Slate History

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… ‘tis the damn season.Break out the glitter and the ugly sweaters. If you’re on social media, you’ve probably seen a lot of minimalist holiday décor this year — from celebrities, influencers, and DIY-ers alike. It seems trendy to try “class up” the holidays and eschew the bright and gaudy for the monotone, the understated, or the expensive-looking… but does living in fear of committing a faux pas maybe miss the point? Kristen Meinzer, culture critic and cohost of The Daily Fail, joins us to defend the tacky — as not only counterculture, but as the real reason for the season.If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.comPodcast production by Maura Currie.You 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

Robert Mapplethorpe was one of the most famous photographers in the world—and one of the most controversial. When his work came to Cincinnati in 1990, it would be at the center of a vicious fight over obscenity and the First Amendment, one that threatened the future of art in America.This episode of One Year was written by Evan Chung, One Year's senior producer. It was produced by Kelly Jones and Evan Chung, with additional production by Olivia Briley.It was edited by Josh Levin, One Year’s editorial director, with Joel Meyer and Derek John, Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director.Join Slate Plus to get a special behind-the-scenes conversation at the end of our season about how we put together our 1990 stories. Slate Plus members also get to listen to all Slate podcasts without any ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… cen-suspicions.We’re a little over six years away from the next national census. It’s understandable that this might not be at the top of your mind, but for a small group of academics and activists, it absolutely is. Race isn’t a real thing, scientifically speaking. But we still live in a heavily racialized society, and the Census sets the stage for many, many policy decisions that impact race equity. So, if race isn’t real, why does the Census act like it’s a simple, immutable fact?Carlos Hoyt, an author and speaker, joins us to propose a more dynamic way of self reporting – and recording – race. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.comPodcast production by Maura Currie.You 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

In March 1990, a story broke that shocked the nation: George H.W. Bush had banned broccoli from Air Force One. The frenzy that came next would change the fate of a vegetable—and maybe even alter the course of a presidency.This episode was written by Olivia Briley and Josh Levin, One Year’s editorial director. One Year’s senior producer is Evan Chung.This episode was produced by Olivia Briley and Kelly Jones. It was edited by Joel Meyer and Evan Chung.Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is senior technical director.Join Slate Plus to get a special behind-the-scenes conversation at the end of our season about how we put together our 1990 stories. Slate Plus members also get to listen to all Slate podcasts without any ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… atrocities beget atrocities.The war in Gaza is ongoing, and brutal – and on this show we’ve discussed whether you, as an observer, have a responsibility to speak out about it… or to even choose a side between Israelis and Palestinians. This week, we take a different angle: who has a responsibility, in war, to do what? And not do what? And to whom? Michael Walzer, author and professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study, joins us to argue that even the oppressed have obligations. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.comPodcast production by Maura Currie.You 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

A middle-aged single dad in Chicago was outraged by all the cigarette billboards popping up in Black communities. In 1990, he picked up a paint roller and became an anti-tobacco vigilante. And he did it all under a secret identity.This episode was written by Josh Levin, One Year’s editorial director. One Year’s senior producer is Evan Chung.This episode was produced by Kelly Jones, Olivia Briley, and Evan Chung. It was edited by Joel Meyer and Derek John, Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. We had mixing help from Kevin Bendis.Join Slate Plus to get a special behind-the-scenes conversation at the end of our season about how we put together our 1990 stories. Slate Plus members also get to listen to all Slate podcasts without any ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pizza Hut’s adventure in the Soviet Union was unlike any restaurant opening before or since. It involved a fleet of submarines, a very special pizza topped with tuna and salmon, and a casual dining spot on a mission to change the world.This episode was written by Kelly Jones and Josh Levin, One Year’s editorial director. One Year’s senior producer is Evan Chung.This episode was produced by Kelly Jones and Evan Chung, with additional production by Olivia Briley. It was edited by Joel Meyer and Derek John, Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director.Join Slate Plus to get a special behind-the-scenes conversation at the end of our season about how we put together our 1990 stories. Slate Plus members also get to listen to all Slate podcasts without any ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the past few years, ultra-conservative activists took aim at school boards, trying to shape curriculums to match their beliefs. But this year, from Pennsylvania to Iowa, “parental rights candidates” lost handily. What happened?Guest: Adam Laats, Professor of Education and History at Binghamton University.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

The first hopes for a post-racial America were raised during Reconstruction, the post-Civil War era when the country’s leaders pledged to fulfill the promise of freedom for formerly enslaved Blacks. But after a decade of reforms, the brutal racial hierarchy was reestablished in the South, costing African Americans their rights, opportunities, and—in many cases—their lives. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson discusses the legacy of Reconstruction with Vann Newkirk II. He’s a senior editor for The Atlantic, which has devoted its latest issue to exploring that era of American history and what it can tell us about the current state of race in this country.Guest: Vann Newkirk II, senior editor of The AtlanticPodcast 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

In 1992, a Minnesota-based software company known for its educational hit The Oregon Trail released another simulation-style game to school districts across the country. Freedom! took kids on a journey along the Underground Railroad, becoming the first American software program to use slavery as its subject matter.Less than four months later, it was pulled from the market. In this episode, we revisit this well-intentioned, but flawed foray into historical trauma that serves as a reminder that teaching Black history in America has always been fraught. This episode was written by Willa Paskin. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. This episode was also produced by Benjamin Frisch, and edited by Erica Morrison. Derek John is executive producer. Joel Meyer is senior editor-producer and Merritt Jacob is senior technical director.We’re grateful to Julian Lucas for his expertise, reporting, and generosity, without which this episode would not have been possible. His New Yorker article, “Can Slavery Reenactments Set Us Free?,” revisits the Freedom! story as part of an exploration of the live Underground Railroad re-enactments that Kamau Kambui pioneered.Thank you to Jesse Fuchs for suggesting this topic. Thanks also to Coventry Cowens, Brigitte Fielder, Bob Whitaker, Alan Whisman, Wayne Studer, Alicia Montgomery, Rebecca Onion, Luke Winkie, and Kamau Kambui’s children: Yamro Kambui Fields, Halim Fields, Mawusi Kambui Pierre, Nanyamka Salley, and Kamau Sababu Kambui Jr. If you haven’t please yet, subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends.If you’re a fan of the show, please sign up for Slate Plus. Members get to listen to Decoder Ring without any ads and have total access to Slate’s website. Your support is also crucial to our work. Go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices