Author: Slate Podcasts

The last month has seen a steady drip of leaked documents from inside Facebook, each seemingly more damning than the next. This week, the whistleblower behind the leaks revealed her identity.

What motivates Frances Haugen? And can she do real damage to the social media giant?

Guest: Jeff Horwitz, tech reporter at the Wall Street Journal. 

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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Congressional Republicans are forcing Democrats into a game of chicken over the debt ceiling where the stakes are the well-being of the global economy. It’s a showdown that has played out time and again since 2011, but it doesn’t have to be this way. 

Guest: Jordan Weissmann, senior editor for Slate

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You might think that the wreckage caused by COVID-19 would be enough to make the U.S. take pandemic planning seriously. But a close look at current pandemic preparedness efforts reveals that’s far from the truth. It’s not too late, though, to get ready for the next Big One - if we’re willing to make serious investments beyond fighting germs.

Guest: Ed Yong, a staff writer at The Atlantic covering science.

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With the results of the 2020 census in hand, all 50 states have begun the process of redistricting. Extremely thin margins in the House of Representatives mean that this hyper-local process has big implications on the balance of power at a national scale.

After aggressive Republican gerrymandering in the 2011 redistricting cycle, many Democrats came out in favor of creating non-partisan commissions to draw new voting maps. But how much of a moderating force are they really? And what happens if either side decides not to play by the commissions’ rules?

Guest: Nick Riccardi, a western political writer for AP.

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As the U.S. Supreme Court begins a new session, several justices are trying to reassure the public of the court’s nonpartisanship. But, as Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick argues, when you dig into the recent decisions of the court, you’ll see it becoming steadily more political. 

Guest: Dahlia Lithwick writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast Amicus.

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Since 2018, internal research teams at Facebook have been studying the effect on Instagram on mental health. Their results couldn’t be more clear: Instagram is causing problems, especially for teen girls. 

Why has it taken so long for their research to surface? And what can be done to improve the relationship between kids and the platform?

Guest: Georgia Wells, tech reporter at the Wall Street Journal. 

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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The 2021-2022 NBA season will be underway in less than a month. The league has set strict testing and distancing rules for unvaccinated players. Largely, that strategy has worked but there are some vocal holdouts.

Guest: Bomani Jones is an ESPN commentator and the host of the Right Time with Bomani Jones podcast. 

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Time’s Up was founded in 2018 in the wake of the #MeToo movement to fight sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace. How, then, was the organization felled by accusations of a toxic work environment and close associations with abusers? 

Guest: Lili Loofbourow, staff writer at Slate.

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It’s hard to imagine, but many states had a plan for how they would make tough calls about the distribution of scarce medical resources during a pandemic. As our present crisis has dragged on, and hospitals have become overwhelmed, those plans are beginning to go into effect -- with some interesting caveats. 

Guest: Sheri Fink, correspondent at The New York Times. 

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

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In the past year, twelve inmates on Rikers Island have died and it’s corrections staff has started refusing to come to work. The jail is slated for closure in 2027, but what can be done now to alleviate its problems? 

Guest: Jan Ransom is a metro investigative reporter focused on criminal justice for the New York Times.

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