In Lieu of Happy Hour

We are halfway through our guest hosting week. Today, Kate Klonick takes the mic. She is an assistant professor at St. John’s Law School, a fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School, and researcher of the intersection between law and tech. She’s also co-host of a daily YouTube series called In Lieu of Fun.
On the Gist, how Kate found herself on a daily live show during quarantine.
In the interview, Kate talks to Ben Wittes, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Lawfare, and Kate’s co-host on In Lieu of Fun. They discuss how the global pandemic spurred a need for intelligent discussion in a less than lateral way. Guests on their show have ranged from apiarists to the former president of Estonia. Wittes wanted to build something that welcomed a community, allowing for audience input around guest selection and conversation topics. Along the way, he found an avenue that continues to forge new friendships without the stale in-person meet and greets we so often find at happy hours.
In the spiel, what it’s like to build an online community during this crisis.
Email us at thegist@slate.com
Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley.
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