Slate Daily Feed

Candice Lim is joined by Slate’s business and tech writer Nitish Pahwa, to discuss the internet history of Derek Guy, better known as @DieWorkwear on Twitter. Back in 2022, Elon Musk acquired Twitter, leading to major consequences for everyone’s timelines. One of those consequences was the unexpected boosting of Derek Guy, which led to his Twitter account reaching more than 1 million followers. Pa...

As Elon Musk channeled his considerable resources towards Donald Trump’s campaign, there was talk about what his role in the new Trump administration would be. If his stint leading Twitter is any indication, the federal government could be in for a bumpy ride. Guest: Zoë Schiffer , incoming director of business and industry at Wired, author of Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk’s Twitter . Want...

As Elon Musk channeled his considerable resources towards Donald Trump’s campaign, there was talk about what his role in the new Trump administration would be. If his stint leading Twitter is any indication, the federal government could be in for a bumpy ride. Guest: Zoë Schiffer , incoming director of business and industry at Wired, author of Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk’s Twitter . Want...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the big wins of Donald Trump and Senate Republicans; the what-next of the second Trump presidency; and the electoral victories and possible setbacks for abortion rights. Join us on December 4 for Political Gabfest Live in Brooklyn!  Tickets are on sale now . And send us your Conundrums at  slate.com/conundrum . Email your chatters,...

On this episode: Elizabeth, Lucy and Zak crack open our mailbag. You’ve been sending a ton of emails about everything from Zionism to the Red Light District to Lucy’s Impala impulses… so today, we’re sharing all that and more.  And then, of course, we’ll share some triumphs and fails. Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought...

There is a prominent bird in the 2000 film Charlie’s Angels that makes absolutely no sense. This so-called Pygmy Nuthatch doesn’t look or sound like it should, or live where the characters say it does. The bird is so elaborately wrong that it has haunted the birding community, including Slate’s very own Forrest Wickman, for almost a quarter of a century. In this episode, Forrest embarks on a wild...

It’s not 2016 all over again. With a party now shaped in his image, and a Supreme Court that already gave him immunity, how will a vengeful Donald Trump’s second term go down? Guest: David A. Graham , staff writer at the Atlantic who wrote “ What Trump Understood, and Harris Did Not .” Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across...

In this extra episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern wade through the immediate aftermath of the election. Will splitting the ticket on abortion protect abortion rights nationally? (No) What will the federal government look like at 12:02 pm on January 20th, 2025? (very different than at 11:58 am that day) Are all of Brett Kavanaugh’s wildest unitary executive dreams about to come...

Trump has just about done it again—and the country’s largely swinging further to the right on down-ballot candidates and even some ballot initiatives. Why couldn’t the Harris campaign pull it off, and what do other key losses for the Democrats say about what Americans want? Guest: David Faris , politics professor at Roosevelt University and contributing writer for Slate . Want more What Next? Subs...

On this week’s show, Extremely Musical Friend of the Pod (EMFOP)‌ Chris Molanphy joins to memorialize pop’s Renaissance Man, Quincy Jones, who passed away on November 3, 2024. The legendary producer worked with every star under the sun, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Chaka Khan, and created the best-selling album in history. (“Thriller,” maybe you’ve heard of it?) Then, the trio mulls...

On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe to share their favorite TikToks, tweets, and internet icons of late. They’ll discuss construction workers going viral and the newest Abbott Elementary guest star to inspire fan edits galore. But first, they discuss the peculiarity of People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive rollout and which categories caused the most confus...

In this episode, historian Ben Miller chats with Bryan Lowder about the surprising ways white gay men have romanticized the idea of the 'primitive' in their search for utopia. Ben shares stories about key figures like Harry Hay and the radical gay activism of the 70s that centered a 'back to the land' fantasy that relied on racialized fantasies of the past. Together, they explore how these fantasi...

From an early age, Alynda Segarra saw the people they loved grind it out in an American system that offered them little reward. Their father, a musician and Vietnam War veteran, suffered from PTSD, and their aunt and uncle, with whom they lived, were stretched beyond their means. Alynda decided they would take a different path: drop out of school, hop trains, and form a band. "I just thought I sho...

