We'll tell you the latest message from the Federal Reserve as interest rates go up again.
Also, an assassination attempt or staged attack? The U.S. is trying to figure out exactly what happened over Russia's capital.
And we'll explain an in-depth mission to take down one of the world's biggest mafias.
Plus, a medical achievement that was years in the making, a new way to log into your Google accounts, and what to know about King Charles' upcoming coronation.
On Wednesday, Russia accused Ukraine of trying to assassinate President Vladimir Putin in a drone attack on the Kremlin. Ukraine has denied the accusations, but Russia says it has the right to retaliate.
An investigation by the Department of Labor found that McDonald's franchises in at least four states had employed over 300 children to work in their restaurants, including two 10 year-old workers in Kentucky. This comes amid a sharp rise in federal child labor law violations over the past five years.
And in headlines: the man accused of fatally shooting five of his neighbors in Texas was arrested Tuesday night, Florida Republicans passed a sweeping anti-immigration bill, and the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the tenth consecutive time.
Crooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, What A Morning, is available in medium and dark roasts. Wake up with your own bag at crooked.com/coffee
The test results are in, and America’s children are failing history and civics.
According to the “Nation's Report Card,” just 13% of eighth graders are proficient in U.S. history, and only 22% are proficient in civics.
Every four years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress captures how well America's students are performing in major subjects. The latest scores, released this week, are “the lowest numbers ever recorded for the NAEP scores in civics and in history over the past 25 years,” says Adam Kissel, a visiting fellow in higher education reform at The Heritage Foundation.
Kissel says there is no doubt that school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the learning loss. As for the drop in proficiency in history and civics, he says, "I would guess that after the Black Lives Matter movement got popular in 2020, a lot of teachers changed their curriculum around and taught less of the basics and more activism-type topics, and that might have been a factor as well.”
In response to the troublingly low test scores, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona issued a written statement.
“We need to provide every student with rich opportunities to learn about America’s history and understand the U.S. Constitution and how our system of government works,” Cardona said.
He added: “Banning history books and censoring educators from teaching these important subjects does our students a disservice and will move America in the wrong direction.”
“He's wrong on both of those points,” Kissel says of President Joe Biden's education secretary. “His solution is really the opposite of what schools need to do.”
Kissel joins this episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why America’s kids are floundering in history and civics classes, and to offer practical solutions to repair America’s failing education system.
Paris Marx is joined by Matt Binder to discuss Elon Musk’s first six months at Twitter and how his obsession with blue checks has decimated the company’s finances.
Matt Binder is a reporter at Mashable and the host of Scam Economy and Doomed. Follow Matt on Twitter at @MattBinder.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
On this week’s episode of The Waves, we’re doing a very special Mom and Dad Are Fighting crossover with host Jamilah Lemieux. Jamilah sits down with author Virginia Sole-Smith to talk about her new book, Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. They discuss helping kids accept their bodies in whatever form they take, dealing with our own internalized fatphobia, and more.
In Slate Plus, answering a listener’s question on secret snacking.
Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Rosemary Belson with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.
Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com.
If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on How To!. Sign up now at slate.com/thewavesplus to help support our work.
Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.
It’s the first British coronation in 70 years and along with the celebration, questions abound: What kind of king will Charles be? Who is Charles anyway? And why even have a king?
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 Amicus—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.
Congresswoman and former professor Katie Porter is known for showing up to hearings with a whiteboard to explain complicated topics. She's now written a book about her life, including what it takes to be a working mom in Congress. One of several prominent Democrats running for the Senate in California, Porter talked with NPR's Juana Summers abouther new memoir I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan.
A thousand people march to the Weelaunee forest to kick off the Defend the Atlanta Forest Week of Action, later that night Zach Fox headlines a DIY music festival in the woods.
Journalist Ben Norton, editor of the Geopolitical Economy Report, joins to talk de-dollarization, whether Tucker's departure from Fox News is a loss for the left's ability to have left issues platformed to a mainstream audience, war with China, and more. This was such an epic convo that we're making it a two-parter. Check out the second half next Monday on Patreon.
