Why It’s So Easy To Start A War
Presidents have always skirted the rules when it comes to gaining authorization from Congress to use military force. President Donald Trump’s direction to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani takes it to a whole new level and exposes just how weak the War Powers Act has become. Guest: Oona Hathaway, Author of The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
8 Jan 202023min
Bernie Could Win This Thing
Right now, when it comes to fundraising, it certainly looks like Bernie Sanders is winning. In the last three months, his campaign has raised more money than any other Democrat in the field. And with just a few weeks left before the Iowa caucuses, Sanders is in a three-way tie for the lead alongside Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg. How is he pulling this off? Guest: Ryan Grim, D.C. bureau chief at the Intercept. Read his latest story is about the Sanders campaign. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
7 Jan 202020min
Trump Chooses War
In a little over a week, tensions in the Middle East have gone from high to fever pitch. What started with one American civilian contractor in Iraq being killed escalated to airstrikes on militia-controlled sites in Iraq and Syria, killing 24 people and wounding dozens more. Then, a siege at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by pro-Iranian militia and a response by the Trump administration that killed Iran’s top military commander. What went into the decision to assassinate Gen. Qassem Soleimani? And is the United States prepared for what comes next? Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s War Stories correspondent and author of The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War, out later this month. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
6 Jan 202025min
This Week in Impeachment: A Senate Trial in Limbo
President Donald Trump was impeached in the House of Representatives just over two weeks ago. There’s just one hitch: The articles of impeachment that were passed haven’t made it to the Senate … yet. It’s part of a tactical hold by the Democrats seeking to ensure that the majority-Republican Senate holds a fair trial. What does that mean? And is Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ready to do that? Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics writer for Slate. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
4 Jan 202021min
WN TBD: Do Algorithms Make Sentencing Fairer?
Around the country, states are employing algorithms to help reduce prison populations and predict recidivism. This week, we hear from a Wisconsin judge with serious reservations about the algorithm used in his state. Also: a deep dive into Virginia's risk-assessment algorithm and the surprising results of its implementation. Guests: Nicholas McNamara, judge on the circuit court of Dane County, Wisconsin. Jennifer Doleac, associate professor of economics at Texas A&M and director of the Justice Tech Lab. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
3 Jan 202019min
Billionaires’ Favorite Tax Reform
When President Trump passed his tax overhaul in 2017, Democrats and Republicans were excited about the prospect of one specific provision. ‘Opportunity zones’ were meant to spur investment in low-income communities. Two years later, it’s unclear if that has actually happened. Billionaires, on the other hand, are benefitting from the program left and right. Guest: Justin Elliott, reporter at ProPublica. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2 Jan 202025min
Three Stories We Can't Stop Thinking About
As 2019 comes to a close, What Next is checking back in on three stories we did this year. From a power struggle in Venezuela to a border wall dispute in Arizona and back to Washington for an impeachment update. Here’s what happened…next! Guests: Ana Vanessa Herrero, reporter for the New York Times, Mayor of Nogales Arturo Garino, and Noah Feldman Harvard Law School professor and host of Deep Background, available on Luminary. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
30 Dec 201925min
WN TBD: A Landmark Privacy Law Takes Effect. Now What?
On January 1st, a new law will grant Californians the right to see, delete, and stop the sale of personal information collected by tech companies. But the impact of the bill may reach far beyond California. How does this landmark law affect the rest of the country? And will it set the stage for national privacy legislation? Guest: Hayley Tsukayama, Legislative Activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
27 Dec 201918min
