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Can a Republican Lieutenant Governor be reborn as a Democratic Governor? After failing to create a GOP 2.0, and being harried by Trump for admitting Biden won Georgia in 2020, Geoff Duncan has changed sides—and many of his old political positions.   Guest: Geoff Duncan, former lieutenant governor of Georgia and a current Georgia gubernatorial candidate who switched parties from Republica...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are joined by Mandy Giles , founder and CEO of Parents of Trans Youth , an organization that “provides learning , support, and community to parents and caregivers of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse kids.” Mandy explains how parents can provide a safe, supportive space for their trans kids and helps a listener who is wonderi...

In the early 2020s, Microsoft committed to buying 75 million tons of carbon removal—somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of the entire carbon removal market. But the company just announced it was putting that ambition on pause..  Guest: Robinson Meyer, founding executive editor of Heatmap News . Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next...

Dahlia Lithwick reviews what has been an “exceptionally bad week” for American democracy. Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade explains why the charges against former FBI director James Comey, rooted in the claim that he threatened to kill President Trump – via the medium of seashells on Instagram – are unlikely to stick, no matter how hard Trump’s Acting (and actively auditioning) Attorney Genera...

This week: Google’s parent company Alphabet announced an incredible $110 billion in first-quarter revenue thanks, in part, to the computing needs of the AI boom.   Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck , discuss the shocking earnings report and the reasons to doubt it as a sign of future growth, including the internet’s ever-evolving information economy. Then, they get into Bill Ac...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by author Leigh Stein, who landed her first book deal in the 2010s personal essay boom. With new memoirs from Lindy West and Lena Dunham, it feels like confessional writing is getting a 2020s rebirth. However, reactions to viral personal essays, like those in The Cut, prove social media has become a much different beast. Now, writing a personal essay...

One of independent journalism’s success stories and most charismatic advocates stops by to answer the question: “If journalism is so great, how did all of THIS happen?”  Guest: Amy Goodman, executive producer and host of Democracy Now!.   This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —...

This week marks the beginning of the jury trial between Elon Musk and Sam Altman. There are massive implications for the A.I. industry here, but at the end of the day, the question might just boil down to - who do people dislike more? Guest: Gerrit De Vynck, tech reporter at the Washington Post Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next fami...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the ongoing political fallout from Saturday's attempted assassination at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the monumental impact the Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais will have on minority political representation, and what yesterday's oral arguments at SCOTUS portend for immigrants under Temporary Pr...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen answer a listener's question about becoming a ‘boy mom.’ They also share their latest triumphs and fails. Including: a newly-minted coach, the fastest homework ever completed, and some budding relationships.  Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Rosemary Belson. Follow us on YouTube !  Join us on Facebook and email us at ca...

How Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais ran contrary to the Voting Rights Act—both as written by Congress and as previously interpreted by the Supreme Court.  Guest: Jay Willis , editor-in-chief of Balls and Strikes. 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. Subscri...

On Wednesday, Justice Samuel Alito delivered the latest, probably lethal  blow in the Supreme Court’s decades-long campaign against multi-racial democracy in America, with a  6-3 majority opinion gutting what remained of the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v Callais . In this special extra episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick talks with Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the Le...

This week, Dana, Steve, and Nadira Goffe assess if we as a culture can ever really escape Neverland— namely, the gigantic and fraught legacy of Michael Jackson. They unpack the biopic Michael. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, starring Jackson’s own nephew Jaafar Jackson, and produced by much of the Jackson family, the film is chock full of musical numbers and light on the troubling aspects of the singer...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by ex-Mormon content creator Alyssa Grenfell to discuss the new Secret Lives of Mormon Wives spinoff, Netflix’s Trust Me , and the pop-culturification of Mormonism. While the internet has long been a place for Mormon creators to thrive, now that they’ve gone mainstream, our obsession with MomTok and dirty sodas risks softening, and even obscuring, th...

Democrats are starting to let themselves feel a little optimistic about the fall midterms, which is just about time for the fight between the centrists and the slightly-left-of-centrist party wings to get ugly. But a candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan is trying to sidestep another internecine fight by keeping his eye on the goal. Guest:  Abdul El-Sayed , Michigan Senate candidate , physici...

In this Money Talks: MIT professor Daron Acemoglu joins Emily Peck to explain his research into pro-worker technologies and how we can not only avoid the AI job apocalypse but also improve workers' lives by shifting the goal of AI from automation to collaboration.  Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Y...

When musician Chris Dowd was 19, shortly after graduating from high school, his band Fishbone got signed to Columbia Records. The group was made up of Black teenagers in Los Angeles, who combined several musical genres—funk, punk, ska, metal, reggae—into a new exciting sound in the late 70’s. They influenced countless other bands but struggled to find lasting commercial success. This week on the s...

Presidential assassinations have been spawning conspiracy theories since Lincoln. But Saturday’s attempted assassination seems about as straightforward as these things can be—so why does it feel like everyone believes it was staged? Guest: Will Sommer, author of the False Flag newsletter for The Bulwark and “ Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America .” Want more W...

The biopic “Michael” solves the third-act problem of Michael Jackson’s life by simply ending before the 1993 lawsuit that alleged child sex abuse, and before his appearance and behavior took a drastic turn. It leaves the King of Pop someone you can love without qualification—but not someone you can understand. Guest: Aisha Harris , co-host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast Want more What Nex...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez and Elizabeth Newcamp help Zak Rosen figure out if he should sign up his son for baseball, despite Ami having no interest in being on a team. They also answer a listener’s question about losing your identity amidst parenthood.  This week on the Plus Playground: The one easy spring-cleaning task that will make your home feel better.  Podcast production by Cheyn...

The era of ads following you around the internet via cookies might be coming to an end. What’s replacing it? Guest: Sara Fisher, Axios' media correspondent , and media analyst at CNN. 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 the top of...

As journalists, a-listers, and some of the most vociferous critics of journalism from  the Trump administration gather for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Dahlia Lithwick tackles the president and his allies’ tactics to chill the press and undermine the First Amendment.  In conversation with Guardian columnist and former New York Times public editor, Margaret Sullivan she explore...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by culture writer Kat Tenbarge to discuss CNN’s recent investigation into a global online “rape academy.” The reporters infiltrated a Telegram group of nearly 1000 men exchanging tactics to drug and sexually assault their partners, which they found through a specific pornography website. However, when CNN reported that this website received 62 millio...

This week: Tim Cook announced he was stepping down as Apple’s CEO after 15 years. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck , unpack his unique legacy as the leader of the very beloved, very visible brand. Then, Axios’ Senior Health Care Editor Adriel Bettelheim joins to explain what peptides are and how  RFK Jr. is trying to throw the doors open for the undertested wellness trend. And...

Slate and the team at Eureka Street Productions are so honored by this award and want to thank everyone who has listened to and supported the show. This series tells the story of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, one of the first gay-positive churches in America, and how its congregation faced the AIDS epidemic, including the deaths of hundreds of its members. At the heart of the...