The Gist

The Abortion Fight Led Us Here

The downside of progress is that someone has to lose. Where does all that energy go? In Alabama, a lot of it is going to Roy Moore.

Roy Moore supporters listen during a campaign rally on Nov. 27 in Henagar, Alabama.

Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images

Listen to Episode 887 of Slate’s The Gist:

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On The Gist, we can have sympathy for all kinds of people—just not the guy who loses all his money on bitcoin.

In the interview, Lenora Chu tells the story of her American family’s rude awakening to Chinese education practices. When Chu moved her family to Shanghai, she eagerly enrolled her young son into an elite Chinese public school. She expected academic rigor and an emphasis on work ethic. But she was surprised to find authoritarian teachers and desperate, obsequious parents. What, if anything, should the U.S. borrow from the Chinese education model? Chu’s book is Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve.

In the Spiel, what the abortion issue did to sort the parties.

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