The murder of George Floyd prompted a number of American colleges and universities to reckon with their historic roles in slavery. Three years later, many institutions have abandoned those efforts. One that’s still going strong is the Hard Histories Project at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by historian Martha Jones, the director of that effort. The scholars associated with the project have uncovered many challenging truths, including evidence that the founder of Johns Hopkins—widely hailed as an abolitionist—owned slaves.Guest: Historian Martha Jones, Director of the Hard Histories Project at Johns Hopkins UniversityPodcast 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 $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… imagine a world without police.Three years after George Floyd’s murder, we’ve seen some incremental change in how we try to prevent police brutality. But it still happens, all too often — and Americans are still dying, in alarming numbers, at the hands of police. Writer and organizer Geo Maher joins us to argue that our law enforcement system is too bloated and corrupt to fix. Instead, we should dismantle it entirely and start from scratch. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can now email the show: hearmeout@slate.comPodcast production by Maura CurrieYou can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court is currently hearing a case that will determine whether or not the government is obligated to ensure water access for Native American tribes. The arguments in the case, Arizona v. Navajo Nation, hinge upon whether or not the government has violated past treaties with the tribe by not providing adequate water.Guest: Heather Tanana, assistant professor of law at the University of Utah and citizen of the Navajo Nation.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

Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925, and he remains one of the most polarizing figures of the civil rights movement. An enduring myth from that era is that he and Martin Luther King Jr. were diametrically opposed politically. But the recent revelation that a quote where King condemned Malcolm X was false has prompted a wider reconsideration of his beliefs and legacy.On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by historian Peniel Joseph, author of “The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.” Professor Joseph explains why the popular understanding of Malcolm X is so incomplete, and helps to give a more nuanced portrait of him as a man and a leader. Guest: Peniel Joseph, Barbara Jordan Chair in Ethics and Political Values at the University of Texas, LBJ School of Public AffairsPodcast production by Ahyiana AngelYou can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The shooter who killed 8 people at an Allen, Texas mall had Nazi tattoos and left behind an online diary filled with white supremacist beliefs. He also was Latino. Guest: Tanya Katerí Hernández, professor of law at Fordham University School of Law and author of Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for EqualityIf 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

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… if you need a Chief Diversity Officer, you’ve already failed.Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) trainings are reaching ubiquity in pretty much every American workplace. There’s no doubt that discrimination, harassment and sequestering — on the basis of sex, sexuality, gender, race, age — all of that exists.The question becomes what to do about it. And there’s an argument to be made that the trainings and buzzwords might be doing more to make workplaces worse than they do to make them better.Cindy Gallop, entrepreneur and CEO of IfWeRanTheWorld and MakeLoveNotPorn, joins us.If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can now email the show: hearmeout@slate.comPodcast production by Maura CurrieYou can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s show, Rachelle is joined by ICYMI favorite, Nadira Goffe to talk about the makeup meltdown that’s taken over TikTok. The two dissect a Miami F1 brand trip sponsored by Tarte Cosmetics that ended in multiple apology videos and a promise by Tarte CEO Maureen Kelly to make her brand’s creator program more equitable. They dive deep into Tarte’s less than inclusive history and explain how exactly Pyrex got involved.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Rachelle Hampton and Daisy Rosario.Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The persistent stereotype that role-playing, tabletop game players are overwhelmingly white is rooted in race, housing, and history. The suburban homes where people could dedicate a surface to a sprawling, multiplayer board game used to be almost exclusively white. And the knights, wizards, and other fantastic creatures in these games were closely tied to European mythology. But a more diverse world of game playing is rising, with more people of color getting a seat at the creative table. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson discusses diversity in hobby games with Aaron Trammell, a professor of informatics at U.C. Irvine. He’s also the author of the new book The Privilege of Play: A History of Hobby Games, Race and Geek Culture.Guest: Aaron Trammell, author of The Privilege of Play: A History of Hobby Games, Race and Geek CulturePodcast 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 $15 for your first three months.Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Activated during the Trump administration in 2020, Title 42 is a controversial border policy that makes it easier to quickly expel asylum seekers. Even though Biden campaigned on moving away from Trump’s anti-immigration stance,, his administration has also leaned on Title 42 to control the border. . Now that the policy is being lifted this week, pressure is on the Biden administration to answer the practical question: “What does a fair and humane asylum system look like in America?” Guest: Arelis Hernández, immigration reporter at the Washington PostIf 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

Even classical art can be revolutionary. That was true for violinist Joseph Bologne. He was a biracial musical prodigy who worked and charmed his way into the center of 18th-century French society. But the new film “Chevalier” shows how even his genius couldn’t save him from the poisonous combination of bias and envy. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by actor Kelvin Harrison Jr., star of “Chevalier.” They talk about rediscovering this largely forgotten musical history, and Harrison’s critically acclaimed work on stage and screen.Guest: Actor Kelvin Harrison, Jr.Podcast production by Ahyiana AngelYou can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months.Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices