Slate Daily Feed

This week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spears debate the value of massive, tax-deductible donations that spend years in administrative limbo. Also: Biden is cranking up production in American factories, and private equity may be making healthcare sick. In the Plus segment: Should we be afraid of Trump in 2024? (Spoiler: Yes.) We’re also excited to announce Money Talks, a new intervie...

If A.I. and chatbots are the next wave of innovation, then the New York Times and other media organizations are determined to get paid this time.   Guest: Megan Morrone, technology editor for the Axios AI+ newsletter 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 Burn and Dear...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz begin the year discussing the 2024 presidential election; Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation; and the 2023 decrease in homicides.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Steve Peoples for AP:  Biden and Trump are posed for a potential rematch that could shake American politics Rob Crilly for the Daily Mail:  V...

On this episode: Zak Rosen, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Jamilah Lemieux ring in the new year with a name change. We’re now Care & Feeding!  For our first advice of 2024, the hosts help a listener who funds their 18-year-old’s life — but the prospect of a tattoo has the listener second-guessing. Should they try to stop their kid from doing something they might regret (with their parents’ money)... o...

The federally mandated minimum wage hasn’t gone up since 2009, but across the country states, counties, and cities are raising their minimum wage. Is this long overdue help for America’s poor, or merely a low-risk political win?  Guest: David Neumark , labor economist and professor at University of California-Irvine If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus memb...

On this week’s show, the hosts begin by jumping into the fantastical world of Wonka , a prequel to Roald Dahl’s enduring novel that explores the origins of its famously impish character, Willy Wonka, portrayed here by a wide-eyed, sugary sweet Timothée Chalamet. The musical film, directed by Paul King ( Paddington , Paddington 2 ) isn’t the kind of movie you want to pick on–it undoubtedly has a wa...

How much longer can Ukraine and Russia fight at a stalemate? And does the outcome of the war depend on Biden winning a second term? Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s “War Stories” correspondent and author of The Bomb .  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 Burn and Dear Pru...

Candice Lim is joined by Slate senior editor Rebecca Onion to talk about their love of romance novels. The romance genre grew rapidly this past year, becoming the fastest-growing category of fiction and generating over $1.4 billion in sales revenue. Partly thanks to Goodreads and BookTok, romance novels are getting into the hands of younger, more outspoken and vocal readers. But recent scandals, i...

Joel Anderson and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley to discuss the College Football Playoff semifinals. Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports also joins to talk about the Detroit Pistons’ epic losing streak. Finally, we look back at our 2020 segment on the Pac-12’s #WeAreUnited movement.   CFP semis (5:21):  How Michigan and Washington emerged victorious.   Pistons (29:02):  How did th...

On Oct. 14, 2023, Wadee Alfayoumi, a six-year-old Arab-American boy, was stabbed to death by his landlord, Joseph Czuba. Months later, his parents are struggling to make sense of it. Guest: Aymann Ismail , Slate staff writer. 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 Burn...

Buying “renewable energy certificates” is a way for companies to claim to reach their renewable energy goals—instead of, say, putting solar panels on their roof. One of the most enthusiastic consumers of RECs is the federal government. But is this ostensibly environmentally-friendly system actually standing in the way of true sustainability?  Guest: Najib Aminy , producer for Reveal. If you enjoy...

From our friends at Slate's How To! podcast : Allison is on the hunt for her next hobby. One that’s satisfying. One that she can stick with. One that will fit into her family’s very busy schedule. Except…maybe she’s thinking about that last part all wrong. On this episode, Courtney Martin brings on Eve Rodsky , author of Fair Play and Find Your Unicorn Space . Eve argues that drawing—and defending...

While the What Next: TBD team spends some time with their families during the holidays, we revisit some of 2023’s biggest, strangest, and best stories. Regularly scheduled programming resumes in January. Artificial intelligence—as it already exists today—is drawing from huge troves of surveillance data and is rife with the biases built into the algorithm, in service of the huge corporations that d...

This week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers chat with Henry Farrell , author of Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy. Henry explains how American hegemony shifted from guns and tanks to SWIFT codes and internet policies. Can China or Russia beat it at its own game? If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an a...

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. Email us at: outwardpodcast@slat...

From the Chief Justice seeing the funny side of stalking and harassment, to Justice Samuel Alito’s tiny violin , to fighting in the footnotes and a bench dissent snapback , to THAT painting , it’s been quite a year at One, First Street. Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Stern are back with their bottom 10 picks for the Supreme Court’s worst moments of 2023. But don’t despair, there is a glimmer of hope, on...

In 2023, several hits from years ago—sometimes decades—made it to No. 1 on Billboard’s pop charts after falling short the first time: Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer.” The Weeknd’s “Die for You.” Miguel’s “Sure Thing.” And, most improbably but delightfully, Brenda Lee’s 65-year-old holiday bop “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” What’s going on here? A lot of it has to do with the ways streaming, Yo...

While the What Next: TBD team spends some time with their families during the holidays, we revisit some of 2023’s biggest, strangest, and best stories. Regularly scheduled programming resumes in January. Pedestrian deaths in America have been rising for the last decade, while dropping in Europe and Japan. What makes the U.S. so dangerous for pedestrians? Guest: Jessie Singer , author of There Are...

On this episode: Our favorite Plus segments of 2023. Jamilah, Elizabeth, and Zak step back in time to talk tips for winter break , the photos our kids take of us , respecting those kids’ privacy when we talk about them on air, the social media accounts we’re loving , and the parenting trends we wish would disappear . Remember: we’re changing names in 2024! We’re so excited to become Care & Fee...

While the What Next team spends some time with their families this week, we revisit some of 2023’s biggest, strangest, and best stories. Regularly scheduled programming resumes Jan. 2. For all of his success, Steven Spielberg has a spotty record at the Oscars. He’s been nominated 22 times, but he’s only won three. Is it a curse?  This Sunday could mark a shift for the King of Hollywood’s five deca...

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by  Wesley Morris , critic at large for The New York Times and co-host of the  Still Processing  podcast, to cogitate on Conundrums 2023.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Thanks to everyone who submitted Conundrums, especially Alex, Brian, Mitchell Kosht, Patricia Gonzalez, Kali Rocha, Becca Nagorsky, Kevin Maginnis, K...

When we heard that Death, Sex, & Money was coming to an end at WNYC, we decided there was only one thing to do: throw ourselves an in-person goodbye celebration. In this week’s episode, you’ll hear audio from “Four Interviews and a Funeral,” a show we hosted at Caveat in Manhattan. In it, Anna talks to past guests, like comedian Chris Gethard , Lawrence and Ronnine Bartley , mover Adonis Willi...

In 1992, a Minnesota-based software company known for its educational hit  The Oregon Trail  released another simulation-style game to school districts across the country.  Freedom!  took kids on a journey along the Underground Railroad, becoming the first American software program to use slavery as its subject matter. Less than four months later, it was pulled from the market. In this episode, we...

This week, we revisit one of our favorite episodes of 2023! The panel begins by examining  Barbie , Greta Gerwig’s hot pink, record-breaking movie about the iconic Mattel doll. Then, the trio dives into Christopher Nolan’s  Oppenheimer , which chronicles the life of the “Father of the Atomic Bomb,” and explores whether the film achieves its aims. Finally, they are joined by Slate’s Chris Molanphy...

While the What Next team spends some time with their families this week, we revisit some of 2023’s biggest, strangest, and best stories. Regularly scheduled programming resumes Jan. 2. In a recent public hearing, three government officials told Congress that not only are “unidentified anomalous phenomena” real, they’re a major national security concern. But one witness took his testimony even furt...