On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: live from Seattle. Hear Me Out had its first-ever live show on May 4, 2024 — and it was such a great conversation that we wanted to make sure our podcast listeners heard it, too.  The <a href="https://crosscut.com/festival">Cascade PBS Ideas Festival</a> was full of smart, unconventional thinkers on the biggest issues facing this country… so what better place to have a conversation about Donald Trump, and the future of this country?  It’s tempting to think of the MAGA ideology as an unprecedented threat to democracy. But is it? Or are the authoritarian, anti-democratic ideas percolating into our mainstream politics a feature, rather than a bug? Historian and author <a href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/">Heather Cox Richardson</a> joined us in Seattle. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: <a href="mailto:hearmeout@slate.com">hearmeout@slate.com</a> Podcast production by Maura Currie. Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit <a href="http://slate.com/awordplus">slate.com/hearmeoutplus</a> to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

<description>On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: live from Seattle.

Hear Me Out had its first-ever live show on May 4, 2024 — and it was such a great conversation that we wanted to make sure our podcast listeners heard it, too. 

The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival was full of smart, unconventional thinkers on the biggest issues facing this country… so what better place to have a conversation about Donald Trump, and the future of this country? 

It’s tempting to think of the MAGA ideology as an unprecedented threat to democracy. But is it? Or are the authoritarian, anti-democratic ideas percolating into our mainstream politics a feature, rather than a bug?

Historian and author Heather Cox Richardson joined us in Seattle.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</description>

The founders weren’t exactly anti-authoritarian.

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: live from Seattle.

Hear Me Out had its first-ever live show on May 4, 2024 — and it was such a great conversation that we wanted to make sure our podcast listeners heard it, too. 

The Cascade PBS Ideas Festival was full of smart, unconventional thinkers on the biggest issues facing this country… so what better place to have a conversation about Donald Trump, and the future of this country? 

It’s tempting to think of the MAGA ideology as an unprecedented threat to democracy. But is it? Or are the authoritarian, anti-democratic ideas percolating into our mainstream politics a feature, rather than a bug?

Historian and author Heather Cox Richardson joined us in Seattle.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump Isn’t a Bug. He's a Feature.

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: prosecuting parents. Ethan Crumbley’s parents didn’t pull the trigger that killed 4 students in 2021 — but they’ve been sentenced to prison time for it all the same.  School shootings are devastatingly common in this country, but punishing the parents of the killer is a new tactic of handling the aftermath. Even if you think the Crumbleys were bad parents, though, the questions should be posed: why are we punishing them under the law? And is this the best way to address, or even prevent, mass tragedies? Professor, writer, and legal contributor for ABC News <a href="https://kimberlywehle.com/">Kim Wehle</a> joins us to urge for a look at the bigger picture. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: <a href="mailto:hearmeout@slate.com">hearmeout@slate.com</a> Podcast production by Maura Currie. Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit <a href="http://slate.com/awordplus">slate.com/hearmeoutplus</a> to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

<description>On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: prosecuting parents.

Ethan Crumbley’s parents didn’t pull the trigger that killed 4 students in 2021 — but they’ve been sentenced to prison time for it all the same. 

School shootings are devastatingly common in this country, but punishing the parents of the killer is a new tactic of handling the aftermath. Even if you think the Crumbleys were bad parents, though, the questions should be posed: why are we punishing them under the law? And is this the best way to address, or even prevent, mass tragedies?

Professor, writer, and legal contributor for ABC News Kim Wehle joins us to urge for a look at the bigger picture.


If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</description>

Justice is a bigger picture. 

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: prosecuting parents.

Ethan Crumbley’s parents didn’t pull the trigger that killed 4 students in 2021 — but they’ve been sentenced to prison time for it all the same. 

School shootings are devastatingly common in this country, but punishing the parents of the killer is a new tactic of handling the aftermath. Even if you think the Crumbleys were bad parents, though, the questions should be posed: why are we punishing them under the law? And is this the best way to address, or even prevent, mass tragedies?

Professor, writer, and legal contributor for ABC News Kim Wehle joins us to urge for a look at the bigger picture.


If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Punishing A Shooter’s Parents Misses The Point

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: solidarity? College campuses across the country are grappling with protests and occupations in the name of a free Palestine. Many hundreds of students, faculty, and outside community members have been arrested in tense clashes with police — called onto campuses by the universities themselves.  Student protestors have shaped public discourse on matters like war and the environment for many decades. But without a clear, sympathetic goal, they can also lead to political backlash that far outlasts a four-year degree.  So are today’s student protestors instigating change in Gaza… or teeing up a crackdown on speech and protest here at home?  Prof. Steven Mintz of UT Austin joins us, and urges a cautionary look at the history books.  If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: <a href="mailto:hearmeout@slate.com">hearmeout@slate.com</a> Podcast production by Maura Currie. Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit <a href="http://slate.com/awordplus">slate.com/hearmeoutplus</a> to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

<description>On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: solidarity?

