Author: Slate Podcasts

To keep places like Phoenix habitable, we need to have air-conditioning. But to have air-conditioning, we need a functional, modern electrical grid. With America’s grid already aging—and more demand coming in the form of electric cars and more A/C for hotter weather—what will it take to keep it going as the weather gets more extreme? 

Guest: Dr. Joshua Rhodes, research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin studying energy systems and how they interact with our environment, climate, and life.

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The Senate Judiciary Committee is considering a code of ethics for the Supreme Court—but Chief Justice John Roberts doesn’t believe they have the right to impose one.

But with the Court’s legitimacy in question - and its popularity down the tubes - who should hold the Justices accountable? 

Guest: Judge Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute.

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Even with Congress famously gridlocked, it reliably passes the National Defense Authorization Act. But this year, hardline conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives added amendment after amendment that were less concerned with national defense and more in line with their own culture war grievances. 

How can a government function when even the simple things become impossible? 

Guest: Melanie Zanona, Capitol Hill reporter at CNN

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Actor Lea DeLaria knew Orange is the New Black was a hit. But Netflix made sure their paychecks didn’t reflect it. Fast forward ten years and this business model is the norm for nearly all working American actors.

So now, the actors are joining the writers on strike, something that hasn’t happened in Hollywood since 1960, when television was the new, upstart technology. Today the double strike is about streaming services and artificial intelligence. 

Guests:

Alissa Wilkinson, Vox senior correspondent covering film and television.

Lea DeLaria, comedian and an actor best known for playing Big Boo on Orange is the New Black.

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You can be forgiven for not thinking of Vermont as a place prone to catastrophic flooding. But as the climate changes, we have update our expectations—and our floodplain maps. 

Guest: Anna Weber, senior policy analyst focused on the current and future effects of flooding and sea level rise at the NRDC.

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Pedestrian deaths in America have been rising for the last decade, while dropping in Europe and Japan. What makes the U.S. so dangerous for pedestrians?

Guest: Jessie Singer, author of There Are No Accidents: The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster―Who Profits and Who Pays the Price. 

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