Slate News

There’s an entire economy devoted to seeing what products are trending—clothing, skin care, even Greek Islands—and delivering you a cheaper knock-off to buy.  Guest: Mia Sato , reporter for The Verge 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...

This week: The redditors have found a fresh batch of meme stocks. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck examine the so called DORK stocks – Krispy Kreme (DNUT), Opendoor (OPEN), Rocket Mortgage (RKT) and Kohl’s (KSS) among others – and what this resurgence of meme stocks says about the state of the market. Then, the Trump administration’s laissez-faire attitude toward financial regulati...

Civil rights are under attack. The Supreme Court seems to have its sights set on the Voting Rights Act. The Trump administration, meanwhile, is taking every issue to the court knowing that it will never have to face accountability there. And with states like Texas considering unpopular redistricting plans, the administration may never face it at the ballot box either. Put more bluntly, many of our...

Was the Late Show too unprofitable, or too political? Guest: Eric Deggans , NPR TV critic and media analyst, Knight Chair, Journalism and Media Ethics, Washington & Lee University. 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...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the latest developments in the Epstein files saga, how Supreme Court decisions under John Roberts have dramatically expanded Trump’s power, and whether the Texas Republicans’ redistricting plan will tip the map redder, or backfire. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss what they are enjoying readin...

What does it change to call Israel’s assault on Gaza a “genocide”? Guest:  Omer Bartov , Dean's Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University and author of the op-ed, “ I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It. ” Another article mentioned in this episode: “ The Need to Forget ” by Yehuda Elkana Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the...

If Trump follows through and successfully shuts down the Department of Education, what does America stand to lose?  Guest:  Laura Meckler, national education writer for The Washington Post and author of Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slat...

Why the Epstein scandal—more than any of Trump’s other, lengthy list of scandals—is so damaging that even the Democrats can wield it effectively.   Guest:  Brian Beutler, author of the Substack “Off Message,” cohost of the podcast Politix . 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. Subscribe t...

In this Money Talks: Elizabeth Spiers is joined by Emily Mester to discuss her book American Bulk: Essays on Excess . They’ll get into the dopamine-driven appeal of haul videos and Costco, the comforts and horrors of retail chains, the variable signifiers of wealth among classes, and other ways in which overconsumption shapes and reflects our lives as Americans.  Want to hear that discussion and h...

Their son was immunocompromised and couldn’t get the measles vaccines. So his dad asked if everyone going to his school would get vaccinated.  And the thing is—people listened. Guest:  Carl and Rhett Krawitt 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. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clickin...

It’s kind of strange that Grok, Elon Musk’s chatbot, went full Nazi a few weeks ago, and is just…still out there. But, then again, how are you supposed to hold an LLM accountable? Guest: Drew Harwell , technology reporter for the Washington Post 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...

Over the last six months, life has been upended for  millions of people in America as Stephen Miller's extreme immigration policies have been unleashed. And while the first weeks of the second Trump administration saw some genuine pushback from the Supreme  Court, six months in, that feint at checking and balancing has fallen away. On this week's Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick welcomes Aaron Reic...

David Plotz talks with author Carl Hiaasen about his  new book,  Fever Beach .  Fever Beach  is a political satire that follows a couple of dimwitted white supremacists, a corrupt congressman, and the people that try to take them all down. They discuss the real-life racist event Hiaasen witnessed that inspired a central scene in the novel, how Matt Gaetz factors into the book, Hiaasen’s next moves...

This week: A judge has blocked a Biden era rule that would prevent medical debt from affecting credit scores. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck discuss the logic behind the proposed rule and the economic consequences of this decision. Then, the French Prime Minister has proposed eliminating two national holidays as a way of reducing the national debt. The hosts discuss the likely ef...

In this political moment where hostility towards immigrants and outsiders is openly espoused, one of our own colleagues has released a book about growing up as a Muslim-American in the post-9/11 era—and raising his own kids now. Guest: Aymann Ismail , Slate staff writer and author of “ Becoming Baba: Fatherhood, Faith, and Finding Meaning in America .” This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to i...

The MAGA world has been waiting for Jeffrey Epstein’s client list to be released since the first Trump administration. But with those like Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, who stoked interest in the list literally in power, the administration is now saying that no such list exists. For some MAGA fans, this is finally a bridge too far.  Guest: Anna Merlan , senior reporter at Mother Jones. Want more Wha...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the epic MAGA meltdown over the DOJ’s “there’s nothing to see here” Epstein files memo, how the Supreme Court is using the “shadow docket” to bolster Trump’s efforts to dismantle the federal government, and whether rescission will kill NPR and PBS.  For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss what they a...

For years, Donald Trump was often the only Western leader with anything nice to say about Vladimir Putin. But with Russia and Ukraine still fighting six months into his term, their friendship is on the rocks. Are we seeing a temporary spat – or a real policy shift?  Guest:  Michael McFaul , U.S. ambassador to Russia 2012-2014, author of the upcoming book “ Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, A...

His client, Nyo Myint, is a refugee from Myanmar who was deported by the Trump administration—first to Djibouti, then to South Sudan—along with seven other men. His lawyer is now reaching out to the United Nations to intervene. Guest: Jonathan Ryan, San Antonio-based immigration attorney and author of the Firewall Substack . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening...

Why the Democrats’ electoral strategy of “hire consultants to tell you which positions poll well enough to take” has run its course—and where they should look to start rebuilding. Guest: Ben Mathis-Lilley , Slate senior writer and author of “ How Strategist Brain Took Over the Democratic Party”. Cited in this episode:  The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Pol...

This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to vote on Emil Bove, who has been promoted from Trump’s personal lawyer to his current nominee for a lifelong appointment to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. In any other administration, Bove would be a real outlier. But here? He’s par for a very strange course.  Guest: Jay Willis , editor-in-chief of Balls and Strikes. Want more What Next? Su...

He started using ChatGPT to help with spreadsheets. But their relationship took a turn, and before long it was telling him he could leap off a 19-story building and fly. Guest: Kashmir Hill , features writer at the New York Times. 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...

In this episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick sits down with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse to dissect the most recent Supreme Court term and its implications. They explore Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's emerging role and influence, the patterns of bias within the court that she’s calling out, and the broader systemic issues facing the judiciary. Their conversation also delves into the “worst possible n...

This week: Trump's supersized “One Big Beautiful Bill” is now one big BS act. Felix Salmon , Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers the economic ramifications of congress passing the controversial megabill. Then, Trump’s trade war continues to shock and confuse. The hosts discuss the logic, or lack thereof, of his latest tariff proposals. And finally, buried in the big ol’ spending bill is something call...

The Supreme Court wraps up a momentous term. Dahlia Lithwick, Mark Joseph Stern and guests break down the cases and the controversies, explaining what it means for you, and for American democracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.