Category: 3-DailySometimeCommentary

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - This Week in Impeachment: New Evidence

Testimony of a phone call between President Donald Trump and EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland has set the stage for a dramatic Week 2 in the inquiry. What does the revelation of that call tell us about how House Republicans are mounting a defense of the president? Plus, what should you be looking for in Gordon Sondland’s testimony next week?

Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics writer at Slate.

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Bolivia: Can statistics help detect electoral fraud?

Evo Morales, Bolivia?s longest-serving leader and first indigenous president, stepped down last week amid weeks of protests sparked by a dispute over a recent presidential election in the country. His opponents say the election was rigged but the embattled former president said it was a cunning coup. We take a closer look at the election results and ask if statistics can tell whether it was fair or fraudulent.

Dr Calla Hummel of the University of Miami and Professor Romulo Chumacero of the University of Chile join Ruth Alexander to discuss.

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - WN TBD: How WhatsApp Got Hacked

Recently, Facebook filed a lawsuit against a little-known Israeli spyware firm called NSO Group. Facebook is accusing NSO of supplying technology that enabled a hack of 1,400 WhatsApp accounts. 

 

But NSO’s reach goes far beyond a few thousand phones. Governments around the world purchase its powerful technology. Some use it to “lawfully hack” the devices of criminals and terrorists. But others use it more broadly, tracking the communications of activists, journalists, lawyers, and dissidents.

 

What does the WhatsApp lawsuit mean for the spyware industry? And why are governments lining up to buy these products?

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What A Day - Battle For The Bayou

  • Two candidates for Louisiana Governor face off in a runoff election on Saturday. We introduce you to Republican Eddie “Stickers” Rispone and Democrat and incumbent Governor John “Across The Aisle” Bel Edwards.
  • A high school in Santa Clarita was attacked by student shooter on Thursday. We discuss the gun violence epidemic, and the measures that House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to take to resolve it.
  • And in headlines: Swift wants her songs back, Bevin sulks, and Google Caches Me Outside.

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Virginia Democrats’ Chance to Gerrymander

The latest round of elections in Virginia brought in a new Democratic majority to the state Legislature. It’s the first time Virginia’s government has been fully Democratic in 26 years. The question now is: What will the Democrats do with all that power? Entrench their newfound majority through partisan gerrymanders or seek a bipartisan solution to redistricting?

Guest: David Daley, authort of Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count and the forthcoming Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy.

This episode is a part of Slate’s Who Counts? initiative. In the run-up to the 2020 election, Slate will be investigating who counts in the voting booth, who counts as an American, whose money counts in the democratic process, and whose doesn’t. And we need your help. Your support will let us assign more stories, travel to overlooked places, commission special podcast projects, and pay for reporting we otherwise would not be able to do. To learn more about this project and how to support our work, please go to slate.com/whocounts.

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