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In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon is joined by journalist Mariana van Zeller , who has spent years reporting on black and gray markets around the world and has a new podcast, The Hidden Third , that delves into these powerful underground economies. They’ll get into what Mariana has seen embedded with criminal operators, from the surprisingly mundane to the darker side of working outside the system...

An activist and former political director for Bernie Sander’s presidential campaign shocked the field by winning a primary for a special congressional election. Now the favorite to win the solidly blue district, she’s actually excited to work with congressional moderates—and to keep pushing them. Guest: Analilia Mejía , Democratic nominee for New Jersey's 11th congressional district special electi...

Youth sports have grown into a $40-billion dollar per year industry, where eager parents shell out for private coaches, off-season practice, and travel leagues, in the hopes of giving their child a competitive edge.  Guest:  Anna North, senior correspondent at Vox. She writes Kids Today, a newsletter about kids. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are on holiday, but we have something you’ll love from our sister podcast, ICYMI. 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 Instagr...

The Olympics are touted as a moment for the world to come together and celebrate sport and achievement and check their politics at the door—yeah right. Guest:  Justin Peters , Slate correspondent currently covering the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics and author of The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet .  Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus 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...

The machinery to enable Stephen Miller’s darkest deportation dreams is both tangible and legal. In this week’s show, Dahlia Lithwick explores the statutory and regulatory foundations of the Trump administration’s expanding network of detention camps, plus the historical background of the vast warehouse system they are using to imprison tens of thousands of migrants. First, she speaks with Linus Ch...

This week: Alphabet announced a rare 100-year bond issuance.  Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck , explain the calculation the tech giant is making here and how the market responded to the move. Then, an analysis from the NY Fed has concluded that most of the burden of Trump’s tariff hikes is on US households and the hosts debate the possible pros – and obvious cons – of this sn...

These days, country and pop acts regularly invade each other’s territory. But in Nashville during the 1970s, “crossover” was a dirty word. Then came two rising stars who offered up a new hybrid of Americana-style pop. John Denver infused his folk balladry with homespun lyrics about country roads and wide-open skies. Olivia Newton-John sang over twangy melodies that belied her British-Australian ro...

There was a moment, when the tech CEOs and media moguls were lining up to kiss Trump’s ring, when it looked like almost all the demographic arrows were pointing right, where it looked like Trumpism was, if not widely embraced, at least too big to be written off. After a year of Trump back in office, the culture cries out for Woke 2.0. Guest: Brian Beutler, founder of Off-Message . This episode is...

Data centers are a hot issue - tech companies say they need them, but communities don’t want to be anywhere near them. Senator Van Hollen stops by the show to share his plan to address the rising costs of energy for consumers that data centers create, as well as his thoughts on ICE and the future of the Democratic Party.  Guest: Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland Want more What Next TBD? Su...

This week, live from Sixth & I in Washington DC to celebrate 20 years of the Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing with AG Pam Bondi and the Trump administration’s violations of constitutional rights with guest Rep. Jamie Raskin , how Trump’s assaults on DC have radically transformed the city, and patriotism...

Democrats have a list of demands and reforms they want implemented before continuing to fund the Department of Homeland Security. But  DHS doesn’t really need their approval to keep going. Guest: Garrett Graff , journalist, historian, author of Doomsday Scenario . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorit...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are celebrating a global triumph. Bad Bunny’s Superbowl halftime show was transcendent. Zak’s mom even messaged Lucy during the halftime show. Lucy breaks down all of the meanings you may have missed, explains why it was so special to have Ricky Martin perform, and so much more!  Then, the ‘Rents answer a listener question about...

Three weeks ago, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum shared an unusual tweet : a cartoon image of himself with his arm draped around a giant, anthropomorphized lump of coal. This piece of coal has big googly eyes and a smudge of a nose, and is wearing a safety vest and a hard hat. He is, frankly, adorable—and he has a name: Coalie. When Coalie first appeared on the internet, he went viral—r...

Three weeks ago, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum shared an unusual tweet : a cartoon image of himself with his arm draped around a giant, anthropomorphized lump of coal. This piece of coal has big googly eyes and a smudge of a nose, and is wearing a safety vest and a hard hat. He is, frankly, adorable—and he has a name: Coalie. When Coalie first appeared on the internet, he went viral—r...

The sugarcane fields! La casita! Piraguas! Lady Gaga! Ricky Martin! An actual wedding! Bad Bunny’s immense and boisterous Super Bowl Halftime show brought a whole Puerto Rican universe to Levi’s Stadium and into American viewers’ homes. Julia and guest hosts Nadira Goffe and Rebecca Onion revel in the joyful spectacle and are joined by Slate writer Joshua Rivera to decode the inclusive politics of...

Although sexual assault and rape by rideshare drivers has been widely reported, Uber itself largely avoided legal liability until last week, when a jury decided the company had to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said she was raped by her Uber driver.  Guest:  Sarah London , co-Lead and liaison counsel in the multidistrict litigation against Uber. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate P...

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 the air, Yesi Ortiz is a warm, flirty host for a popular L.A. hip hop station. Off the air, she’s a single mother of six adopted kids. Managing both roles, plus romance, is a challenge. This episode originally aired in 2015.  Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus ! Members get ad-free podcast...

Markiplier has been entertaining millions of fans on YouTube for over a decade. But his new movie Iron Lung - which he self-financed, directed, wrote and acted in - was a smash at the box office, not on his YouTube channel. Is it proof that he’s more than a YouTuber? Or is it proof that Hollywood is thinking about the platform and its creators all wrong?  Guest: Mark Fischbach aka Markiplier,...

Hosts Alex Kirshner , Lindsay Gibbs , and Ben Lindbergh break down the Seattle Seahawks’ brickwall defense in the Super Bowl, plus Bad Bunny’s refreshing halftime performance. The panel then pivots to the stranger corners of the NBA trade deadline before welcoming college sports writer Jesse Dougherty, who discusses his experience as part of the Washington Post sports desk that was recently elimin...

On this episode: Let’s talk about sex, baby! Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are joined by sex therapist and author Dr. Rebecca Howard Eudy to get tips and advice for keeping the spice alive after kids. They talk about how to find flirty moments when life is overwhelming, a little advice from the movie Hitch (remember that one with Will Smith?), and Dr. Eudy explains the power of wh...

Trump has called for elections to be “nationalized,” something neither the president, nor the federal government, has the authority to do. But as he’s already sent the FBI to raid Fulton County, Georgia’s election offices with director of intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and with the midterms on their way, it’s time to ask how much damage a vindictive president could do. Guest:  Ari Berman , votin...

Scamming attempts might seem to just come out of nowhere to suddenly appear in your WhatsApp, but a special economic zone in Laos has emerged as a hotbed of cryptocurrency schemes—where victims of human trafficking are trapped and forced to attempt more crime. Guest: Andy Greenberg , senior writer for WIRED. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole...