Month: December 2020

On the Gist, we’re experiencing some loner white terrorist burnout.

In the interview, we’re talking rural Republicans. Ross Benes gives us insight to Nebraska’s Republican party, and how they can help to understand Republicans everywhere. He talks about where Democrats are going wrong outside the cities, the difference between an old fashioned Republican and a Trump Toadie, and what makes rural voters tick—sometimes despite their own best interests. Benes is a journalist and analyst at eMarketer, and the author of Rural Rebellion: How Nebraska Became a Republican Stronghold.

In the spiel, remembering what Trump said he’d do for the Carrier plant.

Email us at thegist@slate.com

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder, Margaret Kelley, and Cheyna Roth.

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HNY from the heart of Times Square!

0:00 – This week, we welcome JoAnn Lum, the director of NMASS (the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops), a “multi-trade, multi-ethnic workers center” located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Though COVID-19 has recently shone a light on horrifying working conditions in healthcare, nursing homes, restaurants, and delivery, JoAnn describes how “essential workers” have faced steadily worsening prospects for decades, and relays her members’ disappointment in the government response.

She also talks about how immigration law has been used to divide workers, and explains NMASS’s “Ain’t I a Woman” campaign, which is challenging the 24-hour workday for home care attendants. (Tammy wrote about this around-the-clock work for Businessweek two years ago [a sobering read!].)

Unsurprisingly, the pandemic has only exacerbated the urgency of NMASS’s organizing. Learn more and contribute here!

34:30 – In the second half, we discuss a bundle of listener questions about “diversity:” employment initiatives, diversity statements, even children’s books! How do we navigate between “good” and “bad” versions of diversity? What are the right categories to describe them? 

Thanks to Adriana, Amy, and Helen for the excellent questions!

Keep your queries and comments coming! We’d love more recorded audio bits, too, which you can send by email: timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. On Twitter, we’re doomscrolling at @TTSGpod.

Finally, pass the podcast onto your friends!