Slate News

Emily Bazelon talks with author Yael van der Wouden about her debut novel,  The Safekeep .  They discuss why Yael chose a queer love story, how Yael’s own Dutch and Jewish heritage influenced her writing, the history of dispossession after World War II, and more.  Tweet us your questions  @SlateGabfest  or email us at  gabfest@slate.com . (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipula...

Misinformation, disinformation, politics—Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is not going to shield users from those anymore. What’s behind the abrupt change in direction? Guest: Sheera Frenkel, New York Times tech reporter Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clickin...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Senate confirmation hearings of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, including Pete Hegseth and Pam Bondi; the January 6th report of Special Counsel Jack Smith; and the farewell address and lasting legacy of President Joe Biden.  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss the politics of the L.A. fires....

After being “close to a deal” for so long, Israel and Gaza have officially reached a second ceasefire agreement. Is this the end of the war? And what does it say about Gaza’s future? Guest: Graeme Wood , staff writer at The Atlantic and lecturer in political science at Yale . Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts...

How did an investigation into an effort to violently overturn a US presidential election end up coming out as a whimper, well after it could have carried any weight or legal repercussions?  Guest: Jay Willis , editor-in-chief at Balls and Strikes .  Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directl...

How could Donald Trump make good on his vow to end birthright citizenship, currently a constitutional right? It starts with a willing judiciary. Guest: Isabela Dias , immigration reporter for Mother Jones. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on  Apple Pod...

The fires in Los Angeles may end up being one of—if not the most—expensive natural disasters in American history. Everyone is trying to find the party responsible. It isn’t that simple. Guest: Gabrielle Canon , climate reporter and extreme weather correspondent for The Guardian US. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate po...

How the FCC and its incoming head, Brenden Carr, could enact Trump’s top policy goal: punishing anyone who says mean stuff about Trump. Guest: Drew FitzGerald, telecom reporter for the Wall Street Journal . Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “T...

This week: Los Angeles continues to try and fight back its most devastating wildfire ever. Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the fires raging in Los Angles and how they highlight the growing problem with disaster insurance as well as the complex issues around prison labor . Then, Meta is walking back their content moderation, giving hate speech more of a chance to thrive on...

While Donald J Trump was virtually fuming at his sentencing hearing in Judge Juan Merchan’s New York City courtroom on Friday morning, the nine justices of the US Supreme Court were taking their seats for oral arguments in the so-called TikTok ban case . And while it only took 40 minutes for the president elect’s sentence of an ‘unconditional discharge’ to be pronounced , the arguments over nation...

Will a First Amendment defense keep TikTok running in America?  Guest: Emily Baker White, tech reporter for Forbes.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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...

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by  Juliette Kayyem  and discuss the status of the Jack Smith reports and Donald Trump’s legal troubles; Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk’s continued cozying up to Trump; and the horrific wildfires raging in Los Angeles.  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Juliette, Emily, and David discuss dropping into the memory hole the January 6, 2021 at...

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.* There is a cluster-you-know-what of constitutional and legal news this week, so Amicus Plus is popping up a little early with a bonus episode to tackle the Trump prosecutions portion of the melee ahead of Friday’s very important TikTok-ban arguments. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Andrew Weissman, co-host of the MSNBC podcast "Prosecuting Donald Trump...

With Republicans holding the House, the Senate, and the presidency, cabinet confirmation hearings may be the most prominent place for Democrats to make a stand. Guest: Chris Murphy , US senator for Connecticut.  Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on  App...

After a summer on the receiving end of the internet’s ire, Blake Lively is back in the news, as her relationship with her former director and co-star Justin Baldoni has taken a turn for the litigious.  Guest: Heather Schwedel , staff writer at Slate. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe direct...

After nine years as Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau has resigned. Has Canada joined much of the rest of the world by jettisoning its progressive leadership, or does Trudeau’s career tell a different story? Guest: Jesse Brown , editor and publisher of Canadaland . Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You...

In this Money Talks: Jane Marie has spent years reporting on the tangled web of multi-level marketing companies, or MLMs, with her podcast The Dream and dives even deeper in her new book, Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans . In this episode, she sits down with Emily Peck to discuss their origins, their appeal to American women, and their extremely questionable bus...

Though their physical caliphate has been gone for more than five years, the terrorist organization ISIS has survived—through propaganda, in chatrooms, and as an inspiration and cheerleader for actions like the New Years’ Eve attack in New Orleans. Guest: Colin P. Clarke , Director of Research at The Soufan Group, a nonprofit research group focusing on global security, author of “ After the Calipha...

Cryptocurrency spent generously on this last election cycle, and now they’ve got their top pick in the White House, and wins across Congress. Where is the industry looking to go with these favorable, regulatory winds?  Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany , tech reporter covering the crypto industry for the New York Times. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the w...

Happy (?) New Year. Amicus is gingerly stepping into 2025 and into the coming onslaught of Trump 2.0 with one of the country’s very best legal, constitutional and human guides –– civil rights litigator and 14th Amendment scholar Sherrilyn Ifill. Together, Sherrilyn and Dahlia navigate some of the most pressing questions facing the law, the legal profession, and those who care about it. In his end...

This week: The Lively/Baldoni PR war has become a legal battle. And it’s not just reputations that are at stake. Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers explain how Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni and his answering suit against The New York Times is more than just a Hollywood feud, it’s a fight to stay profitable. Then, the hosts discuss the recent ruling that seems to have...

On Christmas Eve a fracas erupted on X, when Elon Musk posted in favor of H1-B visas for specialized and high-skill workers and was met with anger from the MAGA base who view the visas as a way for immigrants to take American jobs. Guest: Ryan Mac, tech reporter for The New York Times and the coauthor of the book “ Character Limit How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter .” Want more What Next TBD? Subscri...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the presidency and post-presidential life of Jimmy Carter; the infighting of Elon Musk v. MAGA; and the possibilities of citizens’ assemblies with The New Yorker’s Nick Romeo . Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: John Dickerson for CBS Mornings: John Dickerson on Jimmy Carter’s legacy and a life shaped by faith...

Dispensing aid in the Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly difficult. No one knows this better than Hani. On a professional level, his employer, UNRWA—the main supplier of food, water, and shelter to Gazans over the last year—is banned from operating come 2025. On a personal note, his brother Mahmoud was killed in what Hani believes to have been a targeted strike while operating a soup kitchen for...

Happy New Year! What Next resumes regularly scheduled programming tomorrow, but for the holiday, check out this episode of How To! from December: How To Exorcise Your Fitness Demons. Sandy is a former college athlete who knows how to exercise—at least, she used to. These days, she’s feeling lost without a coach, a workout plan, or much free time. On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace brings...