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Over the summer, comedian Laurie Kilmartin took to Twitter to joke about something that wasn’t funny: Her mom was dying. JoAnn Kilmartin, Laurie’s mother, had contracted the coronavirus in her nursing home and was on her deathbed only a few miles from Laurie’s home in southern California. Guest: Laurie Kilmartin, comedian and author of Dead People Suck: A Guide for Survivors of the Newly Departed.We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in June, 2020. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hybrid learning is a massive educational experiment playing out in schools across the country. No two classrooms are alike. We took a look at one teacher’s experience. Guest: Christopher Pinto, a high school math and statistics teacher outside Houston, Texas. This episode originally aired in September, 2020. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The images are familiar now. The police in their face shields, armed with batons and cans of pepper spray. The protestors, sporting bruises, pouring milk on each others’ faces. What happened in the spring might make you feel uncomfortable and angry. Kellie Carter-Jackson says: that’s the point. And she says that a nice, peaceful protest may not accomplish the structural change America needs.Guest: Kellie Carter-Jackson, PhD, a professor at Wellesley College and the author of Force & Freedom: Black Abolitionists the Politics of Violence.This episode originally aired in June, 2020. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The coronavirus that gave rise to our present pandemic started in China as a bat virus that eventually made contact with humans. Researchers say this leap between species was highly predictable – so why were communities and governments caught flat-footed? Guest: Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance.This episode originally aired in March, 2020.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congress has agreed on another stimulus package, but to do so both Republicans and Democrats had to give up on high-priority demands. Why did this bill take so long, and why isn’t anyone all that excited about it?Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate's senior business and economics correspondentSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States is contending with a computer hack unprecedented in scope, and it could take months or even years to understand exactly what happened. But the hack has roots in vulnerabilities understood since the beginning of the internet, so why and how did this happen? Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s "War Stories" columnist Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. HostLizzie O’Leary  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.