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The Trap | 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.
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Slate Presents... Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?
02:31||Season 1, Ep. 0In 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.
1. Two Shotguns | Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?
29:37||Season 1, Ep. 1Randy 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.
2. Rules of Engagement | Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?
31:45||Season 1, Ep. 2Ruth 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.
3. The Wisdom of the Crowd | Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?
03:55||Season 1, Ep. 3Host 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.
4. Afterlife | Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?
01:54||Season 1, Ep. 4In 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.
Slate Presents... Charged: A True Punishment Story
03:06||Season 2, Ep. 0Season 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.
1. Born In Brooklyn | Charged: A True Punishment Story
28:07||Season 2, Ep. 1The 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.
1. The Making of Charged | Charged: A True Punishment Story
24:39||Season 2, Ep. 1In 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.
2. Criminogenic | Charged: A True Punishment Story
32:28||Season 2, Ep. 2As 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.