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Afghan women and LGBTQ+ people immediately felt the impact of the Taliban’s return to power last year. But journalists trying to tell their stories could face intense and even violent backlash from the extremist group—like what happened to Lynne O’Donnell. 

Guest: Lynne O’Donnell, columnist at Foreign Policy and former Afghanistan bureau chief for Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press.
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With an ongoing labor shortage, companies turn to third-party labor brokers to fill jobs. But with little oversight and a surge of immigrants, the line between “ recruiter” and “ trafficker” gets blurred as vulnerable children are sent to work in dangerous conditions. 

Guest: Mica Rosenberg, national immigration reporter for Reuters.

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NBA star Bill Russell, the first Black American to coach a major-league sports team, died this week. His playing earned him 11 championships. His activism won him respect in the Black community, but the hatred of many white fans, and surveillance from the FBI during the civil rights era. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by sports journalist Howard Bryant to discuss Russell’s legacy, on and off the court.

Guest: Veteran sports journalist Howard Bryant

Podcast production by Eric Aaron

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It makes intuitive sense for companies that develop a technology to hold its intellectual property rights. But in the case of vaccines and medical treatments, IP laws slow down manufacturing and distribution and give private companies the power to make huge decisions that affect public health globally.

Guest: Zain Rizvi, researcher for advocacy group Public Citizen, specializing in pharmaceutical innovation and access to medicine.
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On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior writer Christina Cauterucci and Slate books and culture columnist Laura Miller talk all things Liz Cheney. They discuss Laura’s piece on how the Republican Congresswoman is coming across like a disappointed mom during the January 6 hearings—and whether comparing women politicians to mother figures is always sexist. Then they dig into what Cheney’s long-game is as she defies the Republican party and goes against Donald Trump.

In Slate Plus, Christina and Laura discuss the January 6 hearings’ breakout star, Cassidy Hutchinson. 

Recommendations:
Christina: Caesar salad dressing from Once Upon a Chef
Laura: Trailed by Kathryn Miles
 
Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Alicia Montgomery and Daisy Rosario.
Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com
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This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and Heather McGhee discuss the primaries and Kansan voters’ defense of abortion; Alex Jones on trial; and Annie Lowrey’s story of surviving pregnancy in the United States. 

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Sam Adler-Bell for The New York Times: “The Violent Fantasies of Blake Masters”
Jason Beeferman for The Texas Tribune: “How Sandy Hook Lies and the Jan. 6 Inquiry Threaten to Undo Alex Jones”
Annie Lowrey for The Atlantic: “American Motherhood”
Annie Lowrey for The Atlantic: “The Most Important Study in the Abortion Debate”
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, by Heather McGhee
The Sum of Us podcast
Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration, by Emily Bazelon
Black Reconstruction in America, by W. E. B. Du Bois 
Forbidden City, by Vanessa Hua

Here are this week’s chatters:
Emily: The Law & Justice Journalism Project
Heather: A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
David: Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke; Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke; Testament of Youth, by Vera Brittain

Listener chatter from Mohamed El-Sheik: Adriana E. Ramírez for The Atlantic: “Everyone Loses on Jeopardy Eventually”
 
Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.
Research by Bridgette Dunlap.
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