In the second episode of our investigation, we examine the life and career of Fu Xiaotian: the prominent Chinese TV host who had an affair with Qin Gang. Like Qin, Fu was sharp and ambitious, but her high-flying career would come to an abrupt halt. And like Qin, she would also mysteriously disappear.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our final episode, we get a break in the case of the missing minister: According to our sources, Chinese officials were told that Qin disappeared due to an explosive allegation. We dig into that story and its consequences for Fu and for Qin – Xi Jinping’s trusted aide.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With millions of votes already cast, the race is on for each campaign to get their supporters to the polls. Ryan Knutson talks with Molly Ball about the different strategies Trump and Harris are taking, and why election denial is such a big issue in Arizona. Plus, Rachel Humphreys speaks to a Gen Z Voter. Further Listening:  - Red, White and Who? Playlist  - Red, White and Who? Foreign Policy and the Rise of Donald Trump Jr.  - Red, White and Who? Veep Veep! All Eyes on Vance and Walz  Further Reading: - Republicans Rush to Bolster Trump’s Ground Game  - Kari Lake’s 2022 Fraud Claims Are Costing Her in 2024  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lilly Ledbetter, equal pay trailblazer, died on Saturday. WSJ’s Joseph De Avila reports on how Ledbetter faced pay discrimination at her job and sued her employer, taking her case all the way to the Supreme Court. And WSJ’s Lauren Weber discusses the persistence of the gender pay gap.  Further Reading: -Fair-Wage Advocate Lilly Ledbetter Dies at 86  -Data Show Gender Pay Gap Opens Early  Further Listening: -The TikTok That Changed College Hoops  -What Corporate America Can Learn From Coke’s Reckoning With Race  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Investigators say that Arion Kurtaj’s life in cybercrime began at age 11, and ultimately led to his participation in the hacks of major companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Uber. WSJ’s Robert McMillan explains how Kurtaj’s case has brought worries about a new breed of fearless young hackers. Further Reading: -This Teenage Hacker Became a Legend Attacking Companies. Then His Rivals Attacked Him.  -Hackers Leaked ‘Grand Theft Auto’ Footage, Rockstar Games Says  Further Listening: -Hack Me If You Can, Part 1: The Making of a Russian Hacker  -How North Korea’s Hacker Army Stole $3 Billion in Crypto  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the summer, an outbreak of listeria in Boar’s Head products killed 10 people and sickened dozens more. In the months after the crisis, the family that runs the company has said little. WSJ’s Sarah Nassauer dug through court documents to piece together a decades-long story of a family fighting over ownership of a deli meat empire. Further Reading: - Inside the Half-Century Feud Dividing the Boar’s Head Family  - Boar’s Head Closing Virginia Factory Tied to Deadly Listeria Outbreak  Further Listening: - Farm-to-Table Pioneer on Why We Still Need Better Food  - Food Fight: PepsiCo vs. Carrefour  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TD Bank’s U.S. entity pleaded guilty and agreed to pay more than $3 billion in penalties, acknowledging it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels and other criminal groups. WSJ’s Dylan Tokar unpacks the investigation that led to such a historic deal. Further Listening: -The Suitcases Full of Cash Flowing Through Airports  Further Reading: -TD Bank Agrees to $3 Billion in Penalties and Growth Restrictions in U.S. Settlement  -TD Pays Hefty Penalties as Prosecutors Detail Nearly a Decade of Lax Controls  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Knutson and Molly Ball explore what we know about both candidates’ approach to foreign policy. Plus, Molly shares what she learned about the future of MAGA from an interview with Donald Trump Jr. and JD Vance. Further Listening: - Red, White and Who? Playlist  - Red, White and Who? Veep Veep! All Eyes on Vance and Walz  - Red, White and Who? It's Always the Economy!  Further Reading: - How Donald Trump Jr. Became the Crown Prince of MAGA World  - JD Vance’s Version of Trump Is Better Than the Real Thing  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. budget deficit topped $1.8 trillion in the last fiscal year. Meanwhile, both candidates for president are proposing plans that would increase the deficit for years to come. WSJ’s Richard Rubin explains how the deficit got so large and why the candidates don’t talk about it.  Further Listening: -The Economy: Trump vs. Harris  -The Clock Is Ticking on the Debt Ceiling  Further Reading: -Federal Deficit Hit $1.8 Trillion for 2024, CBO Says  -Federal Debt Is Soaring. Here’s Why Trump and Harris Aren’t Talking About It.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk's financial support for Republican causes has been much more extensive and started earlier than previously known. WSJ’s Dana Mattioli reports on Musk’s rightward political shift and explains how he hid his donations.  