Slate News

This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Anna Szymanski talk about the possibility of a merger between Uber and Grubhub, the potential collapse of the child care industry , and they get to some of the questions they missed on their Wednesday night Facebook Live Q&A. In the Slate Plus segment: Questions from the live Q&A  Email:  slatemoney@slate.com Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. T...

Every week, it feels like some new piece of coronavirus information dominates the headlines. Mysterious symptoms, changing government directives. This constant trickle of updates can quickly turn into a flood. How should normal people interpret this deluge of data? Guest: Emily Oster , professor of economics at Brown University and co-founder of COVID-Explained .  Host Lizzie O’Leary     Hosted on...

Every week, it feels like some new piece of coronavirus information dominates the headlines. Mysterious symptoms, changing government directives. This constant trickle of updates can quickly turn into a flood. How should normal people interpret this deluge of data? Guest: Emily Oster , professor of economics at Brown University and co-founder of COVID-Explained .  Host Lizzie O’Leary     Hosted on...

Emily, John, and David discuss COVID without federal leadership; challenges to Trump at the Supreme Court; and novelist Isabel Allende joins the show to talk about her new book A Long Petal of the Sea , and how crisis can be an opportunity for change. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, Emily, and John discuss (what would be) epic historical counterfactuals. Slate Plus members get a bo...

All around the world, scientific research has been put on hold to concentrate resources on one thing: a vaccine for COVID-19. The usual red tape that slows down these experiments has been removed. And at a lab in Baltimore, researchers are working around the clock to recruit trial participants, prepare vaccine doses, and study results.  Guest: Dr. Kirsten Lyke , lead investigator on COVID-19 vacci...

The criminal case against former Trump adviser Michael Flynn has been full of plot-twists. But the biggest about-face came last week, when the Department of Justice moved to drop the case entirely. Lawyers who had worked on the investigation registered their disgust by refusing to sign the motion. U.S. Attorney General William Barr says he hopes history will look kindly on his decision. Critics sa...

We spoke to Greta Privitera back in mid-March, a few weeks after she and her family isolated themselves at home in northern Italy. Now, with Italy taking baby steps toward normalcy, Greta says she’s enjoying her walks outside, she still worries about another surge in COVID-19 cases. And by the look of things, she's not alone. Guest: Greta Privitera , a journalist living in Milan. Read her latest d...

Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead on a Sunday afternoon in southern Georgia. He had been jogging a few miles from his home. The shooting happened on February 23. It took more than two months for officials to make any arrests. Why? Guest: Christian Boone , public safety reporter for the AJC.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Susan Hennessey, national security analyst and executive editor of Lawfare to discuss the ramifications of the Justice Department’s decision to drop the case against Michael Flynn. Later in the show, Lithwick is joined by veteran Supreme Court watcher Linda Greenhouse to unpack the new format for Supreme Court arguments: a teleconference carried live on C-SPAN, with a...

Urban theorist Richard Florida joins the Slate Money hosts to discuss all sorts of questions around cities and coronavirus--such as how population density factors into the virus’ spread, why certain cities are faring better than others, and what our cities might look like after the pandemic.   In the Slate Plus segment: The reaction to COVID-19 and climate change.    Email:  slatemoney@slate.com P...

Yesterday, New York City announced that it would provide 140,000 free antibody tests to residents who want to know if they have been exposed to the coronavirus. And New York isn’t alone: large-scale antibody testing is ramping up around the country. But with faulty tests flooding the market and questions about whether a positive test really confers immunity are antibody tests really worth the both...

Yesterday, New York City announced that it would provide 140,000 free antibody tests to residents who want to know if they have been exposed to the coronavirus. And New York isn’t alone: large-scale antibody testing is ramping up around the country. But with faulty tests flooding the market and questions about whether a positive test really confers immunity are antibody tests really worth the both...

Emily, John and David discuss states reopening as numbers of cases continue to climb; this year’s election security challenges; and they're joined by guest Gene Sperling to talk about “economic dignity.” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, Emily, and John discuss how to save the summer. Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episode...

For years, the Postal Service has faced financial turmoil. Now, facing a pandemic, mail volume has dropped off and the question has resurfaced: Can the post office survive? Devin Leonard wrote the book on the Postal Service and says how it got to this latest crisis is more complicated than it seems. With the post master general saying that the service could be financially insolvent by the fall, is...

It all started when the weather took a turn for the better. Surfers and beachgoers flocked to Orange County shores, only to find them cordoned off, at the behest of Governor Gavin Newsom. Protestors took to the streets in Huntington Beach, demanding an end to the shutdowns. The demonstrations weren't huge. But, in the world of Republican politics, you ignore Orange County at your own peril. Guest:...

Last spring, Lucy Flores wrote in  The Cut  that Joe Biden invaded her personal space and sniffed her hair at a campaign event in 2014. She says Biden never reached out to her after she went public. Now, as Joe Biden faces even more serious allegations from a former staffer, what action does Lucy expect from the former Vice President? Guest: Lucy Flores, Former Nevada Assemblywoman and CEO Luz Col...

In this Slate Money mini-series, Felix Salmon talks to guests about the economics of food. This week, Austin Bryniarski joins to discuss his theory that the war on food waste is a little too easy for everyone to get behind and might ultimately serve as a distraction from bigger environmental and social issues.  For more info, read his article The War on Food Waste is a Waste of Time by Austin Bryn...

As the coronavirus continues to leave people sick and out of work, alone and under stress, there’s one particular group of people taking special notice, extremists. It's not just the virus that is spreading. Extreme and violent rhetoric is too. Guest: Hannah Allam , covers extremism for NPR. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Today we're introducing you to one of our favorite podcasts, Code Switch ! Hosted by Gene Demby and Shereen Marisol Meraji , Code Switch offers some of the best stories and conversations about race you'll find anywhere. On today's bonus episode you'll hear a fascinating story about what happened when Puerto Ricans were asked for the first time on their census form: "What is your race?" The answer...

This week Felix, Anna, and Emily discuss the process for reopening states, what’s going on with big business right now, and the gross domestic product that’s hidden in our homes.  In the Slate Plus segment: The meat industry.  Email:  slatemoney@slate.com Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Twitter: @felixsalmon , @Three_Guineas , @EmilyRPeck Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

This week, the world’s largest tech companies posted their quarterly earnings. And—unlike most other companies in the world—things aren’t looking so bad. With the global economy reeling, and people sheltering indoors, the tech giants have an opportunity to reshape the way we live. Don’t expect them to wait on the sidelines. Guest: Elizabeth Dwoskin , Silicon Valley correspondent at the Washington...

This week, the world’s largest tech companies posted their quarterly earnings. And—unlike most other companies in the world—things aren’t looking so bad. With the global economy reeling, and people sheltering indoors, the tech giants have an opportunity to reshape the way we live. Don’t expect them to wait on the sidelines. Guest: Elizabeth Dwoskin , Silicon Valley correspondent at the Washington...

Emily, John and David discuss Tara Reade’s allegations against Joe Biden, the debate over reopening schools, and the three hosts are joined by astronaut Scott Kelly to talk through tips for living in confined spaces. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, Emily, and John discuss the ethics of human challenge trials for vaccine development. Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gab...

This episode originally aired June 2019. Notre Dame basketball coach Muffet McGraw wasn’t planning on making a speech about feminism and gender equality. But at a press conference before the Final Four tournament, that’s just what she did, launching into a screed about the dearth of women in government, politics, corporate C-suites, and sports. “We don’t have enough female role models,” McGraw sai...

When the first known case of coronavirus in the United States was detected in a suburb of Seattle, the region quickly became the epicenter of the pandemic in the country. Now, almost two months later, Seattle has suffered only 500 COVID-19 deaths while New York has over 22,000. What choices led to such disparate outcomes?  Guest: Charles Duhigg , Host of Slate’s How To Podcast Slate Plus members g...