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Slate Presents

Stories that are deeply reported, compulsively listenable—and curated by Slate. Season 4 | After Hotel Rwanda﻿An investigative look at how Rwanda’s national hero became its most famous political prisoner. Season 3 | The QueenLinda Taylor committed abhorrent crimes. She became a legend for the least of them. Season 2 | Charged: A True Punishment StoryBrooklyn's gun court promised safer streets—but for whom? Season 1 | Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?How a deadly siege fueled the far-right movement. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Slate Podcasts

As pressure on the Rwandan government mounts, Paul Rusesabagina signs a pardon request, expressing some contrition and agreeing to refrain from political activities if he’s released. But back at home, he finds it difficult to honor the pledge.After Hotel Rwanda tells the story of Paul Rusesabagina, a human rights activist who in 2020 was lured from his home in San Antonio, Texas, to his former country of Rwanda, where he was tried on terrorism charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Rusesabagina had been a national hero in Rwanda for saving the lives of more than twelve hundred people during the 1994 genocide there. A decade later, his story was told in the Oscar-nominated movie Hotel Rwanda. Our four-part series describes how Rusesabagina went from hero to dissident in Rwanda—and how a team of supporters in Washington and elsewhere managed eventually to bring him home. The story is reported by Foreign Policy staff writer Robbie Gramer.Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents, including After Hotel Rwanda—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Homecoming | After Hotel Rwanda

A Rwandan court convicts Paul Rusesabagina on terrorism charges and sentences him to 25 years in prison. As he comes to terms with the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars, a team of lawyers, negotiators, and advocates works up a strategy to win his release.After Hotel Rwanda tells the story of Paul Rusesabagina, a human rights activist who in 2020 was lured from his home in San Antonio, Texas, to his former country of Rwanda, where he was tried on terrorism charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Rusesabagina had been a national hero in Rwanda for saving the lives of more than twelve hundred people during the 1994 genocide there. A decade later, his story was told in the Oscar-nominated movie Hotel Rwanda. Our four-part series describes how Rusesabagina went from hero to dissident in Rwanda—and how a team of supporters in Washington and elsewhere managed eventually to bring him home. The story is reported by Foreign Policy staff writer Robbie Gramer.Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents, including After Hotel Rwanda—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Campaign | After Hotel Rwanda

Tensions between ethnic Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda began long before the 1994 genocide—a vestige of Belgian colonial rule in the country. On this episode, we trace the events leading up to the mass killing—and how they affected Paul and his wife.After Hotel Rwanda tells the story of Paul Rusesabagina, a human rights activist who in 2020 was lured from his home in San Antonio, Texas, to his former country of Rwanda, where he was tried on terrorism charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Rusesabagina had been a national hero in Rwanda for saving the lives of more than twelve hundred people during the 1994 genocide there. A decade later, his story was told in the Oscar-nominated movie Hotel Rwanda. Our four-part series describes how Rusesabagina went from hero to dissident in Rwanda—and how a team of supporters in Washington and elsewhere managed eventually to bring him home. The story is reported by Foreign Policy staff writer Robbie Gramer.Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents, including After Hotel Rwanda—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Backstory | After Hotel Rwanda

An old friend persuades human rights activist Paul Rusesabagina to travel from his home in San Antonio to Burundi for a speaking engagement. But the friend turns out to be collaborating with the Rwandan government, and the journey is a trap.After Hotel Rwanda tells the story of Paul Rusesabagina, a human rights activist who in 2020 was lured from his home in San Antonio, Texas, to his former country of Rwanda, where he was tried on terrorism charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Rusesabagina had been a national hero in Rwanda for saving the lives of more than twelve hundred people during the 1994 genocide there. A decade later, his story was told in the Oscar-nominated movie Hotel Rwanda. Our four-part series describes how Rusesabagina went from hero to dissident in Rwanda—and how a team of supporters in Washington and elsewhere managed eventually to bring him home. The story is reported by Foreign Policy staff writer Robbie Gramer.Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents, including After Hotel Rwanda—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Trap | After Hotel Rwanda

Listen to the first chapter of the audiobook version of The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth. Narrated by January LaVoy.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An Audiobook Preview | The Queen

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 and Punishment in Black America; and Eliza Griswold, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for her book, Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America.Join Slate Plus to unlock the every Slate Presents season, including The Queen—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from our show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or visit slate.com/thequeenplus to get access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Write This Book | The Queen

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.Join Slate Plus to unlock the every Slate Presents season, including The Queen—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from our show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or visit slate.com/thequeenplus to get access wherever you listen.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Kidnapping of Baby Fronczak | The Queen

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 book, The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth.Join Slate Plus to unlock the every Slate Presents season, including The Queen—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from our show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or visit slate.com/thequeenplus to get access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bobbie and Diana | The Queen

