If Then

What if Facebook Used Data for Black Lives?

The founder of Data for Black Lives on how tech companies can use their data as a tool of oppression—or a force for racial justice.

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On this week’s If Then, Slate’s April Glaser and Will Oremus talk about trouble at Tesla: The company has suspended production of the Model 3, the car that will make or break its business. The hosts also dig into the news about the real estate site Zillow, which is expanding its business in a surprising new way—and why its stock is tumbling.

The hosts are also joined by Yeshimabeit Milner, founder and executive director of Data for Black Lives. You might’ve seen her piece earlier this month on Medium titled “An Open Letter to Facebook From the Data for Black Lives Movement: Give Black researchers, data scientists and Black communities access to our data.” They talk to her about what questions she has for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg following his two congressional hearings last week in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data spill and everything else the company has been grappling with over the past couple years.

Stories discussed on the show:

Slate: Tesla Is Starting to Sound a Little Like Donald Trump

Reveal News: Tesla Says Its Factory Is Safer. But It Left Injuries off the Books.

CNN Money: Flip This House! Zillow Plans to Buy and Sell Homes.

Medium: An Open Letter to Facebook From the Data for Black Lives Movement

Don’t Close My Tabs

San Francisco Chronicle: SF’s Scooter Conflict: City Attorney Orders Cease-and-Desist Order to Companies

Wall Street Journal: You Think Discovering a Computer Virus Is Hard? Try Naming One.

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

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You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on Twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment, you can email us at ifthen@slate.com.

If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.