Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade has been named Apple Podcasts Show of the Year! We?re so honored by this award and want to thank everyone who has listened and supported the show. On this season, we looked to the past to understand what the future of abortion might look like in America. We tell the forgotten story of the first woman ever convicted of manslaughter for getting an abortion. We introduce you to the unlikely Catholic power couple who helped ignite the pro-life movement. And we look at how a rookie Supreme Court justice appointed by Nixon, tackled one of the most pivotal cases in American history. To celebrate this award, we made a special behind-the-scenes episode on how we created the show, as well as five all new Extra episodes?with new interviews, perspectives, and ideas about what might happen next in the fight over legal abortion. To hear those Show of the Year Extras visit: https://apple.co/showoftheyear2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The team who made Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade tells the story that unfolded behind the scenes of Apple Podcasts Show of the Year, from the original pitch to the leak of the Dobbs decision. We?ll hear how host Susan Matthews first came up with the idea, how the producers dug up rare archival tape and hard-to-find sources that helped bring the story to life, and how the show tried to fairly represent both sides of the issue. Plus, we dive into what changed after the Dobbs opinion was leaked in May, a month before the show launched. Featuring host Susan Matthews, producers Samira Tazari and Sophie Summergrad, editor Josh Levin, and executive producer Derek John. To hear all of our other Show of the Year Extras visit: https://apple.co/showoftheyear2022 For even more Slow Burn, join Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get exclusive episodes each season. If you?re not already a member, join today and save 50 percent on your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1942, federal officials targeted a group of Black Americans who were allegedly hoping for a Japanese invasion. They uncovered a plot that included stockpiles of weapons and secret passwords?but was any of it true? This week, Joel Anderson tells the story of a shadowy organization in East St. Louis, Illinois, the group?s mysterious leader, and an alleged conspiracy against America during World War II. This episode of One Year was produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Joel Anderson, Sol Werthan, and Josh Levin. Derek John is executive producer of narrative podcasts and Merritt Jacob is senior technical director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For about two decades towards the end of the Victorian era, in the 1870s and 1880s, a large bustle-enhanced bottom was the height of fashion. In this episode we explore how it?s connected to today?s big booty craze. We look at the bustle?s history with a curator fascinated by old undergarments; consider the various theories about its popularity with the author Heather Radke; and then hone in the tragic story of Sarah Baartman. The bustle may be old-fashioned, but it still has a lot to tell us about race, sex, power and how much people know, or let themselves know, about what they put on everyday. We hear from Heather Radke, author of Butts: A Backstory, as well as Kristina Haughland, Janell Hobson, Pamela Scully, and Maria Garcia.  This podcast was written by Willa Paskin, who produces Decoder Ring with Katie Shepherd. This episode was edited by Andrea Bruce. Derek John is Slate?s Executive Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you haven?t please yet, subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends. If you?re a fan of the show, I?d love for you to sign up for Slate Plus.   Slate Plus members get to listen to Decoder Ring without any ads. Their support is also crucial to our work. So please go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six months after Pearl Harbor, Japan launched another attack on the United States. This time, Axis forces actually invaded, turning the Aleutian Islands into a battleground. What the country did next, in the name of ?protecting? Alaska?s indigenous people, is a shameful chapter of the war. And it?s one the nation has never fully reckoned with. This episode of One Year was produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Sol Werthan, and Josh Levin. Derek John is senior supervising producer of narrative podcasts and Merritt Jacob is senior technical director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the history of viral images, #TheDress has got to be in the top 10. This unassuming photo of a party dress kicked off a global debate when people realized they were seeing it completely differently. Is it black and blue, or white and gold? In today?s episode, we?ll talk to someone who was there when the photo was first taken, and the BuzzFeed writer whose post briefly broke the internet. Then we go down the optical rabbit hole with a neuroscientist who?s been studying the The Dress for years. What does it reveal about the nature of truth? This podcast was written by Willa Paskin, who produces Decoder Ring with Katie Shepherd. This episode was edited by Andrew Adam Newman. Derek John is Slate?s senior supervising producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is senior technical director. We?ll hear from Paul Jinks, Cates Holderness, Pascal Wallisch, and David McRaney author of the book How Minds Change. Here?s the optical illusion of the strawberries mentioned in the episode and created by Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka. If you haven?t please yet, subscribe and rate our feed in Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends. If you?re a fan of the show, I?d love for you to sign up for Slate Plus.    