Hey, what next listener. I've got a little something special for you on this July 4th holiday.

One of our fellow Slate podcasts, Slowburn, has got a timely new season on Justice Clarence Thomas's surprising journey to the Supreme Court.

Thomas is one of the most powerful figures in America today, as the recent Supreme Court term made abundantly clear.

In this episode, Slow Burn host Joel Anderson revisits Thomas's bruising confirmation fight.

You'll hear not only from Anita Hill, but from other women who never got a chance to testify.

And Joel goes back to Thomas's hometown to see how his

path to the court has influenced his decisions on the court, which affect all of us. Make sure to

subscribe to Slow Burn to hear the whole series. We'll be back with a new episode of What Next,

tomorrow. But for now, here's Joel. It was George Kasuf's job to be nosy. He was essentially a detective based out of Washington, D.C.,

and he had a very specific niche. What I did, and it was pretty much a one-person operation, was investigate whoever would be nominated to the federal courts.

Kassuf knew how to dig through a judge's professional past, excavating their true beliefs

from long-forgotten rulings and speeches.

A lot of it was just going to the library and also talking to lots of people.

That's what I think I was really good at,

is just letting people talk to me.

That's least what my boss always thought,

anybody will talk to you, George.

He worked for a progressive advocacy group

called The Alliance for Justice.

And in the late 80s and early 90s,

with Republicans controlling the White House,

pretty much every judge he vetted

...