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Elon Musk is suing Media Matters for reporting that advertisers’ content was showing up right next to posts from newly reinstated Nazis on X, something X’s CEO said was impossible. Media Matters is based in D.C., and X is headquartered in California - so why did Musk choose to file the suit in Texas?

Guest: Liz Dye, columnist at Above the Law, Substacks as Law and Chaos Pod, co-hosts the podcast Opening Arguments.

Is Spotify’s 2023—ending with layoffs and cancelling critically acclaimed original podcasts—a sign of trouble at the streaming giant, or an adjustment to expectations that’s setting them up for a brighter future?

Guest: Ashley Carman, Bloomberg reporter who covers Spotfiy  

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Pickleball’s exploding popularity isn’t an organic grassroots rise. According to a reporter’s intrepid Freedom of Information Act inquiries, enthusiastic pickleball ambassadors are employing the “USA Pickleball tool kit” and harrying local park departments to elbow out their tennis-and-basketball-playing neighbors. 

Guest: Jason Koebler, cofounder of 404 Media and host of the 404 Media Podcast, former editor-in-chief of Motherboard.

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The Sacklers were set to pay $6 billion in exchange for immunity from any future lawsuits over their role in the opioid crisis. But the Supreme Court will now decide whether bankruptcy law can be wielded in this manner to protect the very wealthy—and trump the very-American right to sue for damages. 

Guest: Brian Mann, reporter on addiction at NPR.

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Last week, former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley scored a coveted endorsement from Charles Koch’s political advocacy group. She’s passed Ron DeSantis in the polls—and now, she’s the top, non-Trump Republican candidate for president. But is there any hope of winning over Trump voters—or is this a race to be the candidate who steps in if the former president goes to jail?

Guest: Alexandra Ulmer, reporter at Reuters covering the 2024 U.S. presidential race, with a focus on Republicans, donors and AI.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Madeline Ducharme, Anna Phillips, Paige Osburn, and Rob Gunther.
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Jeff Bezos said Amazon will be “Earth’s safest place to work.” But state and federal investigators are looking into the online retailer’s rates of on-the-job injuries. Is working in an Amazon warehouse inherently unsafe, or is the number of accidents unavoidable for the US’s second largest employer, as the company contends? Given OSHA’s limited powers, does the government have any options other than taking their word for it?

Guest: Caroline O'Donovan, Washington Post reporter covering Amazon

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