Slate News

Everyone would probably hate A.I. less if we could just see some upside to it. But despite all the investment—into the companies, into infrastructure like data centers, so much into marketing—it’s widely known: artificial intelligence sucks. Guest: Nilay Patel, co-founder and editor in chief of The Verge.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the who...

Over the last few years, there’s been an undeniable uptick in threats against American judges and their families: they’ve been doxxed, swatted, even killed. Many jurists are not all that comfortable having conversations around these threats. This reluctance to respond publicly is understandable, but it’s also depriving us of a critical perspective from the very people this affects. This week on Am...

This week: CEOs and investors at the Milken Institute Global Conference projected optimism about the economy despite the overall feeling of uncertainty brought on by Donald Trump. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck , discuss Emily’s reporting from the conference, and the way capitalists have adapted to thrive amid the unpredictability of this administration. Then, they discuss GameSt...

The not-always-beloved-but-indisputably-useful Spirit Airlines has given up the ghost. What does this mean for the airline industry and your summer travel plans?  Guest: Will Guisbond , senior reporter for The Air Current. 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 Po...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how the Iran War is hurting Trump and the Republicans as its economic fallout grows, the sudden revival of abortion pill politics which ended an uneasy equilibrium between federal law and state bans, and early results of a study on school cellphone bans. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss recent...

Donald Trump is spending his second term trying to cement his legacy, but he still hasn’t zeroed in on what that should be: Is it his name on monuments? A ballroom decorated in his specific style? Owning Greenland or whatever? Credit where credit is due, though, he’s already made a mark on the political discourse that will have the staying power of a jagged scar.  Guest: Michael Scherer, staf...

Even with all that Democrats having going for them—mid-term elections typically favoring the out-of-power party, Trump’s sinking approval rates, even rising gas prices—it will be an uphill battle to wrest the Senate from GOP control.  Guest: Jonathan Martin, POLITICO politics bureau chief and host of “ On the Road ” a podcast about the 2026 midterms. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Pl...

“Intersectionality” was one of those “DEI terms” that the Trump administration and Project 2025 were eager to do away with once they got back into power. But to understand what just happened to the Voting Rights Act, a little critical race theory would go a long way.  Guest: Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw , civil rights advocate, co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Fo...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...