At long last, we've got the audio from Andrew's debate with University of Louisville Law School professor, member of the Federalist Society and former Brett Kavanaugh clerk Justin Walker! The debate was put on by the American Constitution Society and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. It was moderated by the ACLU!
After that, it's the thrilling conclusion to TTTBE100....
Doomsday. The apocalypse. The End. Join scholar, author and professional existential risk philosopher Phil Torres for a surprisingly jovial romp through different "Oops we're screwed" scenarios that will lead to the destruction of the planet or extinction of our species. (Not to be confused with lepidopterologist/butterfly man, Phil Torres.) Find out where we're at on Ye Olde Doomsday clock, if any of us should have babies, if AI will destroy us, pop-cultural Antichrists, Black Mirror, simulations, technology as friend or foe, why voting matters (lookin’ at you, America) and how to remain chill in the face of doom. Also: the hottest underground bunkers on the market.
On The Gist, live, from Slate, it’s a post-apocalyptic skit that just might come to pass if you don’t vote on Tuesday.
In the interview, for decades, there was no need to hope for (or fear) a blue wave; until 1994, the Democratic Party enjoyed a 40-year monopoly on the House of Representatives. Then came Newt Gingrich, who engineered the Republican sweep of the lower chamber, and who looms large in our guest Steve Kornacki’s latest book, The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism.
In the Spiel, more about (what else) the midterms. Also: Go vote.
You’ve heard of the Little Rock Nine, but what about the Memphis 13? Eric talks to a man whose parents put him on the front lines of the battle for public school desegregation.... when he was only five years old.
With less than 36 hours to go until the final voting deadline for the midterm elections, it's important to know what's at stake. Amy Walter, a host on The Takeaway and National Editor of the Cook Political Report, knows that each election tells us a story and this one is no different. She joined us today to talk about what signals and trends she's looking out for and what that means for our future as a country and how we understand ourselves.
A final discussion about the state of the 2018 midterms, including our thoughts on why it’s close, the closing arguments, what races we’ll be watching on Tuesday, what’s making us nervous, and what’s making us hopeful. Then Democratic candidate Colin Allred talks about why he got into politics, and his race to flip the Texas 32nd on Tuesday.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to clarify when and how cryptocurrencies may be classified as securities, and will do so in "plain English."
The chairman of Deltec Bank & Trust says a widely scrutinized letter about stablecoin issuer Tether's account at the Bahamas-based institution is "authentic."
Switzerland's Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is giving tough guidance to banks wanting to trade in crypto assets.
A little-known ethereum project called Lition is quietly helping real German citizens find cheaper energy.
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Notes
* There are a gajillion things that you can and should read about this period. I’m almost loathe to tell you where to begin. So: some of the details for this story were found in this remarkable article by Claude Sitton.
What benefits does the U.S. derive from new sanctions on Iran? Iranian leaders have long said they are willing to negotiate, and the U.S. has already poked holes in its own hard line toward the regime. John Glaser and Emma Ashford comment.
Andrew Marr talks to the journalist Lindsey Hilsum about the extraordinary life of the war correspondent Marie Colvin. Throughout her career she travelled to the most dangerous places in the world, to bear witness to the suffering of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. She wrote: “it has always seemed to me that what I write about is humanity in extremis, pushed to the unendurable, and that it is important to tell people what really happens in wars.’ She was killed in Syria in 2012.
For most of her career Marie Colvin wrote for The Sunday Times newspaper. Eve Pollard knows only too well the added pressures of getting a scoop for the nation’s weekend papers, as she formerly edited both the Sunday Mirror and the Sunday Express. She’s now the UK Chair of Reporters Without Borders which this week will honour courage, impact and independence in journalism.
Anabel Hernandez is an investigative reporter who has fought to lay bare the terrible facts behind the disappearance of forty-three Mexican students in 2014. Her book, A Massacre in Mexico, details the systemic corruption and cover-up among state officials, from the local police to government ministers.
It is a hundred years since the poet Wilfred Owen died in battle, just a week before the end of WWI. The poet Gillian Clarke explores how Owen’s poetry brought to light the physical and mental trauma of combat, and how in her own work she’s reflected contemporary conflicts.