Slate News

Covered in cameras, full of microphones, and always eager to use location data, our vehicles are “smartphones on wheels”—and privacy nightmares. Guest: Kashmir Hill , technology and privacy reporter for the New York Times. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and...

There’s an ever-growing queue of cases concerning Donald Trump headed for the Supreme Court that threaten to further dent the legitimacy of an institution that has tumbled in the public’s estimation in the last few years. This week’s show examines some of the interlocking issues raising the already sky-high stakes at One, First Street. First, Dahlia Lithwick kicks off the show with an update from...

Last week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spears asked you to weigh in on your preferred map app: Reigning champ Google, or late bloomer Apple? This week, they reveal your answers and discuss the merits of each. Also: Boeing’s airplane malfunctions, and what Bitcoin’s ETF approval means for crypto. In the Plus segment: Untangling the plagiarism drama of billionaire Bill Ackman and his w...

Shortly after take off from Portland, OR, the plug exit on a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet blew out – causing an uncontrolled decompression of the plane. Now, accident investigators are hard at work, trying to determine what happened in what's the latest catastrophe for the respected commercial airplane provider. Guest: Jon Ostrower, Editor-in-chief of The Air Current If you enjoy this show, please conside...

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by  Jamelle Bouie  of The New York Times to discuss the absence and silence of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, school absenteeism with  Alec MacGillis  of ProPublica, and Donald Trump’s claim of absolute presidential immunity.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Politico:  Austin’s hospital debacle: A timeline of event...

Primaries competing with caucuses; states going rogue; and parties totally out of sync with each other — the 2024 primary season has everything.  Guest: Ari Berman, voting-rights reporter for Mother Jones and author of “ Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America .” If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zer...

Long-time CEO Wayne LaPierre is out and legal challenges and lawsuits are mounting—but does that mean the NRA is losing its influence over American politics?  Guest: Dr. Matthew Lacombe, the Alexander P. Lamis Associate Professor in American Politics at Case Western Reserve University, author of Firepower: How the NRA Turned Gun Owners into a Political Force If you enjoy this show, please consider...

How the ADL’s commitment to the state of Israel threatens and undermines its ability to fight antisemitism at home.  Guest: Mari Cohen , associate editor at Jewish Currents If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work w...

In our inaugural edition of Money Talks, Felix Salmon sits down with veteran fashion writer Marisa Meltzer , author of Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier . Marisa discusses the real-life woman behind Glossier’s iconic CEO, the feminism of the beauty industry, and why French is the language of glamour. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slat...

With not one but two spending cliffs on the near horizon—not to mention wars abroad and a crisis at the border—can one of the all-time least productive Congresses get anything done this session? Guest: Marianna Sotomayor , congressional reporter for The Washington Post If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podc...

What the Cybertruck says about safety, regulation, and the degree to which Tesla is beholden to the whims of Elon Musk.  Guest: Edward Niedermeyer, author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—a...

On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald J Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building hoping to stop Joe Biden from becoming president. Three years later, a quarter of Americans believe the FBI instigated the events of that day.   This week on Amicus, we’re trying to understand the myth-making that helped foment the riot, and the religious fervor that binds and buoys Trump’s supporters today. Dahlia...

This week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spears debate the value of massive, tax-deductible donations that spend years in administrative limbo. Also: Biden is cranking up production in American factories, and private equity may be making healthcare sick. In the Plus segment: Should we be afraid of Trump in 2024? (Spoiler: Yes.) We’re also excited to announce Money Talks, a new intervie...

If A.I. and chatbots are the next wave of innovation, then the New York Times and other media organizations are determined to get paid this time.   Guest: Megan Morrone, technology editor for the Axios AI+ newsletter If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz begin the year discussing the 2024 presidential election; Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation; and the 2023 decrease in homicides.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Steve Peoples for AP:  Biden and Trump are posed for a potential rematch that could shake American politics Rob Crilly for the Daily Mail:  V...

The federally mandated minimum wage hasn’t gone up since 2009, but across the country states, counties, and cities are raising their minimum wage. Is this long overdue help for America’s poor, or merely a low-risk political win?  Guest: David Neumark , labor economist and professor at University of California-Irvine If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus memb...

How much longer can Ukraine and Russia fight at a stalemate? And does the outcome of the war depend on Biden winning a second term? Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s “War Stories” correspondent and author of The Bomb .  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Pru...

On Oct. 14, 2023, Wadee Alfayoumi, a six-year-old Arab-American boy, was stabbed to death by his landlord, Joseph Czuba. Months later, his parents are struggling to make sense of it. Guest: Aymann Ismail , Slate staff writer. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn...

Buying “renewable energy certificates” is a way for companies to claim to reach their renewable energy goals—instead of, say, putting solar panels on their roof. One of the most enthusiastic consumers of RECs is the federal government. But is this ostensibly environmentally-friendly system actually standing in the way of true sustainability?  Guest: Najib Aminy , producer for Reveal. If you enjoy...

While the What Next: TBD team spends some time with their families during the holidays, we revisit some of 2023’s biggest, strangest, and best stories. Regularly scheduled programming resumes in January. Artificial intelligence—as it already exists today—is drawing from huge troves of surveillance data and is rife with the biases built into the algorithm, in service of the huge corporations that d...

From the Chief Justice seeing the funny side of stalking and harassment, to Justice Samuel Alito’s tiny violin , to fighting in the footnotes and a bench dissent snapback , to THAT painting , it’s been quite a year at One, First Street. Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Stern are back with their bottom 10 picks for the Supreme Court’s worst moments of 2023. But don’t despair, there is a glimmer of hope, on...

This week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers chat with Henry Farrell , author of Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy. Henry explains how American hegemony shifted from guns and tanks to SWIFT codes and internet policies. Can China or Russia beat it at its own game? If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an a...

While the What Next: TBD team spends some time with their families during the holidays, we revisit some of 2023’s biggest, strangest, and best stories. Regularly scheduled programming resumes in January. Pedestrian deaths in America have been rising for the last decade, while dropping in Europe and Japan. What makes the U.S. so dangerous for pedestrians? Guest: Jessie Singer , author of There Are...

This week, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz are joined by  Wesley Morris , critic at large for The New York Times and co-host of the  Still Processing  podcast, to cogitate on Conundrums 2023.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Thanks to everyone who submitted Conundrums, especially Alex, Brian, Mitchell Kosht, Patricia Gonzalez, Kali Rocha, Becca Nagorsky, Kevin Maginnis, K...

While the What Next team spends some time with their families this week, we revisit some of 2023’s biggest, strangest, and best stories. Regularly scheduled programming resumes Jan. 2. For all of his success, Steven Spielberg has a spotty record at the Oscars. He’s been nominated 22 times, but he’s only won three. Is it a curse?  This Sunday could mark a shift for the King of Hollywood’s five deca...