Slow Burn
Clarence Thomas is one of the most powerful figures in America today. Nearly every issue of national consequence has his fingerprints all over it, from voting rights to gun rights and from abortion access to affirmative action. But nothing about his journey from rural Georgia to the Supreme Court was inevitable.In the eighth season of Slate’s Slow Burn, host Joel Anderson traces Justice Thomas’ surprising path from youthful radical to conservative icon. You’ll hear about why he came to despise the race-based admission policies that personally benefitted him, how he credited his political rise to the Black self-sufficiency preached by Malcolm X, and what the American people didn’t hear during his explosive confirmation hearings.
76
One Year: Elvis, the Pledge, and Extraterrestrials
Three stories from a single day in August 1977.
54 min
77
One Year: The Miracle Cure
Medical experts said the cancer drug Laetrile was dangerous quackery. It became a national sensation anyway.
57 min
78
One Year: Mary Shane's Rookie Season
The little-known story of the first woman hired as a legitimate major-league baseball announcer.
49 min
79
Decoder Ring: The Sign Painter
From the new season of Slate's documentary culture podcast, Decoder Ring.
62 min
80
One Year: Anita Bryant's War on Gay Rights
Introducing One Year, a new podcast from Slate.
65 min
81
S5 Ep. 8: Shock and Awe
Who’s most responsible for the failures of post-war Iraq?
9 min
82
S5 Ep. 7: Judy
Judith Miller made the WMDs case in the New York Times. Does she still stand by her reporting?
5 min
83
S5 Ep.6: Big, if True
Why the U.S. relied on faulty intelligence from a man code-named Curveball.
39 min
84
S5 Ep.5: Four Dicks (and Vice President Cheney)
The men named Richard who helped determine whether the U.S. would go to war in Iraq.
43 min
85
S5 Extra: More on the Road to Iraq
A few excerpts from Season 5's Slate Plus interviews.
13 min
86
S5 Ep.4: Fighting Words
Intellectuals on the right and left found themselves on the same side in the debate over Iraq.
43 min
87
S5 Ep. 3: Mushroom Clouds
How weapons of mass destruction became the Bush administration’s rallying cry for war.
41 min
88
S5 Ep. 2: Terror
How the anthrax attacks of 2001 fueled a coming war with Iraq.
43 min
89
S5 Ep. 1: The Exile
Ahmad Chalabi spent decades trying to return to Baghdad. Thanks to the Americans’ war, he finally got his wish.
47 min
90
Season 5 Trailer: The Road to the Iraq War
Coming April 21st
2 min
91
Introducing: I Spy
28 min
92
S4 Extra: What We Can Learn From 1991
A few excerpts from Season 4's bonus interviews, and a special Slow Burn announcement.
30 min
93
S4 Ep. 6: A Concerned Citizen
David Duke nearly became the governor of Louisiana. What did it take to stop him?
9 min
94
S4 Ep. 5: The Road to Hell
The 1991 Louisiana governor’s race turned into a battle over what the state was, and what it should be.
13 min
95
S4 Ep. 4: A Silent Army
What message did David Duke’s voters send to everyone else in Louisiana?
46 min
96
Cold Call
What I learned from a child journalist’s interview with David Duke--and why I’m not interviewing him myself.
21 min
97
S4 Ep. 3: The Nazi and the Republicans
The woman who tried to stop David Duke, and the GOP officials who accommodated him.
49 min
98
S4 Ep. 2: Robe and Ritual
How David Duke used the Ku Klux Klan to sell his message, and himself.
46 min
99
S4 Ep. 1: White Knight
The year that David Duke, America’s most famous white supremacist, went mainstream.
45 min
100
Season 4 Trailer: David Duke
Coming June 10th
2 min