Nineteen sixty-four. Freedom Summer. Marylin Thurman Newkirk was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, in a county where just about 250 Black adults out of more than 13,000 were registered to vote. She would grow up as part of the first generation of Americans who lived in a true democracy, according to her son Vann R. Newkirk II.
That has a lot to do with a law enacted a year after her birth, in 1965. That’s when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which ended Jim Crow laws preventing Black people from voting in many states.
But the protections enacted in 1965 didn’t last, and today they’re hanging by a thread. Now, in the aftermath of his mother’s death at 56, Newkirk argues that the best way to ensure that democracy lasts is a constitutional amendment.
Further reading: “When America Became a Democracy”

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com. Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
This episode was produced by Julia Longoria, Alvin Melathe, and Gabrielle Berbey, with editing by Tracie Hunte and Katherine Wells. Fact check by Will Gordon. Sound design by David Herman.
Music by h hunt (“C U Soon,” “Journeys,” “Nice Arp”), Ob (“Wold”), Keyboard (“Being There,” “Ojima”), Laundry (“Films”), and water feature (“ancient morsel”); catalog by Tasty Morsels. Additional audio from CBSN, New York Public Radio, C-SPAN, Denia Vega, Rare Facts, American Experience PBS, KXAN, Oyez (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License), Democracy Now!, News4JAX, DW News, Streamline Films, and Archive.org.

Nineteen sixty-four. Freedom Summer. Marylin Thurman Newkirk was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, in a county where just about 250 Black adults out of more than 13,000 were registered to vote. She would grow up as part of the first generation of Americans who lived in a true democracy, according to her son <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/author/vann-newkirk/">Vann R. Newkirk II</a>.
That has a lot to do with a law enacted a year after her birth, in 1965. That’s when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which ended Jim Crow laws preventing Black people from voting in many states.
But the protections enacted in 1965 didn’t last, and today they’re hanging by a thread. Now, in the aftermath of his mother’s death at 56, Newkirk argues that the best way to ensure that democracy lasts is a constitutional amendment.
Further reading: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/03/voting-rights-act-democracy/617792/">“When America Became a Democracy”</a>

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>. Listen and subscribe: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-experiment/id1549704404">Apple Podcasts</a> | <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/64nFJEu758qByG5l6kqg6F?si=fybR7dgXRX2c5pINkWgKaA">Spotify</a> | <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/wnyc/the-experiment-3">Stitcher</a> | <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRwcm94eS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2V4cGVyaW1lbnRfcG9kY2FzdA">Google Podcasts</a>
This episode was produced by Julia Longoria, Alvin Melathe, and Gabrielle Berbey, with editing by Tracie Hunte and Katherine Wells. Fact check by Will Gordon. Sound design by David Herman.
Music by h hunt (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/28zohU9Dn9zWTYwuW1t7tV?si=Ld2HTAGEQAiiuOtPh-38Fg">C U Soon</a>,” “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7lSGEtn3JUPOM5oSYY6D0A?si=tfR_JSq6RWKcqXSm2ZOA3g">Journeys</a>,” “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1QOEGDe2NX2vKaQO6BFnDj?si=fK3p_XHURz-1-KKofn5y6g">Nice Arp</a>”), Ob (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1lI3dphblKr0Nl5kkljYYq?si=2dAQ3EawRkSjFN2d4LwUDQ">Wold</a>”), Keyboard (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3R6lv2NitANxg6xWQa4ekG?si=dZ2MUH4ATyWDT5myZHxSaQ">Being There</a>,” “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3kK2i7VuZXZbkKyb546rI0?si=IYhVP_BkTDud-FHyZRi7jAd">Ojima</a>”), Laundry (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0XpDFdxfGYzyBqGZaCECvE?si=_me81WGxS5CXlpj1sm5QAQ">Films</a>”), and water feature (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/47PQfT9COUyjQOxEwwpWMv?si=UWiVqcQaSCWlf3ArZzdGOw">ancient morsel</a>”); catalog by Tasty Morsels. Additional audio from CBSN, New York Public Radio, C-SPAN, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwI0GKVQqasEr3cn2ghnh6g?pbjreload=102">Denia Vega</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP4iY1TtS3s"> Rare F</a>acts, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jKNHS0NV2c">American Experience PBS</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbFmicUTb_k">KXAN</a>, <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2012/12-96">Oyez</a> (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License), <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9IppHYEzCg">Democracy Now!</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhOQhjoBnM4">News4JAX</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3om6oCLaOY"> DW News</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA0J8glLZJs">Streamline Films</a>, and <a href="https://archive.org/details/y2mate.comselmabloodysundayaovqbt0rtto1080p">Archive.org</a>.

The Experiment

56 Years

I definitely didn’t *need* a new podcast in my queue, but The Experiment is worth checking out. Every episode is a totally different angle on US history and culture, and all of them are super well-produced. Here’s my favorite ep so far:

One night in the spring of 2005, Anissa Jordan was sitting in a car in San Francisco while her boyfriend attempted to rob a young man nearby. Shortly after, police arrested both Anissa and her boyfriend. Anissa was detained and dressed in an orange jumpsuit before she learned that the young man had been shot and killed that night and that she and her boyfriend would both be held responsible. The charge: felony murder.
The felony-murder rule, which exists in more than 40 states, allows prosecutors to charge accomplices to certain crimes, such as conspiracy to commit robbery, with murder, even if they didn’t intend to kill—and even if they weren’t present for the murder. It does so by removing intent to kill from the calculus of what makes a murderer. Critics say the rule has disproportionately led to the incarceration of youth of color and women, such as Anissa, but some prosecutors say the felony-murder rule is the key to holding police officers responsible in the killings of civilians.
“By propping up this terrible rule, however we do it, we have to understand this rule is primarily used against Black people and people of color,” says Kate Chatfield, a director at the Justice Collaborative. 
This week on The Experiment, a look at the doctrine that prosecutors used to convict Anissa for a crime she didn’t even witness, and a debate over whether that same rule is crucial to prosecuting the highest-profile case in the country, The State of Minnesota v. Derek Chauvin. 
Further reading:  “What Makes a Murderer?” 

This episode is part of The Atlantic’s project “The Cycle,” which is supported by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge.
Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.
This episode was produced by Alvin Melathe and Julia Longoria, with editing by Katherine Wells. Fact-check by Will Gordon. Sound design by David Herman. Special thanks to Adam Harris and John Swansburg.
Music by Water Feature (“With Flowers,” “Richard III(Duke of Gloucester),” and “A Paradise”), Keyboard (“Being There” and “My Atelier”), H Hunt (“C U Soon” and “Having a Bath”), and R McCarthy (“Home/Home”), provided by Tasty Morsels. Additional music by Bruce Wiley McKinnon Jr. (“Are You a Freak”) and Tyler O. Sterrett and Jason Trotta (“The Hamlet”). Additional audio from KQED and MPR News.

One night in the spring of 2005, Anissa Jordan was sitting in a car in San Francisco while her boyfriend attempted to rob a young man nearby. Shortly after, police arrested both Anissa and her boyfriend. Anissa was detained and dressed in an orange jumpsuit before she learned that the young man had been shot and killed that night and that she and her boyfriend would both be held responsible. The charge: felony murder.
The felony-murder rule, which exists in more than 40 states, allows prosecutors to charge accomplices to certain crimes, such as conspiracy to commit robbery, with murder, even if they didn’t intend to kill—and even if they weren’t present for the murder. It does so by removing intent to kill from the calculus of what makes a murderer. Critics say the rule has disproportionately led to the incarceration of youth of color and women, such as Anissa, but some prosecutors say the felony-murder rule is the key to holding police officers responsible in the killings of civilians.
“By propping up this terrible rule, however we do it, we have to understand this rule is primarily used against Black people and people of color,” says Kate Chatfield, a director at the Justice Collaborative. 
This week on The Experiment, a look at the doctrine that prosecutors used to convict Anissa for a crime she didn’t even witness, and a debate over whether that same rule is crucial to prosecuting the highest-profile case in the country, The State of Minnesota v. Derek Chauvin. 
Further reading:  “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/02/what-makes-a-murderer/617819/">What Makes a Murderer?</a>” 

This episode is part of The Atlantic’s project “The Cycle,” which is supported by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge.
Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.
This episode was produced by Alvin Melathe and Julia Longoria, with editing by Katherine Wells. Fact-check by Will Gordon. Sound design by David Herman. Special thanks to Adam Harris and John Swansburg.
Music by Water Feature (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5UmyTpI0yS3xr5Ahv6VcRE?si=IbqdH6UXSAO5cfgHEs9-7g">With Flowers</a>,” “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/04XnWbggAlnqDVoNCpfogX?si=3TpWle6HSJ-0GBv1VN01TA">Richard III(Duke of Gloucester)</a>,” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5ncReeDdNIoycEnf3quSrg?si=-sbX5uqKTEmAILymrGgKSA">A Paradise</a>”), Keyboard (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3R6lv2NitANxg6xWQa4ekG?si=s77ofL3NSQKmdhdfJolnOg">Being There</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1cVXPyKSHj5Kgk5q8JSYqq?si=pLItqBdxTne36HhautqR7w">My Atelier</a>”), H Hunt (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/28zohU9Dn9zWTYwuW1t7tV?si=yhAYzzw6TzK6aFieXQZZ-w">C U Soon</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2pCVhkzKnKrs8jS9FzybBb?si=VC85UL1vR8WvDBFy9dwqsg">Having a Bath</a>”), and R McCarthy (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6PF6G9wRE47C54o8xp9izp?si=lR2Pd6GoSCaNTNMpia7Yrw">Home/Home</a>”), provided by <a href="http://tastymorsels.org">Tasty Morsels</a>. Additional music by Bruce Wiley McKinnon Jr. (“Are You a Freak”) and Tyler O. Sterrett and Jason Trotta (“The Hamlet”). Additional audio from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VjUFNfZ2QA">KQED</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26f7445_0rE">MPR News</a>.

What Makes a Murderer?

This is quite a bit heavier than what I usually share on here, but it’s a very well done piece on felony murder, weaving in interviews with Anissa Jordan, who was convicted of felony murder, the Justice Collaborative, and Keith Ellison. 

I also found Anissa’s honesty, openness, and introspection to be extremely powerful. 

The national-park system has been touted as “America’s best idea.” David Treuer, an Ojibwe author and historian, says we can make that idea even better—by giving national parks back to Native Americans.
“By virtue of the parks returning to Native control, I would like people, when they’re standing at the foot of El Capitan, to look up knowing they’re on Native lands, to look up knowing that they’re standing on the graves of Native people,” says Treuer, who grew up on the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota as the nearby Voyageurs National Park was being established. “I would like, when people look up at vistas, like at Yosemite or at Yellowstone, that they’d look up as a way to look back at the history of this country.”
Treuer, who wrote the book The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America From 1890 to the Present, says that Native Americans are too often precluded from using the land in culturally significant ways that go back millennia. In his essay for The Atlantic, he makes the case that the U.S. should return control of national parks to its Native people.
Further reading: “Return the National Parks to the Tribes”

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.
This episode was produced by Tracie Hunte and Gabrielle Berbey, with editing by Matt Collette and Katherine Wells. Fact-check by Jack Segelstein. Sound design by David Herman.
Music by Laundry (“Films”), Parish Council (“Socks Before Trousers” and “Heatherside Stores”), h hunt (“11e” and “Journeys”), and naran ratan (“Trees etc.), provided by Tasty Morsels. Additional music by John Charles Schroeder and Ross Taggart Garren (“Mournful Blues”) and Ken Anderson and Rebecca Ruth Hall (“Calliope - Underscore”). Additional audio from National Geographic, WNYC, PBS, and C-SPAN.

The national-park system has been touted as <a href="https://www.nps.gov/americasbestidea/">“America’s best idea.”</a> <a href="https://www.davidtreuer.net/">David Treuer</a>, an Ojibwe author and historian, says we can make that idea even better—by giving national parks back to Native Americans.
“By virtue of the parks returning to Native control, I would like people, when they’re standing at the foot of El Capitan, to look up knowing they’re on Native lands, to look up knowing that they’re standing on the graves of Native people,” says Treuer, who grew up on the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota as the nearby Voyageurs National Park was being established. “I would like, when people look up at vistas, like at Yosemite or at Yellowstone, that they’d look up as a way to look back at the history of this country.”
Treuer, who wrote the book <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781594633157">The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America From 1890 to the Present,</a> says that Native Americans are too often precluded from using the land in culturally significant ways that go back millennia. In <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/05/return-the-national-parks-to-the-tribes/618395/">his essay for The Atlantic</a>, he makes the case that the U.S. should return control of national parks to its Native people.
Further reading: <a href="http://theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/05/return-the-national-parks-to-the-tribes/618395/">“Return the National Parks to the Tribes”</a>

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.
This episode was produced by Tracie Hunte and Gabrielle Berbey, with editing by Matt Collette and Katherine Wells. Fact-check by Jack Segelstein. Sound design by David Herman.
Music by Laundry (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0XpDFdxfGYzyBqGZaCECvE?si=891864a256784f2b">Films</a>”), Parish Council (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5WF5d7FAmPTs2WkNDVB5wK?si=a6ff68e2cb2144fd">Socks Before Trousers</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/62mhHV52VY6XfT2CbEnulH?si=42e98baf9d8d4784">Heatherside Stores</a>”), h hunt (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0wB7nNtB8FW1rbaJtuWqWX?si=d8d4bbe4912847e6">11e</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7lSGEtn3JUPOM5oSYY6D0A?si=424b95f31c3942ee">Journeys</a>”), and naran ratan (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5s2PkVuIo9mFzRFHp9Wupa?si=1d9b9251aa094ab6">Trees etc.</a>), provided by <a href="http://tastymorsels.org">Tasty Morsels</a>. Additional music by John Charles Schroeder and Ross Taggart Garren (“Mournful Blues”) and Ken Anderson and Rebecca Ruth Hall (“Calliope - Underscore”). Additional audio from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF2ZmWfnXDw">National Geographic</a>, <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/59197-the-national-parks-americas-best-idea/">WNYC</a>, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-national-parks/">PBS</a>, and <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?510017-1/interior-secretary-swearing-ceremony">C-SPAN</a>.

