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Since war broke out, Hamas has been efficient in getting its message out on social media - both in providing crucial information to refugees fleeing the area, and in waging psychological warfare. How can platforms meet the need for open lines of communication without spreading propaganda?  Guest: Sheera Frenkel , covering tech for the New York Times If you enjoy this show, please consider signing...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Jim Jordan’s efforts to become Speaker of the House; President Joe Biden’s visit to an Israel at war; and Donald Trump’s gag order. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Robert Jimison and Kayla Guo for The New York Times: “ As Speaker Chaos Grows, so Does Talk of Empowering McHenry ” Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis...

On this episode: Zak Rosen, Jamilah Lemieux, and guest host Duarte Geraldino tackle twin-dom.  Durate, a single dad of twins, helps us help two listeners (both of whom asked questions on our Slate Parenting Facebook page): one whose twins are at different levels of advancement, and one whose twins have a fierce rivalry.  We also go over our week in triumphs and fails — and then, if you’re sticking...

With bombs falling in Gaza, President Biden traveled to Israel to make a show of support. But as meetings with allied government leadership around the region were canceled, is the president doing more harm than good? Guest: Yousef Munayyer , Palestinian-American political analyst and writer and Senior Fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for S...

This week, we are very excited to introduce you all to one of our favorite podcasts: Heavyweight , hosted by Jonathan Goldstein. First, Jonathan chats with Anna about the art of asking difficult questions, why he loves awkward phone calls, and the emotional power of deadlines. Then, we're playing the first episode of Heavyweight’s new season. In it, Jonathan finds out his childhood best friend is...

Judging from teen dramas on Netflix, the slow dance seems to be alive and well. But when you talk to actual teens, it’s clear this time-honored tradition is on life support. In this episode, we trace the history of slow dancing from its origins in partner dances like the waltz to the modern “zombie sway” seen at middle-school dances and high-school proms. Plus, former slow dancers offer up stiff-a...

This week, the panel begins by diving into Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour , a glittery and extremely fun concert movie starring the singer-songwriter-producer-mogul that’s already become the highest grossing concert documentary of all time. Then, they discuss Beckham , a surprisingly candid four-part docu-series on Netflix directed by Fisher Stevens that chronicles the footballer’s meteoric rise to s...

New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, who was the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was charged with conspiring to act as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government. This follows on the heels of an indictment for bribery and federal corruption. But Menendez says he isn’t stepping down. Guest: Jessica Taylor , Senate-and-governors editor at The Cook Political Report.  If you enjoy thi...

On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice answer a question from a listener about a viral pesto recipe. Susi Vidal, a 25-year-old food influencer, posted  a simple recipe for pesto on September 1st . Since then, the introduction to her video which goes “Call me crazy but I’ve never liked store-bought pesto” has been used as a launching pad for wild stories about everything from terrible breakups to...

Donald Trump has been saying shocking—even violent—things for so long, it barely registers as news anymore. But after January 6, and with Trump again leading the field of Republican candidates for president, is there a real-world danger to what he’s saying? Guest: Robert A. Pape , professor of political science and the director of the University of Chicago’s project on security and threats If you...

Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and special guest Pablo Torre of  Pablo Torre Finds Out  are joined by Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim to talk about the Ohio State wrestlers speaking out against their former coach Jim Jordan. They also discuss the journalism ethics brouhaha over the Braves’ Orlando Arcia lightly mocking the Phillies’ Bryce Harper. Finally, they assess the rivalry between NBA newsbrea...

While mounting a military response to Hamas, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been forced to unite his far-right wing with his political rival, centrist Benny Gantz, a former military Chief of Staff. The plans for retaliation that are emerging are unlike any of Israel’s past skirmishes with Hamas. Guest: Dov Waxman , director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies...

On this episode: Jamilah Lemieux is joined by Dr. Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett , authors of This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained . They explain how puberty has changed over the last few decades, what these shifts mean for today’s kids, and how caregivers can guide these young adults through this transition. If you want to check out more of Cara and Vanessa’s wonderful advice, t...

In this week’s big voting rights case, Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, the Supreme Court heard arguments concerning whether to uphold a South Carolina congressional map that is avowedly partisan (everyone agrees it favors Republicans, but partisan gerrymanders are A-OK under SCOTUS precedent). What is disputed here is whether the mapmakers relied on race to reach their p...

On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim dive into the decades-long transformation of LinkedIn from a website for digital resumes to a social networking platform whose devotees have earned the name LinkedIn Lunatics. Founded in 2003 and sold to Microsoft for $26 billion in 2018, LinkedIn has become an inescapable feature of the job hunt. But while the site is ostensibly founded on prof...

Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers and Emily Peck talk about the latest in the Sam Bankman-Fried trial. They also discuss the (maybe bad???) Birkenstock IPO, and why your sweaters are getting worse.  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 supporti...

Zelle has exploded in popularity as a fast, convenient way to send and receive money. But the story of a couple who was scammed out of a pool shows there are problems with safety on the platform.  Guest: Devin Friedman, journalist and senior correspondent for GQ magazine. You can read Devin’s piece here. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get bene...

HEY! HO! LET’S GO!! Is this chant: (a) a movement of disaffected hipsters, (b) walkup music for a baseball player, or (c) a really catchy bop? How about all of the above? The legendary New York nightclub CBGB was the birthplace of punk. But it was also the future of pop: the Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Blondie. To varying degrees, these acts either became hitmakers, tried to reshape their...

When the Arab Spring was unfolding, Twitter was hailed as a way for on-the-ground reporting to reach the public. But when fighting between Hamas and Israel broke out over the weekend, X became flooded with misinformation. Guest: Casey Newton , founder and editor of the technology newsletter Platformer. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefi...

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by Juliette Kayyem to discuss the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Steve Scalise’s fight for the gavel of the House Speaker. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Juliette Kayyem for The Atlantic: “ A Devastating Attack by Hamas ” Tom Dannenbaum for Just Security: “ The Siege of Gaza and the Starvation War Crime ” Zack Beauchamp f...

On this episode: Elizabeth, Zak and Jamilah help a listener whose niece lives overseas… and thinks that racism doesn’t exist anymore. How can the listener help educate, but not in a judgy or alienating way? We also go over our week in triumphs and fails — and then, if you stick around for Slate Plus, we decide whether Arnold Schwarzenegger’s parenting strategies deserve an “I’d Do That” or a termi...

After their first plan to forgive billions of dollars of student debt was thwarted by the Supreme Court, the Biden administration is quietly searching for other ways to help borrowers.  Guest: Jeremy Bauer-Wolf , senior higher education reporter for Higher Ed Dive. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast,...

The filmmaker behind HBO’s How To with John Wilson shares how his hobbies, like checking Craigslist ads obsessively, make him feel more deeply connected. Did you know we have a weekly email newsletter for the Death, Sex & Money community? Every Wednesday we send out a note from Anna, fascinating listener letters from our inbox, and updates from the show. Sign up at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter...

On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim talk to writer Cyrena Touros about Dracula Daily, a newsletter that emails bite-sized passages from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel to more than 235,000 readers.   As an epistolary novel,  Dracula  is broken into letters written between May and November. Dracula Daily emails those letters to readers, who have now created a book club-like fandom rife wi...

This week, the panel begins by reviewing The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar , Wes Anderson’s faithful adaptation of a 1977 Roald Dahl short story, that doubles as a sumptuous meta-commentary on the director’s exacting approach to his craft. Then, the three discuss The Super Models , Apple TV+’s docu-series that glossily chronicles the lives and careers of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Christy Tu...