Slate News

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: voter discontentment at the two major parties is creating an opening for a far-right populist with an anti-immigration, protectionist agenda that economic experts warn would be devastating.  With a Trump trade deal in hand, can Keir Starmer and Labour give British voters something to vote for, rather than just against? Guest: Anand Menon , professor of Euro...

In this special episode of Slate Money,  Felix Salmon ,  Elizabeth Spiers , and  Emily Peck  discuss how long is too long for a vacation. They dig into how time zones should factor into travel plans, how much recovery time you need on the back end of a vacation, and why you should sometimes plan a trip to do absolutely nothing.   Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate P...

His time in Washington was brief, but we’ll be picking up the pieces for a long time. What Elon’s exit signals for the future of DOGE, and Musk’s political career.  Guest: Kate Conger , reporter for the New York Times covering X and other technology companies. 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 podc...

The end (of the Supreme Court term) is nigh. This week, Amicus goes into June Opinionpalooza mode with some meta-analysis of what to look out for as the Supreme Court delivers dozens of decisions over the next month or so. Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern say this is a term-ending unlike any other, partly because the number of cases pinging onto the high court’s shadow docket means the term m...

This week: Felix Salmon left Axios. He, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the opaque language and politics around parting ways with an employer and the motivation behind giving severance packages. Then, it seems the threat of AI taking over jobs is becoming real as the hosts examine the role state of AI in tech and other industries and its effect on the job market. Finally, major stablecoin...

The war between Ukraine and Russia is being fought increasingly via drone —and NATO and US military leadership is training troops for future conflicts that will pit man against machine. Guest: Jake Epstein , senior defense reporter for Business Insider. 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. S...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss this week’s Supreme Court decision that validates Trump’s firing of 2 officials without cause thus stealth-overruling a key check on presidents, the power dynamics around who benefits from Trump’s attempts to destroy Harvard, and the challenges and rewards of male friendship in modern life.  Here are this week’s chatters:   Emily: E...

Adriana Smith was nine weeks pregnant when she was declared brain dead in February—far enough along that her fetus showed cardiac activity.  The hospital then refused to let her family decide whether or not they want to keep Smith on life support long enough for the fetus to be delivered. Guests:   Imani Gandy , Editor-at-Large for Rewire News Group , covering law and courts and co-host of the pod...

Everyone assumes the reason Gavin Newsom has had right-wingers like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon on his podcast is to burnish his credentials for an imminent presidential run. But no podcast episode is going to make Republican voters forget that he’s a California Democrat. Guest: Marisa Lagos, political correspondent for KQED and co-host of the Political Breakdown podcast . Want more What Next? S...

A Revlimid pill costs about 25 cents to make, and about a thousand dollars to buy—but it’s keeping him alive, so what choice does he have? Guest: David Armstrong, investigates healthcare at ProPublica , author of “ The Price of Remission .” 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: Hillary Frey joins Emily Peck to discuss the kind of rich people that populate the Apple TV+ show Your Friends & Neighbors, Jon Hamm’s Don Draper-esque charm, and whether there’s any real point to having a murder plot line.  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...

As What Next celebrates Memorial Day, please enjoy this episode ⁠from our colleagues at Decoder Ring⁠ . What Next will be back in your feed tomorrow. Something seems to have happened to car headlights. In the last few years, many people have become convinced that they are much brighter than they used to be—and it’s driving them to the point of rage. Headlight glare is now Americans’ number one com...

In this special episode of Slate Money,  Felix Salmon ,  Emily Peck  and  Elizabeth Spiers . They talk discuss why you should never get the hotel breakfast, whether locals should get discounts at popular spots, and whether you should avoid tourist traps.    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...

The crypto industry poured tons of money into the last election cycle. Is the GENIUS Act, which has bipartisan support, their big payoff? Guest: Hilary Allen , professor at American University’s Washington College of Law. 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...

This week’s episode attempts to understand the ways in which the law of Trump unfolds along two tracks at the same time. First, Mark Joseph Stern joins us to talk about the Supreme Court’s decision to let Trump fire the heads of independent agencies, undermining a 90-year-old precedent in an unsigned, two-page decision on the shadow docket. This is a case in which Donald Trump’s agenda perfectly a...

This week: The bond vigilantes are being summoned by Trump’s take bill. Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the contents of the controversial bill and how the bond markets are reacting. Then, Julian Sanchez of the WatchCats podcast joins to discuss Elon Musk’s announcement that he’s stepping back from the government and break down what he did with DOGE. Then, has the rise of G...

Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” cleared the House this week and heads off to the Senate where…actually let’s bring in an expert to explain what happens next. Guest: Jim Newell , Slate’s senior political writer. 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 —you’ll also access ad-free listening...

OpenAI started as a non-profit dedicated to building safe A.I. Now, they’re obsessed with building artificial general intelligence by any means necessary - even if they don’t quite know what that is.  Guest: Karen Hao , reporter and author of “ Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI ” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the huge House tax bill and its broad economic implications with Harvard economist  Jason Furman , the DOJ’s selective investigation and prosecution of officials as a method of intimidation, and the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther” as the Trump administration’s blueprint for shutting down dissent with accusations of antisemiti...

Rev. Dr. Barber II is objecting to Republicans’ budget bill on the grounds of morality as much as politics—which is why he’s been praying, protesting, and getting arrested to stick up for those who will be affected by it.  Guest: Reverend Doctor William J. Barber II , pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro, North Carolina, professor at Yale Divinity School, and foun...

One of the more surprising targets of Project 2025—and now, therefore, the Trump administration—is FEMA. How will proposed changes affect what FEMA can do, as hurricane season begins, and as a changing climate makes weather more unpredictable? Guest: Thomas Frank , editor for E&E News’ climate finance team. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole W...

In a return to a classic party policy goal, Republicans want to add “work requirements” to Medicaid to offset costs in Trump’s “one big beautiful bill.” Work requirements for health insurance have been tried before, on the state level, and the end result is a lot of people—including working people—losing their health insurance. Guest:  Leo Cuello, research professor at the Georgetown University Mc...

As Donald Trump strives to deliver on his harsh immigration enforcement campaign promises, the president’s approval rating on the issue has dropped. But very public mistakes—with very real consequences—and dipping polls don’t seem to be slowing the administration down yet. Guests: Adrian Carrasquillo , author of the Huddled Masses newsletter from The Bulwark Primitiva Hernandez , executive directo...

In this special episode of Slate Money,  Felix Salmon  and  Emily Peck  are joined by Slate editor in chief,  Hillary Frey . They talk all things Disneyland, including why Disneyland is better than Disney World, the need to let go of the inevitable costs ahead of your trip, why it makes for a great vacation with teenagers, and more.  Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

What do you do when your likeness has been turned into A.I.-generated pornography?—it’s a problem people are already facing. But legislation moving through Congress may cause more problems than it would solve. Guests: Joanne Chew, actress and visual artist based in LA. Samantha Cole , cofounder of 404 media and author of “ How Sex Changed the Internet and How the Internet Changed Sex .” Want more...