Author: Slate Podcasts

The odds of a Russian invasion of Ukraine are increasing, with thousands of Russian troops stationed near the two countries' border. Vladimir Putin is set on ensuring Ukraine gives up its ambitions to join NATO and the European Union, and it’s unclear how much he’s willing to risk to meet that objective. 

How far will the Russian leader go to get what he wants? Is there any way to end the standoff without violence?

Guest: Amy Mackinnon, national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy.

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Over the last few years, a sleepy southern town has seen its arrest rate grow more than 1100%. It’s not because of a spike in crime in Brookside, Alabama; instead, the town’s law enforcement has adopted a policing-for-profit model that treats citizens as revenue generators and cracks down on them accordingly. In turn, some residents enter debt spirals as the town’s police force rakes in more cash, with no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Guest: John Archibald, columnist for AL.com and the Birmingham News.

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Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz, and Carmel Delshad.

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Stuart Frisch gave security training to the members of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, less than six months before they found themselves under siege and held hostage—a training the rabbi cited when explaining how they managed to escape. 

How does Frisch approach protecting spaces that aren’t meant to be fortresses? Can faith and security coexist?

Guest: Stuart Frisch, advisor for the Secure Community Network.

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A recent advertisement for crypto.com, featuring Matt Damon, was met with widespread mockery online. But Damon’s ad is only the most visible example of a much broader—and more insidious—trend of celebrity cryptocurrency endorsements. Is the partnership between crypto and Hollywood really dangerous? And what separates the trend from run-of-the-mill salesmanship?

Guests: Jacob Silverman, staff writer for the New Republic and Ben McKenzie, actor, writer, and director.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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President Biden, unlike his predecessor, was able to spend some time planning his COVID-19 response. One year in, is the plan working?

Guest: Dan Diamond, national health reporter for the Washington Post. 

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The Supreme Court heard two challenges to the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccination mandates this month. It blocked one mandate and upheld another, giving some observers whiplash. 

How did the court come to such different rulings on similar workplace mandates, and what do the rulings say about how the court views the federal government as a whole?

Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, staff writer covering courts and the law for Slate. 

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Conservative talk radio host Dan Bongino sits atop a media ecosystem that is fueling the fervor behind Trump and his big lie. 

Guest: Evan Osnos is staff writer at The New Yorker and a fellow at the Brookings Institute. He’s also the author of Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury.

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Today on What Next TBD: What is going on with little kids' vaccines? Why don’t they seem to be a priority for the government or the pharmaceutical companies, while parents are stressed to a breaking point? We discuss with Meg Tirrell, health and science correspondent for CNBC, and co-host of the Readout Loud podcast.

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For the past year, Democrats have been touting the importance of passing two huge federal voting protections bills. If those plans can’t pass, should the party tackle straight-up election subversion? 

Guest: Rick Hasen, professor of law and political science at the University of California–Irvine School of Law and author of Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy.

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