas in March 1987Jay Young, Jeffrey’s son, the elder of twoCheryl Wattley, Spencer’s current attorneyTroy Johnson, a friend of Jeffrey Young’s, who tried calling him the night of his murderHarry Young, Jeffrey’s father, a senior executive in Ross Perot’s companyJesus “Jessie” Briseno, a detective for the Dallas Police Department, the lead investigator on the murder of Jeffrey YoungGladys Oliver, the prosecution’s star eyewitness in the trials of Benjamine SpencerRobert Mitchell, another man convicted a week after Spencer in a separate trial for the same crime, now deceasedFaith Johnson, the current district attorney in DallasFrank Jackson, Spencer’s defense attorney in the original trialAndy Beach, the prosecutor in the trial that sent Spencer to prisonAlan Ledbetter, the foreman of the jury that convicted SpencerDanny Edwards, the jailhouse informant who testified in Spencer’s original trials that Spencer had confessed to himDebra Spencer, Benjamine Spencer’s wife at the time of his convictionChristi Williams, the alibi witness who testified in Spencer’s defense at his trialsJim McCloskey, the founder of Centurion Ministries, the group that has aided Spencer's quest for exonerationDaryl Parker, a private investigator who has helped re-examine Spencer’s case and Young’s murderJimmie Cotton, one of three eyewitnesses for the prosecution in Spencer’s original trialsCharles Stewart, another of three eyewitnesses for the prosecution in Spencer’s trials, now deceasedSandra Brackens, a potential witness in Spencer’s defense who was not called to testify at his trialsSubscribe to Radio Atlantic to hear part two in the “No Way Out” series when it's released. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Feb 201855min

Conor Friedersdorf recently argued in The Atlantic that in this moment, when the truth is bitterly contested, fiction presents us an opportunity. It allows us to step into another person’s perspective and talk about gray areas without the problems of detailing an actual person’s private moments. But does blurring the lines between truth and fiction undermine the messy complexities of the real world? David Sims and Megan Garber join to discuss the spate of recent pop culture that aims to recast reality. Links - “‘The Arrangements’: A Work of Fiction” (Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, The New York Times Magazine, June 28, 2016) - “Remote Control” (Sarah Marshall, The Believer, January 2014 Issue) - "Re-Examining Monica, Marcia, Tonya and Anita, the 'Scandalous' Women of the '90s" (Sarah Marshall, Splinter, April 19, 2016) - “The Crown: Netflix's Best Superhero Show” (Sophie Gilbert, December 9, 2017) - “How #MeToo Can Probe Gray Areas With Less Backlash” (Conor Friedersdorf, January 18, 2018) - “'Cat Person' and the Impulse to Undermine Women's Fiction” (Megan Garber, December 11, 2017) - “Aziz Ansari and the Paradox of ‘No’” (Megan Garber, January 16, 2018) - “Dinner Discussion” (Saturday Night Live, January 27, 2018) - “Grease Dilemma” (CollegeHumor, 2011) - Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine (Joe Hagan, 2017) - “One Day at a Time Is a Sitcom That Doubles as a Civics Lesson” (Megan Garber, January 17, 2017) - An epic 200-plus tweet thread on Janet Jackson (October 23, 2017) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Feb 201851min

“Conventional wisdom suggests that the temptations of Washington, D.C., corrupt all the idealists, naïfs, and ingenues who settle there," Franklin Foer writes in his cover story for the March issue of The Atlantic. "But what if that formulation gets the causation backwards? What if it took an outsider to debase the capital and create the so-called swamp?” Before Paul Manafort led the campaign to position Donald Trump as the ultimate Washington outsider, Manafort had built a career on being the consummate D.C. insider. Foer tells the story of Manafort's rise and fall, his stint as a consigliere to oligarchs, and the lines he was willing to cross in lobbying and political consulting. Foer joins Jeff and Matt to describe how Manafort's career is a window into the rise of corruption in America. Links - “The Plot Against America” (Franklin Foer, March 2018 Issue) - “How the Swamp Drained Trump” (McKay Coppins, January 30, 2018) - “Dictatorships & Double Standards” (Jeane Kirkpatrick, Commentary, November 1, 1979) - The Soul of a New Machine (Tracy Kidder, 1981) - “Mackenzie Davis Answers the Tough Questions” (E. Alex Jung, Vulture, August 14, 2017) - Shop Class as Soulcraft (Matthew B. Crawford, 2010) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Feb 201854min

Once again, immigration is at the top of America's legislative agenda, as it has been, seemingly every generation, for much of the nation's history. But while many recent discussions of immigration have focused on unauthorized immigrants, some of the most contentious aspects of the current debate concern legal immigration: Who should the U.S. allow to be an American? Priscilla Alvarez, an editor on The Atlantic's politics and policy team, joins hosts Matt and Alex to discuss the debate within Congress, and to review the lessons America's history offers. Links - “America’s Forgotten History of Illegal Deportations” (Alex Wagner, March 6, 2017) - “The Diversity Visa Program Was Created to Help Irish Immigrants” (Priscilla Alvarez, November 1, 2017) - “'An Assault on the Body of the Church’” (Emma Green, January 22, 2018) - “The Ordeal of Immigration in Wausau” (Roy Beck, April 1994 Issue) - “To Be Both Midwestern and Hmong” (Doualy Xaykaothao, June 3, 2016) - "How Wausau's Immigration Fears Failed to Come True" (Robert Mentzer, Wausau Daily Herald, December 2014) - “Black Like Them” (Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker, April 29, 1996 Issue) - Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s (Francisco E. Balderrama) - “Asians in the 2016 Race” (Alex Wagner, September 12, 2016) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Jan 201847min