Slate News

Since the presidential election, local Republicans in states that Joe Biden flipped blue have been arguing about what went wrong. The difference in Georgia is, the election isn’t totally over - and the upcoming runoff election will decide which party controls the Senate.

So with all eyes on Georgia, why do the state's Republicans seem just as intent on tearing into each other as holding onto their seats?

Guest: Rusty Paul, Mayor of Sandy Springs, Georgia.

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Emily, John and David discuss the massive Russian hack-- with guest Alex Stamos, Bill Barr’s resignation, and Joe Biden’s cabinet.

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

Alex Stamos for The Washington Post: “Enough Is Enough. Here’s What We Should Do to Defend Against the Next Russian Cyberattacks.”

John Dickerson for 60 Minutes: “Excited Delirium: The Controversial Syndrome That Can Be Used to Protect Police From Misconduct Charges”

Here are this week’s cocktail chatters: 

John: Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times: “America, We Have a Problem”; The New Yorker Documentary, Episode 30: “The Man Who Invented More Than Eight Hundred Iconic Toys”

Emily: Daniel Nichanian for The Appeal: “Newly Elected Prosecutors Are Challenging The Death Penalty”; Rob Hayes for KABC: “LA County Da George Gascon's Plan To Reduce Sentences Sparks Concern From His Own Prosecutors”; Daniel Nichanian’s Twitter feed, @taniel 

David: Azam Ahmed for The New York Times: “She Stalked Her Daughter’s Killers Across Mexico, One by One”

Listener chatter from @greenneck: Eric Simons for Bay News: “With Fewer than 2,000 Butterflies Counted So Far, Western Monarch Takes an Astonishing Step Closer to Extinction”

Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, Emily, and John discuss John’s reporting on “excited delirium,” the dubious medical justification for an increasing number of deaths of young Black men in police custody.

You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

The email address for the Political Gabfest is [email protected]. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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Virginia Heffernan welcomes back Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to talk about how Trump champions cheating and has a sour response to empathy, and why Schiff’s colleagues are so afraid to speak out against Trump’s misdeeds and behavior.

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement played an outsized role in manifesting Trump’s hard-line immigration policies. How might ICE change under Biden?

Guest: Hamed Aleaziz, immigration reporter at BuzzFeed News.

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All year, we’ve seen how COVID-19 surges can persuade state officials to take the pandemic seriously. But the resistance in Florida is something special: There, Governor Ron DeSantis has been particularly opposed to sharing case data or imposing measures to minimize viral spread.

Guest: Mary Ellen Klas, reporter for the Miami Herald. 

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Recently, one of the world’s leading AI ethics researchers, Timnit Gebru, left Google. Google says she resigned. Timnit says she was fired. In the days since, Timnit’s departure has turned into a public relations crisis for the search giant, prompting its CEO to issue a public apology. 

What happened behind the scenes at Google that led to Timnit’s dismissal? 

Guest: Timnit Gebru, AI ethics researcher, and the co-founder of Black in AI. 

Host

Lizzie O’Leary

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Recently, one of the world’s leading AI ethics researchers, Timnit Gebru, left Google. Google says she resigned. Timnit says she was fired. In the days since, Timnit’s departure has turned into a public relations crisis for the search giant, prompting its CEO to issue a public apology. 

What happened behind the scenes at Google that led to Timnit’s dismissal? 

Guest: Timnit Gebru, AI ethics researcher, and the co-founder of Black in AI. 

Host

Lizzie O’Leary

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

After months of anticipation, the first FDA-authorized coronavirus vaccine has begun distribution. But even with an effective vaccine in hand, big questions remain. How are vaccines being distributed? And with so many lives on the line, who gets it first?

Guest: Sarah Owermohle, reporter for Politico and the Prescription Pulse newsletter. 

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Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Anna Szymanski discuss the DoorDash and Airbnb IPOs, the massive antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, and vaccine ethics. 

In the Slate Plus segment: Should we just take away Zuck’s special shares?

Email: [email protected]

Podcast production by Jessamine Molli.

Twitter: @felixsalmon, @Three_Guineas, @EmilyRPeck

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This week, the FTC and more than 40 state attorneys general brought antitrust lawsuits against Facebook. And they’re not pulling their punches. They are calling for Facebook to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp into independent companies. In other words, breakup.

The lawsuits represent some of the most significant antitrust action in the United States in the last 40 years. Will they get results?

Guest:

Tony Romm, tech policy reporter at the Washington Post

Host

Lizzie O’Leary

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