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The U.S. has some of the worst maternal mortality rates in the industrialized world. And African Americans are three times more likely to die in childbirth than whites. The documentary Aftershock focuses on how the healthcare system is failing Black mothers at the most vulnerable time of their lives, and how their families are fighting to change that. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson speaks with the film’s co-director and co-producer Tonya Lewis Lee about the history of the crisis and the movement to solve it.Aftershock is currently streaming on Hulu.Guest: Tonya Lewis LeePodcast 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

There's no way to remove politics from public health.Guest: Tim RequarthHost: Lizzie O'Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, the streaming wars have come for us all. The Daily Beast’s Allegra Frank sits down with Inkoo Kang of The Washington Post to talk about what happened at HBO and where gender fits into it all. HBO Max recently canceled the nearly done Batgirl, and has been quietly removing content from its streaming service as it prepares to merge with Discovery+. Allegra and Inkoo talk about how streaming services reducing their content offering likely spells trouble for non-white, non-male voices. In Slate Plus, is Batman feminist? Recommendations:Allegra: Never Have I Ever on NetflixInkoo: The Harley Quinn series on HBO Max Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Alicia Montgomery and Daisy Rosario.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 Benjamin Wittes discuss the Trump investigations; Liz Cheney’s defeat; and Dana Goldstein’s reporting on controversies over how to teach kids to read.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Jack Goldsmith for Lawfare: “Prosecuting Trump: A Reply to Josh Marshall”Dana Goldstein for The New York Times: “An Old and Contested Solution to Boost Reading Scores: Phonics”Dana Goldstein The New York Times: “In the Fight Over How to Teach Reading, This Guru Makes a Major Retreat”Dana Goldstein The New York Times: “New Reading Curriculum Is Mired in Debate Over Race and Gender”Belinda Luscombe for Time: “Inside the Massive Effort to Change the Way Kids Are Taught to Read”Ronald Brownstein for The Atlantic: “Liz Cheney’s Kamikaze Campaign”Invisible Things by Mat JohnsonHere are this week’s chatters:Emily: Sam Levine for The Guardian: “Memphis Prosecutor Who Charged Black Woman Over Voting Error Loses Re-Election Bid”; Kim Bellware and Lateshia Beachum for The Washington Post: “Desantis Sued By Prosecutor Suspended Over Stance On Abortion-Related Crime”Ben: The Lawfare Podcast: AlliesDavid: Dwight Garner for The New York Times: “Jared Kushner’s ‘Breaking History’ Is a Soulless and Very Selective Memoir”Listener chatter from Josh Forsythe: Elizabeth P. Derryberry, Jennifer N. Phillips, Graham E. Derryberry, Michael J. Blum, and David Luther for Science: “Singing In A Silent Spring: Birds Respond To A Half-Century Soundscape Reversion During The Covid-19 Shutdown”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, David, and Ben discuss Ben’s performance art protests at the Russian embassy in D.C. 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

The Inflation Reduction Act is spurring progress towards new climate technology that, at times, sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. Will it make a dent in the fight against climate change?Guest: Pranshu VermaHost: Lizzie O'Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State treasurers in red states have been banding together to punish companies that are trying to divest themselves from the fossil fuel industry. But it isn’t clear if, say, BlackRock needs West Virginia more than West Virginia needs BlackRock. And this new front in the culture war may come with a bill that taxpayers have to pay. Guest: David Gelles, correspondent on the Climate desk at The New York Times, covering the intersection of public policy and the private sector.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

When Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron investigated the night Breonna Taylor was killed, his office concluded that the two officers who shot Taylor acted in good faith while executing the warrant provided. The Department of Justice’s investigation, however, suggests the warrant itself had false information, without which officers would never have been at Taylor’s home in the first place. Now a candidate for governor, will Cameron pay for his inattention in this high-profile case?Guest: Tessa Duvall, Frankfort bureau chief for the Lexington Herald-Leader.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

After an FBI search of Mar-a-lago last week, it was revealed that Donald Trump is being investigated for federal crimes including violating the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice, and criminal handling of government records. How can the Justice Department do its job with the former president calling the investigation a hoax and his supporters demonstrating a willingness to respond violently? Who should be worried here? Guest: Ankush Khardori, contributing writer for New York Magazine's Intelligencer, and contributing editor at POLITICO Magazine.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

During his presidency, Donald Trump demonstrated the power that social media can have in politics. Now, influencers are taking money to spread messages from across the spectrum. Unlike political ads in older media, though, influencers don’t have to disclose who is paying them—or even that they’re being paid at all.Guest: Ben Wofford, writer based at Stanford Law School, contributor to Wired. 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

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premieres in theaters this November. The franchise has provided a showcase for African Americans across the entertainment industry, including those behind the scenes. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson speaks with one of those rising creatives, conceptual artist Phillip Boutte Jr. Boutte left an acting career for film design, working on several sci-fi blockbusters. They discuss how Black Panther has helped change the dynamic for African American film professionals who had struggled to get a foothold in Hollywood.Guest: Production designer Phillip Boutte Jr., co-founder of 9B Collective, the first Black owned conceptual artist incubator in the industry.Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola.You 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