When the biggest news stories happen all at once, it's easy to miss what each of them really means. Since Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death last week, there have been questions about who will replace her and what it means for the court. Sam talks to Slate's Mark Joseph Stern about the Supreme Court's history and what recent discussions get wrong. Then, Democrats and progressives brought in massive fundraising dollars in the days after Justice Ginsburg's death. Sam chats with Julie Bykowicz of the Wall Street Journal about what all that money means. Finally, Sam talks to Tina Vasquez of Prism about the forced sterilization of immigrants in a Georgia detention center, and why it's important to see the bigger picture.

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away last week at the age of 87. The conversation has quickly moved to the politics around her replacement, but what kind of legacy did she leave? In the award-winning documentary RBG, filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West chronicle the life of Ginsburg, from her rise to the judicial branch to becoming the 'Notorious RBG.' NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg also joins this encore conversation with Sam, Betsy, and Julie.

This school year is proving to be unlike any other. Teaching might be a nightmare in schools doing hybrid learning, a success for those doing virtual learning, or vice versa. It all depends on which school district you're in and what resources and funding you might be able to access. So what's the experience been like so far for the teachers trying to make school happen?

The movie industry is hurting. Most theaters in the U.S. are still shut down, and who knows when—or if—audiences will pack into theaters again. Adam B. Vary and Angelique Jackson of Variety talk about the state of the movie industry and how it's adapted, for better or worse, in this pandemic. Also, Sam talks to actor LeVar Burton about reading, why we like being read to, what he really wanted you to learn from Reading Rainbow, and the latest season of his podcast LeVar Burton Reads.

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Email us at samsanders@npr.org

Larry Wilmore has a resume that could rival pretty much anyone's in Hollywood. Name a show and he probably had his hands in it. He created The Bernie Mac Show, co-created Insecure, wrote for shows like In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The Office, and served as the "Senior Black Correspondent" on The Daily Show. He also had his own late night show called The Nightly Show.

Now, Wilmore is back in the hosting chair with a new show on the NBC streaming service Peacock. Sam and Wilmore chat about starting a new show from scratch in a pandemic, deconstructing 2020, and why that one episode of The Office probably wouldn't fly today.

The smoke, the flames, the creepy orange and red skies. It's fire season out west and it's already one for the books. Sam talks a resident of Napa County, CA, who had to flee her home because of the fires. Then he's joined by New York Times opinion writer Farhad Manjoo, who is convinced this is the end of California as we know it. Finally, comedian and SNL writer Sam Jay talks about her new Netflix special 3 O'Clock in the Morning.