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This week: The price of gold has skyrocketed to over $4k an ounce.  Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck speculate why this might be happening right now – or if there even is a “why”. Then, Intercontinental Exchange has announced an investment of $2 billion in Polymarket, upping the valuation from $1 billion to $8 billion. The hosts discuss what makes prediction markets so big right no...

When We All Get to Heaven tells the story of one of the first LGBTQ-positive churches, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF), and how it faced the personal, social, and political trials of the AIDS epidemic, including the deaths of hundreds of its members. This 10-episode series uses historical tapes rescued from the church to bring listeners into the heart of a community str...

As troops continue to roll in, unwelcome, to American cities, you can be forgiven for calling the national picture “pretty bleak.” But even now, the news will occasionally let you get off a chuckle or guffaw, even if it isn’t always from your better nature. It’s SchadenFriday; go ahead and indulge. Guest: Alex Sammon, Slate feature writer.  This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by sub...

Though ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services denied their Freedom of Information Act requests, these journalists aren’t giving up without a fight—not until they get their hands on a document that outlines how much information Medicaid is sharing with ICE. Guest: Joseph Cox , cofounder of 404 Media.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the extremely consequential new Supreme Court term beginning this week, the facts on the ground and the legal questions at play behind Trump’s escalating deployments of troops to US cities, and the likely legal defeat of state bans on conversion therapy. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the Tr...

On this episode: Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth joins Zak Rosen and Elizabeth Newcamp to debate wedding ceremony etiquette. A listener’s kid is the flower girl at a friend’s wedding. But now it turns out the flower girl is NOT invited to the wedding reception. Is this fair? They dig into whether kids make a wedding better, logistics, and more.  But first, in another edition of Triumphs and Fail...

ICE needs more agents to meet Trump’s promised deportation numbers. But is loosening standards and shortening training time to get more agents on the street a good idea, when ICE’s work is becoming more controversial, confrontational, and dangerous?  Guest: Robert Klemko , Washington Post reporter covering policing and criminal justice reform. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access...

Earlier this year, a tweet went out from the official account of the Democratic Party, tagging the Trump advisor Stephen Miller. It was an image of what appeared to be a simple hotel room chair. But for those in the know, it was much more than that: It was a “cuck chair,” an online meme straight out of a popular genre of hardcore pornography in which a man watches his partner have sex with another...

Earlier this year, a tweet went out from the official account of the Democratic Party, tagging the Trump advisor Stephen Miller. It was an image of what appeared to be a simple hotel room chair. But for those in the know, it was much more than that: It was a “cuck chair,” an online meme straight out of a popular genre of hardcore pornography in which a man watches his partner have sex with another...

On this week’s show, our fighters Steve, Julia, and Dana enter the ring to tussle over The Smashing Machine , the Dwayne Johnson vehicle directed by Benny Safdie. Can they smell what the Rock is cooking? Is it a subtly modulated performance about a sensitive pro UFC fighter? Or, a shameless Oscar play?  Next, it’s on to the offbeat climes of Tulsa, Oklahoma by way of The Lowdown, a shaggy noir ser...

It’s clear President Trump wants to send troops to Portland, Oregon. But it’s not clear why—especially to people who live there. Guests: Isaac Stanley-Becker , staff writer for The Atlantic . Elizabeth Lopatto , senior reporter at The Verge .   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. Subscri...

Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim wade through the negative reactions to Taylor Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl. From outdated meme references to clunky shots at other female artists, Swift’s album indicates an oddly distant relationship with the internet. However, is she a devious online mastermind or a blundering millennial? Plus, why it’s important that this album’s backlash has gone largely un...

When Peter van Agtmael went to Iraq in 2006 to embed with the U.S. military, he was 24 years old and confident that his pictures could help end an unjust war. Two decades later, after documenting combat deaths overseas and then turning his camera lens on America, he's learned the limits of what photography can do. In this episode, Peter talks about the emotional toll of bearing witness to violence...

It’s been two years since Hamas attacked Israel and set off a devastating war. Since then, talks have fallen apart over and over again. Trump says – this time is different. But should anyone believe him?  Guest:  Yair Rosenberg , staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Deep Shtetl , a newsletter about the intersection of politics, culture, and religion.  Want more What Next? Subscribe to Sl...

Hosts Alex Kirshner , Lindsay Gibbs , and Ben Lindbergh speak to Slate’s Nitish Pahwa about prediction markets and the legally gray future of gambling. Then they turn to college football and Bill Belichick’s messy start at UNC. The panel wraps with a discussion of Napheesa Collier’s recent criticism of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the backlash it caused. On the bonus episode available exc...

The Supreme Court is back in session, and conservative controlled body again has a docket full of cases that look like 6-3 wins for the Trump agenda. Guest:  Mark Joseph Stern, co-host of Amicus, and senior writer covering courts and the law for Slate. 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....

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen have a question from a mom who is TOUCHED OUT. The ‘Rents give parents everywhere permission to establish boundaries and walk away from kids when they’re being too aggressive or just won’t leave them alone.  But first, they share their latest insight into the Labubu community and dealing with the big trends your kids HAVE to be a part...

How one of the largest video game companies was bought for $55 billion by a group that includes Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and Jared Kushner. Guest: Jason Schreier , Bloomberg reporter 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 Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at...

On today’s episode, hosts Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Slate senior editor Tony Ho Tran to talk about why it matters that EA Games has been sold to Saudi Arabia and Jared Kushner. In addition to likely cost-cutting, this new ownership puts games like The Sims even more at risk of censorship, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ characters . If your Sim groom can’t end up making out wit...

Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern are joined by Vox’s Ian Millhiser to discuss the upcoming Supreme Court term, which officially starts on Monday. The term begins with a slew of wildly significant cases that feel all but decided in the Trump administration’s favor already. That feeling of inevitability could perhaps be ascribed to the ongoing assault on democracy coming from the high c...

This week: Felix Salmon finally gets to nerd out on Argentina's economy as Trump goes against the GOP playbook by bailing the country out to the tune of $20 billion. Felix, Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck break down why this is such an unusual move, how it shows Trump’s favoritism, and what it means for America’s soy farmers. Then, the US government has officially shut down but stocks are soarin...

TikTok exploded to popularity not by giving users what they asked for—but by figuring out what users really were interested in, and serving that.  What happens to this algorithm if Bytedance cedes control of it to the U.S.?  Guest: Emily Baker White, senior writer at Forbes and the author of Every Screen on the Planet: The War Over TikTok Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access...

This week, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the disturbing spectacle of military fealty staged by Hegseth and Trump at Quantico, the possible outcomes of the dramatic government shutdown, and the hybrid war Russia appears to be waging with drones over distressed European cities. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, John, David, and guest host Juliette Kayyem...

Donald Trump’s theory of a government shutdown was that it would give him more power to fire federal employees, and cut benefits and healthcare. Of course, if you claim to be an all-powerful executive, aren’t people going to conclude that the shutdown is your fault? Guest: David Dayen , executive editor of the American Prospect. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listen...

On this episode: On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen get real about onesies. A Slate mom wants to know if she can buy her son onesies about her. He has a lot that celebrates his dad, like “daddy’s little xyz” but none about his mom! They dish on favorite onesies, whether these outfits are actually terrible, and more. But first, they share their latest triumphs and fails...