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The Wedge Issue of Republicans’ Dreams Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

Most kids in the country aren’t back to school in any way we’d recognize as normal. Republicans have noticed. Now, they’re launching a few trial balloons this year to see if “reopen the schools” can become their next winning campaign slogan.

Guest: Edward-Isaac Dovere, staff writer at the Atlantic. Read his story, “Democrats Are Failing the Schools Test.”

Dovere is the author of the forthcoming book, Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Trump.

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Can a Highway Be Racist? Mar 30, 2021

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Houston residents and elected officials are trying to stop the largest urban highway project of their lifetimes -- one that would clear out more than 1,000 homes in primarily Black and Latin neighborhoods and, they say, introduce additional flooding and health risks. Now, residents have a powerful new ally in Washington: the Biden administration. The fate of I-45 may tell us something about what 21st-century infrastructure will look like.

Guests: Tomaro Bell, Houston resident and community leader, and Oni Blair, executive director of LINK Houston.

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Should Florida Cancel Spring Break? Mar 29, 2021

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has become a Republican celebrity for his notably lax coronavirus policies, keeping the state mostly open during the pandemic. But in Miami Beach, tourists are using the lack of restrictions to their advantage, exposing the difficulty of managing a world that isn’t quite done with COVID-19, but desperately wants to be.

Guest: Verónica Zaragovia, healthcare reporter at WLRN.

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The AstraZeneca Saga Mar 26, 2021

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Back in April 2020, AstraZeneca was hailed as a frontrunner in the race to get an effective vaccine to market. A year later, after a series of trial pauses, communication blunders, and PR problems, the vaccine is on the cusp of FDA approval.

By all accounts, the company succeeded in making a safe, effective vaccine. So why has there been so much confusion about its rollout?

Guest:

Peter Aldhous, science reporter at Buzzfeed News

Host

Lizzie O’Leary

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

TBD | The AstraZeneca Saga Mar 26, 2021

Show notes

By all accounts, the company succeeded in making a safe, effective vaccine. So why has there been so much confusion about its rollout?

Guest:

Peter Aldhous, science reporter at Buzzfeed News

Host

Lizzie O’Leary

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

One Colorado Man’s Crusade Against Gun Violence Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

Colorado Rep. Tom Sullivan counts the number of Fridays since his son was killed in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012. The latest mass shooting in Boulder, which left 10 people dead, was yet another reason Sullivan says he’s continuing his quest to curb gun violence in the state.

Guest: Colorado State Rep. Tom Sullivan.

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

Migrant Families Are Still Being Separated Mar 24, 2021

Show notes

After four years of President Trump’s harsh immigration policies, many advocates for Central American migrants welcomed a change in administration. But after two months in office, President Biden has given a clear message to people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border: “don’t come.” Still, thousands of people, including an increasing number of unaccompanied children, are making the trek and forcing Biden to face his first big immigration test.

Guest: Adolfo Flores, national security for immigration correspondent at Buzzfeed.

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

One Month Without Water Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, were left without water for weeks after a deep freeze hit the south, bursting pipes and forcing people to rely on bottled or collected rain water. But even though the water is back on, Jackson’s next water crisis might not be so far off.

Guest: Nick Judin is a reporter at the Mississippi Free Press.

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Why Don’t We Know More About the Atlanta Victims? Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

On March 16, a white gunman killed eight people - six of them Asian-American women - during shootings at three different spas in Georgia. The shooter claims he was driven by a “sex addiction,” but his actions fall into a complicated legacy where race, sex, and the fetishization of Asian women all intersect. That legacy is now in full view as the nation grapples with this latest tragedy and a rise in anti-Asian violence. .

Guest: Lisa Hagen is a reporter for WABE in Atlanta and the co-host of No Compromise, a podcast about a grassroots movement for gun rights.

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Hate, Lies, and AI Mar 19, 2021

Show notes

Facebook’s failure to contain the spread of dangerous misinformation is no secret. For years, the company has pledged publicly to fix the problem. But in the wake of the Capitol riots, it’s clear that there’s more work to be done. So, why isn’t the social media giant using its powerful AI to contain hate and lies?

Guest:

Karen Hao, senior AI reporter at MIT Technology Review

Host

Lizzie O’Leary

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