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Democrats have a list of demands and reforms they want implemented before continuing to fund the Department of Homeland Security. But DHS doesn’t really need their approval to keep going.

Guest: Garrett Graff, journalist, historian, author of Doomsday Scenario.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
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On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen are celebrating a global triumph. Bad Bunny’s Superbowl halftime show was transcendent. Zak’s mom even messaged Lucy during the halftime show. Lucy breaks down all of the meanings you may have missed, explains why it was so special to have Ricky Martin perform, and so much more!
Then, the ‘Rents answer a listener question about a babysitting co-op. Elizabeth’s parents used to be in one, so we bring them in to give you all the details: what it is, how you start one, how they work, and everything else you need to know to try it yourself.

Mentioned in the Show:
How to Start a Babysitting Co-Op by Elizabeth Doerr
The Babysitting Co-Op That Reshaped My Family Life by Elizabeth Doerr
How to Start a Babysitting Co-Op from Park Slope Parents
How to Start a Babysitting Cooperative from Single Mom Defined

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Video production by Micah Phillips.
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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Kat Tenbarge, who wrote “There's nothing funny about the Epstein Files,” to discuss how the internet has turned Jeffrey Epstein into a meme. While dark humor has long been a way to process tragic events, online shitposts about the sex offender and alleged sex trafficker risk minimizing his crimes. Instead of justice, the public is using the newly-released files to score internet points at the expense of victims.

This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, and Kate Lindsay.
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Three weeks ago, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum shared an unusual tweet: a cartoon image of himself with his arm draped around a giant, anthropomorphized lump of coal. This piece of coal has big googly eyes and a smudge of a nose, and is wearing a safety vest and a hard hat. He is, frankly, adorable—and he has a name: Coalie.

When Coalie first appeared on the internet, he went viral—ridiculed on social media, in newsletters, and even on late night talk shows. And that’s because this big-eyed, cute piece of coal was widely understood to be coal propaganda, a tool to soften the coal industry’s image.

But the truth about Coalie is more complicated. His origins tell a story about what it’s like for federal employees to try to do their work while navigating the Trump administration’s agenda. Coalie may be widely seen as a mascot for coal mining, but that’s not what he was made for.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Simone Randolph, Director of Communications for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE); Sara Eckert, formerly of OSMRE; Slate staff writer Nitish Pahwa; and Leah Stokes, who researches climate and energy policy at the University of California, Santa Barbara and co-hosts the podcast A Matter of Degrees.

Thank you to Daniel Raimi, Tony Ho Tran, and Hannah Northey.

This episode was written by Willa Paskin and Evan Chung and produced by Evan Chung, Decoder Ring’s supervising producer. Our show is also produced by Max Freedman and Katie Shepherd. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.

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The sugarcane fields! La casita! Piraguas! Lady Gaga! Ricky Martin! An actual wedding! Bad Bunny’s immense and boisterous Super Bowl Halftime show brought a whole Puerto Rican universe to Levi’s Stadium and into American viewers’ homes. Julia and guest hosts Nadira Goffe and Rebecca Onion revel in the joyful spectacle and are joined by Slate writer Joshua Rivera to decode the inclusive politics of this party.

Next, the panel examines the bracing, anxiety-inducing film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Starring a ferocious and funny Rose Byrne and directed by Mary Bronstein, it’s a jittery, intense portrait of motherhood.

Finally, they discuss the hugely popular podcast The Rest Is History and ponder how two British dudes—Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook—talking about things like the Battle of Carthage captured so much attention and admiration.

In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, it’s time for some Wednesday morning quarterbacking to size up the big game’s real players: the commercials.

Endorsements

Nadira: The new album of footwork music OVERTIME by the underground hip hop outfit usertime and Marsh crane as well as the new album URGH by the English–French noise rock band Mandy, Indiana.

Rebecca: The novel The Director by Daniel Kehlmann and the 2011 appropriately moody Bronte adaptation Wuthering Heights directed by Andrea Arnold.

Julia: The new cookbook by Joshua McFadden Six Seasons of Pasta — try all the absurd little steps at least once, the cheese gravel is good!

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Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.
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