ICYMI

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate Good Job columnist Laura Helmuth . In a recent Slate piece , Kate spoke to employees who say their bosses’ use of AI is making their work life harder. Laura and Kate discuss why bosses are using AI at such higher rates than their employees, and how employees can push back against their bosses’ attempts to shirk their responsibilities in favo...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by creator Annie Rauwerda, who runs the popular @depthsofwikipedia account, to talk about 25 years of Wikipedia and the platform’s recent decision to ban AI . While Wikipedia has long been seen as an infinite well of knowledge, it’s kept alive by hundreds of thousands of dedicated human volunteers. From the teenager who’d drive to historical sites to...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate contributing writer Imogen West-Knights to talk about Shy Girl , the controversial novel whose U.S. publication was cancelled over suspected AI use . The incident reveals just how unprepared the publishing industry is to confront the rise of AI-generated material, but also how AI is secretly already being used in many creative industries—whe...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer and content creator Josh Lora, who goes by TellTheBees on Substack , TikTok , Instagram and YouTube . After yet another meaningless Chappell Roan controversy , this time involving a young fan and a security guard, Kate and Josh look into why Chappell Roan is always such a lightning rod for discourse. What seems like celebrity gossip ends up...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Defector co-owner Alex Sujong Laughlin, whose recent piece about “ lip filler accent ” identified a new way TikTok is changing how we speak. Even people who don’t have any plastic surgery at all appear to be picking up on the trend, because when it comes to status, sounding like someone who has had plastic surgery is really all that matters. ...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by New York Magazine features writer Rebecca Jennings, who recently profiled the now-cancelled Bachelorette , Taylor Frankie Paul. Paul’s season was pulled after a video of her 2023 domestic violence incident was published by TMZ, following news of another domestic violence investigation from February of this year. While the video is upsetting, knowl...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox’s Explain It To Me podcast. First, they recap musician Afroman’s free speech victory in court after he used security camera footage to make music videos for his songs about the police raiding his home in 2022. While songs like “Lemon Pound Cake” will live to see another day, Justin Timberlake’s legacy may be in peril no...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate senior writer Scaachi Koul, who profiled author Lindy West . West’s new book, Adult Braces , details, among many things, her coming to grips with being in a polyamorous relationship. But opening up this complicated story to an audience has incited a tidal-wave of feedback about not just West, but also her partners, Aham Oluo and Roya Amirsol...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate staff writer Nadira Goffe to answer the question everyone is asking since he appeared in a viral moment from the Oscars’ red carpet: Who TF is Jake Shane? The TikTokker has a podcast, an upcoming Hulu show, and a role at a candy company, but is best known for just being around famous people. He insists he’s not a journalist, but he’s not qui...

On today’s episode, guest host Scaachi Koul is joined by journalist and content creator Melanie Hamlett to talk about the trend of wives who make content about the husbands who seem to hate them. Melanie has covered the toxic dynamics of some heterosexual relationships for years, including a viral 2019 article for Harper’s Bazaar .  She was recently interviewed as part of an article for The C...

On today’s encore episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by sociologist and content creator Josh Lora, who goes by @tellthebeees on TikTok and Substack . In his viral piece, “ The Mainstreaming of Loserdom ,” Lora explores how a generation of people is becoming proudly anti-social, often in favor of staying home on their phones. While less and less people may be partying, they’re not exactly happy a...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate editor Tony Ho Tran to talk about everyone’s sudden obsession with Anthropic, the AI company that refused to allow the Trump administration to use it for potential domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. Now, the right is branding them as “woke,” and the left is rushing to download Claude, Anthropic’s AI chatbot. Both sides, however, a...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by journalist Lorena O’Neil to talk about the rise in celebrities’ families using GoFundMe to fundraise after their deaths. In her piece for Rolling Stone , Lorena spoke to experts about why GoFundMes like Eric Dane’s and James Van Der Beek’s are becoming so common, but also why we feel so weird about it. If healthcare can financially devastate both...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay and Slate staff writer Luke Winkie debrief after Luke’s scene report from outside Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona home. The 84-year-old was reported missing on February 1, and ever since, true-crime creators have been livestreaming from her home, spreading theories, and profiting off her disappearance without any journalistic or investigative experience. Independent c...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay and senior supervising producer Daisy Rosario reflect on the 2026 Winter Olympics —but not just what happened out on the ice. There was a different Olympics unfolding on social media, with viral moments from the ceremony that deserve their own gold, silver, and bronze medals. Kate and Daisy rank them, and also finally break their silence on the internet’s othe...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer Charlie Sosnick to break down “looksmaxxing.” While the trend—which involves things like jaw surgery and “bone smashing” to achieve mathematically-determined levels of attractiveness—has existed for some time in incel forums, creators like Clavicular have brought it mainstream. Now, teenage boys are growing up with their own kind of beauty...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Jenna Ryu, a lifestyle writer at SELF whose piece, “ Meet the ‘Finger Princess’: The Annoying Friend Everyone Has ,” introduced the term for a persistent pet peeve. “Finger princess,” the English translation of the Korean phrase ping-peu , applies to those in the group chat who ask questions instead of Googling, and refuse to scroll up to see if t...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer Sonia Weiser to discuss her piece, “ I Made My Dating Profile Weird on Purpose. It’s Surprisingly Effective .” People have been frustrated with dating apps for some time, but now the rise of AI has made profiles boring and inauthentic. When everyone looks and talks the same, it’s even harder to find a spark. Instead, Sonia and a number of o...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Kat Tenbarge, who wrote “ There's nothing funny about the Epstein Files ,” to discuss how the internet has turned Jeffrey Epstein into a meme. While dark humor has long been a way to process tragic events, online shitposts about the sex offender and alleged sex trafficker risk minimizing his crimes. Instead of justice, the public is using the newl...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Mia Sato, reporter at The Verge and author of the recent piece, “ The rise of the slopagandist .” Creators like Nick Shirley are claiming to be journalists, making unfounded accusations against immigrants that directly result in ICE raids, including the unrest in Minneapolis that resulted in the death of two civilians. The content is lazy and desi...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Alex Kirshner, Slate contributing writer and host of Hang Up And Listen . Back in September, Alex wrote about Brick , the plastic gadget he says “broke his phone addiction.” It seems like now more than ever, people want off their phones, and are trying everything from Brick to dumb phones to make it happen. They’re also, ironically, posting all ab...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer Laura Wheatman Hill. Her Slate piece, “ We Should Just Let TikTok Die ,” documents life under TikTok’s new ownership. Algorithm glitches and alleged censorship have users disenchanted with the platform, which is now in the hands of owners friendly to Donald Trump. Some prominent users have already deleted the app, but even if people stay, t...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate contributing writer David Mack to discuss the surge of niche celebrity drama unfolding in the midst of a horrifying news cycle. We’re cancelling the “Glambot guy”? Brooklyn Beckham broke up with his family via Instagram Story? Those two hockey podcasters didn’t actually like Heated Rivalry ??? This drama is so petty, but also so necessary fo...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Washington Post reporter Tatum Hunter , who interviewed Australian teens about the country’s new social media ban. Platforms like Instagram and Reddit are now required to keep under-sixteens off their apps, but it didn’t take long for the teens to outsmart these new restrictions. As similar legislation is introduced across the world, no one knows...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by internet culture writer Jennifer Swann, whose recent piece for Wired featured the users who are still turning to Craigslist for apartment hunting and second-hand shopping, despite newer, flashier alternatives. In fact, it’s precisely because Craigslist hasn’t changed at all in the past 30 years that people keep coming back. While so many other ear...