Slate Daily Feed

For this Money Talks, it’s all fun and games…and lots and lots of money. The Puzzmo game designer speaks with Felix Salmon about how to make addicting, viral pastimes that turn a profit. They discuss what made Wordle such a breakout hit, how to make games for both bad and good players, and the strained relationship between art and profit. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slat...

Can fast-fashion giant Shein go public while fending off accusations of bad labor practices, the US government, and a back-and-forth war with newcomer Temu? Guest: Mia Sato , platforms and communities 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. Subscribe today on Apple Po...

Your stories about how navigating weight and body size inside a relationship has sometimes made your partnerships stronger…and sometimes broken them apart. Since we originally recorded this episode in 2021, the way we talk about weight loss has changed with drugs like Ozempic. We want to hear more of your stories about weight and love especially if you’ve taken new weight loss medications. How has...

While the What Next team enjoys the holiday, we’re proud to feature this episode from our colleagues at How To . When Elle started a new career as a therapist, she never imagined she would be the one in need of help. After just a few months, her position at a group practice became untenable amid a lack of support from colleagues. Now she’s looking for a new job and wants to avoid a similar scenari...

The Care & Feeding team is off for Labor Day — but we won't let that stop you from hearing something great from elsewhere in the Slateiverse. So: we're handing the mic over to our friends at Decoder Ring ! Axolotls. Narwhals. Llamas. Sloths. Every few years, it seems like American kids and parents collectively decide they cannot get enough of a creature that makes teddy bears seem impossibly q...

Telegram was supposed to be the platform with the freest of free speech, which meant it was also rife with the worst the internet has to offer—"criminal activity” puts it lightly. But are French authorities setting a dangerous precedent with the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov?  Guest: Joseph Menn, tech reporter for the Washington Post covering privacy and security. Want more What Next TBD? Sub...

This week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the lawsuit against RealPage, a software company the DOJ says helps landlords collude to keep rents too damn high. Also: Was Nvidia’s earnings report worth the hype? And Australia got a new “right to disconnect.” Will Americans ever get to unplug? In the bonus mini-episode, the hosts debate whether airports should limit alcohol an...

Candice Lim is joined by Zakiya Gibbons, the host and creator of the reality dating podcast  Hang Up .  On today’s episode, they explain YouTube’s biggest phenomenon of the past year —  Skibidi Toilet . The animated, dystopian web series was created by Alexey Gerasimov, whose toilets have broken the internet and wracked up more than 43.5 million subscribers. Skibidi Toilet’s biggest fans seem to b...

In the last episode of our series The Law According to Trump, we try to figure out what it all means. In the months since SCOTUS gave Trump even more immunity than he asked for, the people prosecuting the former president are finding themselves in uncharted waters. How are they doing?  Slate’s Jurisprudence editor Jeremy Stahl talks with host Andrea Bernstein about how Jack Smith has tweaked the e...

Since the pandemic, schools have been reporting that their students are more anxious and having trouble learning. How much does simply removing cell phones from the classroom address these problems? Guests:  Laura Meckler , national education writer for the Washington Post Russell Shaw, head of Georgetown Day School and author of “ Why We’re Banning Phones at Our School ” for the Atlantic. Want mo...

For decades—literally since Woodstock—female musicians had battled music-industry perceptions that amassing too many of them, on the radio or on the road, was bad for business. And yet, by the ’90s, women were vital to the rise of alt-rock and hip-hop on the charts: from Suzanne Vega to Queen Latifah, Tracy Chapman to Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant to Missy Elliott. Sarah McLachlan harnessed this e...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Kamala Harris-Donald Trump debate and other campaign goings-on; the January 6th and classified documents cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith; and the national housing shortage with  Conor Dougherty  of The New York Times.  Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Wayne Homes:  The Great Debate: Front Porch vs. Back Porch ; ...

On this episode: Elizabeth, Lucy, and guest host Maribel Quezada-Smith circle up to talk about the viral moment surrounding Gus Walz’s appearance at the DNC last week — and what it meant to us, and our community, as parents of neurodivergent kids, and especially of boys.  We’ll also tackle a round of Triumphs & Fails — including a story about a very special language lesson.  Join us on Faceboo...

Say what you will about Donald Trump, the man can work a crowd. His running mate on the other hand… Guest: Sam Adams, Slate writer and senior editor for Slate’s Culture department. 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. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of...

On this week’s show, the hosts begin by reviewing Bad Monkey , a breezy new crime drama on Apple TV+ starring Vince Vaughn as a former police officer turned health inspector. It’s everything a summer show should be: laid-back, easy on the eyes, and set in warm, sunny Florida. Then, speaking of returns, the panel turns back the clock and tackles Homicide:‌ Life on the Street, a groundbreaking cop s...

This week, Jules and Bryan are joined by dating coach and host of the KCRW podcast How’s Your Sex Life , Myisha Battle. Myisha covers dating friends, understanding your own desire, and making connections in the real world.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the late 1970s, a new and unusual concept for a restaurant chain emerged in California—video games plus bad pizza plus animatronic characters. The result was Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre, an immensely popular chain with a pizza rat for a mascot. But the strangeness only starts there. Decoder Ring dives into the formation of Chuck E. Cheese’s and its rival, ShowBiz Pizza Place; the confl...

In the late 1970s, a new and unusual concept for a restaurant chain emerged in California—video games plus bad pizza plus animatronic characters. The result was Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre, an immensely popular chain with a pizza rat for a mascot. But the strangeness only starts there. Decoder Ring dives into the formation of Chuck E. Cheese’s and its rival, ShowBiz Pizza Place; the confl...

Why has this Venezuelan presidential election led to so much violence and controversy? Guest: Ana Vanessa Herrero , Washington Post correspondent based in Venezuela, reporting on South America.  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. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free”...

Candice Lim is joined by Slate culture writer  Nadira Goffe  and former host of Vox’s  The Weeds   Jonquilyn Hill . Vice President Kamala Harris has been a public servant for more than 20 years, but her internet history is just as storied and rife with  awkward singing ,  baffling laughter , and accidental  viral hits . From coconut trees to Venn diagrams, ICYMI dives into Harris’ relationship wit...

Climate activists Jess Serrante and Joanna Macy are 60 years apart. They’re also close friends who’ve been sharing stories and commiserating about the state of the world for the past 10 years. When Jess experienced a crisis and started questioning whether her activism was really effective, Joanna provided a framework that changed everything.  In this episode, Anna talks to Jess about what she’s le...

Since becoming the nominee, Kamala Harris has renounced some of her more progressive policy goals from her 2020 campaign, tacking closer to the Biden administration line and political center. So far, though, it hasn’t cost her progressive support. Guest: Pramila Jayapal , U.S. representative for the 7th congressional district of Washington.  Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access a...

Slate contributing writer and co-host of the podcast Split Zone Duo, Alex Kirshner hosts this week’s Hang Up and Listen. Alex is joined by The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh and founder of the Power Plays newsletter, Lindsay Gibbs for a discussion of private equity in the NFL and college football. Later, they break down the National Women’s Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association's new collective b...

On this episode: Elizabeth, Lucy and Zak offer tips for a kid who’s really, really good at losing library books and incurring the dreaded fees. How can parents help keep track of library books… and, more broadly, do communal school supplies mean we don’t have to worry about labeling anymore? We also check in on what’s happening in the hosts’ lives right now. And then, if you’re joining us for the...

Do Georgia’s new “electoral integrity” laws create more faith in the voting process—or just make it more restrictive? Guest: Sam Gringlas , politics reporter at WABE in Atlanta. 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. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our...