Coming Thursday, August 18th: The new season of One Year covers 1986, a year of swaggering excess on Wall Street and in cineplexes, but also hardship and deprivation in cities all over the U.S. You’ll hear new perspectives on the year’s most shocking moments, like the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger and the opening of Al Capone's vault. And forgotten stories that still reverberate today: about a school hostage crisis in Wyoming that takes a miraculous turn, and basketball star Isiah Th...
Aug 11, 2022•2 min
This is a reprise of the first episode of our season on 1977. Miami, 1977: Pop singer and orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant takes a stand against a local ordinance—and becomes the leader of a national anti-gay movement. Her campaign against gay rights, and the gay community's fight against her, would change America. One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Apr 16, 2022•1 hr 5 min
The first true online diarist got famous for blurring the lines between private and public life. She also paid a price for her radical transparency. This episode of One Year was produced by Evan Chung, Madeline Ducharme, and Josh Levin. Additional production help from Cheyna Roth. 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 $1...
Jan 13, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 7
In the mid-1990s, a bilingual pop song brought a huge amount of joy to a huge number of people. And then, very quickly, the Macarena became a cultural pariah. This episode of One Year was produced by Evan Chung, Madeline Ducharme, and Josh Levin. Additional production help from Cheyna Roth. 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 f...
Jan 06, 2022•58 min•Season 2Ep. 6
When a serial rapist struck Ann Arbor, Michigan, the police turned to drastic measures, based on the promise and power of DNA. For law enforcement, genetic testing seemed like a can’t-miss idea. But DNA didn’t fix anything in Ann Arbor. Instead, it ripped the community apart. This episode of One Year was produced by Evan Chung, Cheyna Roth, 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, l...
Dec 16, 2021•50 min•Season 2Ep. 5
In 1995, aspiring filmmakers created the first ever soap opera on the Web. Hollywood saw it as the future of entertainment. But a fan-led revolt showed that interactivity sometimes has a price. This week, Evan Chung explains the rise and fall of The Spot. One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Josh Levin, and Madeline Ducharme. Additional production help from Cheyna Roth. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen ...
Dec 09, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In 1995, an enormous scandal rocked the burgeoning field of reproductive medicine. This week, Christina Cauterucci tells the story of how one of the biggest ethical breaches in American medical history became one woman’s personal nightmare. One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme. Additional production help from Cheyna Roth. 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 wit...
Dec 02, 2021•55 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In 1995, a group of American teenagers crossed the Atlantic Ocean to attend one of the world's most prestigious universities. When they got to England, they found something totally unexpected. One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme, with additional production help from Cheyna Roth. 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 signi...
Nov 23, 2021•53 min•Season 2Ep. 2
White supremacist, anti-government terrorists attacked Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. A Muslim American came under immediate suspicion. How did a man who had nothing to do with the bombing get connected to one of the most horrific crimes in U.S. history? One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme, with additional production help from Cheyna Roth. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, l...
Nov 18, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Coming this Thursday, Nov 18th: The new season of One Year covers 1995, a year when homegrown terrorists attacked Oklahoma City, America went online, and the Macarena took over nightclubs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 16, 2021•2 min
Want more One Year? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to One Year and your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slow Burn show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . Or, visit slate.com/oneyearplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Aug 26, 2021•13 min•Season 1Ep. 9
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. Want more One Year? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to One Year and your oth...
Aug 19, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 7
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? Want more One Year? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to One Year and your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can s...
Aug 12, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 6
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. Want more One Year? Join Slate Plus to unlock...
Aug 05, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 5
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. Want more One Year? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to One Y...
Jul 29, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 4
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. Want more One Year? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to One Year and your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slow Burn show page o...
Jul 22, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 3
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. Want more One Year? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to One Year and your other favorite Slate podcasts. You...
Jul 15, 2021•52 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Miami, 1977: Pop singer and orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant takes a stand against a local ordinance—and becomes the leader of a national anti-gay movement. Her campaign against gay rights, and the gay community's fight against her, would change America. One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Want more One Year? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to One Year and your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directl...
Jul 08, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 1
The first season of One Year will focus on 1977, a year when gay rights hung in the balance, Roots dominated the airwaves, and Jesus appeared on a tortilla. Follow the show now to get our first episode on July 8th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 28, 2021•2 min
Listen to the first chapter of the audiobook version of The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth . Narrated by January LaVoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 17, 2019•24 min
In this excerpt from the second bonus episode of The Queen, Dan Kois talks to Josh Levin about the process of writing the reporting-intensive book the podcast series is based on. They’re joined by a panel of three distinguished authors, who share their own lessons about what it takes to write a book-length investigation: David Grann, a New Yorker staff writer and the author of Killers of the Flower Moon ; James Forman Jr., winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for his book, Locking Up Our Own: Crime...
Jun 10, 2019•20 min
Is it possible that Linda Taylor perpetrated one of the most infamous child abductions in American history? In this excerpt from the first bonus episode of The Queen, Josh Levin talks to Paul Joseph Fronczak about how Taylor could be connected to the April 1964 kidnapping of a 1-day-old boy born to Paul’s parents, Dora and Chester Fronczak. They also discuss Paul’s search for his true identity. To hear the full episode, join Slate Plus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...
Jun 05, 2019•12 min
Linda Taylor had a tendency to emerge from out of nowhere, upend everything in her path, then vanish without leaving a forwarding address. The final episode of The Queen focuses on two different stories about the lives Taylor changed. In one case, she helped a vulnerable family escape the degradations of the Jim Crow South. In the other, she kidnapped a child and may have been responsible for her own husband’s death. This podcast is based on Josh Levin’s new book, The Queen: The Forgotten Life B...
Jun 03, 2019•32 min
A decade before she became known as the “welfare queen,” Linda Taylor put herself at the center of a different Chicago scandal. Upon the death of gambling kingpin Lawrence Wakefield, Taylor posed as the heir to his sizable fortune. The ensuing court proceeding was full of lies and surprise witnesses. That heirship hearing would ultimately reveal Taylor’s real identity and offer a window into her troubled past. This podcast is based on Josh Levin’s new book, The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind a...
May 27, 2019•26 min
In the 1970s, a pair of very different men fought to define Linda Taylor’s image. For presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, Taylor epitomized the brokenness of the federal bureaucracy and the broader trend of poor people getting rich off the public dime. Taylor’s defense lawyer, the civil rights attorney R. Eugene Pincham, believed she was a scapegoat, and that her actions were crimes of survival. This podcast is based on Josh Levin’s new book, The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American My...
May 20, 2019•25 min
Linda Taylor became the “welfare queen” in 1974 when the Chicago Tribune publicized her outrageous exploits. The reporter who introduced her to the world was a Pulitzer Prize winner named George Bliss. He stumbled into the Taylor story while investigating waste and fraud in the public aid system, and his fixation on a single welfare recipient may have been more damaging than he ever realized. This podcast is based on Josh Levin’s new book, The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth . ...
May 13, 2019•24 min
Linda Taylor was a con artist, a kidnapper, maybe even a murderer. She was also America’s original “welfare queen,” the villain Ronald Reagan needed to create a vision of a country being taken advantage of by its poorest citizens. Josh Levin reveals the never-before-told story of a woman whose singular life was forgotten in the rush to create a vicious American stereotype. This podcast is based on Josh Levin’s new book, The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth . Learn more about you...
May 06, 2019•2 min
