Deconstructed

Crime is surging in Houston, and homicide detectives are given free rein as they race to close cases. Investigators are certain that Charles Raby is guilty of Edna Franklin’s murder — and that DNA evidence will prove it. But once Charles confesses, the forensic investigation stops.Murderville, an investigative podcast hosted by senior Intercept reporters Liliana Segura and Jordan Smith, examines the systemic failures that lead to wrongful convictions. Season Two takes Segura and Smith to the death penalty capital of the country, Harris County, Texas, where they investigate a disturbing crime, a startling confession, and a story that doesn’t add up. To follow the series, subscribe to Murderville wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more at https://theintercept.com/podcasts/murderville/If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/donate — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The proposed Social Security 2100 Act would bolster the nearly century-old social insurance program through additions like caregiver credits and increased minimum benefits. Connecticut Rep. John Larson, the architect of the plan, joins Intercept reporters Ryan Grim and Jon Schwarz to discuss why he thinks an expansion of Social Security is overdue.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the waning hours of his presidency, Donald Trump issued an order designating the Houthis in Yemen as a terrorist organization; one of Joe Biden’s first actions upon taking office was to reverse that designation. Now, under pressure from the United Arab Emirates, he may be having second thoughts. Intercept reporter Ken Klippenstein and Michigan State University assistant professor Shireen Al-Adeimi join Ryan Grim to discuss the potential consequences of restoring Trump’s last-minute order.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his new book, congressman Ro Khanna tackles the question of how the prosperity generated by technology can be more broadly shared. In the foreword, Indian economist Amartya Sen writes “just as people can move to technology, technology can move to people. People need not be compelled to move from one place to another to reap the benefits offered by technological progress”. Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley in Congress, joins Ryan Grim to discuss the book and more.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Murderville, an investigative podcast hosted by senior Intercept reporters Liliana Segura and Jordan Smith, examines the systemic failures that lead to wrongful convictions. Season Two takes Segura and Smith to the death penalty capital of the country, Harris County, Texas, where they investigate a disturbing crime, a startling confession, and a story that doesn’t add up. To follow the series, subscribe to Murderville at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more at https://theintercept.com/podcasts/murderville/If you’d like to support our work, go to theintercept.com/donate — your donation, no matter what the amount, makes a real difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I was a racketeer; a gangster for capitalism." So declared famed Marine Corps officer Smedley Butler in 1935, at the end of a long career spent blazing a path for American interests in Cuba, Nicaragua, China, The Philippines, Panama, and Haiti. In a new book on Butler’s career, Gangsters of Capitalism, Jonathan Katz details Butler’s life and explains how it dovetails with the broader story of American empire at the turn of the century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The normally reserved International Committee of the Red Cross recently made a surprisingly direct statement about the unfolding economic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. They said, “Can the international community” — meaning the U.S. — “hold 39 million people hostage to the fact that they do not want to recognise the authorities that are now in place in Kabul and in Afghanistan?”Masood Shnizai is a journalist based in Kabul, Afghanistan. He joins Ryan Grim to discuss the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2022/01/09/afghanistan-sanctions-human-rights-hawks/">devastating effects</a> of the <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/12/28/afghanistan-economy-collapse-us-sanctions/">ongoing U.S. sanctions</a>, and why the calls for help seem to be falling on deaf ears in the Biden administration.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former senate majority leader Harry Reid died on December 28th at the age of 82. Reid, who was born into extreme poverty in Nevada in 1939, rose to become one of the most influential politicians in the modern Democratic party. Three of his former aides, Kristen Orthman, Faiz Shakir, and Ari Rabin-Havt, join Ryan Grim to discuss Reid’s life and impact on American politics.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introduced during the Trump administration, “direct contracting” is a Medicare payment model that allows private medical practices and insurance companies to arrange set payments from Medicare for the year, rather than bill the administration for services. But critics warn that the system, which has continued under the Biden administration, is being exploited by venture capitalists. Merrill Goozner is a health care reporter who has spent decades covering the slow-moving crisis of American healthcare, and he joins to Ryan Grim to discuss the present and possible future of Medicare.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the senate voted down a resolution that would have blocked a defensive weapons sale to Saudi Arabia. The measure attracted support from senators of both parties for its potential to pressure the Saudis to end the war in Yemen. Intercept reporters Sara Sirota and Ken Klippenstein join Ryan Grim to discuss what the politics surrounding Saudi Arabia look like with a democrat back in the White House.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.