Slate News

In this member-exclusive Opinionpalooza episode of Amicus , Dahlia Lithwick and co-host Mark Joseph Stern discuss the Supreme Court's shadow docket decision in the case of DHS vs. DVD , which allows for the deportation of migrants to third countries without due process or notice, despite the potential for torture and death. The Supreme Court's majority chose the opaque system of an unsigned, unarg...

A jury recently found Greenpeace liable for more than $660 million in damages to the company behind the Dakota Access pipeline for its role in the Standing Rock protests.  But the ramifications extend far beyond Greenpeace. As protests against various Trump administration policies heat up across the country, what does this lawsuit say about how opponents can weaponize the courts to criminalize pro...

In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon is joined by author James Frey to discuss his new novel, Next to Heaven , set among America’s ultra-ultra-rich, the real life billionaires he knows who inspired it, and why he thinks money is addicting.  Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your fav...

The Trump administration bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. While the Pentagon says these facilities are severely damaged, a diplomatic end to the conflict and a nuclear disarmament agreement feel less possible than ever. Guests: ⁠ Gregory Gause ⁠ , Visiting Scholar at the ⁠Middle East Institute⁠ and ⁠ Professor Emeritus of International Affairs ⁠ for the Bush School of Government and Public Serv...

ARC, the data broker owned by the country’s major airlines, has been selling domestic flight data in the US to Customs and Border Protection. But in the contract, they told CBP not to reveal where the data was from… why?  Guest: Joseph Cox, co-founder of 404 Media and the co-host of the 404 Media Podcast.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole Wh...

David Plotz talks with  author Alison Bechdel  about her new book,  Spent . They discuss what’s memoir and what’s less than memoir in the comic novel, David’s own contribution to the book, and more.   Tweet us your questions  @SlateGabfest  or email us at  gabfest@slate.com . (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Hosted on A...

The Justices seem intent on packing their summer vacation bags and getting on their way.  Earlier in the week, the court’s conservative supermajority upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for trans kids. The logic behind the decision was…lacking (Slate Plus members can hear about this right now). In this episode, Dahlia Lithwick talks to Chase Strangio, the lawyer for the Tennessee plain...

This week: We become cheerleaders for crypto regulation, AI, and…Cheerleaders. Felix Salmon , Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the GENIUS act, the major crypto regulation bill which recently passed the Senate, and its implications for regulating stable coins and how it could upend payment processing as we know it in the United States. Then, the hosts discuss the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders,...

Listen to What Next via Apple Podcasts , Spotify , TuneIn , Stitcher , Overcast , Google Play , or iHeart . America’s most machismo and gas-guzzling car, the Hummer, has been relaunched as an electric vehicle. But who is this electrified megatruck really for? Guest: Alex Sammon , Slate features writer This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not...

The Trump administration's anti-immigration campaign has become defined by distasteful memes that gleefully portray the mass deportations being carried out across the country. It’s impossible to ignore… which is exactly what the administration wants.  Guest: Drew Harwell, tech reporter at the Washington Post.   Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the who...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether the US should join Israel’s war on Iran, the tragic Minnesota assassinations and why US political violence is surging now, and the Supreme Court’s unsurprising but willfully obtuse decision to uphold Tennessee’s youth transgender care ban. Here are this week’s chatters:   Emily:  A Family Matter   by Claire Lynch;  The Fall...

As What Next celebrates Juneteenth, please enjoy this episode ⁠from our colleagues at Hit Parade⁠ . What Next will be back in your feed on Monday. Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded freedom. What all of these LGBTQ...

In this Slate Plus exclusive episode, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern analyse the Roberts Court's decision in Skrmetti ,  effectively bans gender-affirming  care for trans minors in more than 20 states. This is part of Opinionpalooza , Slate’s coverage of the major decisions from the Supreme Court this June. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock...

As the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem has made herself the official face of the Trump administration’s military crackdowns on protesters in Los Angeles, raids in majority-Democratic cities, and the deportations of student activists. How has she been able to consolidate so much power so quickly? Guest: Seth Tupper , Editor-in-Chief of the South Dakota Searchlight Ahilan Ar...

On Friday, Israel launched massive strikes in Iran, targeting nuclear sites and killing top military leaders in the largest single-day attack on the country since the 1980s. Iran has retaliated, launching ballistic missiles at Israeli cities and killing at least eight people. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is walking a tightrope as it tries to maintain its alliance with Israel and negotiate a...

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, accusing members of serving industry interests and never recommending against a vaccine. Their role, however, was advising on usage for vaccines that the FDA already approved.  As RFK Jr. restaffs the committee with his own “nonpartisan” members, where does that leave vaccines and...

A guide to keeping your phone, and your digital life, safe when you’re crossing the border. Guest: Lily Hay Newman , senior writer for WIRED covering information security. Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America feels very different this weekend. While the president’s planned military parade (that just happens to coincide with his birthday) will see tanks and armored vehicles rolling through Washington DC, federalized National Guard and US Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles over the objections of state and city electeds, many of us are reeling from seeing a sitting US Senator forced to the...

This week: Warner Brothers and Discovery breakup again. Felix Salmon , Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers examine the undoing of the three-year-old merger. Then, the hosts discuss runaway AI valuations as Meta spends billions on AI and xAI raises equity off a multi-billion dollar valuation. And finally, what effects are Trump’s aggressive immigration policies having on the economy? In the Slate Plus...

Elon Musk has ridden off into the sunset acrimoniously (maybe), but the Department of Government Efficiency is just getting started. Will DOGE continue wildly cutting or is something even more chaotic coming next?  Guest: Makena Kelly , senior writer at WIRED.  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 pod...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and guest host  Juliette Kayyem  discuss the ominous juxtaposition of Trump sending National Guard troops and Marines to quell mostly peaceful protests in LA with his impending military parade in DC, RFK Jr. firing the entire CDC vaccine advisory board and what this means for the future of vaccines, and a unanimous Supreme Court decision that makes it easi...

Donald Trump is sending the troops to California, while also getting ready for a big birthday parade—for himself and the US Army—in DC. Does grasping for symbols of military strength smack a bit of desperation?  Guests: Jamelle Bouie , columnist at the New York Times Jeremy Lindenfeld , reporter and Capital and Main local news fellow. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free...

In Gaza, two million people are at risk of starvation, as Israeli-controlled aid has been repeatedly interrupted and marked by violence towards aid workers and chaos at distribution sites.  Guests:   Mohammed Mhawish , journalist and writer from Gaza City. Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, author of the 2017 book, M...

After years of bigger floats and bigger rainbow-ified logos, corporate sponsorship for Pride Month celebrations is dropping off this year. But, given that Pride is the commemoration of an uprising against police harassment, maybe that’s a good thing. Guests:   Christina Cauterucci, Slate senior writer and the host of Outward , Slate’s podcast about LGBTQ+ life, and Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs ....

In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon is joined by Barry Lam, host of Slate’ philosophy podcast Hi-Phi Nation to help him explain how the GOP sees the budget deficit in the “Big Beautiful Bill” using philosophical arguments.  Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podc...