Pickleball’s exploding popularity isn’t an organic grassroots rise. According to a reporter’s intrepid Freedom of Information Act inquiries, enthusiastic pickleball ambassadors are employing the “USA Pickleball tool kit” and harrying local park

Abortion Providers in the Line of Fire

Oct 23rd, 2023 29m 59s

Before the new abortion clinic even opened in Casper, Wyoming, it was set ablaze. But to the clinic’s founder, property damage and violence aren’t new. Guest: Julie Burkhart, founder of Wellspring Health AccessIf you enjoy this show, please

Can Marriage Fix America?

1 Sep 28th, 2023 24m 45s

Why is everyone—on the left and the right—suddenly touting the benefits of a married two-parent family? And what is it about this institution that appeals to a certain class of politicians and pundits as means to address American poverty, even

Why Adam Schiff Is Running Ads for a Republican

2 Mar 5th, 2024 26m 53s

Nancy Pelosi is no longer in charge of the House Democrats, and Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat is now up for grabs. Will a new generation of progressives step up in deep blue California? It’s not so simple…Guest: Alexander Sammon, Slate polit

The State Dept. Official Who Quit Over Israel

1 Oct 25th, 2023 24m 31s

Why one State Department official who worked in weapons transfers quit over America’s policy towards Israel and Gaza—and what that says about U.S. policy in the Middle East.Guest: Josh Paul, former State Department official working in arms tr

Wait, China’s Taking Our Pandas Back?

1 Sep 27th, 2023 32m 25s

Everybody loves pandas—and China knows it. As we say goodbye to the National Zoo’s pandas, we look back at 50 years of “panda diplomacy” and consider its uncertain future.Guest: E. Elena Songster, author of Panda Nation: The Construction and

Abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention

1 Aug 24th, 2022 29m 49s

The Department of Justice announced this month that they were investigating allegations that leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention mishandled sexual abuse accusations for decades. How have abusers exploited the church’s decentralized struc

What You Don’t See At The Olympics

1 1 Feb 10th, 2022 32m 20s

As the Winter Olympics unfold in Beijing, a darker reality remains: China’s abuses against the Uyghurs, an ethnic minority in the country’s Xinjiang region. While much of the world remains glued to the sports coverage, Uyghurs in the diaspora a

How the Government Botched Financial Aid

1 9 days ago 30m 52s

How did an attempt to simplify a tedious student-aid form turn into a full-on debacle that has some high school seniors wondering if they will have to delay starting college? Guest: Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, national higher education reporter

How Young Is Too Young to Work?

11 days ago 28m 43s

In response to a spike in child labor violations, some states are strengthening their laws against the practice—while 16 states have weakened laws against child labor. What’s going on?Guest: Lauren Kaori Gurley, labor reporter for the Washing

How Gambling Took Over Sports

16 days ago 26m 53s

Sports betting is now mostly legal, and, if you watch sports, its advertisements are inescapable. Now, a series of scandals has rocked the professional leagues. When everyone bets, odds are – someone will cross a line. Guest: Jay Caspian Kan

Nickelodeon’s Legacy of Abuse

22 days ago 28m 56s

A new documentary, “Quiet On Set,” looks back at Nickelodeon’s heyday, and the culture of abuse that many of its child stars were subjected to.Guest: Kate Taylor, reporter for Business Insider and producer of “Quiet on Set.” Want more What

How Anti-Abortion Laws Trap Domestic Abuse Survivors

29 days ago 25m 48s

Experts say domestic violence tends to start or intensify during pregnancy. But since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, terminating a pregnancy—or even advising or helping someone to terminate a pregnancy—has been criminalized in several states whic

Mexico Is Full Of American Guns. So the Country’s Suing.

Mar 14th, 2024 27m 42s

How Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit against American gun manufacturers and distributors could pave the way for new gun control tactics in the U.S. and abroad.Guest: Champe Barton, reporter for The Trace. If you enjoy this show, please conside

Where is Kate Middleton?

Mar 13th, 2024 28m 18s

Kate Middleton’s on-going absence has the internet tied in knots, and the heavily edited photo that the royal family released—and then rescinded—only made things worse. What do we know about the Princess of Wales’s whereabouts? Guest: Imogen

Biden's War on Junk Fees

Mar 12th, 2024 27m 46s

Extra charges and fees for everything from booking a hotel to buying concert tickets have become an insidious part of daily life. President Biden is hoping that by outlawing so-called “junk fees,” he can win some goodwill with voters before the

Why a Hi-Tech Gun Safety Tool Isn’t Working

Feb 21st, 2024 23m 39s

Shotspotter lost a huge contract and some face when Chicago opted out of its partnership with the gunfire-identification tech company. Why can’t new policing tech seem to break the old patterns and problems?Guest: Jim Daley, investigations

Who’s Left to Help Migrants?

Feb 20th, 2024 26m 10s

The migrant crisis has come to Denver. With no federal help on the way and temperatures dropping well below freezing, a local church tries to pick up the slack. Guest: Keith Reeser, pastor at Denver Friends Church in Colorado.If you enjoy t

Inside a Gaza Hospital

Feb 6th, 2024 27m 46s

Pediatrician Dr. Seema Jilani’s work has taken her from Sudan to Afghanistan. Last month, she was in Gaza for two weeks, where she worked tending to the wounded in the besieged Al-Aqsa Hospital.Guest: Dr. Seema Jilani, senior technical advise

Inside America’s First Execution By Nitrogen

Jan 30th, 2024 27m 50s

With the execution of Kenneth Smith, Alabama became the first state to carry out the death penalty with nitrogen gas. According to Smith’s spiritual advisor, who witnessed the execution, this is not a “humane” future for capital punishment Gu

Is Israel Committing Genocide?

Jan 17th, 2024 26m 35s

South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide before the International Court of Justice and is asking the United Nations to intervene and order the Israeli government to cease military operations in Gaza. The ICJ now must decide how to

The NRA’s Wayne’s World Era is Over

Jan 10th, 2024 24m 1s

Long-time CEO Wayne LaPierre is out and legal challenges and lawsuits are mounting—but does that mean the NRA is losing its influence over American politics? Guest: Dr. Matthew Lacombe, the Alexander P. Lamis Associate Professor in American P

The Murder of Wadee Alfayoumi

Jan 2nd, 2024 24m 30s

On Oct. 14, 2023, Wadee Alfayoumi, a six-year-old Arab-American boy, was stabbed to death by his landlord, Joseph Czuba. Months later, his parents are struggling to make sense of it.Guest: Aymann Ismail, Slate staff writer.If you enjoy this

The Renewable Energy Shell Game

Jan 1st, 2024 22m 55s

Buying “renewable energy certificates” is a way for companies to claim to reach their renewable energy goals—instead of, say, putting solar panels on their roof. One of the most enthusiastic consumers of RECs is the federal government. But is t

Marvel’s Disastrous Year

Dec 21st, 2023 24m 53s

After his character, Kang the Conqueror, was set up to be the big villain of the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jonathan Majors was dismissed from the franchise after being found guilty of reckless assault and harassment. Guest: