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Why would Trump choose Bill Pulte to be the new acting Director of National Intelligence? Pulte may not have a background in national security, but since he was already Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, you have to admit it was convenient to hire from the batch of people who were already around. Guest: Andrew Egger , White House correspondent for the Bulwark .  Want more What Ne...

In this Money Talks: Author and financial journalist Brendan Greeley tells Elizabeth Spiers about his new book The Almighty Dollar —and the astonishing power this currency held long before the founding of the United States. Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money...

He’s treated Ebola; he’s had Ebola. Here’s what he thinks of the growing crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—and how America can and should respond. Guest: Dr Craig Spencer, emergency doctor, professor at Brown. 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. Subscribe today on Apple Podc...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are going to be taking a summer break after the June 11 episode. But fear not, they are still here to be your guides to a great summer. They swap ideas for keeping kids entertained without losing your sanity - from making play time a neighborhood affair to where to find the best summer deals.  But first they have a round of trium...

This week: Google’s parent company announced an unexpected move to raise $80 billion for their AI ventures. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and guest host Mary Childs – host of the new show Mary in America –discuss the logic behind Alphabet's stock-based fundraise, which includes a $10 billion share sale to Berkshire-Hathaway.  Then, Mary explains why it’s getting harder for investors to av...

One of the challenges of modern legal journalism is recalling that case law, doctrine, and Supreme Court decisions aren’t a complete picture, without including the lived realities of the people whose lives and communities are often turned upside down by changes in the law. On Tuesday night, the Supreme Court’s far-right flank vastly expanded its holding in Louisiana v. Callais to make it harder, i...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer Stephanie McNeal to discuss the internet phenomenon of “boy moms.” As an internet culture expert, and recent mother of a boy herself, Stephanie helps break down the reaction to a recent viral post from actress Jenny Mollen, who has publicly compared her sons to “toxic exes” and is already mourning losing them to their eventual marriages. Bu...

It’s a bit of an overstatement to say “the Pope came out as anti-A.I.” with last week’s encyclical—after all, Anthropic’s cofounder was there for the release. So what did the Chicago Pope actually say, what was he doing with his encyclical, and what’s an encyclical anyway?  Guest: Lizzie O’Leary, host of What Next TBD This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate...

It’s an awkward time to have a Department of Education that seems so disinterested in, uh, education. It’s leaving teachers to grapple with how to integrate artificial intelligence into the classroom—if at all.  Guest: Randi Weingarten , president of the American Federation of Teachers. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family...

Graham Platner has a lot of things in his favor as he runs for a US Senate seat in Maine: it’s an off-election year, the president’s approval rating is slumping and dragging down the whole GOP. Should be a breeze as soon as Platner gets through this latest scandal. Guests: Danielle Kurtzleben, White House Correspondent for NPR and “ Masculinity politics expert .” Ken Klippenstein , independent jou...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether Graham Platner's accumulating self-inflicted wounds will cost Democrats their best shot at Senate control, how Trump's evolving plans for America's semiquincentennial are giving us all a real time lesson in what the Founders were trying to avoid, and the political and social dimensions of being an American World Cup soccer f...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen open up the mailbag and find a variety of questions. They give tips for teaching an eleven-year-old how to ride a bike, discuss how to keep a toddler from terrorizing the family pet, and offer advice to a mom looking for community in a new city.  Mentioned in the Show: How to Make Friends as an Adult - How To! How to Make Friends...

The Supreme Court’s Republican-appointed justices seem to be in a big rush to dismantle voting rights for non-white people. On Tuesday night, the right-wing supermajority handed down an unsigned shadow docket order that greenlights racial gerrymandering in Alabama and dramatically undermines voting rights protections nationwide. In this Opinionpalooza bonus episode exclusively for Slate Plus membe...

This week Steve, Dana, and Julia convene once again—this time with some big news. Also, they make a classic Gabfest episode.  First up, it's the alienating fluorescent buzz, infinite carpeted sprawl, and liminal horror of Backrooms . The new release from A24 is directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons based on his YouTube series which itself was inspired by deep internet lore and a viral piece of...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Angelina Mazza whose recent piece in The New York Times details how publishers are “modernizing” previously published books like Pretty Little Liars and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by replacing outdated references to pop culture and technology with artists like Billie Eilish and apps like TikTok. While publishers claim this is to keep you...

In Australia, no wedding or school dance is complete without the Nutbush, Australia’s unofficial national dance. The Nutbush – a simple line dance to the song “Nutbush City Limits,” by Ike and Tina Turner – has become as stereotypically Australian as kangaroos, boomerangs, and Vegemite. And yet, hardly anyone outside of Australia even knows the Nutbush exists. Here at Decoder Ring, we certainly di...

It’s city vs. state vs. the feds at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, where prisoners have gone on a hunger strike to protest the conditions inside—while outside, protestors clash with authorities.  Guest: Aymann Ismail , senior writer at Slate. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all yo...

It’s the war that’s been won since it started; the ceasefire with ongoing strikes, and the peace deals that are done except for the points of disagreement. Does the public have any reason to believe what Trump says about the Iran war? Does Iran? Guest: David Graham , staff writer at The Atlantic Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family...

Romy Holland is a Berkeley mom whose meet-cute happened at a raucous sex party. That night she had sex with dozens of men, one of which would become her husband. In this episode, Romy talks about the party in question, from the sexy aspects to the much more awkward ones. Plus she talks about what new motherhood does to desire, and the unexpected emotional toll of an abortion that didn't go as plan...

Are the Dems in…array? Or at least, in less of a disarray than their opponents?  Guest: Jonathan V. Last , editor at the Bulwark. 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. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatne...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are joined by Austin Kleon . He’s the author of books like Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work! Kleon has a new book out in June called Don’t Call It Art: 10 Ways to Create Like a Kid Again . He joins the ‘Rents to talk about rediscovering your wildness, how screens can actually help kids create, and how to cultivate a creative sp...

This week: Ferrari revealed its new EV designed by Jony Ive and it looked so bad it became a meme. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck , discuss the reaction to the $640,000 Ferrari Luce and how this story fits into the overall state of the electric vehicle market. Then, the hosts dig into the stat dashboard the U.N. wants to replace GDP as the main prosperity metric and debate whethe...

Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern, Slate’s dynamic legal duo, preview the final weeks of the Supreme Court term. It’s a “three-ring circus”: the merits docket, the shadow docket, and the justices’ increasingly public intramural snipings and gripes. Dahlia and Mark take a look back at the major decisions the court has issued so far this term on global tariffs, conversion therapy for LGBTQ minor...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Ed Zitron, host of the podcast Better Offline and a certified hater of AI. After yet another AI writing scandal, this time involving the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story prize, Kate and Ed take a closer look at tools like Pangram that claim to detect AI writing with 99% accuracy. But if we can’t ever be sure, then no one knows what’s true at all—and...

In 1979, Sister Sledge changed the sound of wedding receptions forever with “We Are Family.” Believe it or not, the Chic-penned banger never made it to No. 1. Steely Dan helped invent Yacht Rock with 1977’s jazzy bop “Peg.” (They would have loved it better if it had cracked the Top 10.) And in 1972, Elton John told a timeless tale of a blue-jean baby, “Tiny Dancer.” Casey Kasem never counted it do...