The Problem With America’s National Parks

As someone who loves the National Park Service (really), I’m very persuaded by this argument. An ambitious, gradual project like the one proposed here would preserve all their greatness while inviting a long-overdue discussion about the injustices that created them in the first place.

To mid-aughts celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, they were high fashion. To the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Eva Mendes they’re a sign of defeat; they declare to the world, as Jerry tells George Costanza in the Seinfeld pilot, “I’m miserable, so I might as well be comfortable.”
And since the start of the pandemic, sweatpants have become perhaps more ubiquitous than ever.
“A lot of people who had been going to offices stopped going to offices for the foreseeable future,” Amanda Mull, a staff writer for The Atlantic, says. “I think people were forced to decide what it is they want to wear for this new circumstance they’re in.”
In this episode of the new podcast The Experiment, Mull and the host, Julia Longoria, trace sweatpants through U.S. history and debate an age-old question: Do they symbolize laziness, or freedom?
Further reading: “America’s Most Hated Garment”

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com. Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
This episode was produced by Julia Longoria, Gabrielle Berbey, and Alvin Melathe, with editing by Katherine Wells. Fact-check by Stephanie Hayes. Sound design by David Herman.
Music by Ob (“Grot”), and r mccarthy (“Learning English”), water feature (“with flowers”), Laurie Bird (“Jussa Trip”), Column (“｢The Art of Fun｣ (Raj)”), infinite bisous (“The Past Tense”), and Nelson Bandela (“561 Mac D 10,” “011 HareDoe 019 8396,” “GLU EEE 86”), provided by Tasty Morsels and Nelson Nance. Additional audio from DigitalPimple, Glamourdaze, International Fitness Center, The Richard Simmons Show, Jane Fonda, Hudson’s Bay, Atelier ID, Breakin’ in the USA, WABC, Dance Centre, Adidas, Seinfeld, watchFashionNews, Extra, Vogue, and X17online

To mid-aughts celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, they were high fashion. To the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Eva Mendes they’re a sign of defeat; they declare to the world, as Jerry tells George Costanza in the Seinfeld pilot, “I’m miserable, so I might as well be comfortable.”
And since the start of the pandemic, sweatpants have become perhaps more ubiquitous than ever.
“A lot of people who had been going to offices stopped going to offices for the foreseeable future,” Amanda Mull, a staff writer for The Atlantic, says. “I think people were forced to decide what it is they want to wear for this new circumstance they’re in.”
In this episode of the new podcast The Experiment, Mull and the host, Julia Longoria, trace sweatpants through U.S. history and debate an age-old question: Do they symbolize laziness, or freedom?
Further reading: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/12/america-loves-to-hate-sweatpants/617324/">“America’s Most Hated Garment”</a>

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>. Listen and subscribe: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-experiment/id1549704404">Apple Podcasts</a> | <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/64nFJEu758qByG5l6kqg6F?si=fybR7dgXRX2c5pINkWgKaA">Spotify</a> | <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/wnyc/the-experiment-3">Stitcher</a> | <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRwcm94eS5nb29nbGUuY29tL2V4cGVyaW1lbnRfcG9kY2FzdA">Google Podcasts</a>
This episode was produced by Julia Longoria, Gabrielle Berbey, and Alvin Melathe, with editing by Katherine Wells. Fact-check by Stephanie Hayes. Sound design by David Herman.
Music by Ob (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/4OnwgZL9SEA0A05hCY2h98?si=so85zuOyT5WdJkn5NLTIwA">Grot</a>”), and r mccarthy (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/55R4mkU0A5aCcnEnPIo8HE?si=fg3M3xTqQye8usTwvvnDWQ">Learning English</a>”), water feature (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5UmyTpI0yS3xr5Ahv6VcRE?si=Ed2BppuRR4CTVFgP-N2JfQ">with flowers</a>”), Laurie Bird (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/14K07jnngNj0NQF6qetceC?si=15IaVyXPT3yHdd7xJyWNew">Jussa Trip</a>”), Column (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2Sf4UeImpFj5Esa5ndsIqr?si=w4l9t3eKQBugkFRR81W2bw">｢The Art of Fun｣ (Raj)</a>”), infinite bisous (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3n8AnbWYvnpRSoRHGmpBv3?si=KwIAbn-5SImoJVN2rot-ng">The Past Tense</a>”), and Nelson Bandela (“561 Mac D 10,” “011 HareDoe 019 8396,” “GLU EEE 86”), provided by <a href="http://tastymorsels.org">Tasty Morsels</a> and <a href="https://www.nelsonbandela.com/">Nelson Nance</a>. Additional audio from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EggERZfE4Uo">DigitalPimple</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UyitAz5UpQ">Glamourdaze</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMNJyuedZ40">International Fitness Center</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLBr0TXb2eY">The Richard Simmons Show</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpBQKZcSm3U">Jane Fonda</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJiK_WcOA5g">Hudson’s Bay</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDMv3IHGpnA&amp;t=82s">Atelier ID</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Y0tlWp89E">Breakin’ in the USA</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XwJzTCXw4s">WABC</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jv8vHrnWro">Dance Centre</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_haNmB_Lns">Adidas</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Hbu4Z4pGI">Seinfeld</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr5ngBejBVc">watchFashionNews</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XigsG0Yy8vY">Extra</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H419Vzf4UtY">Vogue</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuysFx60pGM">X17online</a>

The Case for Sweatpants

During World War II, wherever American troops spread democracy, they left the canned meat known as SPAM in its wake. When American GIs landed overseas, they often tossed cans of SPAM out of trucks to the hungry people they sought to liberate. That’s how producer Gabrielle Berbey’s grandfather first came to know and love SPAM as a kid in the Philippines. But 80 years later, SPAM no longer feels American. It is now a staple Filipino food: a  beloved emblem of Filipino identity. Gabrielle sets out on a journey to understand how SPAM made its way into the hearts of generations of Pacific Islanders, and ends up opening a SPAM can of worms.
This episode is the first in a new three-part miniseries from The Experiment—“SPAM: How the American Dream Got Canned.” 
A transcript of this episode is available.

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.
This episode was produced by Gabrielle Berbey and Julia Longoria with help from Peter Bresnan and Alina Kulman. Editing by Kelly Prime, with help from Emily Botein, Jenny Lawton, Scott Stossel, and Katherine Wells. Fact-check by William Brennan and Michelle Ciarrocca. Sound design by David Herman with additional engineering by Joe Plourde. Transcription by Caleb Codding.
This episode was produced by Gabrielle Berbey and Julia Longoria with help from Peter Bresnan and Alina Kulman. Editing by Kelly Prime, with help from Emily Botein, Jenny Lawton, Scott Stossel, and Katherine Wells. Fact-check by William Brennan and Michelle Ciarrocca. Sound design by David Herman with additional engineering by Joe Plourde. Transcription by Caleb Codding.
Music by Parish Council (“A Painting of a Frog” and “The Grey Around It”), Keyboard (“More Shingles”), Ob (“Mog”), and Laurie Bird (“Jussa Trip”) provided by Tasty Morsels. Additional music by Alexander Overington. Additional audio from U.S. National Archives, Paramount News, gilbertoy69, PublicDomainFootage. Special thanks to Noella Levy and Craig Santos Perez.

