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TBD | Why Are Bots Buying Sneakers? Oct 29, 2021

Show notes

The bots aren’t just buying cool sneakers. They’re buying concert tickets. Tickets to basketball games and Broadway shows. At the beginning of the pandemic, they were buying hand sanitizer and face masks. And later, they were booking vaccine reservation spots.

Why are bots taking over certain markets? And is there anything we can do to slow them down?

Guests:

Derreck Johnson, designer at Slate

Eric Budish, economics professor at the University of Chicago

Host: Seth Stevenson

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

Why I Quit Advising Kyrsten Sinema Oct 28, 2021

Show notes

Last week, five members of Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s Veterans Advisory Council publicly stepped down. In their resignation letter, they claimed that they were just “window dressing for her image” and called her “one of the principal obstacles to progress.” One of those veterans explains why she finally said enough.

Guest: Sylvia González Andersh, former member of Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s Veterans Advisory Council.

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Is Bill Gates to Blame for Lagging Vaccinations? Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds many, if not most, of the world’s global health initiatives, so much so that the Foundation has become one of the most influential deciders of global health policy. With the distribution of vaccines to developing countries all but completely failing, how do we assess the Gates’ culpability? And is it time to imagine another model for global health cooperation?

Guest: Tim Schwab, investigative reporter.

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

The Afghans Who Got Out Oct 26, 2021

Show notes

Sharifa Abbasi knows exactly what it’s like to board a plane to a new country. She immigrated from Afghanistan to the U.S. with her family in 1993. Now, she’s helping other Afghans navigate the complicated red tape of American immigration law after the Taliban takeover. For these immigrants, coming to America wasn’t easy -- being able to stay here might prove even harder.

Guest: Sharifa Abbasi, immigration lawyer at The HMA Law Firm.

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A Brazen Kidnapping in Haiti Oct 25, 2021

Show notes

Last weekend, 17 foreign missionaries living in Haiti were taken hostage by a criminal gang demanding million-dollar ransom payments. Kidnappings have become routine in Haiti over the past two years, as the national government has weakened in the wake of years of foreign influence, corruption, persistent poverty, natural disasters, and political upheaval. But the latest mass abduction of so many Americans is a provocation that could prompt an international intervention, in spite of the long history of botched foreign meddling in Haiti.

Guest: Jacqueline Charles, Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald.

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

Honey, I Sold the House to Zillow Oct 22, 2021

Show notes

Between April and June of this year, Zillow bought nearly 4,000 homes. And they had no intention of holding onto them. The plan was to flip houses, often and at scale, joining the ranks of companies like Opendoor and Offerpad, also known as iBuyers.

So, why did Zillow put their plans on pause last weekend? Can online middlemen really change the way we buy and sell houses?

Guests:

Tony Santos, homeowner

Patrick Clark, reporter at Bloomberg

Host: Henry Grabar

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

TBD | Honey, I Sold the House to Zillow Oct 22, 2021

Show notes

So, why did Zillow put their plans on pause last weekend? Can online middlemen really change the way we buy and sell houses?

Guests:

Tony Santos, homeowner

Patrick Clark, reporter at Bloomberg

Host: Henry Grabar

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

How Immunity for Cops Ends Oct 21, 2021

Show notes

Once an obscure legal doctrine, the practice of qualified immunity for police has drawn widespread public scrutiny in the past year. But as mainstream support for ending qualified immunity grows, police unions are amping up their opposition.

Guest: Kimberly Kindy, national investigative reporter for The Washington Post.

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

Is Trump Still On Virginia’s Ballot? Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

Virginia’s gubernatorial election is just weeks away, with former Virginia governor, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, vying against newcomer Republican Glenn Youngkin. Many polls show a slim margin between the two candidates, as they spar over issues like critical race theory and Trump’s legacy in an election seen as a bellwether for the upcoming midterm elections.

Guest: Ben Paviour, state politics reporter at VPM.

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

How Should We Remember Colin Powell? Oct 19, 2021

Show notes

Colin Powell, known as a “trailblazer” and “pathbreaker” in his military career, leaves behind a complicated legacy. The four-star general became a household name during the first Gulf War as the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and later the first Black secretary of state. Thirty years after his rise to national prominence, Powell’s death has prompted reflections on the Iraq War and his role in using false intelligence to justify the U.S. invasion.

Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s War Stories columnist.

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

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