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.
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.
Will Oremus and April Glaser are bringing you a special episode of If Then, all about the midterm elections and the role of Silicon Valley and online media in our beloved democratic process. We’re going to start with a roundtable with two extra tech journalists, Kevin Roose from the New York Times and Paris Martineau of Wired who have been reporting on issues of online speech, misinformation, and election interference this year.
Then we’ll have an interview with one of the country’s top experts on election security and voting systems. He’s the former White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer: Ed Felten. We’ll talk to him about the problems that could rear their heads this cycle… namely with the very very outdated tech that we use to cast our ballots. Some of the voting machines we rely on are well over a decade old and are extremely vulnerable to hacking -- but here we are.
And we’ll end our show with a very special Don’t Close My Tabs where we take a look at the best way to watch the results come in on Tuesday night.
2:00 - Roundtable with Paris Martineau and Kevin Roose
31:22 - Interview with Ed Felten
49:01 - Don’t Close My Tabs
Podcast production by Max Jacobs
If Then plugs:
You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on Twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment, you can email us at ifthen@slate.com.
Big Boi is a rapper from Atlanta. When he was a teenager, he and Andre 3000 formed OutKast, and went on to sell over 25 million records and win six Grammys. He’s released three solo albums, including Boomiverse, which came out in 2017. In this episode, Big Boi breaks down a song from that album called “Order of Operations.”
