Slate Daily Feed

When Alaskans wanted their own mental-health facility, a rumor took hold all over America. This week, Evan Chung traces the origins of that far-right conspiracy theory: that the government was building a concentration camp where Americans would get imprisoned for their political beliefs. Get ready for a strange tale that involves a brainwashing manual, Scientology, and a vast network of Communist-...

Following “The Call,” our series on the opioid epidemic continues in Seattle.  Harm reduction focuses on meeting people where they are, including enabling them to use drugs safely when experiencing addiction. But some advocates are asking, what happens when you think bigger? Guest: Lisa Daugaard , criminal justice reform activist and Co-Executive Director of the nonprofit organization Purpose. Dig...

We’re listening back to one of Anna’s favorite episodes, when actor Ellen Burstyn invited us into her apartment for a sprawling interview about her past and present.   In next week’s episode, you’ll hear a new conversation between Anna and Ellen, recorded just a few weeks ago. But until then, you can also listen back to Ellen’s conversation with journalist and feminist icon Gloria Steinem on our s...

On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton is joined by  Jane Marie , the host of  the award-winning podcast The Dream  which recently released it’s highly-anticipated third season all about life coaches. The two discuss the rise of life coaching and it’s connection to the MLM universe, how the internet has accelerated the life coach boom and what exactly the American Dream has to do with any of this. T...

This week, Stephen and Dana are joined by long-time friend of the pod and co-host of Slate’s Working podcast , June Thomas. The panel begins by puzzling over the return of Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot in A Haunting in Venice , the actor-director’s third Agatha Christie whodunit adaptation. Then, they dig into Jann Wenner’s disastrous New York Times interview with David Marchese in which the Ro...

Wisconsin has been something of a model for Republicans looking to entrench themselves in the state legislature, and one key move has always been to draw the electoral map as favorably as possible. But now, the state Supreme Court has swung to the left – for the first time in 15 years. The GOP is scrambling to keep this battleground state deeply gerrymandered—and keep power in their own hands. Gue...

It’s September. Are you ready to warm up your muscles as the temperatures dip and get your apartment all cozy for the cuffing season to come? If so, Outward has you covered. First, listeners Elizabeth and Peter respond to last month’s discussion of Amazon’s film adaptation of Red, White & Royal Blue . Then the hosts talk with sports journalist Katie Barnes about their new book Fair Play: How S...

Thousands of members of the United Auto Workers walked off the line at Midwestern auto plants Friday, putting an exclamation mark on a summer where labor—from screenwriters to UPS drivers—flexed its muscles. But is this a true resurgence of the broader U.S. labor movement? Guest: Barry Eidlin , associate professor of sociology at McGill University If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up...

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by the Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay to talk about quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ (possibly) season-ending injury. Gay also discusses American cyclist Sepp Kuss’ historic grand tour win at the Vuelta a Espana and the controversy that preceded it. And finally, the Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant assesses the big storylines in the WNBA playoffs. Rodgers (2:22):  Is...

 In this episode of the Criminals series, the gang talks with Rebecca Jarvis, host of “The Dropout” about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. Who were the real victims of Holmes’ crimes? How did her lofty goals drift into scandal? And where does she sit on a scale of “one to evil”? If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the...

On this episode: Zak Rosen, Jamilah Lemieux, and Elizabeth Newcamp talk about climate change and kids with Anya Kamenetz . Anya is a journalist who covers the intersection of the climate crisis and parenting in her newsletter, The Golden Hour . She is a former NPR education reporter and author of many books including, The Stolen Year . She has lots of wonderful information and advice for any careg...

House speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the opening of an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, but members of the Freedom Caucus—a group of right-wing Republicans with a taste for dramatic, extreme actions—had already moved on to fighting the next spending bill, potentially steering the government to another shutdown.  Guest: Jim Newell , Slate’s senior politics writer. If you enjoy this show,...

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by award-winning documentarian and lawyer Dawn Porter for a conversation about two projects shining a light on the law and how we can shape it: Porter’s new Showtime documentary series Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court , and the paperback release of Dahlia’s book Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America .  Together they trace the politic...

This week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the auto workers strike and how the UAW is using some tactics it's never tried before. They’ll also get into how things went down with the big Arm IPO and talk about the latest census data on poverty.  In the Plus segment: Tiny homes are mostly just click bait. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...

The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act has noble-sounding intentions, but has been called one of the most dangerous bills in years by the digital rights group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Guest: Richard Blumenthal , senior United States senator from Connecticut.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate pod...

On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim are joined by  Jane Friedman , author of  The Business of Being a Writer   and the publisher of  Hot Sheet , a newsletter about the publishing industry. The three discuss Friedman’s recent battle with AI-generated books that were being published and sold under her name on Amazon. Friedman published a blog about the saga titled “ I Would Rather S...

If an instrumental tops the charts, it’s probably an earworm: “Tequila.” “Wipeout.” “Dueling Banjos.” “The Hustle.” “Feels So Good.” “Chariots of Fire.” “Axel F.” You can probably whistle or hum several of those from memory. But do you remember the artists? All were one-hit wonders. By and large, instrumental hits throughout chart history were flukes. But there were exceptions: a trumpet player fr...

A trial a decade in the making has started, as the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google and its unrivaled position as the top search engine begins. Is this the beginning of the government “taking on Big Tech” and the end of Google as we know it? Guest: Leah Nylen , covering antitrust for Bloomberg. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus mem...

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are reunited with John Dickerson to discuss the Wisconsin Republicans’ effort to impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz and protect their gerrymander; Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to start an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden and prevent a government shutdown; and Biden’s age problem and Donald Trump’s battleground-state difficulties. Join us for...

On this episode: Zak Rosen, Jamilah Lemieux, and Elizabeth Newcamp talk about parenting digital citizens.  Elizabeth sits down with author and speaker Dr. Devorah Heitner about her latest book, Growing Up in Public . The book helps guide parents through navigating social media and phone usage for their kids — and the privacy, freedom, and surveillance issues that come along with phones.  We also g...

In the early days of television, women struggled to find their place. In 1955, they got it: forecasting the weather, on stations all across the country. But as these “weather girls” transformed the airwaves, a group of powerful men hatched a plan—one that had the potential to push women weathercasters off the air forever. Josh Levin is One Year’s editorial director. One Year’s senior producer is E...

Following “The Call,” our series on the opioid epidemic continues in Harlem. Inside a safe-consumption site, addiction is destigmatized—outside, however, the neighbors feel differently. Guest: Syderia Asberry-Chresfield, co-founder of the Greater Harlem Coalition and a former Vice President for JP Morgan Chase. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members g...

Anna follows up with Sarah Short, the mom who became a surrogate to pay off debt. They discuss her divorce, starting her own business, and why this chapter of her life feels “freeing.” And if you're a Maria Bamford fan, Anna is interviewing her on stage in San Francisco on Saturday, October 14th, as part of City Arts & Lectures. You can get tickets to join them in person or watch remotely here...

This week, Stephen and Dana are joined by guest host Kat Chow, journalist and author of the 2021 memoir Seeing Ghosts . The panel begins by wading through HELL , Chris Fleming’s new hour-long comedy special that’s both puzzling and delightfully goofy. Then, the three consider Astrakan , a deeply dark and unsettling first feature from director David Depesseville, and attempt to parse through the fi...

On today’s show, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton are joined by Slate business and tech writer Nitish Pahwa to describe his recent piece on  the deranged world of vintage fast-food training videos . In the depths of Youtube, videos from companies like McDonald’s, Hardee’s, and Jack in the Box depict a bygone era where employees were trained by animated burgers and celebrity cameos. This podcast is...