Slate Daily Feed

On this episode: Elizabeth, Jamilah and Zak help a member of the Slate Parenting Facebook group whose whole household is struggling with a little one’s sleepless nights. We’ll talk about how to help a kid settle, and stay settled… and why it might not be smart to watch the clock. After that, of course, we’ll circle up to share some Triumphs and Fails.  Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfe...

The hunt for the new chair of the Democratic National Committee is on and the winning candidate will be the one that party officials believe can guide Democrats back to the White House. So who’s throwing their hat into the ring? Guest: Gabriel Debenedetti is a national correspondent at New York Magazine and the author of The Long Alliance: The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama . Want m...

While the Slow Burn team is hard at work on our next season, we are excited to share the first episode of the second season from our friends at SNAFU with Ed Helms: MEDBURG. In March 1971, Washington Post reporter Betty Medsger receives a mysterious envelope full of classified documents. Soon, what's inside will change the way America sees the FBI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

This week, Christina Cauterucci explores the intimate connections between queer identity and the natural world with Bryn Mawr professor Kate Thomas. In this episode, we journey through the lives of Florence Blood and Princess Ghika, two enigmatic lesbians who found self-expression, love, and freedom renovating their Italian Renaissance estate at the turn of the 20th century- creating an enchanting...

On this week’s show, the hosts chew over Nightbitch , Marielle Heller’s ( Queen’s Gambit, Can You Ever Forgive Me, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, MacGruber ), fourth feature film. Amy Adam stars as “Mother,” a former artist who has given up her creative pursuits to care for her infant son full-time — a transition so taxing, that she begins dissociating and transforming into a dog at night. And while...

Daniel Penny’s trial over the death of Jordan Neely hinged on the question of how and when a “reasonable person” would feel threatened. Does the jury’s non-guilty verdict deliver a clear answer?  Guest: Katie Way , writer-editor at Hell Gate. 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...

Candice Lim is joined by Waste or Taste host Jill Mapes to recap TikTok's year of music and give an unranked list of their favorite songs and sounds. They’re breaking down what makes a good TikTok sound, which mainstream artists won the platform this year, and asking: who is ian ? This podcast is produced by Alexandra Botti, Daisy Rosario, and Candice Lim. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

In this Money Talks: The collapse of Synapse and resulting fallout highlights how regulators are failing fintech users. Felix Salmon is joined by CNBC’s Hugh Son who has been closely following the situation . They unpack the chain of events that led to thousands of users losing access to their funds, the complexities of FDIC insurance, and how regulators allowed this massive scandal. Want to hear...

On election night, while many voters across the country were focused on who would win the presidency, a growing number of Americans were watching the returns with another question in mind: will I win or lose money? That’s because, just weeks before November 5th, a judge ruled that for the first time in almost a century Americans could bet large amounts of money on the outcome of political races. ...

Last week’s killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO prompted an outpouring of glee online. A look into UnitedHealthcare’s business practices—and the American healthcare system as a whole—can help explain why. Guest: Dan Diamond , national health reporter for The Washington Post. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Y...

Hosts Alex Kirshner , Ben Lindbergh , and Lindsay Gibbs discuss Juan Soto’s earth-shatteringly large contract with the New York Mets. They also talk about Lewis Hamilton’s last ride for Mercedes before he moves to team Ferrari, and Igor Shesterkin’s unprecedented new deal with the New York Rangers. For Afterballs, Alex breaks down some of the controversy within college football’s first 12-team pla...

On this episode: a member of the Slate Parenting community is wondering about how to handle tattletales. On the one hand: secrets can be bad. But on the other hand… are authority figures always there to help? We’ll also check in on where the hosts are this week – and then, if you’re coming to hang out on the Slate Plus Playground, we’re talking through the US government’s list of dangerous toys. I...

After more than a decade of civil war, Syrian rebels have toppled President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in just about a week. How was the dictator finally deposed, and what comes next for the war-torn country?  Guest: Josh Keating , senior correspondent at Vox covering foreign policy. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate po...

Spotify is shaping listening habits, so much so that musicians are shaping themselves for Spotify. It makes your musical world a little more prescribed, a little smaller.  If it feels like everything’s getting a little stale, how do we get out? Guest: Tiffany Ng, culture and tech writer. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and...

On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Impersonal Foul writer Madeline Hill and Power Plays journalist Lindsay Gibbs to cover the biggest moments of sports that happened online this year. From witnessing historic moments at the Paris Olympics, to the phenomenon that was women’s basketball, the internet has a way of picking up the little moments you don’t see in a stadium and making major wav...

What do people inside the Department of Justice think about their once-colleague and possible-future-overlord, Kash Patel? On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by former US Attorney Joyce White Vance to discuss the frightening implications of Patel's potential nomination as FBI Director under the incoming Trump administration. They explore Patel's contentious history , including his ti...

This week: South Korea and France are the latest governments to fall apart. Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the public conversation around the failures of the US healthcare system that was sparked by the shocking murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Then, South Korea and France follow Germany in having a governmental meltdown. What’s going on with all of this pol...

From Dr. Oz to RFK Jr. to Donald Trump himself—the incoming administration looks like it will be populated with pitchmen and influencers. Will anyone take steps to divest from their businesses or avoid conflicts of interest—or will everyone just follow Trump’s lead from last time?  Guest: Drew Harwell , tech reporter for the Washington Post.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to acc...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss President Joe Biden’s pardon of son Hunter and President-Elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth; the Democrats’ debate on why they lost and how they might win in the future; and the Supreme Court case on treatment for transgender children.  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David answer Conundrums....

On this episode: Elizabeth, Lucy and Zak help a member of the Slate Parenting Facebook group whose almost-5-year-old is stuck on the word “stupid…” and won’t stop saying it. One parent thinks this word is unacceptable and requires punishment. The other parent is pretty sure punishment will only make things worse. We’ll weigh who’s right and whether there’s a middle ground. After that, of course, w...

During his first administration, Donald Trump tried naming Kash Patel as deputy director of the FBI, but members of the administration pushed back. Now with the second administration filled with loyalists, Trump has named Patel as his pick for FBI director. What does Trump see in this guy? Guest: Elaina Plott Calabro , staff writer at The Atlantic . Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock f...

The mullet, the love-to-hate-it hairstyle, is as associated with the 1980’s as Ronald Reagan, junk bonds, and breakdancing. But in at least one major way, we are suffering from a collective case of false memory syndrome. In this episode we track the rise and fall of the mullet, and also the lexical quandary at its heart: Who named the mullet? We learn how David Bowie, hockey players, the Oxford En...

This week, Bryan Lowder chats with Michael Andor Brodeur, author of Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle , to unpack the complex intersections of fitness, masculinity, and queer identity. From the sweaty intimacy of the gym to the charged symbolism of muscle, Brodeur examines how bodies become sites of desire, power, and transformation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

On this week’s show, Slate experts June Thomas (author of A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces That Shaped Queer Women's Culture ) and Dan Kois (author of Hampton Heights: One Harrowing Night in the Most Haunted Neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ) fill in for Dana and Julia. First, the trio tackles Blitz , director Steve McQueen’s new film about the German bombings of London during World War II, whic...

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, leading South Korea’s parliament to cross barricades to convene and vote it down. Though this episode resolved quickly and peacefully for the moment, where is the country’s government heading? Guest: Terence Roehrig , professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College specializing in Korean and East Asian sec...