During World War II, wherever American troops spread democracy, they left the canned meat known as SPAM in its wake. When American GIs landed overseas, they often tossed cans of SPAM out of trucks to the hungry people they sought to liberate. That’s how producer Gabrielle Berbey’s grandfather first came to know and love SPAM as a kid in the Philippines. But 80 years later, SPAM no longer feels American. It is now a staple Filipino food: a  beloved emblem of Filipino identity. Gabrielle sets out on a journey to understand how SPAM made its way into the hearts of generations of Pacific Islanders, and ends up opening a SPAM can of worms.
This episode is the first in a new three-part miniseries from The Experiment—“<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/experiment/spam/">SPAM: How the American Dream Got Canned</a>.” 
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2022/02/spam-history-philippines-asia/621472/">A transcript of this episode is available.</a>

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.
This episode was produced by Gabrielle Berbey and Julia Longoria with help from Peter Bresnan and Alina Kulman. Editing by Kelly Prime, with help from Emily Botein, Jenny Lawton, Scott Stossel, and Katherine Wells. Fact-check by William Brennan and Michelle Ciarrocca. Sound design by David Herman with additional engineering by Joe Plourde. Transcription by Caleb Codding.
This episode was produced by Gabrielle Berbey and Julia Longoria with help from Peter Bresnan and Alina Kulman. Editing by Kelly Prime, with help from Emily Botein, Jenny Lawton, Scott Stossel, and Katherine Wells. Fact-check by William Brennan and Michelle Ciarrocca. Sound design by David Herman with additional engineering by Joe Plourde. Transcription by Caleb Codding.
Music by Parish Council (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6TcPV3peeN2preJj8NhaJs?si=umbwkS7lSUmzoGEnEiLokg">A Painting of a Frog</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4KJlyPmOuDn4oG8ukVkSYa?si=WHPZ8ghERvmweUZ_JHI4lA">The Grey Around It</a>”), Keyboard (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3rzFjTMZWADmXR241Ua0ha?si=5XHzV0kQQpak4fntFG2IEA">More Shingles</a>”), Ob (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5n9HS100FhCJrgCSUXQL6C?si=tXo7IqcsSkuUK9077kZn4Q">Mog</a>”), and Laurie Bird (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/14K07jnngNj0NQF6qetceC?si=gyq71ATiQjiAVbvOrgdedw">Jussa Trip</a>”) provided by <a href="http://tastymorsels.org">Tasty Morsels</a>. Additional music by Alexander Overington. Additional audio from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnCkUY7jJ6k">U.S. National Archives</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZlqlMC48JY">Paramount News</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssSDELFWdYc">gilbertoy69</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIVua_k5RWE">PublicDomainFootage</a>. Special thanks to Noella Levy and Craig Santos Perez.

Uncle SPAM

The Experiment is coming to an end. For our final episode, we contemplate our strange, sometimes beautiful, often frustrating country. We go back to some of the people we met and fell in love with while making the show, and ask them how their version of the American experiment is going.
A transcript of this episode will soon be made available. Please check back. 

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.
This episode was produced by Alyssa Edes, Gabrielle Berbey, Julia Longoria, and Tracie Hunt, with editing by Michael May and Emily Botein. Fact-check by Sam Fentress. Sound design by David Herman. Transcription by Caleb Codding.

The Experiment is coming to an end. For our final episode, we contemplate our strange, sometimes beautiful, often frustrating country. We go back to some of the people we met and fell in love with while making the show, and ask them how their version of the American experiment is going.
A transcript of this episode will soon be made available. Please check back. 

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.
This episode was produced by Alyssa Edes, Gabrielle Berbey, Julia Longoria, and Tracie Hunt, with editing by Michael May and Emily Botein. Fact-check by Sam Fentress. Sound design by David Herman. Transcription by Caleb Codding.

The End of This Experiment

In The Atlantic’s new series How To Start Over, Olga Khazan takes listeners on a journey of reinvention. How To Start Over is your guide to navigating life’s gray areas, whether knowing it’s time to make a career switch, repairing strained family ties, or forging new connections in a post-pandemic world.  

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.

In The Atlantic’s new series <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/how-to-build-a-happy-life/">How To Start Over</a>, Olga Khazan takes listeners on a journey of reinvention. How To Start Over is your guide to navigating life’s gray areas, whether knowing it’s time to make a career switch, repairing strained family ties, or forging new connections in a post-pandemic world.  

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.

The Experiment Introduces: How To Start Over With Olga Khazan

Deep in Yellowstone National Park, there’s a glitch in the U.S. Constitution where, technically, you could get away with murder. Lawmakers didn’t seem interested in fixing the problem until Mike Belderrain stumbled into the “Zone of Death” while hunting the biggest elk of his life. In a world with so many preventable deaths, The Experiment documents one attempt to avert disaster.
This episode of The Experiment originally ran on February 4, 2021.
A transcript of this episode is available.

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com. 
This episode was produced by Julia Longoria and Alvin Melathe, with editing by Katherine Wells and sound design by David Herman.
Music by Water Feature (“In a Semicircle or a Half-Moon”), R McCarthy (“Big Game,” “She’s a Gift Giver, She’s a Giver of Gifts,” and “Melodi 2”), Ob (“Ell” and “Ere”), Parish Council (“Mopping”), H Hunt (“11e”), Column (“Quiet Song”), and Bwengo (“Première Mosrel”); catalog by Tasty Morsels. Additional audio from Montana State University Library’s Acoustic Atlas, the National Park Service’s Sound Library, C. J. Box, CNBC, C-SPAN, Vox, NPR’s All Things Considered, Idaho News 6, @ItsKeyes, and C-SPAN’s Book TV.

