Slate News

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what the spate of legal defeats for the Trump administration portends as cases wind toward the Supreme Court, the real world effects of RFK Jr. gutting the CDC with guest Dr. Josh Sharfstein , and whether Democrats should compel government shutdown or avoid it now that Congress is back. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emil...

From the gold accents going up in the White House, to his orders to bring back classical design to federal buildings, Donald Trump is a president with a very specific aesthetic sensibility—which often is a manifestation of his politics. Guest:  Abdallah Fayyad , policy correspondent at Vox Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and ac...

Donald Trump has been working to expand his presidential influence into places that are supposed to operate independently, like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve, and even into Congress’s constitutionally appointed “power of the purse.” As Congress returns to Washington, is this nominally co-equal branch of government willing to wrest its power back? Guest: Luke Broadwater , r...

From selling hats, NFTs and cryptocurrency, to stock boosts, swaps and golf-course deals made abroad, the Trumps are taking this presidency to the bank—for what looks to be billions. You can call it distasteful, but has it tipped over into “illegal”? Guest:  David Kirkpatrick , staff writer at the New Yorker. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole Wha...

In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon is joined by author and New York Times reporter David Gelles to discuss his new biography of enigmatic Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, Dirtbag Billionaire . David does a deep dive into what makes the brand and its founder so unique, including the paradoxes of a wildly successful company trying to remain environmentally sustainable and a billionaire who believes...

While the What Next team celebrates Labor Day, please enjoy this episode from our colleagues at ICYMI, Slate’s internet culture podcast. Mary will be back with a new episode of What Next tomorrow. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate senior writer Scaachi Koul to talk about the return of the girlboss. Over five years after various exposes exposed their poor management and, in s...

A24 rose from “small budget indie movie studio” to “one of the most respected brands in cinema” on a reputation for treating filmmakers like auteurs. But as the studio is growing and exploring how to integrate artificial intelligence, it’s at odds with some of the very directors who helped A24 establish itself. Guest: Alex Barasch , culture editor at the New Yorker Want more What Next TBD? Subscri...

In this episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick discusses the recent deployment of the National Guard in Washington D.C. and its implications for checks and balances in the U.S. legal system. She is joined by Elizabeth “Liza” Goitein from the non-partisan Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, a leading expert on all things Posse Comitatus, the Insurrection Act, and the Pandora’s box o...

This week: Fed governor Lisa Cook is suing the Trump administration over her dismissal. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck , along with guest Kashmir Hill of The New York Times , discuss the weak fraud case being used to oust the Biden-appointed Fed governor and its significance in the fight to preserve the independence of the Federal Reserve. Then, Kashmir goes in depth on the many...

California Governor Gavin Newsom, presumably as a precursor to a run for the presidency, has been getting attention for a very Trump-influenced style of, uh, fighting back against Donald Trump. Is this where American politics is headed? Does it have to be? Guest: Ben Mathis-Lilley , Slate senior writer. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, no...

The playlists of dozens of high-level government officials and tech executives were suddenly broadcast to the world on a website called “the Panama Playlists.” But the information wasn’t taken by sophisticated hackers infiltrating any mainframes—it was all already publicly available. Guest: Mike Isaac , New York Times Silicon Valley correspondent.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Trump’s brazen effort to smash Fed independence by wielding allegations of mortgage fraud against Fed governor Lisa Cook, the expanding law enforcement role of the National Guard in DC and other cities, and the inexplicable folly of Trump’s all-out assault on the renewable wind industry. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emi...

Blood has a very short shelf life, even under the best of conditions—and you can picture the less-than-ideal conditions where blood is frequently needed—which is why scientists have been working on a blood alternative. The results are promising. Guest: Nicky Twilley , host of “ Gastropod ” podcast and author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet and Ourselves . Want more Wha...

John Bolton isn’t exactly beloved by the right or the left. But sending the FBI to raid his house fits a pattern: Either tell the president what he wants to hear, or face the consequences.  Guest: Shane Harris , staff writer covering national security and intelligence for The Atlantic. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across...

Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte has led investigations into Senator Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Leititia James, and the Federal Reserve’s Lisa Cook for mortgage fraud.  With a background a lot like Trump’s—and a little like Mr. Beast’s—who is Pulte? And what kind of damage could a vengeful FHFA director do? Guest:  Rachel Siegel , reporter covering the economics of re...

Katie Miller, whose husband Stephen Miller is Trump’s right-hand man, launched a new podcast to join the growing ranks of content made specifically for conservative women. But is there enough demand—in listeners and supplement sponsorship—to make the same impact that the conservative manosphere has? Guest:  Emma Goldberg , business features writer at The New York Times. Want more What Next? Subscr...

President Trump has proposed cutting $2.5 billion from the National Cancer Institute, which in addition to cuts to the National Institutes of Health and research universities almost makes you wonder: whose side is he on in the fight against cancer?  Guest: Angus Chen , cancer reporter for STAT news Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next...

Women were prosecuted for experiencing miscarriage or stillbirth even before the Supreme Court swept away the protections of Roe v. Wade . But these prosecutions have ramped up since, in both red and blue states. The stakes are ramping up too, with legislators introducing bills that would treat abortion as homicide, potentially subjecting patients to the death penalty. This week, Mark Joseph Stern...

This week: We got more details on the ATM scam that swept New York City thanks to a teen summer job program and an infinite money glitch last month.  Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck discuss the mechanics of the scam, the fallout for the many parties involved, and the tragic irony that a program meant to teach teen financial literacy led them straight into a harsh real world lesson...

Two weeks ago, a gunman fired over 500 bullets at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention building in Atlanta. Between the anti-public health rhetoric coming from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the top, personnel cuts and firings, and now a literal shooting, many employees are reaching their breaking point.     Guest: Lauren Weber , health science accountability reporter for the Washington Post....

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Trump’s deepening takeover of Washington D.C. as National Guard troops from red states arrive, what if anything was accomplished in the whirlwind of Putin-Trump-Zelensky diplomacy, and this week’s launch of the new liberal publication The Argument with its Editor-in-Chief Jerusalem Demsas . For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode,...

Donald Trump was able to take over the Metropolitan Police Department and send in National Guard troops and federal agents to patrol the streets due to Washington D.C.’s strange, not-a-state status. One of the district’s (non-voting) Congressional representatives believes D.C. statehood could come in the backlash.  Guest: Ankit Jain , U.S. Senator for Washington, D.C. since 2024. Want more What Ne...

Donald Trump returned from his meeting with Vladimir Putin convinced that mail-in voting is how he was cheated from winning the 2020 election. Though he’s come to this conclusion without evidence, how much damage can he do to American democracy? Guest:  Rick Hasen, UCLA School of Law, Director , Safeguarding Democracy Project, Election Law blog Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

After visiting with Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, and European leaders, where does Donald Trump stand on the Ukraine-Russia war—and where does that leave Ukraine? Guest:  Tim Mak , editor of the Kyiv-based publication The Counteroffensive . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subsc...

In this Money Talks:  Elizabeth Spiers is joined by professors Matt Sekerke and Steve H. Hanke, coauthors of Making Money Work: How to Rewrite the Rules of Our Financial System . They’ll lay out how the money supply in the US is misunderstood and underweighted in monetary policy, how that flawed system contributed to the global financial crisis, and what policymakers can do to fix it all.  Want to...