It’s been a strange election—Trump being shot at on stage; Biden dropping out—but also a very familiar one, with the same issues, same rhetoric, and same deadlocked, dysfunctional Congress waiting on the other side. How long will the political Groundhog Day last—and what will it take to break this cycle? Guests: Osita Nwanevu , contributing editor at the New Republic and columnist at The Guardian...

Hosts Alex Kirshner , Lindsay Gibbs , and Ben Lindbergh talk about the dominant Dodgers, why NCAA coaches are hiring lobbyists, election gambling, and the return of Afterballs! On the Bonus episode exclusively for Slate Plus members, the hosts get into esports, and gaming star FAKER's fifth League of Legends World Championship. World Series (4:47): The Dodgers were good. The Yankees were bad. Olym...

Whatever happened to selling out? The defining concern of Generation X has become a relic from another era. How that happened is best illustrated by one of the idea’s last gasps, when in 2001, Oprah Winfrey invited author Jonathan Franzen to come on her show to discuss his new novel The Corrections . A month later, she withdrew the invitation, kicking off a media firestorm. The Oprah-Franzen Book...

On this episode: Elizabeth, Lucy and Zak share how they’re talking to the kids about tomorrow’s election. We’ll offer tips for cutting through the noise to talk civics… and also how to address the serious, nasty, and scary.  Elizabeth’s book recommendations:  V is for Voting by Kate Farrell Equality’s Call: the Story of Voting Rights in America by Deborah Diesen Usborne: Politics for Beginners  Th...

The worst part about the election being tomorrow is knowing that we (almost definitely) won’t know the results tomorrow. Guests: Ari Berman, voting rights reporter for Mother Jones Kadia Goba, political reporter for Semafor Isaac Saul, founder of the Tangle newsletter Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite...

Voters in swing states are being subjected to constant political messages—on billboards, commercials and, increasingly, via text messages. But are dozens of “make a plan to vote” texts you’re receiving going to make a difference? Guest: Jacob Neiheisel, political science professor at the University at Buffalo  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whol...

This week’s show is unapologetically long, deep, and hopeful. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Yale history professor Timothy Snyder to talk about his new book, On Freedom , and to have the audacity to re-imagine freedom on the precipice of an election that could turn the United States hard right into tyranny. Next, Dahlia is joined by Rick Hasen, Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA...

This week: Readers aren’t buying Jeff Bezos’ claim that killing the Washington Posts’ presidential endorsement wasn’t from his own business interests. Emily Peck , Elizabeth Spiers , and Anna Szymanski weigh in on how the move may or may not help Bezos and what the WaPo boycott can actually accomplish. Also: How would a Trump victory affect the economy? Badly, economists say. Finally: Facebook lai...

Candice Lim is joined by Pop Culture Debate Club host Ronald Young Jr. to reveal their favorite fictional presidents of film, television, and the internet. Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook were historically platforms rife with presidential meme content. Since the 2016 election, however, there seems to have been a shift in the way the internet talks — or doesn’t talk — about the commander-in-chief. On...

How did Elon Musk go from a poster to someone pumping millions of dollars towards Donald Trump? And what’s he hoping to get for doing so? Guest: Max Chafkin , Bloomberg Businessweek columnist.   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 Free” at...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the final week of the presidential campaign; the threats to election integrity; and the consequences of not endorsing. Join us on December 4 for Political Gabfest Live in Brooklyn!  Tickets are on sale now . And send us your Conundrums at  slate.com/conundrum . Email your chatters, questions, and comments to  gabfest@slate.com . (Me...

On this episode: Lucy, Zak and Elizabeth answer a listener's question about something that happened last Halloween… when an older gentleman might’ve taken a photo of her young kid. We’ll talk about whether it’s as creepy as it sounds — and also, why Elizabeth is over Halloween.  We’ll also circle up for a round of triumphs and fails — including an update on Lucy’s mama.  Join us on Facebook and em...