Deep in Yellowstone National Park, there’s a glitch in the U.S. Constitution where, technically, you could get away with murder. Lawmakers didn’t seem interested in fixing the problem until Mike Belderrain stumbled into the “Zone of Death” while hunting the biggest elk of his life. In a world with so many preventable deaths, The Experiment documents one attempt to avert disaster.
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2021/02/experiment-the-loophole/617872/">This episode of The Experiment originally ran on February 4, 2021</a>.
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2022/05/yellowstone-zone-of-death-murder-legal/638437/?preview=A8ezn5s4rPO0AnBEljb6rrRLaHg">A transcript of this episode is available.</a>

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>. 
This episode was produced by Julia Longoria and Alvin Melathe, with editing by Katherine Wells and sound design by David Herman.
Music by Water Feature (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1x4pyw8NlxzEGy6uwEwm20?si=vxXArsgpTCK3ymaeimgyHw">“In a Semicircle or a Half-Moon”</a>), R McCarthy (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/01X6dzndjiiDM72rmifwmT?si=NMwZcfV_RZW7NHdOnFdy1A">Big Game</a>,” “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/18cJ9dbDbTMwYk487L3bHV?si=2kI6DFclRLK43ezEEd0NvA">She’s a Gift Giver, She’s a Giver of Gifts</a>,” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5mEjpv0YoeYJv9wJxC4Tfr?si=UBcBn4taRYW5bHqRA7sFwg">Melodi 2</a>”), Ob (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1wjjLgQ7pL8MVXkifwKX1Y?si=rL8nuYjPQHCzinavLhgYfg">Ell</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2ROXhcUgyoBXriDyMnoiou?si=PZM2eE0MQrS40usfdYyT8w">Ere</a>”), Parish Council (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5XODykMweHcVt4NQzDppfb?si=TkEBIRGHRgOrvHWoYobXTQ">“Mopping”</a>), H Hunt (<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0wB7nNtB8FW1rbaJtuWqWX?si=iu5nrTnESo2im4EOykblnQ">“11e”</a>), Column (“Q<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6fAlbMxL34mSF8Vq4tSPVo?si=04qaF7YyTC6N8E2n5yLiLQ">uiet Song</a>”), and Bwengo (“Première Mosrel”); catalog by <a href="http://tastymorsels.org">Tasty Morsels</a>. Additional audio from Montana State University Library’s <a href="https://acousticatlas.org/item/2242">Acoustic Atlas</a>, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/sounds-elk.htm">National Park Service’s Sound Library</a>, C. J. Box, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/07/trump-has-told-aides-recently-that-he-wants-to-pardon-himself-nyt.html">CNBC</a>, C-SPAN, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E4OqN9tJnw&amp;list=PL0hKIxiMrmV_4d_rK5eXMbgJy6xEsailu&amp;index=471">Vox</a>, NPR’s <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4647041">All Things Considered</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc5u_Anu88U">Idaho News 6</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ItsKeyes/status/1335659370810658821">@ItsKeyes</a>, and C-SPAN’s Book TV.

The 50-Square-Mile Zone Where the Constitution Doesn't Apply

In June 1964, at the height of the civil-rights movement, the Ku Klux Klan burned a Black Methodist church to the ground in the town of Philadelphia, Mississippi, and murdered three civil-rights workers in cold blood. This crime became one of the most notorious of its era, shocking the nation on the eve of the passage of the Civil Rights Act and later inspiring a Hollywood blockbuster: Mississippi Burning.
But when the reporter Ko Bragg started questioning how this history is being preserved in Philadelphia, she was confronted with a town that would much rather forget its violent past. Bragg finds a few Black residents taking it upon themselves to keep the story of this crime alive, and she asks where the burden of safeguarding history should lie. 
A transcript of this episode is available. 
Further reading: “Who Will Remember the Mississippi Murders?”

 Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.
This episode of The Experiment was produced by Gabrielle Berbey, with help from Salman Ahad Khan. Editing by Michael May and Julia Longoria. Reporting by Ko Bragg. Fact-check by Naomi Sharp. Sound design by Hannis Brown with additional engineering by Jennifer Munson. Music by Hannis Brown and Tasty Morsels. Transcription by Caleb Codding.

In June 1964, at the height of the civil-rights movement, the Ku Klux Klan burned a Black Methodist church to the ground in the town of Philadelphia, Mississippi, and murdered three civil-rights workers in cold blood. This crime became one of the most notorious of its era, shocking the nation on the eve of the passage of the Civil Rights Act and later inspiring a Hollywood blockbuster: Mississippi Burning.
But when the reporter Ko Bragg started questioning how this history is being preserved in Philadelphia, she was confronted with a town that would much rather forget its violent past. Bragg finds a few Black residents taking it upon themselves to keep the story of this crime alive, and she asks where the burden of safeguarding history should lie. 
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2022/05/fighting-remember-mississippi-burning/629913/">A transcript of this episode is available.</a> 
Further reading: “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/mississippi-civil-rights-murders/629367/">Who Will Remember the Mississippi Murders?</a>”

 Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.
This episode of The Experiment was produced by Gabrielle Berbey, with help from Salman Ahad Khan. Editing by Michael May and Julia Longoria. Reporting by Ko Bragg. Fact-check by Naomi Sharp. Sound design by Hannis Brown with additional engineering by Jennifer Munson. Music by Hannis Brown and Tasty Morsels. Transcription by Caleb Codding.

Fighting to Remember Mississippi Burning

At 19 years old, Aséna Tahir Izgil feels wise beyond her years. She is Uyghur, an ethnic minority persecuted in China, and few of her people have escaped to bear witness. After narrowly securing refuge in the United States, Aséna’s now tasked with adjusting to life in a new country and fitting in with her teenage peers. 
This week on The Experiment, Aséna shares her family’s story of fleeing to the U.S., navigating newfound freedom, and raising her baby brother away from the shadows of a genocide. 
This episode’s guests include Aséna Tahir Izgil and her father, Tahir Hamut Izgil, a Uyghur poet and author.
This episode of The Experiment originally ran on August 19, 2021.
A transcript of this episode is available.
Further reading: “One by One, My Friends Were Sent to the Camps,” “Saving Uighur Culture From Genocide,” “‘I Never Thought China Could Ever Be This Dark,’” “China’s Xinjiang Policy: Less About Births, More About Control”

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.
This episode was produced by Julia Longoria, with help from Gabrielle Berbey and editing by Katherine Wells and Emily Botein. Fact-check by Yvonne Rolzhausen. Sound design by David Herman, with additional engineering by Joe Plourde. Translations by Joshua L. Freeman.
Music by Keyboard (“Over the Moon,” “Mu,” “Water Decanter,” and “World View”), Laundry (“Lawn Feeling”), Water Feature (“Richard III (Duke of Gloucester)” and “Ancient Morsel”), Parish Council (“New Apt.”), and H Hunt (“C U Soon), provided by Tasty Morsels.

A translation of Tahir Hamut Izgil’s poem “Aséna” is presented below. 
Aséna
By Tahir Hamut Izgil
Translation by Joshua L. Freeman
 
A piece of my flesh
torn away.
A piece of my bone
broken off.
A piece of my soul
remade.
A piece of my thought
set free.
 
In her thin hands
the lines of time grow long.
In her black eyes
float the truths of stone tablets.
Round her slender neck
a dusky hair lies knotted.
On her dark skin
the map of fruit is drawn.
 
She
is a raindrop on my cheek, translucent
as the future I can’t see.
 
She
is a knot that need not to be untied
like the formula my blood traced from the sky,
an omen trickling from history.
 
She
kisses the stone on my grave
that holds down my corpse
and entrusts me to it.
 
She
is a luckless spell
who made me a creator
and carried on my creation.
 
She is my daughter.

