Slate Daily Feed

On this episode: Elizabeth sits down with Alana Best, travel blogger and author of Around the World in Black and White: Traveling as a Biracial, Blended Family . Together, they talk about how to make ambitious travel plans work, even with the littlest kids — and, how to navigate the lived reality of family members who experience the world differently because of the color of their skin. Then, Zak,...

Jeff Bezos said Amazon will be “Earth’s safest place to work.” But state and federal investigators are looking into the online retailer’s rates of on-the-job injuries. Is working in an Amazon warehouse inherently unsafe, or is the number of accidents unavoidable for the US’s second largest employer, as the company contends? Given OSHA’s limited powers, does the government have any options other th...

Though navigating the internet involves spraying your data pretty indiscriminately, you actually have more control over it than you think—it’s just a pain to rein it in.  Guest: Geoffrey Fowler , Washington Post tech columnist. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Bur...

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died Friday at the age of 93 . Amicus host Dahlia Lithwick is joined by former O’Connor clerk and renowned First Amendment scholar RonNell Andersen Jones to talk about the Justice’s trailblazing career, her judicial philosophy, and the combination of humility and strength that marked her time on the court, and away from it.  Later in the show, Dahli...

On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by NPR producer  J.C. Howard  to walk through his personal experience of buying a car. The heyday of Toyotathon and Happy Honda Days are being replaced by car reviewers who have become influencers (and dealers) for major brands. From CarTok to CarTube, vloggers like  EverydayChris  and  Gjeebs  are not only upending the dealership model, but also creating...

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers speak with Rory Stewart of GiveDirectly and the author of “ How Not to Be a Politician .” They discuss the faults of many approaches to philanthropy, and why giving cash to those in need may be the most effective way to help.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the netw...

Artificial intelligence seems predestined to become a bigger part of our lives. To what extent is the A.I. push being led by Sam Altman and the OpenAI team a cause for concern?  Guest: Karen Hao , journalist, data scientist and contributing writer for the Atlantic. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast,...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the good U.S. economy and Americans’ bad feelings about it; the Supreme Court case of SEC v. Jarkesy and its threat to the system of U.S. government; and white evangelicals and Christian nationalists with  The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta . Send us your Conundrums: submit them at  slate.com/conundrum . And join us in-person or online for ...

On this episode: Jamilah, Zak, and Elizabeth help a listener who is conflicted over their vacation plans. Her mother-in-law lives across the country and doesn’t have a super strong bond with her young grandson. They’re wondering if they should spend their precious vacation days visiting grandma or if there’s some kind of compromise.  In Slate Plus, they answer a bonus listener question about uniqu...

A middle-aged single dad in Chicago was outraged by all the cigarette billboards popping up in Black communities. In 1990, he picked up a paint roller and became an anti-tobacco vigilante. And he did it all under a secret identity. This episode was written by Josh Levin, One Year’s editorial director. One Year’s senior producer is Evan Chung. This episode was produced by Kelly Jones, Olivia Briley...

Eric Adams’ political career has been heavy on soundbites and low-simmering scandals. But now, as mayor of New York, he might have finally risen far enough to fall.  Guest: David Freedlander , New York Magazine contributor and the author of The AOC Generation: How Millennials Are Seizing Power and Rewriting the Rules of American Politics . If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Sla...

Maria Bamford is a comedian and actress who you may know from her standup specials, her Netflix show Lady Dynamite , or her 2020 interview with Anna on our show . She’s just released a book called, Sure I’ll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere . In this new conversation, recorded live from the stage of City Arts & Lectures in San Francisco, Maria and Ann...

On this episode, The Outward hosts break down the million-dollar takeover ad on X for Prager University’s documentary Detrans: The Dangers of Gender Affirming Care . NBC reporter Jo Yurcaba joins Bryan, Christina, and Jules to tackle the misdirections and anti-trans agenda of the documentary and take a look at the transphobic shifts on the social media platform. Read Molly Olmstead's piece for Sla...

This week, Dana and Julia are joined by Jamelle Bouie, Opinion columnist at The New York Times and co-host of Unclear and Present Danger . The panel begins by diving into Ridley Scott’s Napoleon , a visually sumptuous biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix that attempts to chronicle the legendary historical figure’s life and reduce him to human size, yet fails to do so within its 2 ½ hour runtime. Then,...

California’s new “CARE courts” are designed to help people struggling with psychotic disorders to get the help they need. But is having judges mandate treatment a step in the right direction? Guest: April Dembosky , health correspondent for KQED. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of...

On today’s show, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim are joined by writer, producer and former video blogger  Franchescha Ramsey  to discuss the return of Colleen Ballinger. Ramsey was last  on the show earlier this year , decoding the firestorm that engulfed Ballinger, better known as her alter ego MirandaSings. After a four-month hiatus and a now-infamous  ukelele “apology” video,  Ballinger has re...

Citing the risks from criminals listening in and pranksters interfering in their channels, the NYPD is the latest and biggest police department moving to encrypt their radio communications. But what about the reporters who rely on the police scanner—and the public who rely on those reporters? Guests: Todd Maisel , contributing editor at AMNewYork and photojournalist  Adam Scott Wandt , associate p...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin talk about the Michigan football team’s win over Ohio State and Alabama’s last-second victory over Auburn. They also discuss the mystery around why LSU women’s basketball star Angel Reese isn’t playing. Finally, the Wall Street Journal’s Jonathan Clegg explains the huge penalty the Premier League dished out to Everton.   College football (6:31):  Why th...

In this episode of Slate Money Travel, Felix Salmon speaks with Craig Mod about why he loves to walk on vacation. Check out Craig Mod’s latest book, “ Things Become Other Things ”.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we...

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began this weekend in Gaza, as hostages and prisoners were freed by both sides. But any end to the immediate conflict still remains in doubt. Guest: Peter Beinart , professor of journalism and political science at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, editor-at-large at Jewish Currents, and author of The Beinart Not...

On this episode: Zak, Jamilah and Elizabeth help a listener who’s actually written in to us before — but this time, he needs help with his brawling toddler. How can parents help their littler kids simmer down – and older kids defend themselves – before anyone gets hurt? We’ll also share some of the letters and voicemails that listeners have sent in recently. And we’re doing a round of recommendati...

The first steps on the moon were in the name of “all mankind.” But with more countries—and the private sector—competing to not only return, but to tap into the moon’s resources, we’re going to need some ground rules. Guest: Chris Davenport reports on NASA and the space industry at the Washington Post . If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefi...

On today’s episode brought to us by Slate’s  The Waves , we’re digging into the Bravo network. From  Below Deck  to Selling Sunset to  Vanderpump Rules , the Bravo TV network is a reality television behemoth that has made millions on the backs of its female cast members. But is it actually good for women? ICYMI founding host  Rachelle Hampton  and culture writer  Shamira Ibrahim  discuss the curre...

This week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers discuss Sam Altman’s triumphant return to OpenAI and ponder the future of the artificial intelligence industry. They also discuss the legal woes of crypto exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao. Finally: the economic policies of Argentina’s president-elect Javier Milei. In the Plus segment: Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers joi...

While Amicus takes a break to digest turkey and count our blessings, we're sharing this episode of The Political Scene from our friends at The New Yorker. In recent weeks, Americans have begun to get a clearer picture of what a second Donald Trump Administration could look like. Some clues have come from organizations like the Heritage Foundation, which has laid out policy proposals for the Trump...