Decoder Ring | Cozy Autumn Mysteries

For a long time, Brandon Flood kept his criminal history quiet - he worked in the Pennsylvania state government, and didn’t want his former convictions to detract from his career success. But now, that history makes him uniquely suited for his new job as secretary of the state’s Board of Pardons. How did he go from submitting his own pardon application - to one year later, leading the body that helps make those clemency decisions? This episode was originally posted in April. Guest: Brandon Flood, Secretary of the Pennsylvania state Board of Pardons.   Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Ethan Brooks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Juni 201917min

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s political philosophy is an elegant one: If you want to do something bold, you must follow public sentiment, not lead it. Now why can’t House Democrats seem to shape public sentiment? And what makes them so afraid to cross their caucus leader? Guest: Rachael Bade, Congress reporter for the Washington Post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Juni 201924min

It’s June, which means it’s the season of highly anticipated Supreme Court rulings. We’re taking a look at two cases that shook up the typical partisan fault line on the bench. How did conservative and liberal justices find themselves making unusual alliances on double jeopardy and racial gerrymandering? Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, Slate’s courts correspondent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Juni 201923min

At the Women’s World Cup this year, the U.S. players talk about living in a “bubble” -- thinking of nothing but the game, eschewing any distractions. What looms outside that bubble is their lawsuit against their federation for gender discrimination, and it’s already shading the reactions to their games. Guest: Nancy Armour, sports columnist for USA TODAY.  Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Ethan Brooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Juni 201923min

The Bernie Sanders campaign billed his speech on Wednesday as a “major address on how democratic socialism is the only way to defeat oligarchy and authoritarianism.” Besides being a mouthful, the speech was an attempt for Bernie to explain why he calls himself a socialist. However, he gets a key element of the pitch wrong. Was it an accident or is Bernie intentionally trying to change what being a socialist in America means? Guest: Jordan Weissmann, economics and policy writer at Slate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Juni 201922min

Mark Zuckerberg used to avoid traveling to Washington, D.C., leaving a lot of the political outreach Facebook needed to do to COO Sheryl Sandberg. Now? He’s personally putting in phone calls to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (who won’t return his calls). What does the incident concerning the distorted video of Pelosi that went viral show us about how the social media giant’s relationship with policymakers is changing? And what does it mean for the 2020 elections? Guest: Elizabeth Dwoskin, Silicon Valley correspondent for the Washington Post Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Juni 201920min

If you walk to the Ohio riverfront from Owensboro’s City Hall, past the Courthouse, and the Museum of Science and History, you’ll get to McConnell Plaza. Mitch McConnell Plaza. For years, this town has been courting the Senate majority leader and, recently, its paid off. What does the relationship between his office and his wife, Elaine Chao’s, office have to do with the grants this small city is receiving? Are ethics being violated? Guest: Tanya Snyder, transportation reporter at POLITICO. Read her latest story on Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Juni 201920min

Elizabeth Warren might be a different kind of presidential candidate. Is America ready for that? Guest: Dahlia Lithwick, Slate writer and host of the Amicus podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Juni 201924min