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Emily, John and David discuss Russia’s war crimes; Disney’s reaction to “don’t say gay”; and Amazon’s first union. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Andrew Exum for The Atlantic: “ The Russian Military Has Descended Into Inhumanity ” Noam Scheiber for The New York Times: “ Amazon Workers Who Won a Union Their Way Open Labor Leaders’ Eyes ” Microsoft: “ The Rise of the Tripl...

On this episode: Jamilah, Zak, and Elizabeth tackle body boundaries. Our listener has two little kids who are pretty comfortable doing things like sharing a bath or getting changed in the same vicinity. But something happened the other morning that has her worried. How can she teach consent and autonomy without creating any body shame?  On Slate Plus, they debate if parenting actually makes them h...

In a speech before the United Nations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of the worst war crimes since World War II. But whether there will be accountability on the international stage is a separate question—especially with Russia sitting permanently on the UN Security Council.  How difficult would it be to prove war crimes have in fact been committed in Ukraine? And even if th...

How Welsh coal miners and a pants-dropping presentation eventually led to the invention of Viagra.  If you missed the first episode in our Hard series, go back and take a listen. And look out for the finale next week, when we meet people for whom Viagra opened up a deeper conversation about their bodies and what it means to have good sex.  Are you new here? Make sure to subscribe to Death, Sex &am...

This Sunday, the Unofficial Bridgerton Musical took home a Grammy. But how was it allowed to compete in the first place? On the show today, Rachelle is joined by our producer, Daniel , to discuss why the Grammys have become so internet-focused , and how the Bridgerton musical sprang from TikTok. Then, Rachelle speaks with University of Colorado law professor Kristelia Garcia about the legal issues...

This week, the panel begins by revisiting the iconic film The Godfather in celebration of its 50th anniversary. Then, the panel answers the question Is It Cake? as they cut into Netflix’s newest hit. Finally, the panel is joined by Associate Professor of Music Theory at the University of Memphis, Jeremy Orosz, to discuss forensic musicology and what counts as musical plagiarism—which he wrote abou...

Few were betting that a group of workers on Staten Island could win union recognition at their Amazon warehouse. Now that they’ve done it, can they replicate this win at other shops across the country? And what will the nation’s largest unions do to help Amazon workers join the labor movement? Guest: Steven Greenhouse , senior fellow at the Century Foundation and author of Beaten Down, Worked Up:...

Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin discuss Kansas’ win over North Carolina’s in the men’s basketball title game, and the Athletic’s Chantel Jennings joins to talk about South Carolina’s win over UConn for the women’s title. Finally, they talk about Eric Church, and when it’s OK for sports to trump social and professional obligations.   NCAA men (2:21):  How the Jayhawks turned it around...

At the beginning of the pandemic, Congress loosened the rules around school lunch programs, and approved additional funding to help schools provide more meals to more kids. But those allowances are set to expire on June 30th, leaving schools desperate for help as they anticipate a future of less funding and less flexibility.  Guest: Helena Bottemiller Evich , senior food and agriculture reporter a...

Welcome to Slate Money Goes to the Movies, a miniseries in which Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and a different guest each week discuss popular business-themed movies. Shazna Nessa  of  The Wall Street Journal  joins Felix and Emily to talk about the 1963 Bengali film,  The Big City . They talk about how the feminist themes resonate today, what makes it an “art house” film, and why the ending seems lik...

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has become an avatar of the Republican far-right. But that has its downsides. It makes you a target. But Greene isn’t running scared.   Guest: Charles Bethea , staff writer at the New Yorker.  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 B...

On this episode: Elizabeth, Zak, and Jamilah answer a question from a listener who is feeling left behind by her friends who are parents. She says she’s really tried to be supportive and isn’t receiving support in return, especially when she’s celebrating accomplishments like earning a PhD and publishing her first album. All of this has left her feeling that she’s worth less if she doesn’t have a...