At 19 years old, Aséna Tahir Izgil feels wise beyond her years. She is Uyghur, an ethnic minority persecuted in China, and few of her people have escaped to bear witness. After narrowly securing refuge in the United States, Aséna’s now tasked with adjusting to life in a new country and fitting in with her teenage peers. 
This week on The Experiment, Aséna shares her family’s story of fleeing to the U.S., navigating newfound freedom, and raising her baby brother away from the shadows of a genocide. 
This episode’s guests include Aséna Tahir Izgil and her father, Tahir Hamut Izgil, a Uyghur poet and author.
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2021/08/uyghur-genocide-china-us-immigrant/619806/">This episode of The Experiment originally ran on August 19, 2021</a>.
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2022/05/uyghur-teen-escape-from-genocide-china/629837/">A transcript of this episode is available.</a>
Further reading: “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/the-uyghur-chronicles/">One by One, My Friends Were Sent to the Camps</a>,” “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/10/chinas-war-on-uighur-culture/616513/">Saving Uighur Culture From Genocide</a>,” “‘<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/04/uyghur-women-china-xinjiang/618531/">I Never Thought China Could Ever Be This Dark</a>,’” “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/07/china-xinjiang-one-child-birth-control/614014/">China’s Xinjiang Policy: Less About Births, More About Control</a>”

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.
This episode was produced by Julia Longoria, with help from Gabrielle Berbey and editing by Katherine Wells and Emily Botein. Fact-check by Yvonne Rolzhausen. Sound design by David Herman, with additional engineering by Joe Plourde. Translations by Joshua L. Freeman.
Music by Keyboard (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2pNhUEgUxOPBnBxBkUw31a?si=11e0ccfb82d8429b">Over the Moon</a>,” “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4PGohVn83Bs28LjU34cHn2?si=2bd30e73961c4ed7">Mu</a>,” “Water Decanter,” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0sjbxLgXukABzhsK1UNhOx?si=432c11dd47184cbc">World View”</a>), Laundry (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3sMM3pQasbp1aAVrpjVJlr?si=01ce66d92364438b">Lawn Feeling</a>”), Water Feature (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/04XnWbggAlnqDVoNCpfogX?si=22de749c58b04d98">Richard III (Duke of Gloucester)</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/47PQfT9COUyjQOxEwwpWMv?si=72be8d5e585048c8">Ancient Morsel</a>”), Parish Council (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5XzTNzMYXP6zl6Kaadp2UH?si=0e9a973986d4474b">New Apt.</a>”), and H Hunt (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/28zohU9Dn9zWTYwuW1t7tV?si=21d58b22a39e4697">C U Soon</a>), provided by <a href="http://tastymorsels.org">Tasty Morsels</a>.

A translation of Tahir Hamut Izgil’s poem “Aséna” is presented below. 
Aséna
By Tahir Hamut Izgil
Translation by Joshua L. Freeman
 
A piece of my flesh
torn away.
A piece of my bone
broken off.
A piece of my soul
remade.
A piece of my thought
set free.
 
In her thin hands
the lines of time grow long.
In her black eyes
float the truths of stone tablets.
Round her slender neck
a dusky hair lies knotted.
On her dark skin
the map of fruit is drawn.
 
She
is a raindrop on my cheek, translucent
as the future I can’t see.
 
She
is a knot that need not to be untied
like the formula my blood traced from the sky,
an omen trickling from history.
 
She
kisses the stone on my grave
that holds down my corpse
and entrusts me to it.
 
She
is a luckless spell
who made me a creator
and carried on my creation.
 
She is my daughter.

Teenage Life After Genocide

Almost 30 years ago, a fed-up Manhattan-family-court judge named Judith Sheindlin was sitting in her chambers when she got a call from a couple of television producers. They pitched her the idea for a TV show with Judy at its center. 
The result was Judge Judy, one of the most popular and influential television series ever made. Over its decades-long run, it beat out The Oprah Winfrey Show in ratings, led to the explosion of court TV, and influenced how large swaths of Americans think about crime and justice. 
The Experiment’s Peter Bresnan has been watching Judge Judy with his mom ever since he was a kid. But recently, he began to wonder how the show managed to become such a force in American culture, and what impact it’s had on the thousands of litigants who stood before Judy’s TV bench. What he found was a strange story about what happens when the line between law and entertainment starts to blur. 
A transcript of this episode is available. 

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.
This episode of The Experiment was produced by Peter Bresnan with help from Salman Ahad Khan. Editing by Jenny Lawton, Julia Longoria, Emily Botein, and Michael May. Fact-check by Will Gordon. Sound design by Joe Plourde with additional engineering by Jen Munson. Transcription by Caleb Codding.
Music by Naran Ratan (“East of Somewhere Else”), Ob (“Wold”), R McCarthy (“Big Game” and “Contemplation at Lon Lon”), Parish Council (“P Lachaise,” “Walled Garden 1,” and “New Apt.”), and Column (“A Year in Your Garden” and “Sensuela”) provided by Tasty Morsels. Additional music by Alex Overington. Additional audio from Judge Judy, CBS News, The People's Court, NBC4 News, ABC News, AP Archive, and The Roseanne Show.

Almost 30 years ago, a fed-up Manhattan-family-court judge named Judith Sheindlin was sitting in her chambers when she got a call from a couple of television producers. They pitched her the idea for a TV show with Judy at its center. 
The result was Judge Judy, one of the most popular and influential television series ever made. Over its decades-long run, it beat out The Oprah Winfrey Show in ratings, led to the explosion of court TV, and influenced how large swaths of Americans think about crime and justice. 
The Experiment’s Peter Bresnan has been watching Judge Judy with his mom ever since he was a kid. But recently, he began to wonder how the show managed to become such a force in American culture, and what impact it’s had on the thousands of litigants who stood before Judy’s TV bench. What he found was a strange story about what happens when the line between law and entertainment starts to blur. 
<a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/experiment/episodes/is-judge-judy-real">A transcript of this episode is available.</a> 

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.
This episode of The Experiment was produced by Peter Bresnan with help from Salman Ahad Khan. Editing by Jenny Lawton, Julia Longoria, Emily Botein, and Michael May. Fact-check by Will Gordon. Sound design by Joe Plourde with additional engineering by Jen Munson. Transcription by Caleb Codding.
Music by Naran Ratan (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7GlLrx0JZSaBKwyNm4qwsp?si=9uqMLyopS--jGzDMGVjCeA">East of Somewhere Else</a>”), Ob (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1lI3dphblKr0Nl5kkljYYq?si=StqfbNKWQEiInOgNvr5Now">Wold</a>”), R McCarthy (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/01X6dzndjiiDM72rmifwmT?si=Zz81pCwsSVmBDU5VYX_JRg">Big Game</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1ALrIjhxjtnHxQ2EP2uZDQ?si=feWxnCpZT1-UNbH1RbvaOA">Contemplation at Lon Lon</a>”), Parish Council (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2be5x4537gIfMPzdfrrwop?si=JdZ0S3SOR--Z0KJjyiWsTw">P Lachaise</a>,” “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/43pSvWiHe2aJHQy7940POr?si=S4We6bpiSgi8va2Iz6IeuQ">Walled Garden 1</a>,” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5XzTNzMYXP6zl6Kaadp2UH?si=yo0H6cBIRCWil4w0cuVP6g">New Apt.</a>”), and Column (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5Yv2Tu2Cded3FaiqPq8UIO?si=QuYPlJxoQ-OyA29bwBqC5Q">A Year in Your Garden</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5i4MzqGYEBBsBrGVVx1dY3?si=WlTP7p0cQMCuETlZ3_N06g">Sensuela</a>”) provided by <a href="http://tastymorsels.org">Tasty Morsels</a>. Additional music by Alex Overington. Additional audio from Judge Judy, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/law-and-disorder-1/">CBS News</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyR2seiEE6k">The People's</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymgy4wK52cQ">Court</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBPd75z7IfA">NBC4 News</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR5dZvIak64">ABC News</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peqwXmyi6UU">AP</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p6Au_5Bhck">Archive</a>, and <a href="https://archive.org/details/19980918JudgeJudyChrisTuckerTheRoseanneShow">The Roseanne Show</a>.

