Slate Daily Feed

The federal indictment of Eric Adams is just the latest in a long line of embarrassing blow-ups, scandals, and unforced errors by the New York Democrats. Can they pull themselves together and deliver for the national party this time? Guest: Ross Barkan , journalist, essayist, and contributing writer to many places, including Slate, the Nation, and the New York Times Magazine.  Want more What Next?...

America is caught in a vicious cycle of trying to alleviate traffic by expanding and building more highways, only for them to clog right up with more cars. How do you beat the traffic? Guest: David Zipper , Senior Fellow at the MIT Mobility Initiative who writes about transportation policy. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family a...

In this week's Amicus, Mark Joseph Stern steps in for Dahlia Lithwick to preview the upcoming Supreme Court term and dive into the high-stakes case of Garland v. VanDerStok . This critical case examines the legality of 'ghost guns'—untraceable firearms that can be assembled at home from kits bought online. Stern talks with Eric Tirschwell , executive director and chief litigation counsel of Everyt...

This week: the tragic tale of Nike, Foot Locker, and Bed Bath and Beyond. Bloomberg’s Kim Bhasin joins Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers to discuss his recent piece on the downfall of the Nike brand and the peril of direct-to-consumer marketing. Then, they discuss Kim’s other feature on Jamie Salter, the man who made a fortune buying up mall “zombie brands” like Izod and Brook’s Bro...

Candice Lim is joined by Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe to explain the controversy surrounding James Duncan and Fuhad Dawodu, the co-hosts of the  ShxtsNGigs  podcast. Back in July, James and Fuhad appeared on  Flagrant,  a podcast hosted by comedian Andrew Schulz. Upon the episode’s release, James and Fuhad’s listeners  reacted  strongly to comments made by, and in front of, the duo that dispa...

A throwback week in politics finds New York’s Boss Tweed of Swagger in trouble, a Republican bucking the party line for his constituents and a name Democrats thought they were done with. Guest: Jim Newell , Slate’s senior politics writer , who writes the weekly newsletter The Surge . This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlo...

A decade ago, Rolling Stone magazine called 1984 “ Pop’s Greatest Year .” A bold statement…but a lot of critics agree. A confluence of factors—the comeback of dance music, the peak of MTV, the Second British Invasion, and the emergence of metal and hip-hop—made the radio a great place to be. It was a year of fearless genre crossover…cinematic hits…veterans reinventing themselves…ballads that becam...

Over the last decade, the European Union has been the vanguard regulating Big Tech, and the push has been led by Margrethe Vestager. As she steps down, Vestager is looking both back at the battles she’s fought, and how the fight will continue.  Guest: Margrethe Vestager , European Commissioner for Competition. the European Commission’s Executive Vice President on a Europe Fit for the Digital Age....

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what’s happening with the Kamala Harris v. Donald Trump race, what to expect with the Tim Walz v. JD Vance debate, how crazy Mark Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign in North Carolina has become, and whether college can survive careerism.  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, David, Emily, and John discuss the all-important Elect...

On this episode: Lucy, Zak and Elizabeth answer a question from a listener who’s worried that her preschooler has already encountered a lot of bullying and cliques… so what is kindergarten going to be like? And why are these little kids already capable of being so mean? We’ll also circle up for a round of triumphs and fails — including an update on Zak’s talking-about-the-Holocaust dilemma. Join u...

Winning North Carolina would make Kamala Harris’s path to the White House much easier. And to judge from the huge campaign push, Democrats think the state is in play. Can a strong ground game—and a major Republican scandal—sink Donald Trump’s re-election bid? Guest: Michael Bitzer, professor of politics and history at Catawba College Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free l...

In this episode, Outward hosts Jules Gill-Peterson, Bryan Lowder, and Christina Cauterucci sit down with non-binary marathoner Cal Calamia to talk about their journey into competitive racing. Cal shares how they first got into running and how their experiences as a non-binary, trans-masculine athlete have shaped their advocacy. From battling outdated USADA regulations on hormone therapy to pushing...