For nearly a decade, Margrethe Vestager has led Europe's efforts to rein in big tech. One newspaper article described Vestager as putting the fear of God into Silicon Valley. How is she thinking about fairness in tech in 2022? Guest: Margrethe Vestager,  Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for a Europe fit for the Digital Age  Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

April Fool’s Day is every brand’s favorite holiday. Social media and PR teams get to make all the jokes their marketing department can come up with and face few repercussions. But it’s not all fun and games. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison talk about what nonsense the brands are up to this year, why we’re so easily taken in by internet hoaxes, and how skepticism can harden into something d...

This week,  Felix Salmon  and  Emily Peck  are joined by Slate  Pay Dirt  columnist,  Elizabeth Spiers . They talk about how women (mostly college educated) might be doing okay in the workforce, and what happened when Barclays didn’t check the right box and Axie Infinity didn’t notice it didn’t have an SEC shelf registration.  In the Plus segment: The inflation and war nexus with gas prices. Menti...

The early ’70s was a great time for R&B queens on the charts: Roberta Flack. Dionne Warwick. Patti LaBelle. Chaka Khan. They had come through the ’60s—Dionne as a smooth pop-and-B star, Patti as a girl-group frontwoman, Roberta as a cabaret pianist—and found themselves in a new decade with limitless possibilities. Flack turned folk songs into chart-topping, Grammy-winning R&B. Warwick shif...

Why did Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt spend over a decade building relationships with the most powerful Democrats in America? Guest: Alex Thompson , reporter at Politico Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss Biden's gaffe in speaking too honestly about Russia; Trump’s missing phone logs; and Ginni Thomas’s efforts to subvert the election. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Bob Woodward and Robert Costa for The Washington Post: “ Jan. 6 White House Logs Given To House Show 7-Hour Gap In Trump Calls ” Hugo Lowell for The Guardi...

On this episode: Elizabeth, Jamilah, and Zak tackle a classic dilemma. Should you pay your kids to help around the house? What chores are age appropriate and how can you tailor your expectations to different children? They also do a round of Triumphs and Fails and announce that Mom and Dad are Fighting is moving to a twice a week schedule. Episodes will come out on Mondays and Thursdays. On Slate...

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is having a moment. The alliance dates back to the early years of the Cold War, and ever since, it has seesawed in and out of favor with Western leaders. But now, as Russia continues to wage its attack on Ukraine, NATO has assumed some of its old relevance. Guest: Mary Elise Sarotte , professor of Historical Studies at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global...

In the first episode of a three part series, we focus in on people’s intimate lives and relationships that have been impacted by both erectile dysfunction—and Viagra—in ways that the cheeky public conversation about the drug has never quite captured.  Come back next week for the wild story of how Viagra came to be, as we go back in time to tell the story of how medicine, science, money and marketi...

On Sunday night, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars live broadcast after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. As soon as the internet figured out the slap wasn’t a bit, Twitter was deluged with takes. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle discourse about the discourse, discussing the neverending online take machine, how media narratives are shaped, and why we were all wonderi...

This week, the panel begins by breaking down everything that went down during the weirdest Oscars ever. Then, the panel is joined by author, professor, and Slate’s pop critic, Jack Hamilton, to discuss Adam McKay’s over-stylized docudrama about the 1980s Lakers, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty . Finally, the panel is joined by Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern to discuss Disney CE...

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is a fervent right-wing activist. She was also a supporter of the attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, as evidenced by a batch of texts shared with the congressional committee investigating January 6th.  The Ginni Thomas texts create a conflict of interest for Justice Clarence Thomas as he hears cas...

After more than 70 weeks on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100, Dua Lipa and her song “Levitating” have run into trouble: two separate copyright complaints claiming the pop star ripped off other artists in writing her hit. These aren’t the first lawsuits to test the boundaries of what counts as plagiarism in the musical realm; and if either suit succeeds, it will have far-reaching consequences for creativ...