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On this week’s episode of The Waves, Hanna, June, and Noreen are joined by Alex Barasch to discuss his article on the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back protections for trans people and define the community out of existence. Who would be impacted by this kind of policing of identity, and does HHS’ “biological” conception of sex actually match the science? Then, Slate tech writer April Glaser comes on to discuss her experiences reporting on the alt-right’s “internet of hate”—including the social network Gab, where the Tree of Life shooter had an active account. How does what happens in these spaces spill over into real-world violence, and is the architecture of the internet fixable? Finally, they debate the merits of the Skimm, a newsletter that targets millennial women and has come under fire for flippant superficial coverage—and has 7 million subscribers to show for it.
Slate Plus: Is it sexist to expect Hillary Clinton to change her mind about Monica Lewinsky?
Other items discussed on the show:
• “ ‘Transgender’ Could Be Defined Out of Existence Under Trump Administration,” by Erica L. Green, Katie Benner, and Robert Pear in the New York Times
• “DOJ: Businesses Can Discriminate Against Transgender Workers,” by Chris Opfer in Bloomberg Law
• “Trump admin wants to remove ‘gender’ from UN human rights documents,” by Julian Borger in the Guardian
• “The Real Radical Gender Ideology,” by Alex Barasch in Slate
• “How the Trump Administration’s Radical New Definition of ‘Sex’ Would Legalize Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination,” by Mark Joseph Stern in Slate
• “The Internet of Hate,” by April Glaser in Slate
• “The Moral Bankruptcy of Hate Speech on Gab,” by April Glaser in Slate
• “Trump’s Caravan Hysteria Led to This,” by Adam Serwer in the Atlantic
• “The Skimm Has the Ear of Seven Million Subscribers,” by Noreen Malone in the Cut
• “The Skimm Is the Ivanka Trump of Newsletters,” by Christina Cauterucci in Slate
Recommendations:
Hanna: Season 2 of Insecure
June: The First
Noreen: The Cut on Tuesdays and the new season of Serial
This podcast was produced by Danielle Hewitt. Our production assistant is Alex Barasch.
The Waves plugs: Please remember to like our Facebook page. Send your emails to thewaves@slate.com. Tell us what we should cover in the next episode. And come to our live show in Miami on Nov. 17!