Slate Plus members get to listen to Decoder Ring ? and every other Slate podcast ? ad-free. Their support is also crucial to our work. So please go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today. Check out Remote Works here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March 1942, a new nightly radio show hit the American airwaves. The stated goal of Station Debunk was to correct all the lies getting tossed around about America?s involvement in the war. But the real story was a whole lot stranger and more devious than it appeared. One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, and Josh Levin. Derek John is senior supervising producer of narrative podcasts and Merritt Jacob is senior technical director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Aug. 1, 1942, the nation?s recording studios went silent. Musicians were fed up with the new technologies threatening their livelihoods, so they refused to record until they got their fair share. This week, Evan Chung explores one of the most consequential labor actions of the 20th century, and how it coincided with an underground revolution in music led by artists like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, and Josh Levin. Derek John is senior supervising producer of narrative podcasts and Merritt Jacob is senior technical director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There were 1.8 million weddings in 1942, the most that had ever been recorded in a single year in American history. But how many of them would last? 98-year-old Millie Summergrad tells the story of one that did: her own. And a pair of brothers explain what it was like to grow up inside the busiest chapel in Yuma, Arizona?the wedding capital of the United States. One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, and Josh Levin. Derek John is senior supervising producer of narrative podcasts and Merritt Jacob is senior technical director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the beginning of World War II, the greatest threat to the American war effort wasn?t the Nazis or the Japanese?it was runaway inflation. The man in charge of stopping it was the country?s ?price czar,? Leon Henderson. In 1942, he controlled how much coffee ordinary people could drink and how many tires they could buy. Those rules made him a nationwide villain. But would they save the country? One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, and Josh Levin.  Derek John is senior supervising producer of narrative podcasts and Merritt Jacob is senior technical director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug PSAs was inundating the youth of America. These messages didn?t always work as intended?but they did work their way into the long term memories of the kids who heard them.  In the second episode of our two-part series on the weird world of PSAs and very special episodes, we look at how the McGruff Smart Kids Album influenced everything from straight-edge hardcore to a couple?s wedding playlist. We?ll hear from Sarah Hubbard, Dan Danger, Joseph Cappella, David Farber, Mike Hawes, Robin Nelson, Daisy Rosario, and Tatiana Peralta. This podcast was written by Willa Paskin, who produces Decoder Ring with Katie Shepherd. This episode was edited by Jamie York. Derek John is Slate?s Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director. Thank you to Tatiana Peralta, Ari Merkin, Wendy Melillo, Dan McQuade, Dale Mantley, Larissa Zargeris, Dave Bledsoe, Larre Johnson, Duane Poole, Eric Greenberg, Charles and Karen Rosen, and Jennifer Holland, Orla Mejia, Andres Martinez and everyone else at the Rutgers library who helped me listen to some old cassette tapes.  A few things that were helpful in working on this piece: How McGruff and the Crying Indian Changed America: A History of Iconic Ad Council Campaigns by Wendy Melillo, Taking a Bite out of Crime: the Impact of the National Citizens Crime Prevention Media Campaign by Garrett J O?keefe and others, and ?This McGruff Drug Album Might As Well Be By Weird Al,? by Dan McQuade for Defector Media. You can hear Daniel Danger?s McGruff cover album in it?s entirety or you can purchase it here. And lastly, if you are interested in hearing the full McGruff educational program or any of Puppet Productions productions they are available for purchase at puppetsinc.com, part of a company that Rob Nelson still runs. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate?s journalism. Check out Remote Works here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug PSAs was inundating the youth of America. These messages didn?t always work as intended?but they did work their way into the long term memories of the kids who heard them.  