Long a constitutional monarchy with ties to Great Britain, many in Jamaica are looking to end the old relationship and become a republic. But is this movement simply a reaction to anti-colonialism, and what kind of constitution would the new republic create? So far, no answers.
It’s hard to make money in the music industry. But if you could flood every streamer with hundreds of “original” songs without having to, you know, write or produce it yourself, there’s money there—and less for everyone else.
Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplusto get access wherever you listen.
What do we mean by equality? F.A. Hayek believed that equality under law and the socialist belief of material equality were opposed to each other. Furthermore, he held liberty to be necessary for civilization itself to flourish.
A relic of the Cold War, the US embargo and travel restrictions to Cuba violate American freedoms and they accomplish nothing to end Cuba's communist regime or win freedom for Cubans. Yet, this failed policy has persisted for nearly 65 years with no end in sight.
On Friday 1st August the US Bureau of Labor Statistics put out their job report data for August. It included revisions to their estimates for the jobs created in May and June which stated there were 258,000 fewer jobs than they had previously estimated.
This news was not received well by the White House. President Trump fired the head of the bureau, Erika McEntarfer, calling the numbers ‘phony, rigged, a scam’ and spreading conspiracy theories that McEntarfer had fudged the data.
We speak to economist Michael Strain from the American Enterprise Institute, to understand why the revisions happened and the potential consequences of throwing doubt on one of the US’s most important statistical agencies.
If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Lizzy McNeill
Producer: Lizzy McNeill
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Production Co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge
Sound mix: Neil Churchill
Editor: Sam Bonham
Before the American Revolution, there were the Levellers, who sought liberty during the English Civil War. While their influence on the American colonists would be indirect, nonetheless, many of their ideas reflected what came after American independence.
If you got a COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna or Pfizer, congratulations, you got a vaccine that uses mRNA to teach your cells how to fight the disease. But Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is doing his best to undermine their future use. On Tuesday, he announced the cancellation of $500 million in grants and contracts aimed at developing more mRNA vaccines. The decision has received near-universal condemnation from public health experts — even President Donald Trump’s first-term Surgeon General said it will 'cost lives.' Dr. Fiona Havers, an infectious-disease specialist at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a former senior advisor on vaccine policy for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, joins us to talk about Kennedy’s dangerous decision and the risk it poses to public health.
And in headlines: President Donald Trump says he wants a new Census, The U.S. Air Force said it’s denyingthe option to retire early to all trans service members who have served between 15 and 18 years, and tariff day is (unfortunately) finally here.
In most of the world, inflation is no longer an exception, it is the rule. Official inflation targets of 4 percent, 5 percent, or even 6 percent per year have become normalized.
It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On today's episode: Palantir crosses a billion dollars in quarterly revenue (what do they actually do again?); mRNA vaccine research gets a big cut in RFK Jr's health department; and a climate disaster database gets a new lease on life.
In January, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta was moving from employing professional fact-checkers to letting its users fact-check each other. If you’ve heard that it’s going perfectly, then you, too, have been exposed to misinformation.
Guest: Geoffrey Fowler, tech columnist with the Washington Post
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