Judge Judy’s Law

The Experiment introduces WNYC colleague Nancy Solomon's new podcast: Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery
New Jersey politics is not for the faint of heart. But the brutal killing of John and Joyce Sheridan, a prominent couple with personal ties to three governors, shocks even the most cynical operatives. The mystery surrounding the crime sends their son on a quest for truth. Dead End is a story of crime and corruption at the highest levels of society in the Garden State.

The Experiment introduces WNYC colleague Nancy Solomon's new podcast: <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/M_a20dat?sid=theexperimentwebsite" target="_blank">Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery</a>
New Jersey politics is not for the faint of heart. But the brutal killing of John and Joyce Sheridan, a prominent couple with personal ties to three governors, shocks even the most cynical operatives. The mystery surrounding the crime sends their son on a quest for truth. Dead End is a story of crime and corruption at the highest levels of society in the Garden State.

The Experiment introduces Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery

There’s a common story about abortion in this country, that people have only two options to intentionally end a pregnancy: the clinic or the coat hanger. They can choose the safe route that’s protected by Roe v. Wade—a doctor in a legal clinic—or, if Roe is overturned, endure a dangerous back-alley abortion, symbolized by the coat hanger. But a close look at the history of abortion in this country shows that there’s much more to this story. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case that could overturn Roe v Wade in June, activists are once again preparing to take abortion into their own hands.
Reporter Jessica Bruder explores the abortion underground to learn about the movement’s origins, and reveals how activists today are mobilizing around effective and medically safe abortion methods that can be done at home. 
A transcript of this episode is available.
Further reading: “A Covert Network of Activists Is Preparing for the End of Roe”

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.
This episode was produced by Gabrielle Berbey and Alyssa Edes, with help from Salman Ahad Khan. Editing by Michael May and Julia Longoria. Reporting by Jessica Bruder. Fact-check by Michelle Ciarrocca. Sound design by Joe Plourde. Engineering by Jen Munson. Transcription by Caleb Codding.
Music by R McCarthy (“Fine”), Ob (“Ere”), Parish Council (“Leaving the TV on at Night” and “Mopping”), Laurie Bird (“Detail Wash” and “Jussa Trip”), Safa Park (“Loose Yams”), Ceefax (“Dissolving Skull”), and Column (“｢The Art of Fun｣ (Raj)”), provided by Tasty Morsels. Additional music by Joe Plourde. Additional audio from CBS, Hope 2020 (Clip 1 and Clip 2), NBC News (Clip 1 and Clip 2), KCRG, WLKY, and KXAN.

There’s a common story about abortion in this country, that people have only two options to intentionally end a pregnancy: the clinic or the coat hanger. They can choose the safe route that’s protected by Roe v. Wade—a doctor in a legal clinic—or, if Roe is overturned, endure a dangerous back-alley abortion, symbolized by the coat hanger. But a close look at the history of abortion in this country shows that there’s much more to this story. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case that could overturn Roe v Wade in June, activists are once again preparing to take abortion into their own hands.
Reporter Jessica Bruder explores the abortion underground to learn about the movement’s origins, and reveals how activists today are mobilizing around effective and medically safe abortion methods that can be done at home. 
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2022/04/resurgence-abortion-underground/629642/">A transcript of this episode is available.</a>
Further reading: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/roe-v-wade-overturn-abortion-rights/629366/">“A Covert Network of Activists Is Preparing for the End of Roe”</a>

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.
This episode was produced by Gabrielle Berbey and Alyssa Edes, with help from Salman Ahad Khan. Editing by Michael May and Julia Longoria. Reporting by Jessica Bruder. Fact-check by Michelle Ciarrocca. Sound design by Joe Plourde. Engineering by Jen Munson. Transcription by Caleb Codding.
Music by R McCarthy (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4AxvzDxHmTGWs6kxrs2N2Q?autoplay=true">Fine</a>”), Ob (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2ROXhcUgyoBXriDyMnoiou">Ere</a>”), Parish Council (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5xazzv7zOimP23kwmT6gUw">Leaving the TV on at Night</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5XODykMweHcVt4NQzDppfb">Mopping</a>”), <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/4UmJPxsPxl7Yfx3iFIiAUx?si=X51lfOSnT8qxngiE1Q9vhw">Laurie Bird</a> (“Detail Wash” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/14K07jnngNj0NQF6qetceC">Jussa Trip</a>”), Safa Park (“Loose Yams”), Ceefax (“Dissolving Skull”), and Column (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2Sf4UeImpFj5Esa5ndsIqr">｢The Art of Fun｣ (Raj)</a>”), provided by <a href="http://tastymorsels.org">Tasty Morsels</a>. Additional music by Joe Plourde. Additional audio from <a href="https://beta.prx.org/stories/229976">CBS</a>, Hope 2020 (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMb0aneJy9s">Clip 1</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ZVKI4SZ-Q">Clip 2</a>), NBC News (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkDT-9iWVyE">Clip 1</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nbcnightlynews/videos/2264316660559154/">Clip 2</a>), <a href="https://www.kcrg.com/2022/02/10/new-bill-iowa-would-ban-mailing-abortion-pills/">KCRG</a>, <a href="https://www.wlky.com/article/kentucky-lawmakers-suggest-new-abortions-limits/38017785#">WLKY</a>, and <a href="https://www.kxan.com/investigations/texas-lawmakers-tried-to-halt-online-abortion-pill-sales-providers-say-they-wont-stop/">KXAN</a>.

The Resurgence of the Abortion Underground

The national-park system has been touted as “America’s best idea.” David Treuer, an Ojibwe historian and the author of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America From 1890 to the Present, says we can make that idea even better—by giving national parks back to Native Americans.
This episode of The Experiment originally ran on April 15, 2021.
A transcript of this episode is available. 