In the first of two episodes, we take a look at PSAs and their strange afterlife through the lens of a trench-coat wearing bloodhound and his bizarre, yet catchy anti-drug songs. We?ll talk to Dan Danger, Sherry Nemmers, Joseph Cappella, David Farber, Mike Hawes and Robin Nelson to discover how the McGruff Smart Kids Album came to exist in the first place. This podcast was written by Willa Paskin. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. We had production help from Sam Kim.  Editing by Jamie York and Derek John, Slate?s Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director. Thank you to Wendy Melillo, Dan McQuade, Dale Mantley, Larissa Zargeris, Daisy Rosario, Drew Bledsoe, Larre Johnson, Duane Poole, Ari Merkin, Charles and Karen Rosen and Eric Greenberg.  If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate?s journalism. Check out Remote Works here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Joe Mauri gets evicted from his New York apartment, he becomes a star in the USSR, the subject of a documentary about the injustices of capitalism. But this Cold War icon was using the Soviets just as much as they used him. One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Madeline Ducharme, and Josh Levin. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts and Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 16, 1986, a man with a bomb held an entire elementary school hostage in the tiny town of Cokeville, Wyoming. Yet instead of becoming victims of unimaginable tragedy, all of the hostages in this predominantly Mormon community survived. But how? This week, Evan Chung explores what?or who?saved the children of Cokeville. One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Madeline Ducharme, and Josh Levin.  Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts and Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Seattle, a pack of voracious sea lions decimates the local fish population. When fireworks and an underwater air horn don?t scare away the whisker-y mammals, bureaucrats and scientists are faced with a thorny question: Who decides which creatures get to live, and which have to die? One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Madeline Ducharme, and Josh Levin.  Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts and Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Black residents of Indianola, Mississippi, were fed up with decades of separate-and-unequal classrooms. When a white outsider got hired as school superintendent, they decided to take a stand. This week, Joel Anderson tells the story of how their boycott of white businesses transformed the community and captivated the nation. One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Madeline Ducharme, and Josh Levin. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts and Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rumors about the legendary gangster Al Capone?s buried treasure transform an abandoned Chicago hotel into the center of the entertainment universe. Will Geraldo Rivera?s excavation on live TV turn up money, skeletons, or nothing at all? One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Madeline Ducharme, and Josh Levin.  Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts and Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Evan Chung tells the story of the American teachers who competed for an unprecedented prize: a spot on the January 1986 launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Three of the finalists describe the grueling selection process and the tragedy that killed one of their own. One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Madeline Ducharme, and Josh Levin.  Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts and Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Basketball star Isiah Thomas had an audacious plan to transform Detroit: asking criminals to stay on the good side of the law for 24 hours. Would ?No Crime Day? set the city on a new path, or was it a recipe for failure? One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Madeline Ducharme, and Josh Levin. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early 1930s, Mae West?s dirty talk and hip swiveling walk made her one of the biggest movie stars in America. But before West hit the big-screen, she was prosecuted for staging not one, but two scandalous plays. In this episode, we look at how West honed her persona when she was under the bright lights of Broadway and the flashbulbs of the tabloids ? and briefly behind bars. More than a century later, her career arc offers a blueprint on how to survive a scandal?and maybe even come out ahead. This episode relied heavily on a lot of archival material and innumerable books: When I?m Bad, I?m Better: Mae West, Sex and American Entertainment by Marybeth Hamilton; When Brooklyn was Queer by Hugh Ryan; Lillian Schlissel?s introduction to Three Plays by Mae West,  Mae West: a biography by George Eells and Stanley Musgrove; Mae West: An Icon in Black and White by Jill Watts;  Becoming May West by Emily Wortis Leider; Gay New York by George Chauncey;  Mae West, She Who Laughs Last, by June Sochen: Goodness Has Nothing to Do with It by Mae West; and Linda Ann Losciavo?s play ?Courting Mae West? and her blog, which you can find at Maewest.blogspot.com.  