Slate News

With Americans owing more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt, Black and other marginalized students are bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Braxton Brewington, the spokesperson for The Debt Collective. That organization, dedicated to ending what it considers unjust debt, closed out more than a million dollars owed by students at Bennett College. They talk about what went into making this happen, and the myths about student borrowing that are standing in the way of solutions.Guest: Braxton Brewington, spokesperson for The Debt CollectivePodcast production by Jasmine Ellis 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

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior editor for Jurisprudence Nicole Lewis is joined by Slate Money co-host, and correspondent for Axios, Emily Peck to talk about the economic implications of overturning Roe v. Wade. A leaked Supreme Court draft opinion shows the court has the votes to abolish the constitutional right to abortion, which Roe established in 1973. Our hosts dig into all the ways ending abortion will undermine women’s economic gains and participation in the workforce, including gains that conservatives champion - like low rates of teenage motherhood, stable homes and being able to work and provide for yourself. And finally, they look at how eliminating the right to an abortion would disproportionately impact poor women and women of color. Mentioned in the Episode:“Overturning Roe Could Reverse Economic Gains” by Emily Peck“The Horrifying Implications of Alito’s Most Alarming Footnote” by Dahlia Lithwick National Network of Abortion FundsIn Slate Plus: Are Brazillian Butt Lifts feminist? Recommendations:Nicole: The Netflix series Bonding.Emily: All kinds of gummy candy, from bears to sour worms.  Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus 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

The school shooting in Uvalde, Texas was the deadliest since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut nearly a decade ago. Today, we’re re-airing an interview with a parent who lost her child at Sandy Hook and went on to channel her grief into activism. In February, she and a group of other Sandy Hook families announced a $73 million settlement with Remington Arms, forcing the gunmaker to accept responsibility for marketing its weapons to disaffected young men. Guest: Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation.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

More than a million people have died of COVID in America, and infection rates across the country are climbing again. But public officials seem reluctant to enact mask mandates or lockdowns this time around. Doctors and scientists who work in public health are hoping that “harm reduction” techniques, which were developed to treat addiction and chronic illnesses, can tamp down this latest wave.Guest: Dr. Deepika Slawek, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Division of General Internal Medicine & an attending physician at Montefiore Comprehensive Family Care.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

An effort to counterweight GOP-friendly maps in Ohio and Florida in New York state has backfired on the Democrats.How did Democratic state politicians bungle their redistricting process? Will the error cost the party nationally? Guest: Dave Wasserman, U.S. House editor of the nonpartisan @CookPolitical Report.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

President Biden ran on a promise to forgive $10,000 in student loans back in 2020—but so far, there hasn’t been much movement on that front. Between the pros, the cons, and the politics, one thing is clear: fixing higher education will take more than an executive order.Guest: Jordan Weissmann, writer and editor focused on economics, public policy, and politics 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 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

They’ve stolen billions of dollars. Is the U.S. ready to crack down?Guest: Jason Bartlett, research associate in the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American SecurityHost: Lizzie O'Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The recent massacre targeting the Black community in Buffalo has led to strong words from President Biden and other leaders, denouncing white supremacist violence. But for the remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and their descendants, those words ring hollow. On this week’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Damario Solomon-Simmons, a civil rights lawyer who is leading an effort to win reparations for Tulsa Race Massacre survivors. He won a historic legal victory this month, but argues that the president has failed to follow through on promises to do everything he could to pursue justice for Tulsa. Guest: Damario Solomon-Simmons is a civil rights attorney, and is leading efforts to win reparations for Tulsa Race Massacre victims and their descendants. He’s the Managing Partner of SolomonSimmonsLaw.Podcast production by Jasmine EllisYou 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, historian and original Waves host, Marcia Chatelain is joined by sociologist Danielle Lindemann to talk all things reality TV. They discuss Danielle’s new book, True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us and why we don’t take reality television as seriously as we should. Later in the show they talk about why women are more successful at monetizing their reality TV brand and how the genre takes us on a tour of the class system.  In Slate Plus: Is The Bachelorette feminist? Recommendations:Marcia: The True Crime Obsessed podcast, Let the Women Do the WorkDanielle: The Netflix series Selling Sunset Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus 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

The shooting in Buffalo raises questions about the effectiveness of content moderation. Is the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism the answer to how social media can moderate extremist content?Guest: Emma Llansó, director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and TechnologyHost: Ray Suarez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices