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Minister and scientist Chris Jones has launched a long-shot campaign to be governor in Arkansas. But does the Democratic candidate have what it takes to change the political landscape in his home state? On today’s episode of A Word, Chris Jones talks with host Jason Johnson about his unlikely path to politics, and his hopes for the race.

Guest: Chris Jones, Democratic candidate for governor in Arkansas, religious leader, and physicist

Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel and Jasmine Ellis

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On this week’s episode of The Waves, author and professor of history at Georgetown University Marcia Chatelain and Slate staff writer Lili Loofbourow dissect Bill Cosby’s release from prison, and what that could mean for the #MeToo movement. First they unpack exactly what happened in the Cosby case. Then they get into the potential ripple effects it could have on victims seeking justice more broadly. 

Recommendations

Lili: The Netflix show Money Heist. 

Marcia: As much Real Housewives on Bravo that you can handle. 

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Susan Matthews and June Thomas. 

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

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This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Stacy-Marie Ishmael discuss the billionaire space race we saw this week, Johnson & Johnson’s “Texas two-step” plan, and two big workplace issues -- expenses and meetings. 

In the Plus segment: Private markets. 

Mentioned in the show:

“Are You a Bezos?” by Jacob Bernstein for the New York Times

“Emergency Skin” by N. K. Jemisin

‘Just Expense It’ is Corporate Speak for ‘Our Policies Assume You’re Rich’ by Stacy-Marie Ishmael for Fortune. 

“Nasdaq Gets Serious About Private-Company Share Trading” by Felix Salmon for Axios. 

Email: [email protected]

Podcast production by Jessamine Molli.

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

This week, Amnesty International and a French journalism nonprofit named Forbidden Stories revealed that technology from a spyware firm called NSO Group is being deployed on a massive scale. The spyware, called Pegasus, gives the user access to every part of a victim’s smartphone -- notes, messages, photos, and recordings. 

What’s it like for security researchers to see their worst fears about digital spying play out? And what are they worried about next?

Guests:

John Scott Railton, Senior Researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto

Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of the Wire

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

This week, Amnesty International and a French journalism nonprofit named Forbidden Stories revealed that technology from a spyware firm called NSO Group is being deployed on a massive scale. The spyware, called Pegasus, gives the user access to every part of a victim’s smartphone -- notes, messages, photos, and recordings. 

What’s it like for security researchers to see their worst fears about digital spying play out? And what are they worried about next?

Guests:

John Scott Railton, Senior Researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto

Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of the Wire

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

This week, Amnesty International and a French journalism nonprofit named Forbidden Stories revealed that technology from a spyware firm called NSO Group is being deployed on a massive scale. The spyware, called Pegasus, gives the user access to every part of a victim’s smartphone -- notes, messages, photos, and recordings. 

What’s it like for security researchers to see their worst fears about digital spying play out? And what are they worried about next?

Guests:

John Scott Railton, Senior Researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto

Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of the Wire

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Emily, John and David discuss the Delta variant and the vaccination decline, the bipartisan infrastructure plan living another day, and the pandemic Olympics.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

David Leonhardt for The New York Times: “Why Aren’t the Vaccines Approved?”

Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “Let's Get More People Vaccinated”

Ross Douthat for The New York Times: “How to Reach the Unvaccinated”

John Dickerson for CBS News: “Governor Asa Hutchinson on ‘Face the Nation,’ June 27, 2021”

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: Jack Thomas for The Boston Globe: “I Just Learned I Only Have Months to Live. This Is What I Want to Say”; Susan B. Glasser for The New Yorker: “‘You’re Gonna Have a Fucking War’: Mark Milley’s Fight to Stop Trump from Striking Iran”

Emily: Eliza Apperly for The Guardian: “‘Stumbling Stones’: A Different Vision of Holocaust Remembrance”; Atlas Obscura: “The Bebelplatz, Berlin, Germany: The Site of the Famous Nazi Book Burning Campaign of 1933 Remembers It’s ‘Night of Shame.’” 

David: The Quiet American, by Graham Greene; Catherine Bosley for Bloomberg: “Women Are Still Suffering More Than Men in Pandemic Job Hit”

Listener chatter from Ragav Venkatesan: “W Series: Off Track”; Giles Richards for The Guardian: “Hamilton Commission Report Aims to Improve Diversity in Motorsport”

If you enjoy the 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 Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest. Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, David, and John discuss billionaires in space.

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

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has a problem. She’s ready to get beamed up to national political stardom, but she’s polling near the bottom among 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls. What issues can she use to raise her political profile? The answer came swiftly this year: anything and everything. 

Guest: Joe Sneve, political reporter for the Argus Leader in South Dakota.

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.

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

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has a problem. She’s ready to get beamed up to national political stardom, but she’s polling near the bottom among 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls. What issues can she use to raise her political profile? The answer came swiftly this year: anything and everything. 

Guest: Joe Sneve, political reporter for the Argus Leader in South Dakota.

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.

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Six months after the Capitol riot, plea deals from cases against the rioters have begun to trickle in. Will the courts be able to do what Congress couldn’t, and insist on a shared version of events on January 6th? 

Guest: Zoe Tillman, senior legal reporter at BuzzFeed News.

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.

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