A Failed Execution in Tennessee and a Livestream Firing Squad

California Attorney General Rob Bonta joins Beth to talk about how state attorneys general are preparing for this election and pushing back on federal overreach. They discuss: the security of mail-in ballots the fight over "citizenship lists" preparations to safeguard against intimidation at the polls the Supreme Court's emergency docket and strain on the court system immigration enforcement AI and the tools needed to protect citizens outside of politics: soccer brings people together Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We did not expect to be discussing the death penalty less than a month before midterm elections, but here we are. Today, Sarah and Beth discuss: Our individual perspectives on the death penalty Tennessee's failed attempt to execute Christa Pike Pete Hegseth's plan to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan Outside of politics: seeing leaves last week in New England and Quebec Mentioned in the episode: Still Listening, our free pop-up book club for the midterms Pew Research polling on the death penalty Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" Common Ground Pilgrimages Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beth talks with Zach Dembo, the Democratic candidate for Kentucky's 6th Congressional District, running against Republican Ralph Alvarado in one of the closest House races in the country: Zach's path to running: Teach for America, active-duty Navy, policy advisor to Gov. Andy Beshear, and most recently a federal prosecutor Why he resigned from the DOJ, and how that decision affected his marriage (his wife is also a prosecutor) His anti-corruption platform: no stock trading for members of Congress, 12-year term limits, a ban on lobbying, a ban on dark money and corporate PAC contributions Why the corruption message is landing with voters across party lines in central Kentucky right now His "team Kentucky, not team party" case for independence in a polarized Congress The "nightmare scenario": what Congress can actually do if the executive ignores its own laws His committee priorities — armed services and agriculture — and why farm economics are personal to both hosts The contrast with his opponent, Ralph Alvarado Running a true toss-up race, and how listeners can help A closing conversation about UK football under Will Stein and UK basketball Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and Beth talk with Kristin Kobes Du Mez about her new book Live, Laugh, Love, exploring the history and influence of white Christian women's culture in America: how Live, Laugh, Love traces the roots of white Christian women's culture beyond evangelicalism, including Mormon and positive thinking influences the intertwining of religion, capitalism, and multi-level marketing, and how corporate power shaped Christian subcultures the impact of Christian fiction, media, and influencers from Little House on the Prairie to modern blogs and Instagram the challenges of writing recent history and representing living figures in the Christian women's influencer space Outside of politics, some easy organizing has improved our lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and Beth discuss the horror described in Jane Doe's complaint, the campus culture at Cornell, and the challenges of addressing sexual assault in college environments. They cover: The reporting and investigation into the Cornell 7 case and the role of student journalism How campus culture, Greek life, and university responses shape outcomes The complexities of Title IX, criminal investigations, and legal standards in sexual assault cases Broader questions about prevention, parenting, and the ongoing struggle to change campus safety Outside of Politics: Sarah and Beth talk about Derek Thompson's essay on the decline of hosting and why fewer people are having others over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and Beth discuss the viral stories that took over the weekend, and what they reveal about conflict, context, and civic life heading into the midterms: - The New York Times report on Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola's treatment of staff - The Boston Globe story on Last Ditch, a COVID-cautious lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts - The Giants game "mom of the year" couple and iced coffee at job interviews - Taylor Swift's four-song encore to The Life of a Showgirl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beth talks with Dr. Robbyn Wacker, a former university president (most recently at St. Cloud State University) with a background in gerontology, about the book she's writing on leadership and values in higher education. They cover: Robbyn's path from gerontology and legal aid for older adults into higher-ed leadership, and eight years as a university president The current state of higher education: flipped funding models, the enrollment cliff, cuts to research funding and student loans, restrictions on international students, and a growing public skepticism about the value of a degree Why Robbyn's book centers on values rather than tactics, and how to choose two or three core values as an actual decision-making tool rather than a platitude "Values drift" — how leaders rationalize small departures from their stated values until those values stop driving behavior at all A detour through Lindsey Graham's admission that his real value is "relevance," and what that reveals about naming one value in service of another Whether organizations — and an entire sector like higher education — can meaningfully hold values, and how to navigate different constituencies without seeming inconsistent Beth's own reflection on the three values guiding her work this year: honesty, distinctiveness, and joy A closing story about the real budget dilemmas university presidents face, and how a "North Star" value holds up under pressure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're picking back up on artificial intelligence — Mustafa Suleyman's warning about conscious AI, the difference between chatbots and frontier models, recursive self-improvement, kill switches, and what policy response should actually look like at every level of government. Outside of Politics: the foods from our childhoods that still hold up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sports, race, gender, religion, cancel culture, and Donald Trump — this week they're all the same conversation. We cover Caitlin Clark's fouls and the House Republicans weighing in, Sophie Cunningham and the trans-athletes-in-sports debate, the Sydney Sweeney ad everyone's arguing about, SF Giants pitchers under DOJ scrutiny for Bible verses on Pride caps, the golf ad that ended a sponsorship, and LIV Golf's bankruptcy. Outside of Politics: which area of law would we actually want to practice? Sports and the culture war, generally Sports' grip on America sparks summer of political warfare – Axios Caitlin Clark / House Republicans RSC Chairman Pfluger Leads Letter to WNBA Demanding Accountability Over Unfair Treatment of Caitlin Clark House Republicans absurdly ask WNBA to investigate fouls against Caitlin Clark – Yahoo Sports Sophie Cunningham / trans athletes / Title IX Inside the disunited United States that shadows the WNBA – ESPN WNBA star Sophie Cunningham defends her views on transgender athletes – The Hill Destroying Women's Sports In Order To Save Them – Matthew Yglesias, Slow Boring Sydney Sweeney ad Sydney Sweeney under fire from athletes over nude sports-prediction ad – CNN Sydney Sweeney Faces Backlash for Sexualized Sports Trading Ad – Hollywood Reporter SF Giants Pride caps / DOJ-EEOC Giants 'Pride Night' cap controversy prompts investigation into MLB for religious discrimination – Yahoo Sports DOJ opens probe into MLB after Pride Night controversy – The Hill Good Good Golf ad / Callaway Golf ad showing man shove woman to ground taken down after backlash – CNN Callaway Golf ends partnership with Good Good Golf after controversial ad – ABC News LIV Golf bankruptcy LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection; Rahm, Bryson owed millions – ESPN LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection as it seeks to restart in 2027 – NBC News Trump and the World Cup 2026 Trump–FIFA red card controversy – Wikipedia Trump's FIFA Intervention Draws Global Backlash – Time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a weekend when an Anthropic researcher quit and warned AI could wipe out humanity within a decade, Sarah and Beth take on the questions listeners sent them about artificial intelligence, starting with what is actually being made and what it costs. They argue that the flyers-and-water critique is stuck in 2022 while frontier models and agents race ahead, and they take the Doomer scenarios seriously without buying that the doom is just sales copy. Beth explains why "can't we just unplug it" would mean unplugging the internet; Sarah argues nobody trained these models on a soul, and that's where we need to put our chips. They disagree on whether building superintelligence was ever the right call, and agree that fear isn't enough to bring to the table with our kids, our employers, or Congress. Then, Outside of Politics, a conversation about quitting: Jessica Strawser's The Quitters Club, Lindsay Crouse's case for opting out, and the biggest things each of them has walked away from. If you missed our live show in Minneapolis, the full recording is available in our shop for $15: https://pantsuitpolitics.myshopify.com/ Support the show and get access to News Briefs, Spicy Live bonus episodes, and community: https://pantsuitpolitics.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices