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On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen help the dad of a new driver. His son just got his driver’s license and has been driving super carefully. Good right? Well, he’s not keeping up with the flow of traffic. Should he be encouraged to speed?  They also share a round of triumphs and fails. Including an amazing Power Rangers-inspired trick to kill time, kids stepping u...

Is the Strait of Hormuz safe? Is the U.S. going to put boots on the ground? Did we obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities? And why are we at war with Iran… at all? Guest: Tommy Vietor, political commentator on Pod Save America and Pod Save the World, spokesman for Obama and the National Security Council in 2011 and 2012.  Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening...

When Eyes Wide Shut opened in the summer of 1999, it was widely considered a disappointment. This final film from legendary director Stanley Kubrick had been sold as an erotic thriller, and potentially even a peek into the real sex lives of its then-married stars, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. But Eyes Wide Shut was stranger than that: a meditative art film whose much-hyped orgy scene is more cree...

On this week’s monster mash, Steve, Dana, and Julia gather around the proverbial reanimation laboratory to take on the nutty, goth, and unbridled The Bride! Maggie Gyllenhaal’s feminist—or not, it’s up for debate—retelling of Frankenstein features a truly committed performance from Jessie Buckley. Do the disjointed pieces add to a coherent whole? They discuss. Next, they take a look at Paul McCart...

When Eyes Wide Shut opened in the summer of 1999, it was widely considered a disappointment. This final film from legendary director Stanley Kubrick had been sold as an erotic thriller, and potentially even a peek into the real sex lives of its then-married stars, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. But Eyes Wide Shut was stranger than that: a meditative art film whose much-hyped orgy scene is more cree...

Who is the new supreme leader of Iran, and how does he differ from his predecessor father? Guest: Graeme Wood , staff writer at The Atlantic and a lecturer in political science at Yale . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the t...

On today’s encore episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by sociologist and content creator Josh Lora, who goes by @tellthebeees on TikTok and Substack . In his viral piece, “ The Mainstreaming of Loserdom ,” Lora explores how a generation of people is becoming proudly anti-social, often in favor of staying home on their phones. While less and less people may be partying, they’re not exactly happy a...

This week and next, we’re talking to listeners about how chatbots are impacting their personal lives. Anna talks to a parent getting tips on how to raise a teenager, an American abroad who turned to ChatGPT for grief counseling, a therapist who says Claude is better than a lot of her peers, and a husband who says AI broke up their marriage.  Podcast production by Zoe Azulay Death, Sex & M...

Nominated for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards, The Voice of Hind Rajab uses audio from the actual emergency call with a five-year-old girl in Gaza who was killed by Israeli forces in January 2024.  Guest:  Kaouther Ben Hania , director of the Oscar-nominated film, The Voice of Hind Rajab . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listen...

Hosts Alex Kirshner , Lindsay Gibbs , and Ben Lindbergh discuss the unusually high number of NFL teams that are seeking new quarterbacks via trades and free agency amid a weak draft class. Later: Why the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks could be left out of March Madness despite an undefeated regular season. Finally, Lindsay breaks down some of the stranger aspects of the WNBA’s collective-bargaining process...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are talkin’ periods! They are joined by Chloe Potter, co-founder of The Menstruality Academy , who walks them through preparing your kid for their first period, harnessing the power of the cycle, and breaking free from societal shame. (Chloe’s endometriosis podcast recommendation .)   This week on the Plus Playground: planni...

A July ICE protest ended with a police lieutenant shot, 19 people arrested and nine people now on trial. For Trump’s Department of Justice, it’s a chance to see how calling groups “domestic terrorist organizations” performs in a courtroom. Guest:  Leeja Miller , lawyer and YouTuber based in Minneapolis.  Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whol...

How does Paramount, an old-guard studio and media institution, buying Warner Bros., another of the same, change the landscape in Hollywood, on cable, and in news? Guest: Julia Alexander , media correspondent for Puck News. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcast...

On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick explores the rise of Christian nationalism in America, its influence on the Supreme Court , and the implications for democracy and civil rights. Featuring Rachel Laser, CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, their discussion delves into the historical roots, recent legal cases, and the ongoing fight to uphold the separation of church and...

This week: The U.S. started a war in Iran. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck break down why the war is bumping the US dollar and threatening the UAE’s image as a safe haven, with a notable lack of “oil-shock.” Then, the hosts get into why Pete Hegseth’s Department of War is clashing with Anthropic, as modern warfare becomes increasingly reliant on AI. And finally, McDonald’s CEO Chr...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate editor Tony Ho Tran to talk about everyone’s sudden obsession with Anthropic, the AI company that refused to allow the Trump administration to use it for potential domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. Now, the right is branding them as “woke,” and the left is rushing to download Claude, Anthropic’s AI chatbot. Both sides, however, a...

When you’re sending troops to war, it seems like there are more important things to consider than how it will impact the stock market. However, it doesn’t seem coincidental that this administration waited until the markets closed on a Friday to launch its attacks on Iran. Guest: Justin Wolfers , professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan Want more What Next TBD? Subscri...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the possible political outcomes of the war in Iran given the complexities of Iranian society with guest Karim Sadjadpour , whether the primary election results could mean that Texas will finally turn blue, and the amazing legal back-and-forth between the embarrassed Trump DOJ and the victorious Big Law firms who fought back against...

As recent demonstrations showed, a sizable segment of the Iranian people already opposes the regime. But when President Trump told them to “take over your government,” it seems unlikely he considered how the regime responded to those protests, or other movements for a more open Iranian society. Guest:  Kian Tajbakhsh , visiting assistant professor at New York University, lecturer at Columbia...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are joined by former co-host and current Care & Feeding columnist , Jamilah Lemieux . They discuss her new book, Black. Single. Mother. Real Life Tales of Longing and Belonging , out March 10, 2026. Jamilah also joins for a round of triumphs and fails and answers some burning questions from listeners about life after the show.&nbs...

On this week’s show, Steve is joined by June Thomas, author of A Place of Our Own , and Michael Schulman, author of Her Again and Oscar Wars , for some rollicking Gabfest discourse. First up, they get all shook up by EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert , the concert documentary directed by Baz Luhrmann from archival Elvis performance footage. Does the master of cinematic spectacle bring the King back t...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by journalist Lorena O’Neil to talk about the rise in celebrities’ families using GoFundMe to fundraise after their deaths. In her piece for Rolling Stone , Lorena spoke to experts about why GoFundMes like Eric Dane’s and James Van Der Beek’s are becoming so common, but also why we feel so weird about it. If healthcare can financially devastate both...

How the attention economy, distrust of all authority, and an actual crime turned a suburban Arizona street into the place to be for certain content creators. Guest: Luke Winkie , Slate staff writer, author of the piece “ The Haunting American Scene Unfolding Outside Nancy Guthrie’s House. ” Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and a...

Graham Platner has never run for elected office before. He’s a war veteran, an oyster farmer, and now he’s running in a Democratic primary to eventually unseat Senator Susan Collins of Maine. He’s ahead in the polls, but he’s also been criticized for Reddit comments from his past and recently covered up a tattoo that looks suspiciously like a Nazi symbol (a connection he denies knowing about ).&nb...

After a Democrat flipped a state senate seat for a district that Trump had won by a large margin, both parties are closely watching today’s Texas primaries. What are they looking for, and what can the results tell us about the midterm elections this fall? Guest: Bayliss Wagner , Texas politics reporter. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next...