Ep 5. Pennsylvania Counts | The Vatican's Orphans | Ballmer's Ballgame

Pennsylvania Counts – This November, all eyes will be on the Keystone State, the most pivotal battleground in the race for the White House. Cecilia Vega travels to Pennsylvania for an in-depth interview with Secretary of State Al Schmidt, a key figure in the election process. They discuss the process of counting mail-in ballots, preparing for potential conspiracy theories, and the measures Schmidt is taking to educate Pennsylvanians about the state's election process to ensure voter confidence. Sarah Koch and Madeleine Carlisle are the producers. The Vatican's Orphans – From 1950 to 1970, the Vatican sent thousands of Italian children to eager American Catholics for adoption. The children entered the United States on orphan visas. The trouble was most of the children were not orphans. They were the children of unwed mothers, many of whom were alive and searching for their children. How the Vatican got into the orphan business is the subject of a new book, The Price of Children. Bill Whitaker speaks to author Maria Laurino and to American adoptees still struggling with the decades of separation from their birth families. Heather Abbott is the producer. Ballmer's Ballgame –As the former CEO at Microsoft, where he witnessed the company's growth from a startup to a tech giant, and now as the basketball baron of the L.A. Clippers, billionaire Steve Ballmer knows how to play the long game. And he's counting on that skill and his trademark enthusiasm to score points with players and fans as the 2024-2025 NBA season tips off. But before he does, Jon Wertheim takes us inside the gleaming new Intuit Dome, the arena Ballmer built for his Clippers, and delves into his love of basketball and drive to win a championship. David M. Levine is the producer.