Decoder Ring: How the Jalapeño Lost Its Heat

In 1978, state senator John Briggs put a bold proposition on the California ballot. If it passed, the Briggs Initiative would ban gays and lesbians from working in public schools—and fuel a growing backlash against LGBTQ+ people in all corners of American life. In the ninth seaso ...  Show more

In the 1970s, San Francisco became a welcoming home for tens of thousands of new gay residents—and a modern-day Sodom for the American right. With a moral panic sweeping across the United States, a Florida orange juice spokeswoman inspired an ambitious California politician to la ...  Show more

This week, we're highlighting a few excerpts from this season's Slate Plus episodes—interviews with George Holliday, professor Edward Chang, L.A. Times journalist Jim Newton, and Rodney King’s best friend Johnnie Kelly—all who help to explain the cultural and social tensions buil ...  Show more

Words versus mobs, reckoning with CT’s past, and weird neighbors. For show notes and more, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 

After making two podcasts (this one and ‘Broken: Seeking Justice’) about the murky world of Ghislaine, Epstein and Robert, Tara sits down with her reporting partner from ‘Broken’ to discuss all they have learned and to see how it has changed the way they see Epstein and Ghislaine ...  Show more