Candice Lim is joined by WUNC’s Anisa Khalifa ( The Broadside )  and Dr. Jess Maddox ( The Internet Is for Cats ) to discuss the biggest animal phenomenon of the year: Moo Deng. For the past few months, our timelines have been flooded with  memes  of a pygmy hippo in Thailand whose TikTok fame has created international fame, a 24/7 livestream, and increased visitor numbers for her zoo. But what do...

Before he ran Fox News, Roger Ailes launched a very different kind of channel. America’s Talking was his vision of the future of television: a strange, slapdash, mostly apolitical cable network. When that dream got snatched away from him, Ailes went on a revenge mission—and made a connection with Rupert Murdoch. Want more from Slow Burn? Join Slate Plus to unlock full access to all seasons, includ...

Why are more liberals taking up arms? And how could the trend change the conversation about guns in America?  Guest: Cameron McWhirter , national affairs reporter for The Wall Street Journal covering mass shootings, violent protests, and natural disasters across the South and co-author of American Gun: the True Story of the AR-15 with Zusha Elinson. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to...

On this week’s show, two of our favorite Slate-sters, Nadira Goffe (culture writer)‌ and Dan Kois (author of Hampton Heights ), fill in for Dana Stevens and Stephen Metcalf. The trio first pays a visit to Gotham, and reviews Max’s The Penguin , an odd, unevenly paced mob show that doubles as DC Comics intellectual property. Sporting a prosthetic face, Colin Farrell reprises his role as the titular...

On this month’s edition of Gabfest Reads,  Political Gabfest  host David Plotz talks with author Elizabeth Strout about her new book,  Tell Me Everything . They discuss how Strout conceives of interconnected stories and characters across her work, including the return of beloved characters like Olive Kitteridge. They also dig into the importance of listening and the ways ordinary lives can be extr...

If you lived in Columbus, Georgia in the 90s, you might remember a queer club called Sensations. But Bob the Drag Queen knew Sensations by day, not night – she was in elementary school when her mom owned the place. Bob eventually moved to New York City, and now, she’s an international stand-up comedian and drag star. In this episode, Bob talks to Anna about turning her big ideas into iconic side h...

How universities and colleges are trying to keep student protests under control—or embracing a raucously political campus. Guests:  Sophie Hurwitz , politics and social movements reporter at Mother Jones . Michael S. Roth is the president of Wesleyan University. 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...

Split Zone Duo’s Alex Kirshner , Power Plays’ Lindsay Gibbs , and the Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh discuss Shohei’s record-breaking season, Adrian Wojnarowski’s retirement, and the waning passing abilities of NFL quarterbacks. In the bonus episode exclusively for Slate Plus members, the hosts examine whether the SAFE Bet Act could actually rein in sports betting. Woj (3:09): What comes next for sports s...

What message was Israel sending to Hezbollah, its backers, and the population of Lebanon, by blowing up pagers and walkie-talkies last week? And does the international community view this act as a violation of the laws of armed conflict? Guest: Shane Harris , intelligence and national security reporter at the Washington Post.  Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listenin...

On this episode: it’s Friendship Week at Slate, and we’re hopping aboard the friendship train to talk about the beauty, and challenges, of making friends in the parenting world… with special guest host Rebecca Onion, a senior editor for Slate. We also check in on what’s happening in Elizabeth, Zak, and Rebecca’s lives right now. And then, if you’re joining us for the Plus Playground — out now in y...

Given Laura Loomer’s history of saying outright offensive and often bewildering things, how did she get into the Trump campaign’s inner circle?   Guest: Ken Bensinger , New York Times politics 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...

Mortgage rates are down! Inflation is less inflation-y! Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers discuss what the Fed’s interest rate cut means for the American economy — and American voters. Also: Trump is promising tax cuts like there’s no tomorrow, but are any of them good ideas? And Axel Springer is spinning off its media empire in yet another news business shakeup. In the Plus bonus m...

Chief Justice John Roberts has been labeled by some as the serious centrist at the court, and he seemed to embrace and internalize that. But the New York Times’ revelations about behind-the-scenes maneuvers favoring Trump in last term's insurrection cases shattered that illusion once and for all. The Chief’s stance in these cases surprised the Roberts-as-twinkly-eyed-institutionalist brigade, but...