This is a special episode of The Waves, Slate's Podcast on Gender, Feminism, and for today

the death of California Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein.

Feinstein broke major ground for women in politics,

both in her home state and in Congress.

She was San Francisco's first female mayor,

and the first woman elected to the Senate for California.

The legislation she's probably most remembered for is her decades long fight against gun

violence, which included a federal assault weapons ban in the 1990s.

We have to come to grips in America with our love affair with weapons.

To top it all off, she was the longest serving female senator in the body's history.

But recently, that long tenure and her declining health had become controversial in itself.

We are going to discuss it all.

I'm Lizzio Leary and you usually hear me hosting another slate podcast, What Next TBD?

Today, I am joined by slate politics writer Alex Sammon to talk about what the death of this pioneering senator means for Congress

and for the Democratic Party going forward.

Stick with us. Hey Waves listeners if you're a fan of what you're hearing be sure to

subscribe to the waves feed.

Every Thursday, you'll hear new conversations about politics, culture, general news, and

what gender has to do with it all, which is usually a lot.

Like, for example, our last episode when guest hosts Cat Chow talked about how Afghan

women refugees have been caught in the mess that is U.S. immigration policy.

You should check it out. Welcome back to the waves.

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