College campuses across the country are grappling with protests and occupations in the name of a free Palestine. Many hundreds of students, faculty, and outside community members have been arrested in tense clashes with police — called onto campuses by the universities themselves. 

Student protestors have shaped public discourse on matters like war and the environment for many decades. But without a clear, sympathetic goal, they can also lead to political backlash that far outlasts a four-year degree. 

So are today’s student protestors instigating change in Gaza… or teeing up a crackdown on speech and protest here at home? 

Prof. Steven Mintz of UT Austin joins us, and urges a cautionary look at the history books. 

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</description>

It’s the law of unintended consequences.

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: solidarity?

College campuses across the country are grappling with protests and occupations in the name of a free Palestine. Many hundreds of students, faculty, and outside community members have been arrested in tense clashes with police — called onto campuses by the universities themselves. 

Student protestors have shaped public discourse on matters like war and the environment for many decades. But without a clear, sympathetic goal, they can also lead to political backlash that far outlasts a four-year degree. 

So are today’s student protestors instigating change in Gaza… or teeing up a crackdown on speech and protest here at home? 

Prof. Steven Mintz of UT Austin joins us, and urges a cautionary look at the history books. 

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Student Protests Can Backfire (Badly)

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: nobody wins with two parties. A competitive presidential election draws closer every day – and as ever, every vote will count. So is it fair to accuse third-party voters of wasting a vote, <a href="https://dividedwefall.org/do-third-parties-help-or-harm-democracy/">as often happens</a>? Or are third-party candidates actually preserving what little we have left of a competitive democracy?  <a href="https://www.valdosta.edu/about/directory/profile/bitamas">Bernard Tamas</a> of Valdosta State University joins us to make the case for the power of the third party. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: <a href="mailto:hearmeout@slate.com">hearmeout@slate.com</a> Podcast production by Maura Currie. Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit <a href="http://slate.com/awordplus">slate.com/hearmeoutplus</a> to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

<description>On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: nobody wins with two parties.

A competitive presidential election draws closer every day – and as ever, every vote will count. So is it fair to accuse third-party voters of wasting a vote, as often happens? Or are third-party candidates actually preserving what little we have left of a competitive democracy? 

Bernard Tamas of Valdosta State University joins us to make the case for the power of the third party.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</description>

It’s just that their job isn’t winning (yet).

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: nobody wins with two parties.

A competitive presidential election draws closer every day – and as ever, every vote will count. So is it fair to accuse third-party voters of wasting a vote, as often happens? Or are third-party candidates actually preserving what little we have left of a competitive democracy? 

Bernard Tamas of Valdosta State University joins us to make the case for the power of the third party.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Third Parties Are Saving Democracy

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: blaze it. Ahead of the honorary stoner holiday that is 4/20, we’re taking a look at the marijuana landscape. Public opinion has warmed considerably to legal weed in the past few decades – both medicinal and recreational – even though it remains a Schedule 1 drug on the federal level. But some public health experts are still sounding the alarm, because this has all happened very quickly… and though hard-line illegality was harmful, what we’re doing now might be causing harm, too. <a href="https://profiles.stanford.edu/keith-humphreys">Dr. Keith Humphreys</a>, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, joins us. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: <a href="mailto:hearmeout@slate.com">hearmeout@slate.com</a> Podcast production by Maura Currie. Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit <a href="http://slate.com/awordplus">slate.com/hearmeoutplus</a> to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

<description>On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: blaze it.

Ahead of the honorary stoner holiday that is 4/20, we’re taking a look at the marijuana landscape. Public opinion has warmed considerably to legal weed in the past few decades – both medicinal and recreational – even though it remains a Schedule 1 drug on the federal level.

But some public health experts are still sounding the alarm, because this has all happened very quickly… and though hard-line illegality was harmful, what we’re doing now might be causing harm, too.

Dr. Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, joins us.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</description>

Smoke and mirrors.

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: blaze it.

Ahead of the honorary stoner holiday that is 4/20, we’re taking a look at the marijuana landscape. Public opinion has warmed considerably to legal weed in the past few decades – both medicinal and recreational – even though it remains a Schedule 1 drug on the federal level.

But some public health experts are still sounding the alarm, because this has all happened very quickly… and though hard-line illegality was harmful, what we’re doing now might be causing harm, too.

Dr. Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, joins us.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legalize Weed, But Not Like This

Hear Me Out is Slate's destination for tough, topical discussions with integrity, and without cliches. Join host Celeste Headlee and a guest each week for a smart, fair debate on issues that matter.

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