Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi dissident-in-exile and Washington Post columnist. Khashoggi went into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to get some paperwork, and then never came out; it’s looking like the increasingly repressive Saudi government either kidnapped or killed him, and is now having to face the consequences. On Elsewhere, they discuss a recent attempt to ban same-sex marriage in Romania that backfired spectacularly. Jenn teaches the team how to pronounce Arabic names, Alex makes the “wah-wah” noise, and Zack is shocked that the show ended on a positive note for once. Vox’s Alexia Underwood wrote a great explainer on the Khashoggi situation. Alexia also recommends this piece with more background on Khashoggi. You can read Khashoggi’s columns in the Washington Post. As Jenn mentioned, the New York Times dug into the identities of the 15 men.   US intelligence reportedly suggests Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s rendition to Saudi Arabia Jenn walked us through the larger pattern of disappearing activists. Here are two good pieces that dive into that in more detail, one from the Washington Post and one from the New York Times. We also dove into this in our most recent episode about Saudi Arabia. As Zack mentioned, women who fought for rights in Saudi Arabia were then detained. NPR interviewed Khashoggi about this at the time. The Daily Beast found out that Khashoggi planned to start a pro-democracy group for the Middle East. The blank space where Khashoggi’s column should be. The US may soon place sanctions and enact other punishments on Saudi Arabia. Top US officials — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John Bolton, and White House adviser Jared Kushner — have spoken with Mohammed bin Salman about the Khashoggi situation. Jenn cited another piece of pushback — from the tech sector. And from the New York Times. Alex mentioned that a lot of money was spent on the referendum. The number is somewhere between 40 and 50 million dollars. More on previous failed attempts at legalizing same-sex unions in Romania. 

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