The Gist - Abolitionist Heroes Lost to History

On The Gist, Manisha Sinha joins us to discuss the long roots of the abolitionist movement in American history.

She’s the author of The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition. For the Spiel, there’s no backsies or whoopsies for presidents. Today’s sponsor: Betterment, the largest automated investing service—managing billions of dollars for people just like you. Get up to six months of investing free when you go to Betterment.com/gist Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - Are The Winter Blues BS?

On The Gist, Mike asks Maria Konnikova of the New Yorker to explain the link between seasonal affective disorder and winter blues. Is it a real condition, or an overly convenient acronym? For the Spiel, why arguing about

instant replays is a beloved American pastime. Today’s sponsors: Monster. Find employees who work as hard as you at Monster.com/hiring. Monster. Find Better.  Betterment, the largest automated investing service—managing billions of dollars for people just like you. Get up to six months of investing free when you go to Betterment.com/gist Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up

for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - The Huge Lingering Why

On The Gist, we ask Los Angeles Times reporter Joel Rubin what the San Bernardino investigators are hoping to learn from the decrypted iPhone. For the Spiel, hijacker hijinks! Today’s sponsors: Slack. Slack brings all of your communication at work into one place. Create a new team right now at Slack.com/gist and you’ll get 100 dollars in credit for when you decide to upgrade to a paid plan.  Texture, the mobile app that lets you tap directly into the world’s most popular magazines using

your phone or tablet. Dive deeper into VoguePeopleEsquireTime—with interactive content for a richer reading experience. Try Texture for free at Texture.com/gist. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a

free trial today at slate.com/gistplus

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gist - 40 Years for Genocide

On The Gist, the Guardian’s Julian Borger joins us to discuss the International Criminal Court trial of one of the Bosnian War’s main malefactors, Radovan Karadzic. Julian is the author of The Butcher's Trail: How the Search for Balkan War Criminals Became the World's Most Successful Manhunt. For the Spiel, Democracy is a pretty good system, except for all the dummies. Today’s sponsors: Squarespace.com. Get a free trial and 10 percent off your first purchase when you visit Squarespace.com and enter offer code GIST.  Betterment, the largest automated investing service—managing billions of dollars for people just like you. Get up to six months of investing free when you go to Betterment.com/gist Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Curious City - Little Eddie’s Field Trip: The Union Stock Yards Through the Eyes of an Eighth Grader

Decades ago, Chicago’s  Union Stockyards were the source of meat for the country, jobs for the city and ... field trips for Chicago Public School children. Really. (Related to a Curious City story about meatpacking in Chicago.)