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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by The Atlantic staff writer and host of the Galaxy Brain podcast , Charlie Warzel. Charlie has been following the demise of Twitter, now called X, since Elon Musk took over in 2022. While many of Musk’s decisions have prompted people to declare the end of the app, the introduction of a new location feature undermines almost all of what was left of i...

In a special new year retrospective, Amicus host Dahlia Lithwick revisits an important episode from early 2025. Back at the beginning of February, Kim Lane Scheppele, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International affairs at Princeton University, pointed to  the speed and viciousness of the very opening legal gambits in Trump 2.0 as evidence that America had already switched...

This week: 2025 ended on high for the US stock market but no one seems too pleased with its performance. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck , unpack the story of the US markets in 2025, why it was outperformed internationally, and the role AI has  played. Then, the hosts discuss how, amid the uncertainty and chaos of Trump’s trade war, Mexico has found a way to come out on top. And f...

Host Mary Harris appeared on stage a few weeks back to speak in response to a night of “Resistance Theater,” considering how she, as a journalist, is preparing to meet this political moment.  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 favo...

Artificial intelligence boosters spent the year wedging the tech into our lives – whether we wanted it or not. But one new product brought A.I. from every app and website into the meatspace, forcing you to face it eye-to-eye. Guest: Nitish Pahwa, staff writer at Slate covering business and technology Want more What Next: TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Ne...

2025 might not have been a great year —but the music sure was stellar. 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/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by...

The hosts are on vacation this week! So we're taking you back in time with one of our favorite episodes of the year. Elizabeth and Zak talk with Ash Brandin,  author of  Power On , about managing screen time without guilt or panic. They discuss realistic strategies and why screen time doesn’t define parenting quality. Then, a listener’s question about school tech mandates gets some thoughtful answ...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz revisit several favorite segments from Gabfests past to celebrate their 20th anniversary: the consequential and eye-opening “don’t call the police” debate, the segment in which John shows Bill Clinton how to apologize with his characteristic eloquence and grace, and that time a data scientist definitively answered the important question: wh...

We can’t make this show without you, our listeners. Today, you can help support Decoder Ring – and get a really good deal. To join Slate Plus for just $59/year, visit slate.com/decoderplus on December 31st and type in the promo code DECODER50 at checkout. Slate Plus members get to listen to episodes of Decoder Ring (and all your favorite Slate podcasts!) with no ads, and get access to exclusive bo...

With rising authoritarianism, terrifying speech crackdowns, and violence in the streets, this year we found ourselves turning to our friends over at How To for advice on  finding peace and excitement in our lives. 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 c...

In the waning moments of 2025, Julia, Dana, and Steve say goodbye to the year that was with a beloved annual end-of-year tradition… our listener call-in show! And you delivered some great queries, dear listeners.  The hosts tackle questions about everything ranging from under-dramatized historical eras to Wuthering Heights to wedding registry etiquette. They also zoom out to grapple with a fundame...

Your stories about inheritance: Gwynn wrestles with her mother's will that would cut out her sister; Trevor inherited money from his father and questions about whether his death was planned; and Anna talks to two young people giving away their inherited wealth despite some family opposition. Podcast production by Zoe Azulay Sign up for a full year of Slate Plus for 50% off by using the code DSM50...

If you were to sum up 2025 in a film, which would you pick? The question that nearly wrecked the brain of Slate’s chief movie critic. Guest: Dana Stevens , Slate’s movie critic. Dana’s ten best movies of 2025 . Her review of Sinners . And her review of One Battle After Another . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all yo...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are looking back on 2025, but keeping an eye on 2026. They discuss their biggest parenting fails from this year, and what they’re looking to learn and improve on in the new year. Then, it’s poetry night! Each of the hosts wrote poems for the others to cap off 2025. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you won’t want to miss it.  Podcast producti...

Canada and the United States usually have a pretty good-natured sports rivalry—but from hockey to baseball, that was not the case in 2025.  Guest:  Alex Kirshner, contributing writer at Slate, co-host of Hang Up and Listen and the Split Zone Duo podcasts.  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 podca...

Hosts Alex Kirshner , Lindsay Gibbs , and Ben Lindbergh look into their crystal balls and tell us what to look out for in the sports world of the future! Will we see more LeBron? More sports betting scandals? A Bill Super Bowl win? A Trump immigration World Cup incident? Only time and the all-knowing Hang Up hosts can tell. In the second half of our show, we’re sharing Alex’s recent conversation w...

With so much online content, it can be hard for a meme to stay in the collective consciousness for more than a few days. But one meme this year managed to capture seemingly everyone’s attention - and challenge the definition of a meme altogether.  Guest: Kate Lindsay , host of Slate’s ICYMI podcast.  If you want to support more of this reporting, in 2026 and beyond, consider signing up for Slate P...

This week: We’re celebrating a year full of hot takes! Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck , debate and rate the hottest takes they’ve heard this year — like Elon Musk’s claim that there will be no poverty in the future , the idea that Trump’s tariffs didn’t matter – and the collection of fire takes Felix gathered from around the Bloomberg news room.  In the Slate Plus episode: The ho...

Over the past calendar year, the Supreme Court’s center has shifted to the right and then more to the right, and the justices’ decisions have time and again facilitated Trump’s agenda. But the Roberts majority is not simply focused on what the current president wants; it has its sights set on a larger project: voting. Suppressing and constraining and problematizing the core function of democratic...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by internet culture writer Kat Tenbarge to break down the most important internet moments of 2025. But not just any internet moments—specifically, the moments that fall under the three key themes that emerged in online culture over the past twelve months: brain rot, surveillance, and big tech dystopia. These themes not only defined how we lived life...

The Slate Music Club returns, in this special year-end edition of Hit Parade’s The Bridge! Host Chris Molanphy joins New York Times pop music critic Lindsay Zoladz , and Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of Hearing Things in a critics’ roundtable led by Slate’s own Carl Wilson. They discuss their favorite albums and singles, as well as the trends that shaped music in 2025. Among this year’s big musical q...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and special guest Stephen Colbert answer listeners’ conundrums of all kinds: the meaningful, the trivial, and the delightfully absurd. Thanks to all Conundrums contributors: Karl, Elodie, Mitchell, Brian, Phil, Eric, Christian, Kyle, Matthew, Katie, Jesse, John, Bjorn, David, Colin, Alan, Emily, Marie, and Liam! Email your chatters, questions,...

If you need confirmation of Hollywood’s vast influence on mass culture, look no further than the pop charts. From the 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through this year’s KPop Demon Hunters , soundtracks have launched hits, defined genres—and sometimes even eclipsed the films that inspired them in the first place. Rock classics, funk jams, rap bangers, even Christmas standards: all bec...

All this week, What Next and What Next: TBD are re-airing some of our favorite conversations from throughout the year and checking back with the people in those conversations to see how things have – or haven’t – changed. This episode originally aired in September.  We’ve been told that artificial intelligence can write, code, generate images—it can do everything…except feasibly turn a profit. But...

All this week, What Next and What Next: TBD are re-airing some of our favorite conversations from throughout the year and checking back with the people in those conversations to see how things have – or haven’t – changed. This episode is from August. More than a thousand rabbis and Jewish leaders have signed a letter calling for Israel to end “the use and threat of starvation as a weapon of war.”...