This episode of Decoder Ring was written by Willa Paskin. It was produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our Technical Director. Thank you to Benjamin Frisch for this topic.  If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate?s journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you think of an alien abduction, what do you picture? Humanoid creatures, medical experiments, lost memories retrieved through hypnosis? That narrative was largely unknown until Betty and Barney Hill went public about their own alien abduction in the 1960s. Betty Hill?s niece, Kathleen Marden, recounts how the story went viral and her aunt and uncle became unwitting celebrities. Then professors Susan Lepselter, Chris Bader, Joseph O. Baker and Stephanie Kelley-Romano explain how the Hills? alien abduction changed science fiction forever. Thanks to Eric Molinsky for bringing us this story that originally aired on his terrific podcast Imaginary Worlds. Eric?s got a lot more stories like this one so subscribe wherever you listen.  Decoder Ring is written by Willa Paskin and produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate?s journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rod McKuen sold multiple millions of poetry books in the 60s and 70s. He released dozens of albums, was a regular on late night, and was even nominated for an Oscar. So, how did the most salable poet in American history simply disappear? On today?s episode, Slate writer Dan Kois went searching for Rod McKuen, a famous poet who isn?t so famous anymore. We?ll hear from Stephanie Burt, Mike Chasar and Barry Alfonso, author of Rod?s biography A Voice of the Warm. Along the way, Dan meets Andy Zax, a guy who, like him, was bewildered by this forgotten star?until he became an accidental fan, and then somehow the only person keeping Rod McKuen?s flame alive. This episode of Decoder Ring was written by Dan Kois and edited by Willa Paskin. It was produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected]. If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate?s journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(While we work on the next season of Slow Burn we're showcasing Slate's other narrative podcasts, starting with a new season of Decoder Ring.) What do we lose if we lose the mall? 70 years into their existence, these hulking temples to commerce are surprisingly resilient and filled with contradictions. In this episode, Alexandra Lange, the author of the new book Meet Me at the Fountain: an Inside History of the Mall walks us through the atriums, escalators, and food courts of this singular suburban space. We also hear from mall-goers whose personal experiences help us make sense of this disdained yet beloved, disappearing yet surviving place. This episode of Decoder Ring was written by Willa Paskin and produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] If you love the show and want to support us, consider joining Slate Plus. With Slate Plus you get ad-free podcasts, bonus episodes, and total access to all of Slate?s journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry Blackmun wasn?t Richard Nixon?s first choice to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. But after Blackmun was confirmed, he got the assignment of a lifetime: writing the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade. His approach to that case would have consequences he never imagined. Season 7 of Slow Burn is produced by Susan Matthews, Samira Tazari, Sophie Summergrad, and Sol Werthan. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Editorial direction by Josh Levin, Derek John, and Johanna Zorn. Merritt Jacob is our Technical Director. Our theme music is composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Artwork by Derreck Johnson based on a photo provided by Robert Wheeler. The season?s reporting was supported by a grant from the International Women?s Media Foundation?s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Soon after Ann Hill arrived at Yale Law School in 1968, she realized she was pregnant. Her options were limited: she could give birth?or get an illegal abortion. The decision she faced inspired her to take on Connecticut?s abortion ban. The legal battle that followed would set the stage for Roe v. Wade. Season 7 of Slow Burn is produced by Susan Matthews, Samira Tazari, Sophie Summergrad, and Sol Werthan. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Editorial direction by Josh Levin, Derek John, and Johanna Zorn. Merritt Jacob is our Technical Director. Our theme music is composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Artwork by Derreck Johnson based on a photo provided by Robert Wheeler. The season?s reporting was supported by a grant from the International Women?s Media Foundation?s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jack and Barbara Willke got their start on the Catholic speaking circuit talking about the pleasure of sex within marriage. Their daughter would convince them to shift their focus to another hot-button issue. The Willkes? Handbook on Abortion, and the photographs they distributed along with it, would help kickstart the right-to-life movement. To see the cover of the Handbook on Abortion, some of the photos the Willkes used, and the brochure ?Life or Death,? go to slate.com/handbook Season 7 of Slow Burn is produced by Susan Matthews, Samira Tazari, Sophie Summergrad, and Sol Werthan. