The new head of the Department of the Interior has close ties to industry and a penchant for relaxing environmental regulations. He’s also the subject of an ethics investigation. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt represents a new phase in the Trump administration: the shift from a cabinet of flashy, venal outsiders to savvy, ideological insiders.
Guest: Lance Williams, senior reporter for Reveal and the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Anna Martin.
In this episode April Glaser is joined by guest host Siva Vaidhyanathan, director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia and author of several books about social media and the internet, including a recent one on Facebook, “Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy.”
First they talk about the ongoing elections in India and how fake news and propaganda on Facebook and WhatsApp is wreaking havoc on an electoral process that’s otherwise celebrated for working quite well in the world’s largest democracy. Then they discuss Uber’s recent IPO filing and the litany of ways the company’s reliance on a contractor workforce and business in only a handful of major cities could destabilize the rideshare company’s hopes of ever being profitable.
After that, author and WIRED writer Andy Greenberg joins the show to talk about the recent indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, threats the case poses to press freedom, and how Assange’s ideology has been much more fluid than his alleged co-conspirator, Chelsea Manning. Greenberg is the author of This Machine Kills Secrets: Julian Assange, the Cypherpunks, and Their Fight to Empower Whistleblowers.
This episode of IF Then is brought to you by LinkedIn. Post a job today at LinkedIn.com/IFTHEN and get fifty dollars off your first job post.
President Donald Trump has floated the idea of nominating former presidential candidate Herman Cain and conservative pundit Stephen Moore to policy seats on the Federal Reserve’s board. Would Cain and Moore alone swing interest rates? Probably not. But their appointments could erode non-partisan standards that make the Fed one of the most important economic institutions in the world.
Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent.
President Donald Trump has floated the idea of nominating former presidential candidate Herman Cain and conservative pundit Stephen Moore to policy seats on the Federal Reserve’s board. Would Cain and Moore alone swing interest rates? Probably not. But their appointments could erode non-partisan standards that make the Fed one of the most important economic institutions in the world.
Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent.
Last week’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race got ugly, fast. The Republican favorite, Judge Brian Hagedorn, eked out a win by about 6,000 votes. Our guest today says it’s hard to overstate the political fallout from this result. It could mean that conservatives dominate Wisconsin for years to come.
Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, covers the courts and the law for Slate.
Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com. Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show.
Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Anna Martin
Last week’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race got ugly, fast. The Republican favorite, Judge Brian Hagedorn, eked out a win by about 6,000 votes. Our guest today says it’s hard to overstate the political fallout from this result. It could mean that conservatives dominate Wisconsin for years to come.
Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, covers the courts and the law for Slate.
Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com. Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show.
Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Anna Martin
Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Harvard Law School Professor Carol Steiker, co-author of Courting Death: The Supreme Court and Capital Punishment to explore recent death penalty cases before the Supreme Court and why the 8th amendment has raised tensions among the justices.
This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Get your free trial, plus 50% off your monthly plan at TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Amicus.
Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Harvard Law School Professor Carol Steiker, co-author of Courting Death: The Supreme Court and Capital Punishment to explore recent death penalty cases before the Supreme Court and why the 8th amendment has raised tensions among the justices.
This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Get your free trial, plus 50% off your monthly plan at TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/Amicus.
