Slate News

Economist, journalist, and podcaster Tim Harford returns to the show to discuss his new book The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics with Felix Salmon and Emily Peck. They also chew over President Joe Biden’s new stimulus bill and the Beeple NFT. In the Plus Segment: Florence Nightingale. Email: slatemoney@slate.com Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Twitter: @felixsalmo...

Emily, John and David discuss the unprecedented American Rescue Plan. Author Heather McGhee joins the Gabfest to talk about her new book outlining how racism hurts all Americans and Dr. Michael Mina answers questions about how to improve the nation's pandemic-fighting strategies. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Pew Research Center: “ Broad Public Support for Coronavirus A...

Back in 2014, Google released in-depth diversity data for its workforce for the first time. 1.1 percent of its tech team identified as Black. Six years later, after millions of dollars spent and a much-hyped partnership program with historically Black colleges and universities across the country, that number is up to 2.4 percent.  How did such a promising effort yield such incremental change? Gues...

Back in 2014, Google released in-depth diversity data for its workforce for the first time. 1.1 percent of its tech team identified as Black. Six years later, after millions of dollars spent and a much-hyped partnership program with historically Black colleges and universities across the country, that number is up to 2.4 percent.  How did such a promising effort yield such incremental change? Gues...

Why did schools stay closed for so long in Memphis? And why weren’t parents clamoring for them to reopen? To answer those questions, you have to tell a longer story about the relationship between a majority-Black, Democratically-controlled city and a largely white, Republican-controlled state.  Guest: Laura Faith Kebede , reporter for Chalkbeat Tennessee .  Slate Plus members get bonus segments an...

Nearly a third of republican voters say they’re not interested in getting a COVID-19 vaccine. What does that mean for the spread of the virus?  Guest: Dan Diamond , national health reporter for the Washington Post .  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Slate Money Goes to the Movies, a miniseries in which Felix Salmon, Anna Szymanski, and a different guest each week discuss popular business-themed movies.  This week, Felix and Anna are joined by Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and Wall Street superfan, to talk about Oliver Stone’s 1987 ode to yuppie culture. They’ll discuss the corporate raider culture of the 80s, the er...

The 117th U.S. Congress is the most diverse ever. But that distinction does not extend to senior staff on the Hill. How does the makeup of Congressional staff influence legislation? Guest: Maya King , author of Politico’s Recast newsletter on how race and identity shape politics, policy, and power.   Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See...

George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police last year sparked an international protest movement and amplified calls for police accountability. Now, as the former police officer Derek Chauvin goes on trial, Minneapolis is preparing for another public reckoning.  Guest: Jon Collins , senior reporter for Minnesota Public Radio. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast fee...

Charles Kenny, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, joins Felix Salmon and Emily Peck to talk about his new book The Plague Cycle: The Unending War Between Humanity and Infectious Disease , vaccine distribution, and how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the global economy long term.  Email: slatemoney@slate.com Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Twitter: @felixsalmon , @EmilyRP...

The federal Lifeline program was intended to bridge the gap between Americans who could comfortably pay for phone and internet service, and those who couldn’t. But in the midst of the pandemic, Lifeline is falling woefully short. How did a program meant to help connect low-income Americans with phone and internet service ended up making them second-class digital citizens at the worst possible mome...

The federal Lifeline program was intended to bridge the gap between Americans who could comfortably pay for phone and internet service, and those who couldn’t. But in the midst of the pandemic, Lifeline is falling woefully short. How did a program meant to help connect low-income Americans with phone and internet service ended up making them second-class digital citizens at the worst possible mome...

Emily, John and David discuss the stimulus bill, sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo, and escalating voter suppression efforts. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Dahlia Lithwick for Slate: “ Maybe It’s a Good Thing Andrew Cuomo Is Still Governor ” Charlotte Klein for Vanity Fair: “ Pence Can’t Quit The Big Election Lie That Nearly Got Him Killed ” The Brennan...

After Joe Biden’s surprising win in Georgia, Republicans in the state started in on legislation to limit voting access in the state. Their efforts mirror what’s happening in state houses across the country. Is there any way to slow down these efforts to limit access to the ballot?  Guest: Ari Berman , writer for Mother Jones and the author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Righ...

As legislative sessions begin across the country, a rash of anti-trans bills have been brought to the floor by Republican legislators. Many of the proposals target trans youth -- both in sports, and access to medical care. If any of these bills become law, what will it mean for trans rights across the country?  Guest: Kate Sosin , Reporter for the 19th Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-...

President Joe Biden has said he wants to focus his foreign policy on rebuilding international alliances and standing up to China and Russia. But just five weeks into the new administration, the Middle East has already started to demand Biden’s attention.   Guest: Josh Keating, senior editor at Slate. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See...

Welcome to Slate Money Goes to the Movies, a miniseries in which Felix Salmon, Anna Szymanski, and a different guest each week discuss popular business-themed movies.  This week, Felix and Anna are joined by Louise Roug, International executive Editor at HuffPost, to talk about the hit 1980 comedy 9 to 5 . They discuss how the film’s original, darker tone was abandoned, why its themes are, sadly,...

The power’s back on in Texas, but many residents are still struggling to clean up after a disastrous winter storm. The cold snap knocked out electricity for several days and froze water lines. Some Texans are still without water; others are bailing out flooded homes. But this storm was just the latest in a series of catastrophes to hit Texas in the past several years, leaving the state’s most vuln...

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, to try to unpack how the First Amendment has become the answer to everything and yet actually applies to so few of the speech issues we face.  In our Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern takes a look at Justice Clarence Thomas’ dissent this week that sounded a lot like an...

Author and science journalist, Annalee Newitz joins Felix Salmon and Emily Peck to talk about their new book Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age , electric vehicles and why the internet may be doomed .    In the Slate Plus segment: The payments infrastructure in the US.  Email: slatemoney@slate.com Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Twitter: @felixsalmon , @EmilyRPeck Hosted on...

Over the last year, the Australian government has been waging a quiet war against Facebook and Google. Through a new law, it plans to force the big tech companies to pay news outlets in exchange for linking to their sites. Will this new law have the intended effect? Or will it set a dangerous precedent that cedes even more power over to the tech giants? Guest:  JR Hennessy , editor at Business Ins...

Over the last year, the Australian government has been waging a quiet war against Facebook and Google. Through a new law, it plans to force the big tech companies to pay news outlets in exchange for linking to their sites. Will this new law have the intended effect? Or will it set a dangerous precedent that cedes even more power over to the tech giants? Guest:  JR Hennessy , editor at Business Ins...

Emily, John and David discuss the Tanden take down, Merrick Garland‘s DOJ, and how to stop police killings of Black people with guest Jason Johnson. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Isaac Chotiner on Twitter @IChotiner Mitch Daniels for the Washington Post: “ Senate Republicans Could Restore a Bit of Civility by Confirming Neera Tanden ”  Jacob Jarvis for Newsweek: “ Neera...

After years of policy work in Washington, Neera Tanden is more than qualified to serve as Biden’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget. But her open scorn for conservatives and progressives alike, often expressed through aggressive Twitter barbs, has made her confirmation the most tenuous of the new president’s picks. Guest: Jim Newell , Slate’s senior politics writer. Slate Plus member...

The U.S. military has long had a sexual assault problem. And the Marine Corps - the final service branch to gender-integrate - is no exception. Though multiple scandals have rocked the Marines, continued abuses make it clear that deeper changes are needed to make all service people safe. Guest: Erin Kirk-Cuomo , founder of #NotInMyMarineCorps. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podc...