Slate Daily Feed

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...

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...

Candice Lim is joined by internet culture writer Steffi Cao ( It’s Steffi ) to answer some very special, holiday-specific internet questions from her readers, such as: should I block my boyfriend’s aunt on Instagram? And how do I battle Facebook conspiracy theories at the dinner table? This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from...

When actor and performer Jeff Hiller first tried improv comedy, he was instantly amazing at it. Jeff is an excellent listener. He’s also accommodating, flexible, and undeniably hilarious. This week on the show, Jeff discusses his role on the critically acclaimed HBO series Somebody, Somewhere and the personal quirks and qualities that have made him such a funny and talented performer.  Mentioned i...

How problematic is it for Joe Biden to pardon his son Hunter after promising, again and again, that he wouldn’t? Guest: Ankush Khardori , senior writer for POLITICO and a former federal prosecutor at the Department of Justice. 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...

Hosts Alex Kirshner , Ben Lindbergh , and Lindsay Gibbs discuss Iga Swiatek’s and Janik Sinner's doping allegations and the huge implications for international tennis. They also get into this past weekend’s college football chaos and Saquon Barkley and Derek Henry’s running back revival. For Afterballs, Lindsay Gibbs examines the tragic passing of Alabama A&M linebacker Medrick Burnett Jr. aft...

On this episode: Every year, like clockwork, we start getting questions about how to do, or not do, the whole Santa thing. We’ll answer a listener's question and muse on the nature of belief. 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 honoring peak holiday meal szn with a round of food would-you-rathers.  If you...

The House already voted to pass the “The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act.” But with Donald Trump returning to the White House next year, some Democrats are viewing the power that the bill gives the executive branch—to label non-profit organizations as “funding terrorism” and strip them of their non-profit status—in a new light. But is it too late?  Guest: Emily Tam...

Anyone stuck in a knotted snarl of interstate clovers knows that GPS is both important and imperfect. But if GPS fails while you’re bringing a 737 in for a landing it could be catastrophic.  Why is “GPS spoofing” on the rise—and how can airlines protect their flights against being caught up in conflict zones. Guest: Drew FitzGerald , telecom reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Want more What Nex...

Candice Lim is joined by Read Max writer Max Read, whose Substack hit a new high this year when he coined the term “ Zynternet ” and its connection to “ Hawk Tuah girl .” Prior to Substack, Read was the editor-in-chief of Gawker, and on today’s episode, he speaks about the stories he regrets publishing, his relationship with The X-Files fandoms, and his golden rules for engaging online. This podca...

This week: Felix back and we have some Felix-y topics to cover. Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the latest Trump cabinet appointments and speculate if Scott Bessent will be able to rein in Trump’s economic plans. Then, much ink has been spilled over the sale of a conceptual artwork by Maurizio Cattelan for $6.2 million, yet no one really knows how to write about it. So, wh...

When it comes to gender affirming care for teenagers, parents’ rights no longer matter. Doctors’ opinions no longer matter. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in United States. v Skrmetti , challenging Tennessee’s ban on healthcare for trans kids, and upending half a century of gender protection doctrine.  Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT &a...

You know her honorific: Queen of Soul. And heavy is the head that wears the crown. In her lifetime, Aretha Franklin didn’t just want to be revered. She wanted hits. But Franklin made pop come to her, not the other way around. When showtunes and standards didn’t work in the ’60s, Aretha switched to gritty R&B and gospel harmonies—and started topping the charts. When she recorded a live album in...

Whatever X is, it ain’t the Twitter so many users fell in love with. Since the election, Bluesky has been on the rise, but it’s still only a fraction of the number of users on Twitter—at its peak or even now—or even fellow upstart Threads.  Is Bluesky set to take over the role Twitter used to play, or is it just one of many networks in a Balkanized social media landscape?  Guest: Will Oremus, a te...

We're off for Thanksgiving but still got together to share some things we're grateful for — and then, Zak is grateful to share an episode of his other show with you... all about being grateful for friendships, even in the rear-view. Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we shou...

While the What Next team is having a holiday, take this journey with our colleagues over at Decoder Ring. What Next will be back in your feed on Monday. Adults have a long history of trying to find morals and lessons in children’s literature. But what happens when a seemingly innocent book about a boy and a hungry mouse becomes fodder for the culture wars? Over the last decade, Laura Joffe Numerof...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs and his pick for Treasury Secretary; the next Federal Communications Commission Chair and free speech; and the “bro-economy” with The Atlantic’s  Annie Lowrey .  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss the most fulfilling jobs in America. In the latest  Gabfest Reads...

On this week’s show, the hosts consider ‘Glicked’ (or is it ‘Wadiator’? ‘Gladicked?’), the Wicked and Gladiator II double feature that promised to be this year’s ‘Barbenheimer.’ But did it deliver? Or even come close? First, the trio inspects Wicked , which won the weekend by a long shot (and broke a few records along the way.) At times, director Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of the famed Broadway...

This week, the hosts come together to unpack Sarah McBride’s groundbreaking win as the first openly transgender member of Congress. While the win is historic, Bryan, Jules, and Christina dig in to unpack the limits of representational politics and what it means for this win to exist alongside the emergence of anti-trans politics, which hit their all time high during this election cycle. Hosted on...

As Thanksgiving approaches the price of eggs is spiking again. But it wasn’t just inflation this time – it was also the rising number of cases of avian flu. How can the USDA, FDA, and CDC contain an outbreak in a country that both hates taking preventative measures and won’t tolerate any disruption in their food supply chain?   Guest: Marcia Brown , food and agriculture reporter at POLITICO . Want...

On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Vox’s Alex Abad-Santos and The Atlantic’s Allegra Frank to celebrate ICYMI’s fourth annual Friendsgiving episode. They run down the internet moments that made them laugh out loud this year, such as the highs and lows of ClubChalamet , the Madame Web of it all, and horny TikToks. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candic...

In this Money Talks: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs are being targeted by “anti-woke” pundits.  Emily Peck is joined by Simone Foxman of Bloomberg to explain why DEI is under fire from conservatives, and what these programs might look like under Trump’s second term – if they exist at all.  Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus epi...

The Supreme Court threw out the last attempt to ban mifepristone, the “abortion pill,” because they couldn’t figure out who in the case was being injured. Now three states are claiming they are being harmed, because abortion access is preventing population growth for them  Guest: Linda Greenhouse, Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times from 1978 to 2008, author and winner of the 1998 Pulitz...

When is it time to go no contact? In this episode, we talk to four listeners who have recently become estranged from loved ones. This episode was originally aired in 2022, and is part of a three-part series on estrangement. You can listen to the other episodes here:  Estrangement Purgatory - Our episode about the contemplation stages of estrangement with a listener named Brian who is considering l...