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.
This episode was produced by Tracie Hunte and Gabrielle Berbey, with editing by Matt Collette and Katherine Wells. Fact-check by Jack Segelstein. Sound design by David Herman. Additional engineering by Joe Plourde. 
Music by Laundry (“Films”), Parish Council (“Socks Before Trousers” and “Heatherside Stores”), h hunt (“11e” and “Journeys”), and naran ratan (“Trees etc.”), provided by Tasty Morsels. Additional music by John Charles Schroeder and Ross Taggart Garren (“Mournful Blues”) and Ken Anderson and Rebecca Ruth Hall (“Calliope - Underscore”). Additional audio from National Geographic, WNYC, PBS, and C-SPAN.

The national-park system has been touted as “<a href="https://www.nps.gov/americasbestidea/">America’s best idea</a>.” <a href="https://www.davidtreuer.net/">David Treuer</a>, an Ojibwe historian and the author of <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781594633157">The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America From 1890 to the Present</a>, says we can make that idea even better—by giving national parks back to Native Americans.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbnBWUnNaVWN5cDR5UnBiekJXNXMxTjRZeE1nd3xBQ3Jtc0ttLTFzbExPQkNNbm43aVNzZG1uNUF4bjVteHNLLXpuMUFMbjZ3VzRNeEZIOHNGQmVnZENfemJ0cXE5MjE0eDdUQ1RELWNBX1pBUXNEUDd3akZ3UVVudV9uaEUxOTRjYVp0SWJJYU9UZS1mV3VCMkdfbw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fpodcasts%2Fexperiment%2F%3Futm_source%3Dyoutube%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Dthe-atlantic%26utm_content%3Dpodcast">This episode of The Experiment originally ran on April 15, 2021</a>.
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2022/04/us-national-parks-native-american-tribes/629552/">A transcript of this episode is available. </a>

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.
This episode was produced by Tracie Hunte and Gabrielle Berbey, with editing by Matt Collette and Katherine Wells. Fact-check by Jack Segelstein. Sound design by David Herman. Additional engineering by Joe Plourde. 
Music by Laundry (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0XpDFdxfGYzyBqGZaCECvE?si=891864a256784f2b">Films</a>”), Parish Council (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5WF5d7FAmPTs2WkNDVB5wK?si=a6ff68e2cb2144fd">Socks Before Trousers</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/62mhHV52VY6XfT2CbEnulH?si=42e98baf9d8d4784">Heatherside Stores</a>”), h hunt (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0wB7nNtB8FW1rbaJtuWqWX?si=d8d4bbe4912847e6">11e</a>” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7lSGEtn3JUPOM5oSYY6D0A?si=424b95f31c3942ee">Journeys</a>”), and naran ratan (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5s2PkVuIo9mFzRFHp9Wupa?si=1d9b9251aa094ab6">Trees etc.</a>”), provided by <a href="http://tastymorsels.org">Tasty Morsels</a>. Additional music by John Charles Schroeder and Ross Taggart Garren (“Mournful Blues”) and Ken Anderson and Rebecca Ruth Hall (“Calliope - Underscore”). Additional audio from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF2ZmWfnXDw">National Geographic</a>, <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/59197-the-national-parks-americas-best-idea/">WNYC</a>, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-national-parks/">PBS</a>, and <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?510017-1/interior-secretary-swearing-ceremony">C-SPAN</a>.

Should We Return National Parks to Native Americans?

From the time she was a little girl, Marilyn Vann knew she was Black and she was Cherokee. But when she applied for citizenship in the Cherokee Nation as an adult, she was denied. What followed was a journey into a dark part of Cherokee history that not many people know about and even fewer understand: Vann and her family are descended from people who were enslaved by the Cherokee Nation. They were freed after the Civil War, but that wasn’t the end of their struggle. In 1866, the Cherokee Nation made a promise—a promise of citizenship for these “freedmen” and their descendants. But in the years that followed, that promise would be at the center of a battle between civil rights and sovereignty. 
Related Viewing: Will Congress Fulfill a 184-Year-Old Promise?
A transcript of this episode will soon be made available. Please check back. 

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com.
This episode was produced by Tracie Hunte, with help from Gabrielle Berbey and Alyssa Edes. Editing by Jenny Lawton and Julia Longoria. Fact-check by Will Gordon. Sound design by Joe Plourde with additional engineering by Jen Munson. Transcription by Caleb Codding. Special thanks to Rebecca Nagle, Bryan Pollard, Sterling Cosper, and Gregory Smithers.
Music by Parish Council (“Marmalade Day”), Keyboard (“Freedom of Movement,” “Over the Moon,” “Ojima,” “Being Darrell,” and “Only One”), and Water Feature (“Richard III (Duke of Gloucester”). Additional music by Alexander Overington. Additional audio from Bloomberg, Global News, and Fox News.

From the time she was a little girl, Marilyn Vann knew she was Black and she was Cherokee. But when she applied for citizenship in the Cherokee Nation as an adult, she was denied. What followed was a journey into a dark part of Cherokee history that not many people know about and even fewer understand: Vann and her family are descended from people who were enslaved by the Cherokee Nation. They were freed after the Civil War, but that wasn’t the end of their struggle. In 1866, the Cherokee Nation made a promise—a promise of citizenship for these “freedmen” and their descendants. But in the years that followed, that promise would be at the center of a battle between civil rights and sovereignty. 
Related Viewing: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/603892/cherokee-nation/">Will Congress Fulfill a 184-Year-Old Promise?</a>
A transcript of this episode will soon be made available. Please check back. 

Be part of The Experiment. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at <a href="mailto:theexperiment@theatlantic.com">theexperiment@theatlantic.com</a>.
This episode was produced by Tracie Hunte, with help from Gabrielle Berbey and Alyssa Edes. Editing by Jenny Lawton and Julia Longoria. Fact-check by Will Gordon. Sound design by Joe Plourde with additional engineering by Jen Munson. Transcription by Caleb Codding. Special thanks to Rebecca Nagle, Bryan Pollard, Sterling Cosper, and Gregory Smithers.
Music by Parish Council (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0ZBNBzgcwq0F1sLfS34Yck?autoplay=true">Marmalade Day</a>”), Keyboard (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3Z9IvGEl4QZzWCfq6fHLm5?si=5dd24731040d47d0">Freedom of Movement</a>,” “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2pNhUEgUxOPBnBxBkUw31a">Over the Moon</a>,” “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3kK2i7VuZXZbkKyb546rI0">Ojima</a>,” “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6zhciJSo2xYCwt3n3uv2nA">Being Darrell</a>,” and “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2ZaX2ShsIaMfjyBy3xRoov?si=5a4a296529644f68">Only One</a>”), and Water Feature (“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/04XnWbggAlnqDVoNCpfogX?si=4319281b28be4a20">Richard III (Duke of Gloucester</a>”). Additional music by Alexander Overington. Additional audio from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrTxjkMPguU">Bloomberg</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl8ZmqhNpr4">Global News</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NESWu1PeNs">Fox News</a>.

Who Belongs in the Cherokee Nation?

Each week, we tell the story of what happens when individual people confront deeply held American ideals in their own lives. We're interested in the cultural and political contradictions that reveal who we are.

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