On the Gist, Alexei Navalny’s sentence.In the Interview, it’s part two of a conversation with historian Jill Lepore about her latest book: If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future. Jill discusses that with data mining and analysis there is greater potential for the demeaning of democratic processes, and why in 2021, accepting social media and twitter as a proxy for public opinion and polling could be risky. Lepore is an author, a New Yorker writer, and historian. She is also host of a podcast called The Last Archive from Pushkin.In the spiel, looking for relief?Email us at [email protected] production by Margaret Kelley and Cheyna Roth.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices