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This week, we revisit two of our favorite interviews from 2022. In the first one, Isaac Butler discusses his book The Method: How the 20th Century Learned to Act. After that, Karen Han reveals the process behind her book Bong Joon Ho: Dissident Cinema. Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675. Podcast production by Cameron...

TJ has spent years trying to heal herself and put her childhood behind her. Both of her parents struggled with addiction, which made for a very complicated, unstable upbringing. After sacrificing her own childhood to raise her siblings—TJ feels deeply wounded by her mother in particular. She really wants to let it go. The only question is how. On this episode of How To!, we bring on journalist Mar...

The Food and Drug Administration gave an important thumbs up to lab-grown chicken, which means we could start seeing it in stores as soon as next year. While billions of dollars have been spent developing lab-grown meat, important questions remain: Is the production of it actually greener than raising livestock? Can it be made affordably? Is it healthy? And will anyone eat it? Guest: Chloe Sorvino...

John Dickerson talks with author Gautam Mukunda about his new book Picking Presidents: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World. They talk about how Mukunda’s first book, Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter laid the groundwork for Picking Presidents. Later, Dickerson and Mukunda dig into why ‘intellectual brilliance’ – which goes beyond IQ - is a strong predictor of president...

For this week’s episode of Working Overtime, host June Thomas and co-host Isaac Butler speak to Slate contributor and author of Praying with Jane Eyre, Vanessa Zoltan, about jumping into the month-long writing exercise called NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month, is when a writer commits to writing a 50,000 word novel in the span of the month of November. As Vanessa explains, this...

This week, Isaac talks to journalist Steven Thrasher, author of The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide. In the interview, Steven discusses the origins of the book, his decision to include himself in the narrative, and his distaste for the idea of journalistic objectivity. He also shares some tips about outlining and interviewing. After the interview, Isaac and co-...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior supervising producer of audio Daisy Rosario is joined by sisters and authors Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar. Amber and Lacey just released their second book, The World Record Book of Racist Stories, a collection of humorous and sometimes heartbreaking essays about the racism they and the people they know experience every day. Daisy, Amber and Lacey t...

‘Tis the season of gathering with friends and family. It’s also a time where some of us yearn for a closer community, like this week’s listener. Morgan is looking for a way to hang out with friends in a consistent, meaningful manner. On this episode of How To!, Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering, explains how to transform a lackluster hang-out where people just sit around drinking beer i...

This week, host Karen Han takes a turn in the guest chair and talks to host Isaac Butler about her new book Bong Joon Ho: Dissident Cinema, which is a critical analysis of the work of Korean director Bong Joon Ho. In the interview, Karen tells the story of how she began writing about culture in the first place and then how she was selected to write a book about one of the world’s greatest director...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate Money host Emily Peck is joined by journalist and author Taffy Brodesser-Akner to talk about Taffy’s new show, Fleishman is in Trouble, based on her bestselling novel. They dig into why men’s magazines are more freeing to write for, how ambition can mess up a marriage, and how midlife crises and divorce are different experiences for women.  In Slate Plus,...

Victor’s job—at its core—is to change the world. But he feels like he’s plateaued within his large humanitarian and development organization, and is now on the verge of jumping ship. On this episode of How To!, Annie Duke, author of Quit: The Power Of Knowing When to Walk Away, helps Victor decide if he should recommit to his current job or move on to something else. She explains the cognitive bia...

 This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by New York Times Magazine writer and Fleishman is in Trouble author Taffy Brodesser-Akner to talk about wealth, class and the media industry, specifically through the lens of the Fleishman is in Trouble book and new limited TV series.   In the Plus segment: what is everyone thankful for this Thanksgiving?   Podcast production b...

Lauren already knows the plot of her bestselling novel—the problem is she hasn’t written a word. Paralyzed by self-criticism and an earlier rejection, this former English major has spent years journaling instead of attempting the scary, difficult work of creative writing. On this episode of How To!, we turn to writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner, whose debut novel Fleishman Is in Trouble, was one of the...

Emily Bazelon talks with author Beverly Gage about her new book, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, a detailed account of the life of the first FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. They discuss Hoover’s hostile relationship with Martin Luther King Jr., why he should have quit at the end of the 1950s, and how Hoover’s childhood shaped his reign [MOU1] as director.  Tweet us yo...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth is joined by author Gabrielle Blair. Blair’s new book Ejaculate Responsibly presents the radical idea that men should take control of the fertility conversation by better managing their sperm. After all, they're fertile 24-hours a day compared to women’s 24-hours a month. Cheyna and Gabrielle also talk about the problem with no...

On today’s episode Rachelle interviews Vice senior editor Samantha Cole about her forthcoming book How Sex Changed the Internet. The two talk about the role of sex in internet technology like videoconferencing, affiliate links and online credit card transactions. Cole also explains how lifecaster Jennifer Ringley is a predecessor to modern vloggers and livestreamers. This podcast is produced by Ke...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior supervising producer of audio, Daisy Rosario is joined by actress and director Lake Bell to talk about voices. Bell’s new audio book Inside Voice is all about her obsession with how people sound. They dig into why we should take better care of our voices, how trauma impacts our ability to speak, why candidate voices impact their electability, and m...

On this episode: Part one of ‘Friendship Week!’ Zak talks with Dr. Marisa Franco on her book Platonic: How the Science Of Attachment Can Help You Make—and Keep—Friends. She explains why we’re in a friendship crisis and what we can do about it. They also talk about sharing shame and the importance of durable friendships.  Recommendations:  Elizabeth recommends going to a great bookstore.  Zak recom...

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to poet J. Hope Stein, whose latest collection Little Astronaut traces Stein’s journey from pregnancy to motherhood. In the interview, Stein discusses all the creative components that go into her work, from structural elements like line-breaks and word-choice to the decision to share deeply personal details in her poetry.  After the interview, Isaac and co-host K...

There are some 400 million surveillance cameras installed in China, one for every three to four civilians. Built with the help of American tech companies, the surveillance state was pitched to the public as a way to make society safer and more efficient. But after severe lockdowns during COVID, the public has been objecting out of the eye of the camera lens. Protests are being written on bathroom...

For every civil rights martyr like Emmett Till, there were many other Black Americans who were brutalized or killed by racist violence in the early 20th century and remain largely unknown. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Professor Margaret Burnham, author of By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners. This new book unravels many of the lesser known stories of racist...

Jenn and Todd Brandel have a close, loving relationship with their father, Bruce. But one thing makes their blood boil: his political chain emails. The messages are often forwarded commentary written in a provocative tone, and are an unwelcome reminder of just how far apart the family is politically. On this episode of How To!, we’re joined by Mónica Guzmán, senior fellow for public practice at Br...

This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by design critic Alexandra Lange to talk about her book Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall on the evolution of shopping malls in America. In the Plus segment: How online shopping has affected malls.   Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Thanks Avast.com! Learn more about Avast One at Avast.com If you enjoy...

David Plotz talks with with author Tom Perrotta about why Tracy Flick doesn’t have the life she dreamed of in his new novel, Tracy Flick Can’t Win. A sequel to Perrotta’s 1998 novel Election, Tracy Flick Can’t Win meets up with Tracy Flick decades later where she’s a single mother and assistant principal of a New Jersey high school.  Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@sla...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior supervising producer of audio Daisy Rosario is joined by author Elissa Bassist to talk about women’s voices. They discuss Elissa’s new book, Hysterical and unpack why we cringe when we hear vocal fry, and ask why we don’t have similar words to describe male vocal ticks. Later in the show, they dig into how the fear of scrutiny women have over their...