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 book, The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth.Join Slate Plus to unlock the every Slate Presents season, including The Queen—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from our show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or visit slate.com/thequeenplus to get access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Constance | The Queen

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 book, The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth.Join Slate Plus to unlock the every season of Slate Presents, including The Queen—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from our show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or visit slate.com/thequeenplus to get access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An Incredible Con | The Queen

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.Join Slate Plus to unlock the every Slate Presents season, including The Queen—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from our show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or visit slate.com/thequeenplus to get access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coronation | The Queen

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. In The Queen, 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. Each season of Slate Presents brings you a new narrative mini-series. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slate Presents... The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth

We check in with Tarari and others as they complete their time in the diversion program and look toward their futures. We hear from the people inside the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office about their plans to reshape their slice of the criminal justice system.Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents, including Charged—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Other Side | Charged: A True Punishment Story

A standalone episode about one of the voices featured in our series who is introduced to listeners as an expert but who goes through his own harrowing experience with the system when he’s sent to Rikers a few days shy of completing his parole. We document his ordeal and its surprising aftermath.Additional music for this episode by Lee Rosevere. Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents, including Charged—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Long Tail | Charged: A True Punishment Story

Tarari enters a diversion program which saves him from jail but puts his life — and the lives of other defendants like him — on a knife’s edge. We hear from social workers who run the program about the many ethical quandaries of trying to help their clients inside of a system built to punish them.Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents, including Charged—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Escape Hatch | Charged: A True Punishment Story

Tarari faces a very long prison sentence before he’s offered the chance at mercy — with many strings attached. An episode from Eric’s past comes back to haunt him as he campaigns for D.A. and thinks through the consequences of extending mercy to people like Tarari.Additional music for this episode by Lee Rosevere. Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents, including Charged—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Ghost of Tyrone Howard | Charged: A True Punishment Story

As his family and friends hustle to come up with his bail money, Tarari ends up at one of the most infamous jails in the country: Rikers Island. Eric runs for his own term as district attorney just as the demands to close Rikers heat up.Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Criminogenic | Charged: A True Punishment Story

In this first bonus episode of Charged, host Emily Bazelon talks to producers Veralyn Williams and Alvin Melathe. Williams worked with Bazelon in the early stages of the podcast, and then Melathe took over a few months in. They discuss what it’s like being producers of color, and the racial nuances of making a podcast about crime and punishment in New York.Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Making of Charged | Charged: A True Punishment Story

The mayor of New York deals with a big political problem by creating a new court in Brooklyn. Two men, born 25 years and a few blocks apart in Brooklyn, take entirely different paths to meet at that court—one as a defendant and the other as the district attorney. This episode is sponsored by Audible. Start listening with a 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook plus two Audible Originals are free. Visit audible.com/CHARGED or text CHARGED to 500-500Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born In Brooklyn | Charged: A True Punishment Story

Season 1 of Slate Presents brought you the story of Ruby Ridge, and Season 2 brings you a fight to transform one big-city justice system.Join Slate Plus to unlock all seasons of Slate Presents—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/podcastplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slate Presents... Charged: A True Punishment Story

In the final episode of Standoff, our narrative miniseries on the story of Ruby Ridge, host Ruth Graham recaps the prosecution of Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris, and explores how the story of the standoff became legendary among the modern far right.This episode is for Slate Plus members. Join now to unlock the full season of Standoff—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/standoffplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Afterlife | Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?

Host Ruth Graham describes what happens for the bulk of the 11-day siege on the Weaver family property. As the surviving Weavers stayed holed up inside their cabin, their story attracted droves of supporters and rabble-rousers to rural Idaho.This episode is for Slate Plus members. Join now to unlock the full season of Standoff—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/standoffplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Wisdom of the Crowd | Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?

Ruth Graham breaks down what led to a shootout on the Weaver family property on Aug. 21, 1992, that left three people dead.Join Slate Plus to unlock the full season of Standoff—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/standoffplus for access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rules of Engagement | Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?

Randy and Vicki Weaver moved their family to a remote Idaho cabin. They feared their world would be destroyed in an apocalyptic confrontation with the federal government. They were right.In this first episode of our new narrative miniseries Standoff, host Ruth Graham explores the ideologies and influences that led to the deadly siege at Ruby Ridge in 1992.Join Slate Plus to unlock the full season of The Queen—plus ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from our show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/thequeenplus to get access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two Shotguns | Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?

In 1992, hundreds of armed federal agents surrounded a family of white separatists in a ramshackle mountaintop cabin. Eleven days later, three people were dead—and the story of Ruby Ridge was just beginning. Journalist Ruth Graham explores a tragedy that’s become a foundational myth for the modern right, and finds some frightening lessons about power and paranoia. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.