On The Gist, Hawaii’s “laze” is some seriously bad branding.

In the interview, our two-party system may seem inevitable, but political scientist Sam Rosenfeld digs into its engineered history, including the 1950 government report that pushed the country “Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System.” Before then, what you thought about health care, guns, or abortion had little to do with where your vote went. Rosenfeld is the author of The Polarizers: Postwar Architects of Our Partisan Era.

In the Spiel, the latest school shooter didn’t raise any red flags or wield an AR-15. But gun control is still what we need. 

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Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the Athletic’s Marcus Thompson to discuss the Warriors and Steph Curry. Bloomberg’s Ira Boudway also joins to talk about legalized sports betting, and John Swansburg helps assess Tom Wolfe’s classic piece on NASCAR driver Junior Johnson.

Golden State Warriors (4:20): With Steph Curry looking spry and healthy, can anyone stop the NBA’s best team? And what’s the deal with Curry’s mom fining him for cursing?

Legalized sports betting (26:15): The Supreme Court’s huge ruling will change how leagues operate and how fans wager. Bloomberg’s Ira Boudway explains the ramifications.

Tom Wolfe on Junior Johnson (44:35): Tom Wolfe’s Esquire piece “The Last American Hero Is Junior Johnson. Yes!” is a classic of new journalism. What did Wolfe get right about Johnson and NASCAR and what did he miss?

Afterballs (1:11:40): 

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“The Crawick Multiverse” is a sprawling piece of landscape art tucked into Dumfries and Galloway in the Scottish countryside, on the site of what used to be a coal mine. The artist Charles Jenks took the BBC’s Anna Magnusson on a tour of the site.The landscape is a series of connected paths and landforms, studded with large boulders that make the site feel like a modern Stonehenge. The rocks appear ageless, but the mounds formed in the soil appear contemporary — even futuristic —  with clean, geometric lines and a green carpet of grass. “Everything about this site shouts ‘cosmic,’” says Jenks. “What I’ve tried to do here is unpack that idea bit by bit. Landscape is the art form where we’re using nature to represent nature.” Two large mounds at the site represent the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way Galaxy, with other landforms that represent a Supercluster and comet path. A corkscrew walkway of mudstone represents the whole ensemble of universes — the multiverse.

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Mark Oliver Everett (AKA "E") is best known as the singer, songwriter, and driving force behind the indie rock band Eels. A lesser-known biographical detail about Mark: his father, Hugh Everett III, proposed the "many worlds" interpretation of quantum mechanics. Everett's work raised the possibility that multiple realities could exist simultaneously, with multiple versions of us in them. It was an out-there idea when Everett first proposed it in 1957, but over the years it has gained adherents, among physicists and Hollywood screenwriters alike.

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In Working Classics, Jacob Brogan revisits some of his favorite episodes from his time hosting the show. In this episode, Jacob sits down with Tom King, the current writer of Batman to discuss his process, how he came to the industry, the mythology of the character, and more. In Slate Plus, Slate staffers ask their burning Batman questions. 

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Tax cuts, jobs, and Slate 90 on this week's episode with Felix Salmon, Anna Szymanski, Emily Peck, and Catherine Rampell. 

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder.

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For this episode, we visited Slows Bar B-Q to talk with its chef, Mike Metevia. Prior to coming to Slows a decade ago, Metevia had worked in other sectors of the restaurant industry and with other cuisines, but he’d always been a barbecue guy in his private life. “I just like starting fires,” he tells us.

Then in a Slate Plus extra, Metevia offers some tips on how to barbecue better at home. If you’re a member, enjoy bonus segments and interview transcripts from Working, plus other great podcast exclusives. Start your two-week free trial at slate.com/workingplus.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @Jacob_Brogan

Production: Mickey Capper, @FMcapper

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Mothers, Michael Cohen and Argentina on this week's show with Felix Salmon, Anna Szymanski, and Emily Peck. We recorded on Thursday this week so the Michael Cohen news continued to develop after taping.

Production by Daniel Schroeder

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As the ripples from New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s resignation after allegations of violence against women continue, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey joins Dahlia Lithwick to discuss the role of State Attorneys General and how that’s changing under Trump. Attorney General Healey also talks about fighting—and winning against—the gun lobby in court.

Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Join the discussion of this episode on Facebook. Our email is [email protected].

Podcast production by Sara Burningham.

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Virginia Heffernan is joined by Isaac Butler, host of Slate's new podcast "Lend Me Your Ears," to talk about his show and what inspired it. Plus, Isaac and Virginia talk to the author of Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics, Stephen Greenblatt, about the psychic tyranny of of Shakespeare's tyrants and what the work of the playwright can tell us about Trump and our era.

Go check out Lend Me Your Ears!

And join us for our live show in Brooklyn, New York on May 30th!

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