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Editorial direction by Josh Levin, Derek John and Johanna Zorn. Merritt Jacob is our Technical Director. Our theme music is composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Artwork by Derreck Johnson based on a photo provided by Robert Wheeler. The season?s reporting was supported by a grant from the International Women?s Media Foundation?s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1970, 22-year-old Shirley Wheeler got an illegal abortion in Florida. When she refused to tell the police who performed the procedure, she was arrested and charged with manslaughter. In the months that followed, she?d be prosecuted and publicly condemned. She?d also become the unlikely face of the fight for reproductive rights. Season 7 of Slow Burn is produced by Susan Matthews, Samira Tazari, Sophie Summergrad, and Sol Werthan. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts. Editorial direction by Josh Levin, Derek John and Johanna Zorn. Mixing by Merritt Jacob and Kevin Bendis. Our theme music is composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Artwork by Derreck Johnson based on a photo provided by Robert Wheeler. The season?s reporting was supported by a grant from the International Women?s Media Foundation?s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the largest civil disturbance in American history, Los Angeles faced a daunting task. Dozens of people had been killed and thousands injured. The city had sustained more than a billion dollars in property damage. And the riots had exposed that much of the population faced grinding poverty and hostile policing. Los Angeles would need to be rebuilt in more ways than one. The question was, what type of city did the people of Los Angeles want? And were they capable of building it? Season 6 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Jayson De Leon, Ethan Brooks, Sophie Summergrad, and Jasmine Ellis. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. To listen to these interviews in full, learn more about the making of this season, skip all the ads, and support Slow Burn, sign up for Slate Plus now. It's only $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 29, 1992, Los Angeles had erupted into chaos. Over the following days, thousands of people took to the streets. Some were unleashing their anger at the police and the justice system. Some were driven by frustration at living in poverty in one of the world?s richest cities. And some just saw a chance to plunder while law enforcement was scrambling. This is what happened next.  Season 6 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Jayson De Leon, Ethan Brooks, Sophie Summergrad, and Jasmine Ellis.  Mixing by Merritt Jacob. To listen to these interviews in full, learn more about the making of this season, skip all the ads, and support Slow Burn, sign up for Slate Plus now. It's only $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March 1991, Black people in Los Angeles had seen the videotape of Rodney King being beaten. In November, they?d seen Soon Ja Du sentenced to probation for killing 15-year-old Latasha Harlins. On April 29, 1992, a jury failed to convict the officers who beat King. That was the last straw.  Season 6 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Jayson De Leon, Ethan Brooks, Sophie Summergrad, and Jasmine Ellis.  Mixing by Merritt Jacob. To listen to these interviews in full, learn more about the making of this season, skip all the ads, and support Slow Burn, sign up for Slate Plus now. It's only $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A year after they were caught on tape beating Rodney King, four LAPD officers went on trial. None were convicted.  How did the prosecution make its case against the cops? How did the officers hold up under questioning? And what happened when the verdict was announced?  Season 6 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Jayson De Leon, Ethan Brooks, Sophie Summergrad, and Jasmine Ellis.  Mixing by Merritt Jacob. To listen to these interviews in full, learn more about the making of this season, skip all the ads, and support Slow Burn, sign up for Slate Plus now. It's only $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're highlighting a few excerpts from this season's Slate Plus episodes?interviews with George Holliday, professor Edward Chang, L.A. Times journalist Jim Newton, and Rodney King?s best friend Johnnie Kelly?all who help to explain the cultural and social tensions building in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s. To listen to these interviews in full, learn more about the making of this season, skip all the ads, and support Slow Burn, sign up for Slate Plus now. It's only $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rodney King never asked to be famous. The video that captured his beating at the hands of four LAPD officers plunged an ordinary man into an extraordinary situation. So how did he navigate his new life in the public eye? How did he think about what had happened to him? And how would his struggles affect the trial of the four officers who beat him? Season 6 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Jayson De Leon, Ethan Brooks, Sophie Summergrad, and Jasmine Ellis.  Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Slate Plus members get bonus episodes of Slow Burn and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1991, Daryl Gates was the face of the LAPD. Over the course of his 13-year tenure as chief, he had built his police department into a paramilitary-style force that enforced the racial boundaries of the city.  Rodney King?s beating had exposed the brutality of Gates? police force to the city. In the weeks after the video aired, L.A.?s most powerful institutions joined together to call for an end to Gates? career and the style of policing that had resulted in King?s beating.  But even with much of the city?s political leadership unified against him, Gates was ready for a fight. Season 6 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Jayson De Leon, Ethan Brooks, Sophie Summergrad, and Jasmine Ellis.  Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Slate Plus members get bonus episodes of Slow Burn and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March 1991, the video of the Rodney King beating was national news. The LAPD was under intense scrutiny and many white Americans were seeing a side of policing they?d never seen before. Just a few days after George Holliday?s tape aired, the residents of South Central, Los Angeles were forced to confront yet another devastating act of violence: The killing of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins. How did a deadly altercation at a convenience store set off a battle between Los Angeles? Black residents and its immigrant shopkeepers? And how did the justice system respond? Season 6 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Jayson De Leon, Ethan Brooks, Sophie Summergrad, and Jasmine Ellis.  Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Slate Plus members get bonus episodes of Slow Burn and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the night of March 2nd, 1991, at a remote intersection just outside of L.A., four police officers surrounded an unarmed Black man. They struck him 56 times with their batons before arresting him.  Across the street, standing on his second-floor balcony, a bystander named George Holliday recorded the scene on his home video camera.  This is what happened after the camera stopped rolling.  Season 6 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Jayson De Leon, Ethan Brooks, Sophie Summergrad, and Jasmine Ellis. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Slate Plus members get bonus episodes of Slow Burn and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1992, a jury failed to convict the four Los Angeles police officers who'd been captured on videotape beating Rodney King. The city erupted into fire and chaos ? the culmination of decades of unchecked police abuse and racial injustice. For the sixth season of Slate?s Slow Burn, Joel Anderson returns to explore the people and events behind the biggest civil disturbance in American history ? a story that?s still playing out today. Slow Burn Season 6 is hosted by Joel Anderson. He is the host of Slow Burn Season 3: Biggie and Tupac, a co-host of Slate's Hang-Up and Listen, and covers the intersection of race, politics, and sports for Slate. The season begins on Wednesday, November 3rd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Maria Rubio saw Jesus on a tortilla, her family got besieged by believers and gawkers and the national press. But for the Rubios, the tortilla wasn?t just a public spectacle. It was the miracle that changed their family. And decades later, they?re still reckoning with how that tortilla upended everything. One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. To support this show, subscribe to One Year on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Haley?s Roots displayed the brutal realities of slavery to more than 100 million Americans. The book and mini-series also made a bold claim: that Haley was the first Black American to trace his lineage all the way back to Africa, and to a specific ancestor captured into slavery. What would it mean, for Haley and America, if he hadn?t found what he said he?d found? To support this show, subscribe to One Year on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America?s top weed evangelist and the nation?s drug czar shared the same goal: to loosen up the country?s marijuana laws. In 1977, everything was trending their way?until a blowout Christmas party destroyed their plans, and transformed the future of marijuana in the United States. One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. To support this show, subscribe to One Year on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three stories from one day in August 1977. Elvis Presley dies, and the National Enquirer goes after the ultimate tabloid scoop: a photo of the King in his coffin. A New Jersey high schooler becomes a pariah when she refuses to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Astronomers in Ohio get a mysterious signal from outer space?could it be a message from aliens? One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. To support this show, subscribe to One Year on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Medical authorities said that Laetrile was dangerous quackery. It became a sensation anyway. Diana Green saw this drug made from apricot pits as her