Further Listening: - Elon Musk and Silicon Valley Turn Towards Trump  Further Reading: - Elon Musk Gave Tens of Millions to Republican Causes Far Earlier Than Previously Known  - Inside Elon Musk’s Hands-On Push to Win 800,000 Voters for Trump  - How Elon Musk Broke With Biden and the Democrats Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WSJ reporting has revealed a major cyberattack from a group tied to the Chinese government. Hackers penetrated the networks of several broadband providers and gained access to the U.S. domestic wiretapping system. Dustin Volz unpacks what the attack could mean for national security. Further Listening: - ‘Hack Me If You Can’  - Hacking the Hackers  Further Reading: - U.S. Wiretap Systems Targeted in China-Linked Hack  - Chinese-Linked Hackers Breach U.S. Internet Providers in New ‘Salt Typhoon’ Cyberattack  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Asheville, North Carolina, was thriving until floodwaters and heavy wind from Hurricane Helene ripped through the region and destroyed large parts of the city's commercial districts. We talk to two business owners who are trying to figure out what comes next.  Further Reading: -The Hurricane That Threatens to Sink Asheville’s Feel-Good Success  -North Carolina in Crisis Mode as Helene Rescues Continue  Further Listening: -Hot, Dry and Booming: A Texas Climate Case Study  -‘Everything Is Gone’ — One Resident on the Maui Wildfires  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, Microsoft and Constellation Energy announced a deal to restart Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island, the site of the country’s worst nuclear power accident. WSJ’s Jennifer Hiller reports that the goal is to power the tech giant’s growing artificial intelligence ambitions. Further Listening: - Artificial: The OpenAI Story  - Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's Big Bet on AI  Further Reading: - Three Mile Island’s Nuclear Plant to Reopen, Help Power Microsoft’s AI Centers  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The vice-presidential candidates took center stage at a debate this week. Ryan Knutson talks with Molly Ball about the important takeaways, and Rachel Humphreys speaks to a listener about why she’s thinking about climate change this election.  Further Listening: - Red, White and Who? Playlist  - Red, White and Who? It's Always the Economy!  - Red, White and Who? Why Ohio Could Decide the Senate  Further Reading: - JD Vance’s Version of Trump Is Better Than the Real Thing  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Under CEO John Donahoe, Nike pulled away from retailers and ramped up production of its classic sneaker lines. Now sales have plummeted, the company has lost market share to competitors and Donahoe is stepping down. WSJ's Inti Pacheco discusses what went wrong. Further Reading: -Nike CEO John Donahoe Stepping Down After Rocky Tenure  -How Nike Missed the Boom in Running Culture  -Nike Reverses Course as Innovation Stalls and Rivals Gain Ground  Further Listening: -Nike’s Sneaky Sneaker Thieves  -How Allbirds Lost Its Footing  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel is now fighting on multiple fronts, after clashing with Hezbollah in Lebanon and sustaining Iranian strikes yesterday. WSJ’s Michael Amon explains the growing risk of an all-out regional war.   Further Reading: - Israel Clashes With Hezbollah in Lebanon  - Israeli Response to Iran’s Attack to Set Course of Widening War  - Israeli Review Shows Minor Damage From Iran’s Missile Barrage  Further Listening: - Exploding Pagers and the Risk of a Spreading War  - The Brutal Calculation of Hamas’s Leader  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In less than two years, OpenAI—the company behind ChatGPT—has gone from a little-known nonprofit lab to a world-famous organization at the forefront of an artificial intelligence revolution. But the company has faced a series of challenges, culminating last week in another high-profile departure and the decision to become a for-profit corporation. WSJ’s Deepa Seetharaman discusses the permanent change to OpenAI's ethos and what it could mean for the AI industry. Further Listening: - Artificial: The OpenAI Story  - Artificial: Episode 1, The Dream  Further Reading: - Turning OpenAI Into a Real Business Is Tearing It Apart  - OpenAI’s Complex Path to Becoming a For-Profit Company  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Justice is taking Visa, the largest card network in the U.S., to court, accusing the company of illegally monopolizing the debit card market. WSJ's Angel Au-Yeung breaks down the Justice Department's allegations. Further Listening: - The Unusual Economics of the Bilt Credit Card  - The Deal That Could Change Credit Cards  - The Trustbuster Taking on Ticketmaster  Further Reading: - Justice Department Sues Visa, Alleges Illegal Monopoly in Debit-Card Payments  - Google Faces Blockbuster Antitrust Case—Again  - Getting Oasis Tickets Was a Nightmare. Ticketmaster Is Again Being Asked for Answers.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mayor of America’s largest city likes to say he’s been “rejected, arrested and then elected.” Now, he’s been indicted. WSJ’s Jimmy Vielkind unpacks the unprecedented federal foreign bribery case against Eric Adams. Further Listening: -Gold Bars, Cash and a Mercedes: A U.S. Senator's Corruption Trial  Further Reading: -Inside the Eric Adams Indictment  -After the Eric Adams Indictment, What’s Next?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After two big economic speeches this week, Ryan Knutson and Molly Ball discuss the candidates’ different economic strategies. Plus, voting has begun! We explore mail in voting and its impact on this election! Further Listening: - Red, White and Who? Playlist  - Red, White and Who? Why Ohio Could Decide the Senate  - Red, White and Who? A Swing-State Debate  Further Reading: - Harris Puts Government Intervention at Heart of Economic Policy  - Trump Says Plan Will Convince Foreign Companies to Shift Jobs to U.S.  - Voters Love the Policies That Economists Love to Hate  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices