Slate Daily Feed

This week, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss this week's Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to move forward for now with his order restricting mail-in voting, the likely effects of trade wars with Canada and Iran, and what we humans can do about safety as A.I. models rapidly get more sophisticated and autonomous. For this week’s Slate Plus bonu...

From the trade war with Canada to the literal war with Iran, US foreign policy seems to have become “flail at whatever Trump says to flail at, no matter the cost.” But the American people are the ones left holding that bill—and it’s adding up. Guest: Adam Kinzinger , former Republican congressman and an Air Force veteran, host of The Kinzinger Report , writes about news, politics, and Trump on ada...

McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug PSAs was inundating the youth of America. These messages didn’t always work as intended—but they did work their way into the long term memories of the kids who heard them. In the second episode of our two-part series , originally released in 2022, on the weird world of PSAs and very special episode...

McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug PSAs was inundating the youth of America. These messages didn’t always work as intended—but they did work their way into the long term memories of the kids who heard them. In the second episode of our two-part series , originally released in 2022, on the weird world of PSAs and very special episode...

Intertwined with many Americans’ contempt for data centers is their suspicion of artificial intelligence itself, which is being used to spy on you, being forced on anyone who still has a job, and will eventually, we’re promised, put them out of it. Seems like the Democrats easily could stake a claim as the party that won’t let A.I. wreck the economy—alas, there’s a lot of money in looking the othe...

True crime has always been entertainment, but social media has turned tragedies like the Lindsay Clancy trial into monocultural moments. It’s not enough to read the news, many people who are especially tuned-in are also spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories as part of participating in the larger fandom. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Leah Carroll, a true crime writer...

Nursing home care in the U.S. can run families $10,000 a month, a cost Medicare won’t pay for. When Anna de la Cruz's parents both developed dementia around the same time, her family split into two paths: a Medicaid ‘spend down’ in the U.S. for her mom, and a move to a memory care facility in Mexico for her dad. Anna De La Cruz writes a newsletter about caregiving called Gen Xandwich . Laura Silve...

As the trial of Lindsay Clancy over the murder of her three children goes into closing arguments this week, the reactions to the case reveal just how little the general public understands about postpartum psychosis. Guest: Meghan Cliffel , writer, mindfulness teacher, postpartum psychosis survivor and maternal mental health advocate. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free l...

Since losing the 2024 presidential election, Democrats have been doing a lot of finger pointing. But with the midterms this fall, it’s time to stop pointing and start saying what you actually believe and why people should vote for you. Guest: Amanda Litman , author of “ When We’re in Charge ” and head of Run for Something. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to...

This week: the Slate Money hosts ask all their burning A.I. questions to someone who can actually answer them. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck sit down with A.I. expert Noah Brier and pick his brain about the reality of all our A.I. fears, the arms race with China, and how businesses are using it now. In the Slate Plus episode: What’s Up With Robots? Want to hear that discussion a...

With Amicus on a brief summer break, we’re bringing you the second installment of Slow Burn’s latest season, Becoming Justice Gorsuch. When Justice Antonin Scalia died in February of 2016, the Supreme Court appeared to be headed for a 5-4 liberal majority. Instead, a staggering blockade by Senate Republicans and a shocking electoral upset helped steal a seat and clear the way for today’s conservat...

The WNBA has finally taken center stage, but the fandom is going through it. New eyes on the sport have brought new scrutiny, which has resulted in racist and transphobic trolling that pulls focus from the actual games. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay talks with WNBA online commentator Angela Perry about the needless controversies that have dominated sports media, and the ways players are us...

Nobody objected to Jon Ossoff calling the president disinterested in doing his job. But an off-hand mention of Trump’s “human printer”? That, for some reason, took things way too far. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Sla...

L.A. World is a new weekly podcast from L.A. Material, the local news outlet that Julia Turner helped launch earlier this year. The show helps you understand what's happening in Los Angeles. Every episode, Julia is joined by hosts Hayes Davenport and Antonia Cereijido to walk you through L.A.'s top stories, offering context and distinctive insight you can't get anywhere else. A great listen for An...

In the 1960s, the Beatles were defined by the success of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership. But in the digital era, we discovered that the Fab Four’s most popular song wasn’t written by John or Paul. In fact, it had never been a chart hit—it wasn’t even released as a single. Today on Hit Parade: Chris Molanphy shines a light on “Here Comes the Sun,” the George Harrison deep cut from Abb...

Hundreds of millions of dollars, desperation for insider info, fury and accusations of conspiracy when it doesn’t go your way—is this gambling or elections? Through the magic of prediction markets, it’s both!  Guest: David Gilbert , reporter at WIRED covering disinformation, online extremism, and how these trends impact people’s lives across the globe. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Sl...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz answer listeners' questions of all kinds: the political, the personal, and everything in-between.   Many thanks to all question contributors: Daniel, Karen, Kelly, Jason, Phoebe, Phil, Alex, Adrian, and Dale!    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David answer a few more listener questions, just to tide...

Islamophobia has never gone away. And while it has been wielded as an electoral strategy against Zohran Mamdani, Abdul El-Sayed and even Barack Obama, the shameless nature of the Islamophobia coming from politicians this electoral cycle may be a new low. Guest: Mehdi Hasan, Editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What N...

Our Silicon Valley overlords, as they’ll tell you, aren’t huge fans of liberal democracy—and their products that we’ve integrated into our lives reflect that. As we rely on them more and more, this tension is only going to get worse. Guest: Jill Lepore , author of “ The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State ”, professor of American History at Harvard, staff writer for The New Yorker . Want more Wh...

Technology keeps trying to “fix” every small inconvenience in our lives, which has rendered us completely unable to endure basic hurdles such as sitting in silence, navigating unfamiliar social social interactions, and doing any kind of creative thinking. To reverse this, Kathryn Jezer Morton, writer of The Cut’s “Brooding” column and author of the new book The Story of Your Life , proposes we “fr...

The bestselling novelist behind works like Amy and Isabelle and Olive Kitteridge discusses her excitement about turning 70, her reserved New England upbringing, and how death figures into her latest novel, The Things We Never Say . She also talks about her later start in publishing, her experience taking a stand-up comedy class, and her fascination with New York City’s loud, emotional straight tal...

The situation aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is reportedly dire: broken toilets, shortages of water, rationed, lousy food, little access to laundry, or communication with their families, all while engaged with Iran and its proxies. It’s bad enough that at least two crew members have tried jumping overboard.  But even though this deployment has been three months longer than us...

In this Money Talks: Martha Gimble , the Executive Director of the Budget Lab at Yale, joins Elizabeth Spiers to explain their recent report on early childhood education and care policies and how federal subsidies could realistically work to make these things affordable. Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts....

A stranger approaching and aiming a gun at you seems like the exact scenario that “Stand Your Ground” laws were made to address. But a case in Florida where the armed strangers were white and the people “standing their ground” were Black demonstrates that the law’s’ protections and application fall along familiar and unequal lines. Guest: Caroline Light , Senior Lecturer and the Director of Underg...

This week: The Treasury Department announced it’s killing an anti-corruption measure that requires shell companies to identify their beneficiaries. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck explain how a key aspect of the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act ended up on the chopping block—and what lobbyists and the Trump administration stand to gain from its elimination. Then, the hosts di...