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Best of 2021 | When the Culture War Comes For Your Job Dec 23, 2021

Show notes

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in July 2021.

Brittany Hogan worked in diversity and inclusion for the Rockwood School District for eight years. As public debate intensified over the way race is discussed in schools and threats were made against her, Hogan eventually was pushed to resign.

Guest: Brittany Hogan, former director of educational equity and diversity for the Rockwood School District in St. Louis County.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Best of 2021 | One Woman’s Year Protecting George Floyd Square Dec 22, 2021

Show notes

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in May 2021.

A year after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, residents near the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue—now dubbed George Floyd Square—continue to keep the area closed off. The city wants to reopen the intersection, but activists say they aren’t giving in until the community’s demands for justice are met.

Guest: Marcia Howard, security volunteer and organizer in George Floyd Square.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Best of 2021 | The Plight of the Delivery Worker Dec 21, 2021

Show notes

In the last few years, New York City’s delivery workers have become a key part of the food industry’s infrastructure, allowing restaurants to do business with customers who are too stressed to leave their desks, or too cautious to leave their homes. But a spate of violent attacks and bike thefts has shown that the people delivering your Grubhub and Seamless orders are deeply vulnerable. Why are these essential workers being exploited by apps and abandoned by the police, forced to band together just to get by?

Guest: Josh Dzieza, an investigations editor and feature writer at The Verge covering technology, business, and climate change.

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in September of 2021.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Biden's Putin Problem Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

What does a massing of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border mean? And could this conflict be defused yet by diplomacy?

Guest: Slate’s Fred Kaplan, author of The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Carbon Capture Fantasy Dec 17, 2021

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Using experimental technology to pull gigatons of carbon out of the air and bury it deep beneath the Earth sounds like a bad sci-fi plot point. If things don’t change soon, it also might be one of our only options.

Guest: Clive Thompson, journalist and author of Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Mark Meadows Knew Dec 16, 2021

Show notes

After initially cooperating with the select committee investigating the events of January 6, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows reversed course, deciding instead to assert executive privilege. But Meadows had already handed over documents and text messages relating to that day—painting a picture of how Trump’s inner circle reacted as the Capitol was under siege.

What happens to Meadows now that he’s been held in contempt of Congress? And could possible criminal charges for defying the committee spur other witnesses to speak?

Guest: Nicholas Wu, congressional reporter for Politico.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Didn’t Maryland Democrats Go For the Jugular? Dec 15, 2021

Show notes

Maryland Democrats had a shot at an 8-0 gerrymander this redistricting cycle. To the frustration of the national Democratic party, they stopped just shy of that number. Should Maryland Democrats have just taken the total low road on partisan gerrymandering?

Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics reporter for Slate. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, The Surge.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abrams vs. Kemp vs. Perdue Dec 14, 2021

Show notes

When Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced his intent to run for reelection, he knew he was facing down a rematch with voting rights activist and former state lawmaker Stacey Abrams. What he likely didn’t expect was a challenge from the right in the form of David Perdue, a local businessman, former senator, and good friend who was encouraged to run against him by Donald Trump. Now, the question is whether Trumpism can be a winning argument in Georgia—or whether Democrats might be able to exploit Republicans’ division to score a win in the deeply purple state.

Guest: Greg Bluestein, reporter covering state politics for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Your Book Gets Banned By the School Board Dec 13, 2021

Show notes

Banning books in schools is on the rise. Around the country, parents are lobbying to banish from libraries and curriculums any work they deem to be “graphic” or “offensive,” often sweeping up books centered on queer or POC experiences in the process. Some authors say that’s no coincidence - nor is it surprising that this is happening just as the publishing industry is remaking itself to tell more diverse stories. The question is, what’s the best way to respond to the outrage?

Guest: Ashley Hope Pérez, author of three YA novels, including Out of Darkness, and professor of literature at Ohio State University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who Online Justice Leaves Behind Dec 10, 2021

Show notes

The U.S. civil court system doesn’t get as much attention as the criminal courts, but it would be hard to overstate its importance. In 2018, for example, 47 percent of respondents to a Pew survey said they had dealt with the system in one way or another; from eviction proceedings, to debt collection, to child-support modifications.

What happened when the pandemic upended such an important pillar of the justice system? Did new technologies fix existing problems—or just create new ones?

Guest: Qudsiya Naqui, officer at the Pew Charitable Trust

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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