Slate Daily Feed

The Trump administration is, let’s say, experiencing a bit of turnover this spring. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer is out and Kash Patel has reached the “embroiled in scandal and suing the press” zone.  Guest: Jeet Heer , national affairs correspondent for The Nation. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock...

Hit Parade is on a brief break, but if you need a daily dose of fascinating stories, check out History Daily. Host Lindsay Graham (the history guy! not the senator!) explores what happened "on this day in history," with a broad mix of politics, sports, technology, medicine, and much more. Chris recommends this episode about the genesis of MTV—including the forgotten role played by a former member...

Is artificial intelligence a blessing to all humanity, or a demon sent to lead us astray from God’s path? MAGA is choosing between two extremes. Guest: Kiera Butler , national correspondent for Mother Jones. 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 “...

Donna Summer was a hit-maker for two decades and a dance floor deity for more than three. Her collaborations with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte were formative in dance, electronic, and rock music, influencing everyone from David Bowie and Blondie to Madonna and Moby. But the rock establishment was stinting in its appreciation—whether at Comiskey Park in Chicago in 1979 or the Rock and Roll Hal...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Trump's need for a face-saving exit amid his economically disastrous standoff with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, how Kash Patel's defamation suit against The Atlantic could hurt him more than help him, and a controversial new Yale report on trust in higher education with guest and report committee co-chair Beverly Gage . For this...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen help a listener whose 20-year-old step-kid is moving back home. Their kid’s partner is coming to visit. Which means there’s an old-fashioned question hanging in the air. Will they be allowed to share a bed? But first, they share their latest triumphs and fails. Including: an oatmeal breakdown, an unexpected use for mom underwear, and...

Representatives Eric Swalwell, Tony Gonzales, and now Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick are out; Virginia is redistricting and Republicans are bracing for a tsunami of a blue wave in the fall midterms. What’s gotten into Congress all of a sudden? Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer.  Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family...

The government is getting ready to pay $166 billion in tariff refunds to American businesses. But the consumers who had to foot the bill for the higher costs? No such luck. Guest: Justin Wolfers , economist and professor at the University of Michigan. 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....

Money is everywhere. Money influences just about everything. We think about money all the time. But how much do we really know about it? In this episode of Decoder Ring, we explore the obscure historical forces that make our money what it is and behave the way it does. We ask two simple-sounding questions with surprising answers: Why is our money called the dollar—and where are those dollars reall...

Steve, Dana, and Julia convene once more for a rousing Gabfest. First up, it’s Mother Mary . David Lowery’s strange psychodrama centers on a pop star, played by Anne Hathaway, reuniting with her estranged friend and costume designer, played by Michaela Coel, and the menacing piece of red chiffon that haunts them both.  Next, they turn to another pair of mothers in Margo’s Got Money Troubles ....

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate senior writer Scaachi Koul to discuss the downfall of Katy Perry. Back in 2025, Scaachi wrote a feature about the singer’s descent from beloved pop star to internet meme, but a recent allegation of sexual assault from actress Ruby Rose has cast her legacy in a whole new light. But in revisiting Katy Perry’s past fifteen years, it turns out t...

Money is everywhere. Money influences just about everything. We think about money all the time. But how much do we really know about it? In this episode of Decoder Ring, we explore the obscure historical forces that make our money what it is and behave the way it does. We ask two simple-sounding questions with surprising answers: Why is our money called the dollar—and where are those dollars reall...

During the Trump administration’s winter immigration surge, high-level officials assured ICE agents that they could act with impunity. But two different legal cases from Minnesota and Maine are finding ways to challenge the immunity they assumed they had as federal officers. Guest:  Mark Joseph Stern , senior staff writer at Slate covering courts and the law cohost of Amicus . Want more What...

In 2008, travel writer Rick Steves thought the U.S. might be on the verge of war with Iran. So he took a TV crew there to document the people and places who might soon be at risk. “You should know people before you bomb them,” he told Anna Sale.  In this episode, Rick talks about his multiple visits to Iran (the first was in 1978) and how travel in general can challenge our beliefs and broade...

From bombing fishing boats in the Caribbean, to kidnapping Nicolás Maduro, to the Iran War, the Trump administration seems to operate like it has just as much immunity from international law as John Roberts says it has domestically. They’re probably not wrong. Guest: Philippe Sands, professor of law at University College London, Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listen...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen answer a question from the Slate Parenting Facebook group about a kid who won’t stop wearing his clothes backwards. They also give a Mother’s Day PSA and talk about memorable Mother’s Day fails.  This week on the Plus Playground: thoughtful Mother’s Day presents.  Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Rosemary Belson. ...

This very online administration is facing push back from Iran in their own home territory: the world of insipid memes, A.I. videos, and online mockery. Guest: Ali Breland , staff writer for the Atlantic. 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...

Emily Bazelon talks with journalist Mark Oppenheimer about his new book Judy Blume: A Life . Oppenheimer, who spent years with Blume’s papers at Yale and conducted extensive interviews with the author herself, traces how a restless housewife in New Jersey became one of the most beloved—and most banned—writers in American history. They discuss what made Blume’s frank, funny voice so revolutionary f...

Hungary’s autocratic creep was turned back at the ballot box last weekend, in a stark rebuke to the forces of illiberalism and to the American conservatives who invested so heavily in former Hungarian leader Viktor Orban’s mission. It’s good news. But it’s not the end of the story. It behoves pro-democracy forces in the United States to move past the example of democratic resilience in Hungary to...

This week: Sneaker company Allbirds announced a pivot into A.I. infrastructure. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck explain why this absurd-sounding venture is actually a pretty clever piece of financial engineering. Then, the hosts get into the market surge that put the S&P 500 at a record high. And finally, the courts confirmed what we all knew: Live Nation and its subsidiary Ti...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Yahoo senior entertainment reporter Kelsey Weekman to discuss influencers at Coachella. Kelsey herself attended Coachella Weekend One, and spoke to creators and regular attendees about what the music festival has become. While the experience itself has been enshittified by brands, even those watching from home are losing interest—especially when t...

Richard Pryor redefined comedy by telling the truth, even when it scorched him. Today, we’re sharing a preview of a new podcast, Big Lives, and a special episode about Pryor. Every week, hosts Kai Wright and Emmanuel Dzotsi dig into the BBC archive to explore the story behind the icons who shape our culture—trailblazers like David Bowie, Meg Ryan, Amy Winehouse, and Tina Turner—and better understa...

Back in the depths of the pandemic, what was an actor to do? Ben McKenzie started looking into cryptocurrency—and his research yielded both a book and a new documentary. The works are both non-fiction, which is more than McKenzie can say for crypto. Guest: Ben McKenzie, actor, director of the documentary Everyone Is Lying to You for Money , and co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capit...

Last week we aired an episode about lonelygirl15, one of the first proper YouTube stars, and perhaps the most famous example of playing around with the boundaries of fiction and truth on the internet. But it was not the first. In 1995, aspiring filmmakers created the first ever soap opera on the Web, on a site called The Spot. Hollywood saw it as the future of entertainment. But a fan-led revolt s...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Trump's Hormuz blockade and his feud with the Pope, a new oral history chronicling stark shifts inside the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's second term, and how to unwind authoritarianism after the consequential electoral defeat of Hungary's Viktor Orbán with guest Anne Applebaum . For this week’s Slate Plus bonus epis...