son Chad?s best chance to survive leukemia. Her shocking actions, and the little boy affected by them, became the focus of a heated national debate over freedom of medical choice. One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. To support this show, subscribe to One Year on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Shane made history with the Chicago White Sox, becoming the first woman hired as a legitimate major-league baseball announcer. But in 1977, she had to fight to be taken seriously in one of America?s most sexist industries. One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. To support this show, subscribe to One Year on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Decoder Ring is Slate's show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit, examines its history, and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters. This episode introduces you to Ilona Granet, who was a New York art-scene fixture who won the praise of the art world when she put up anti-harassment street signs in lower Manhattan in the mid- 1980s. Her career seemed like a sure thing, but three decades on, and so much more art later, it still hasn?t materialized, even as her contemporaries are now hanging in museums. This episode is not about the familiar myth of making it, but the mystery of not making it. What happens, to an artist?to anyone?when they?re good enough, but that?s not enough? If you like the show, subscribe to Decoder Ring on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slate's new podcast One Year and will introduce you to people and ideas that changed American history--one year at a time. The show is hosted by Josh Levin, Slate's national editor and host of Slow Burn Season 4. And our first season covers 1977: a year when gay rights hung in the balance, Roots dominated the airwaves, and Jesus appeared on a tortilla. In this show, we?ll focus on key moments that transformed politics, culture, science, religion, and more. This episode you?re about to hear will take you into a courtroom in Miami, Florida, where a local fight over gay rights was about to become a huge national standoff, one with life-altering stakes for millions of Americans. And at the center of it all was a pop singer and orange juice spokesperson named Anita Bryant. How does the nation?s past shape our present? Subscribe to One Year on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bush administration didn?t just fail to plan for post-war Iraq. Before and during the invasion, they made choices that compounded the mistake of going to war. Those decisions had lasting consequences for the world and for the Iraqi people. Who?s most responsible for that tragedy?  The last two episodes of this season are available only to Slate Plus subscribers. You can sign up by going to slate.com/slowburn. It?s only $15 for your first three months. Season 5 of Slow Burn is produced by Noreen Malone, Jayson De Leon, and Sophie Summergrad. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the months before the invasion of Iraq, the media mostly backed the Bush administration?s narrative about weapons of mass destruction. No reporter was more influential on that beat than the New York Times' Judith Miller.  How did she get the story so wrong?and why was she the only person to take the fall? The last two episodes of this season are available only to Slate Plus subscribers. You can sign up by going to slate.com/slowburn. It?s only $15 for your first three months. Season 5 of Slow Burn is produced by Noreen Malone, Jayson De Leon, and Sophie Summergrad. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Feb. 5, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell went to the United Nations to make the Bush administration?s closing argument for war with Iraq. Powell didn?t know it at the time, but one major piece of intelligence he cited came from a shady source?a man code-named Curveball.  How did Curveball?s bad information make it into Powell?s speech? And why did no one listen when a woman from the CIA tried to warn everyone? The last two episodes of this season are available only to Slate Plus subscribers. You can sign up by going to slate.com/slowburn. It?s only $15 for your first three months. Season 5 of Slow Burn is produced by Noreen Malone, Jayson De Leon, and Sophie Summergrad. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four men in Congress?two from each party?helped determine whether President George W. Bush would be given the authority to invade Iraq. All of them were named Dick. Which of these Dicks scrutinized the case for war the most closely? And who was making obvious political calculations? Slate Plus members get bonus episodes of Slow Burn and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Season 5 of Slow Burn is produced by Noreen Malone, Jayson De Leon, and Sophie Summergrad. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're highlighting a few excerpts from this season's Slate Plus episodes?interviews with Ann Curry, Slate writers and editors who blogged about the war in 2003, and people who personally knew Ahmad Chalabi. To listen to these interviews, learn more about the making of this season, skip all the ads, and support Slow Burn, sign up for Slate Plus now. It's only $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices