On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… I’m just a bill.

A lot of Americans will agree, even across party lines, that our democracy feels broken. A commonly proposed solution is beefing up, or formalizing, the way we teach young people civics. 

Entities from the Center for American Progress to Vivek Ramaswamy have suggested that it’s time that we get students to know more about their government — in the hopes that knowing more leads to caring more, and engaging more. But by prioritizing civics, what else could students be missing? 

Reason Magazine’s Christian Barnard is our guest, here to argue that civics won’t save us.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: [email protected]

Podcast production by Maura Currie

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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… sailing the ocean blue.

Most of us just had Monday off for the holiday formerly known as Columbus Day — and technically, still known as Columbus Day, on the federal level.

Indigenous People’s Day, or Native Americans’ Day, was christened as a rebuttal to what Columbus actually meant for many: colonialism, violence, death, and destruction. But there are those who believe that Columbus, the man, is a different beast than Columbus, the event. Spanish ships landing in the Caribbean was a monumental moment in global history… so could that still be worth commemorating, even in a world that’s no longer kind to Columbus? 

Prof. William Connell, chair of Italian Studies at Seton Hall University and organizer/co-editor of the definitive Routledge History of Italian-Americans, joins us. 

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: [email protected]

Podcast production by Maura Currie

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Ten years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, 25 women who’d been disfigured by the blast came to the United States. Those Japanese survivors would go to the White House and end up on a bizarre proto reality TV show. They’d also put their lives in the hands of American doctors, hoping that risky, cutting-edge surgeries might repair their injuries and give them a chance for a fresh start.

Josh Levin is One Year’s editorial director. One Year’s senior producer is Evan Chung.

This episode was produced by Kelly Jones and Evan Chung, with additional production by Sophie Summergrad. 

It was edited by Joel Meyer and Derek John, Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. 

Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. Holly Allen created the artwork for this season.

Join Slate Plus to get a bonus 1955 episode at the end of the season. Slate Plus members also get to listen to all Slate podcasts without any ads. Sign up now to support One Year.

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Many of the gains of the Civil Rights movement were built by African Americans who turned grief—often over the violent deaths of loved ones—into activism. At the same time, grief over anticipated or theoretical losses within the white community is frequently harnessed into political power. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by political science professor Juliet Hooker, author of Black Grief/White Grievance, about why anger and even violence has often been framed as a justified response to white losses of power and influence, but inappropriate among Black people, even when there’s loss of life.

Guest: Juliet Hooker, Professor of Political Science at Brown University

Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel

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Why is everyone—on the left and the right—suddenly touting the benefits of a married two-parent family? And what is it about this institution that appeals to a certain class of politicians and pundits as means to address American poverty, even as it loses popularity?

We consider the public meltdown over lower marriage rates and the renewed interest in ending no-fault divorce. 

Guest: Rebecca Traister, author of All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation and writer-at-large for New York magazine. 

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Madeline Ducharme, Anna Phillips, Paige Osburn, and Rob Gunther.

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On this week’s episode of The Waves, Host Kat Chow turns to Afghanistan, two years since the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country. She speaks with reporter Tanvi Misra, who recently published an article with Politico following a family trapped in immigration limbo at a U.S. embassy in Doha, Qatar. Tanvi also explains how the U.S. immigration process singles out women and marginalized genders.

Further reading: They Thought Their Sick Little Girl Would Be Safe in America. Then It Denied Her Family Entry.

In Slate Plus: The drama and life of luxury on Prime Video’s Made in Heaven with Host Kat Chow and reporter Tanvi Misra

If you liked this episode, check out: Incompetent Cervix - The Misogynist History Behind Naming The Female Body

Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry and Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.

Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to [email protected].

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on How To!. Sign up now at slate.com/thewavesplus to help support our work.

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Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine transformed America and the world in ways that seemed unimaginable. But in 1955, there was a moment when everything was in doubt. This week, Josh Levin talks with Dr. Paul Offit about the medical mystery that threatened to derail one of history’s most important scientific breakthroughs.

Josh Levin is One Year’s editorial director. One Year’s senior producer is Evan Chung.

This episode was produced by Kelly Jones, Evan Chung, and Sophie Summergrad. 

It was edited by Josh Levin, Joel Meyer, and Derek John, Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. 

Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director.

Join Slate Plus to get a bonus 1955 episode at the end of the season. Slate Plus members also get to listen to all Slate podcasts without any ads. Sign up now to support One Year.

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Everybody loves pandas—and China knows it. As we say goodbye to the National Zoo’s pandas, we look back at 50 years of “panda diplomacy” and consider its uncertain future.

Guest: E. Elena Songster, author of Panda Nation: The Construction and Conservation of China’s Modern Icon and professor of environmental history of modern China at St. Mary’s College of California.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Madeline Ducharme, Anna Phillips, Paige Osburn, and Rob Gunther.

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Emily Bazelon talks with author Zadie Smith about her new book, The Fraud. They discuss what happens when justice comes through an unjust symbol, how much Zadie does and doesn’t know about her characters, and more. 

Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at [email protected]. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

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Against the odds, a tight-knit group of Black families created the community of Shoe Lane in Newport News, Virginia in the early 20th century. Residents bought land, and often built their homes, expecting to hand down a thriving African American neighborhood to future generations. Then Christopher Newport University systematically took the land over, pushing out all but a handful of now-elderly residents. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by journalist Brandi Kellam, who helped bring the story to light. She co-reported Erasing the “Black Spot”: How a Virginia College Expanded by Uprooting a Black Neighborhood for ProPublica and the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.  

Guest: Journalist Brandi Kellam

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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