Slate News

On this week’s episode of The Waves, we dig into why Sarah Palin is still around - and if you should be paying attention. Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth is joined by Slate senior writer Christina Cauterucci to talk about Christina’s time spent in Alaska where Palin is trying to make a political comeback in a tight race for Alaska’s lone Congressional seat. Later in the show, Christina explains why it’s necessary to keep talking about Palin after all these years.In Slate Plus, Cheyna and Christina talk about whether Sheryl Sandberg’s abortion rights donation to the ACLU is feminist. Recommendations:Christina: Cleanness by Garth Greenwell Cheyna: When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson are Live in Atlanta discussing Georgia’s midterm election with NPR-WABE’s Rose Scott, as well as increasing political violencein the U.S.; and affirmative action at the Supreme Court.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Closer Look with Rose ScottJohn Dickerson for CBS Primetime: “Political Threats And Violence In The U.S.” (Inteview with Robert Pape)Steal This Book, by Abbie HoffmanHere are this week’s chatters:John: Carrie McBride for The New York Public Library: “100 Years Ago Men and Boys Fought on the Streets of New York Over Wearing Straw Hats Past Summer”Emily: Fleishman Is in TroubleDavid: The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan; Fall; or, Dodge in Hell, by Neil Stephenson; The Immortal King Rao, by Vauhini Vara; Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr; The Circle, by Dave EggersListener chatter from John Campbell McMillian: Atlanta Police Department’s Citizen's Police AcademyFor this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and John take listener questions live.Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.Research by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrats have been winning reliably in Nevada, but between the lack of enthusiasm for Joe Biden among Latino voters, and a lackluster voter-turnout effort from Vegas’s hospitality union, it’s very possible that the face of Nevada’s “Stop the Steal” effort may win a Senate seat.Guest: Jon Ralston, CEO and Editor in Chief of The Nevada Independent.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden won Colorado by 13 points, which is why Jim O’Dea is running for the Senate as a moderate Republican—one who will stand up to Donald Trump. It’s a message that isn’t winning support from Democratic voters, and may well be undermining his appeal to Republicans.  Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics writer at Slate. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases challenging race-conscious admissions programs. If the justices decide that affirmative action is unconstitutional—as they seem poised to do—how can universities still create diverse student bodies? Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer at Slate covering the Supreme Court.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the recently released results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, American students across the country are scoring lower on math and reading. But before we panic, it’s important to put those results in context, and consider what evaluations can actually tell us.Guest: Jack Schneider, associate professor of education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and co-host of the education policy podcast “Have You Heard.”If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson talk to civil rights journalist and WHYY radio host Cherri Gregg about the Pennsylvania midterm campaigns.Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.Research by Bridgette Dunlap Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are some 400 million surveillance cameras installed in China, one for every three to four civilians. Built with the help of American tech companies, the surveillance state was pitched to the public as a way to make society safer and more efficient. But after severe lockdowns during COVID, the public has been objecting out of the eye of the camera lens. Protests are being written on bathroom walls.Guest: Josh Chin, deputy bureau chief, China, for the Wall Street JournalHost: Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For every civil rights martyr like Emmett Till, there were many other Black Americans who were brutalized or killed by racist violence in the early 20th century and remain largely unknown. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Professor Margaret Burnham, author of By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners. This new book unravels many of the lesser known stories of racist violence, the perpetrators, victims, and survivors. It’s also offering descendants of victims a platform, and an opportunity to fill in the blanks of their family history.Guest: Professor Margaret Burnham, author of By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal ExecutionersPodcast production by Kristie Taiwo-MakanjuolaYou can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior editor Rebecca Onion is joined by Jess Zimmerman, who writes about witches, feminism, and all the scary ladies. They sit down to unpack their feelings about Disney’s Hocus Pocus films - both past and present and how the witch discussion has changed in the thirty years between movies. In Slate Plus, is Taylor Swift’s Anti Hero music video feminist?Recommendations:Rebecca: The audiobook of The Mercies by Kiran Milwood Hargrave and read by Jessie Buckley.Jess: The new book Toil and Trouble by Lisa Kroger and Melanie Anderson. Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices