Slate Podcast What Next

Over the past several months, tensions have escalated in Hong Kong, Kashmir, and the United States. Each for their own reasons. But what if all these headlines are connected? Guest: Josh Keating, international editor at Slate For more information about this episode please read: • “The Next Jimmy Aldaoud” by Chris Gelardi • “India’s Great Disenfranchisement” by Namrata Kolachalam • “Crossing a Line in Kashmir” by Nitish Pahwa

Henry Grabar fills in as host, surveying how the Democratic presidential candidates would try to fix the housing affordability crisis. What kinds of local policies have given rise to the crisis in the first place? Guest: Jenny Schuetz, a fellow at Brookings. Related: Watch Elizabeth Warren explain her plan to boost homeownership among black and brown families. Podcast production by Sam Lee with help from Danielle Hewitt. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds....

When it comes to pedestrian deaths, the Sun Belt is the most dangerous area in the country. Six of the 10 most dangerous metro areas for pedestrians are located in Florida. Nineteen of the top 20 are in the Sun Belt. How is the way we build our cities and suburbs contributing to the problem? And what can be done to try to reduce traffic deaths across the country? Guest: Angie Schmitt, writer Streetsblog USA

Activists invigorated by the Women’s March and the Me Too movement are expanding the definition of what it means to be a female political leader. Meet one woman who’s coaching them along the way. Guest: Chris Jahnke, speech coach to women working in politics. Podcast production by Samantha Lee with help from Danielle Hewitt. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.

Sarah McBride made waves at the Democratic National Convention in 2016 as the first transgender person to speak at a major party convention. Three years and many political successes later, McBride is trying to add another win to her résumé. One that would make her the first elected openly transgender state senator in America’s history. Guest: Sarah McBride, candidate for Senate District 1 in Delaware. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.

Did your heart skip a beat reading and hearing about all the economic news this week? Today on the show we explain just what’s happening in the markets and try to pin down why things are happening the way they are. Plus, we offer a few possible ways to stave off the worst of an economic downturn. Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.

This week the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong escalated, as activists effectively shut down an airport and beat up suspected imposters. Activists show no sign of letting up, even though the local government has withdrawn the extradition bill that initially sparked outcry. How could this possibly end? Guest: Yvonne Chiu, professor at the U.S. Naval War College. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.

Another presidential primary means another trip to the Iowa State Fair. But the Democratic Party’s new rules for thinning down the field of candidates means a photo-op with a turkey leg isn’t all it used to be. Guest: Slate’s politics writer Jim Newell.

The demographics of migrants crossing the southern border of the United States have changed over the last several decades. What used to be young Mexican men seeking economic opportunity has turned into families seeking refuge from broken Central American governments. Sonia Nazario has spent decades reporting from Honduras, a country where corruption runs rampant and gangs have become the de facto government. She says that the foreign aid that the Trump administration has cut off to Central...

In the absence of new federal laws to address mass shootings, school safety has become a design problem. Guest host Henry Grabar asks: How are architects responding to an era of active shooter drills and bulletproof backpacks? Guest: Jenine Kotob, architectural designer at Hord Coplan Macht. Podcast production by Mary Wilson and Jayson De Leon. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.

Five years ago Wesley Bell watched as protests erupted across Ferguson in the wake of Michael Brown’s death. Bell, the son of a police officer, stood between the protestors and the police as he watched Ferguson descend into chaos. In an effort to make lasting change in the community he decided to run for public office. Seven months ago, he won. In our third and final episode revisiting Ferguson, we talk to Wesley Bell about his new role as St. Louis County’s top prosecutor and how he has...

There are two stories of what happened in Ferguson, Missouri, the day Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson: the story we heard immediately after, and the story we came to know months later. In the second part of our three-part series, we ask: If we misremember Michael Brown’s death, does that change Ferguson’s legacy? Guest: John McWhorter, writer, professor, and host of Lexicon Valley. Listen to Part 1 of our series, “The Worst Night”

Its been five years since Michael Brown was shot and killed by officer Darren Wilson in the middle of Ferguson’s Canfield Drive. His death at the hands of a police officer sparked protests across the country and cemented the Black Lives Matter movement into the American consciousness. In the first of our three-part series, we ask: "On the worst night of clashes between protestors and police in Ferguson, what didn't we see?" Guest: Joel Anderson, Host of Slow Burn.

In 1993, a mass shooting in downtown San Francisco prompted a familiar debate about restricting access to guns and assault weapons. But something unusual happened. Two major gun control bills passed Congress and were signed into law. How did it happen? Guest: Harry Cheadle, senior editor at Vice. Read his piece on the 101 California Street shooting. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Ethan Brooks. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up...

Capital One is only the latest victim of a massive data breach. Equifax announced millions of users were affected by its data breach back in 2017. The fallout from Equifax’s episode is still playing out today. Why is the United States so bad at defending against cyberattacks? And once the damage is done, why can’t we manage the fallout? Guest: Josephine Wolff, assistant professor of cybersecurity policy at Tufts. She’s the author of You’ll See This Message When It Is Too Late: The Legal...

Advocate Mariame Kaba explains why the Cyntoia Brown story is compelling, complicated, and deeply frustrating -- why it's wrong to portray Cyntoia Brown as a child, why Brown’s story is deeply familiar to black women in America, and why Kaba considers Brown’s crime a radical act of “self-love.” This episode originally aired January 9th, 2019.

In just over a month, North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District will hold a special election. The Democratic candidate has been running for over two years and following the red state Democrat playbook to the letter. The new Republican candidate is running as the sensible conservative who will defend the president. Which strategy will prevail? What can that tell us about voters heading into 2020? Guest: Dave Weigel covers politics for the Washington Post.

The Fed will cut interest rates Wednesday for the first time since the Great Recession. Why are they cutting the rate now, and what does that mean for the underlying strength of the economy? Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Senior Economic Correspondent at Slate

Here's how a leftist, transgender, PhD dropout is winning over white supremacists and more on YouTube. Guest: Micah Loewinger, producer at WNYC's On The Media.

How did a small-town eye doctor mastermind an anti-immigration movement premised on racism? Guest: Hassan Ahmad, founder of the HMA Law Firm in Virginia. He is suing the University of Michigan to unseal the complete archives of the late John Tanton. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.