Slate Daily Feed

This week: DOGE is taking its chainsaw to the Social Security Administration. Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers examine the real reasons behind the Elon Musk led crusade against the SSA. And then, DOGE used extreme tactics against the US Institute of Peace including a physical takeover of the building by force. Meanwhile, the founder of Pirate’s Booty tried a similar tactic to try t...

The National Institutes of Health is the primary engine of biomedical research around the world, which makes the Trump administration's dramatic cuts to its grant program both confusing and potentially incredibly harmful. Guest: Katherine J. Wu, staff writer for the Atlantic . Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your fa...

This week, John Dickerson and David Plotz are joined by Ruth Marcus to discuss the showdown over mass deportation and the government’s defiant response to court orders; a deep data dive by Ezra Klein and David Shor about why Trump won the 2024 election; and this week’s so-called “negotiation” call between Trump and Putin. Listener chatter from Kevin in Portland, Oregon: Orb (Netflix) For this week...

On this episode: Zak, Lucy, and Elizabeth sit down with Dr. Sheilagh Maguiness — a board-certified pediatric dermatologist, an entrepreneur, and a social media star.  This episode is your one-stop shop for all things skin. We’ll talk about sun protection, rashes, acne, and whether our tweens and teens really need all of those Sephora products. Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@...

The economy that Donald Trump inherited from Joe Biden had low unemployment, slowing inflation, and a growing GDP. So what is he trying to achieve by imposing heavy tariffs on our allies and trading partners?  Guest: Stephanie Ruhle , NBC business analyst and the host of MSNBC's The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and...

A gun won’t make you safer, but it will pull you into America’s deep-seated obsession with armed individualism. This week, Bryan, Christina, and Jules dig into The Washington Post’s “The Trans Americans Turning to Guns for Protection” and Defector’s “Don't Buy a Gun, Even If It Comes in Rainbow” to unpack the recent interest around queer gun ownership—and why safety has never really been the point...

On this week’s show, Slate’s Dan Kois sits in for Stephen Metcaff. The hosts discuss the new Mr. & Mrs. Smith -like film Black Bag , starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender. Then they dive into the “inconvenient” Hulu show Deli Boys . They end by discussing the legacy of Dave Eggers’ phenomenal memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius . Endorsements: Dana: The television show A...

Mass deportations were a big part of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and now in office, he’s making good on the wide-sweeping aspects of his policy, though the numbers aren’t yet massive. Most recently, he’s justified these actions through the 1798 Alien Enemies Act which only applies during wartime. When a judge attempted to halt the deportations to evaluate this use of the rarely-utili...

Kate Lindsay fills guest co-host Nitish Pahwa in on the TikTok drama that has the “NYC influencer girlies” in a tizzy. After being accused of being “boring,” certain (white, blonde, thin) creators took offense. Kate gives Nitish a crash course in this niche influencer community, and Nitish explains why people find it so hard to take control of their own algorithms, ultimately begging the question:...

In this urgent extra episode of Amicus,  host Dahlia Lithwick and Slate's senior writer Mark Joseph Stern discuss the unfolding constitutional crisis triggered by the Trump administration's defiance of a court order to halt flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to be delivered to El Salvador’s so-called Terrorism Confinement Center - a vast foreign prison  that could  be described as a labor camp. ...

In this Money Talks: How does America assert its power globally? The short answer is money. For the long answer, Felix Salmon calls in authors Edward Fishman ( Chokepoints ) and Saleha Mohsin ( Paper Soldiers ) who both recently published books on the subject. They’ll discuss how the US dollar managed to become the world’s reserve asset, the ways it’s been weaponized in the past, and what that glo...

In 2020, we made an episode about a listener who cheated on his wife with sex workers and was going through a divorce. He told us the idea to go on the website Seeking Arrangement came from an episode we made about sugar babies . A few weeks ago we called “Ethan” back to see what’s changed in his life since our first conversation, and how he navigates discussions about his past infidelity with his...

Educational, entertaining, and about as universally beloved as any part of American life, how did Sesame Street find itself cutting staff and searching for a new broadcasting home? Guest: David Kamp, author of Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podca...

Hosts Alex Kirshner , Lindsay Gibbs , and Ben Lindbergh discuss the possibility of Tiger Woods’ retirement after learning he’ll need yet another surgery - this time to fix a ruptured Achilles tendon. They also talk about the start of the NWSL season and whether the league can continue to build and retain star players. Finally, they wrap with a look back at the Luka Doncic trade and the wave of bad...

On this episode: Jamilah, Lucy and Elizabeth answer a question about separation anxiety. This listener’s 7-month-old is already showing signs of what looks like some serious discomfort with anyone who’s not mom or dad. But with a no-kids wedding coming up, this mom is wondering how to help her daughter get more comfortable with other people.  We’ll help her out and then check in and share what’s o...

Last week, Democrats averted a government shutdown—by voting for a MAGA-friendly Continuing Resolution, which may have just handed even greater power to Trump. Why? Guest: Josh Marshall , editor-in-chief of Talking Points Memo Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next sh...

With a Trump-friendly Supreme Court and a contentious relationship with the press, could Donald Trump follow through on his 2016 campaign goal of making it easier to sue media companies for libel—and imperil America’s free press? Guest: David Enrich, business investigations editor at the New York Times and author of “ Murder The Truth. ” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access a...

Donald Trump continued his almost uninterrupted losing streak in the courts. Across the country we saw federal judges openly criticizing his Administration officials and their lawyers for overreach, bullying and misrepresentations about not only their cases, but about norms and values. But Trump has both judges and law firms in his crosshairs. On this week’s show, former US Attorney Preet Bharara...

Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay uncover the ways people are using the internet and other technology to protest the current government. From website hacking to AI videos to good old fashioned poop-throwing, there’s no shortage of tools to fight back. But which tactics are working, and which ones risk ending up as just another Instagram black square? This podcast is produced by Alexandra Botti, Daisy R...

David Plotz talks with author Adam Higginbotham about his new book,  Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space .  They discuss the feats of engineering that took place, the political cynicism and cost-cutting that played a role in the tragedy, the heroism and tragic loss of the people on board the shuttle, and more.    Tweet us your questions  @SlateGabfest  or email us...

This week: The US Stock Market is plummeting during Trump’s second term. Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers explain why headlines very rarely affect the movements of the Stock Market–and discuss whether we're currently living one of those exceptions. Then, the Wall Street Journal has reported that the Trump family is in talks to invest in the US arm of crypto giant Binance . If true,...

When you think of music in the 1960s, some groundbreaking artists probably come to mind: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and the Jefferson Airplane, for example. But the pop charts paint a very different picture of that decade, which embraced easy listening, groovy bubblegum, novelty and instrumental records—even a guitar-strumming Belgian nun.  In other words, the soundtrack of the era was more like Mad...

From television, to a royal wedding…and back to TV, Meghan Markle is carving out her own niche. Guest: Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay, cohosts of Slate’s ICYMI . This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can sub...

The public’s anger towards Elon Musk and DOGE has found an outlet in the form of Musk’s car company Tesla. How long can the company put up with a sinking reputation and stock price?  Guest: Pranshu Verma, tech reporter for the Washington Post .  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...

This week, John Dickerson and David Plotz are joined by  Juliette Kayyem  to discuss how Elon Musk and DOGE are endangering Americans; the Trump administration’s attacks on universities and the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil; and the politics of the measles outbreak centered on West Texas. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, John and David are joined by  Juliette Kayyem  to di...