Written by 
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images The Fourth Amendment is the part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures.” But — what’s unreasonable? That question has fueled a century’s worth of court rulings that have dramatically expanded the power of individual police officers in the U.S. Today on the show, how […]
JUNIOR KANNAH/AFP via Getty Images JUNIOR KANNAH/AFP via Getty Images It’s hot. A mother works outside, a baby strapped to her back. The two of them breathe in toxic dust, day after day. And they’re just two of thousands, cramped so close together it’s hard to move, all facing down the mountain of cobalt stone.Cobalt […]
American lawyer and consumer activist Ralph Nader, whose book ‘Unsafe at Any Speed’, led to the passage of improved car safety regulations. He is at a Senate hearing at Washington triggered by his publication. Keystone/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Keystone/Getty Images American lawyer and consumer activist Ralph Nader, whose book ‘Unsafe at Any Speed’, […]
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images Of all the amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the 14th is a big one. It’s shaped all of our lives, whether we realize it or not: Roe v. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education, Bush v. Gore, plus other Supreme Court cases that legalized same-sex […]
Illustration of Luxurious Early American Railway Pullman Dining Car, 1877. Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Getty Images Illustration of Luxurious Early American Railway Pullman Dining Car, 1877. Getty Images Tipping is a norm in the United States—and it’s always been controversial. The practice took off after the Civil War, as employers sought cheap labor […]
MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images Hezbollah is a Lebanese paramilitary organization and political party that’s directly supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, and Israel’s invasion of Gaza, Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging missile fire across the […]
Keystone Features/Getty Images Keystone Features/Getty Images What is school for? Over a hundred years ago, a man named Harold Rugg published a series of textbooks that encouraged students to confront the thorniest parts of U.S. history: to identify problems, and try and solve them. And it was just as controversial as the fights we’re seeing […]
What was the worst year to be alive on planet Earth? We make the case for 536 AD, which set off a cascade of catastrophes that is almost too horrible to imagine. A supervolcano. The disappearance of shadows. A failure of bread. Plague rats. Using evidence painstakingly gathered around the world – from Mongolian tree […]
An anti-government protester is carried on shoulders in Tahrir Square in the afternoon before a speech by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Tahrir Square February 10, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. Chris Hondros/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Chris Hondros/Getty Images An anti-government protester is carried on shoulders in Tahrir Square in the afternoon before a […]
For most of its early history, Israel was dominated by left-leaning, secular politicians. But today, the right is in power. Its politicians represent a movement that uses a religious framework to define Israel and its borders, and that has aggressively resisted a two-state solution with Palestinians. And its government – led by Prime Minister Benjamin […]