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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: self-limiting.

Congress is historically unpopular; it’s one of the few things that people on both sides of the aisle can agree on. But what could be done to actually fix our legislature?

Term limits are often posed as a good potential start. But there are those who argue that that’s not the best way to fix our legislature — and the pool of people who feel that way isn’t exclusively career politicians, either.

Charlie Hunt, a professor at Boise State University, joins us to argue against term limits.

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.

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Youth mental health has hit a crisis point. 
Just last year, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released an advisory connecting young people’s use of social media with adverse mental health outcomes. 
But Murthy and other public health leaders are fighting back, including New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan. He’s leading the charge against social media platforms like Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube through litigation and legislation.
On this week’s episode of Well, Now – holding social media companies accountable for the youth mental health crisis.
If you liked this episode, check out: Is it Burnout? Or, Do You Have a Busy Brain?
Well, Now is hosted by Kavita Patel, MD and Maya Feller, RD.
Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.
Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to wellnow@slate.com
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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: don’t scare me like that, colonizer.

Understanding the legacy of colonialism is a project relatively few Americans have undertaken — and most have done so only relatively recently, at that.

But understanding the forces that led to the foundation of this country, and the creation of modern racism as we know it, is an important project. And it’s one that is also increasingly hard to bring into schools — especially in places like Florida.

Barry Mauer of UCF joins us once again to argue for teaching the ongoing project of colonialism… in the name of stopping it.

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.
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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.
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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.
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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