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Even with Congress famously gridlocked, it reliably passes the National Defense Authorization Act. But this year, hardline conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives added amendment after amendment that were less concerned with national defense and more in line with their own culture war grievances.  How can a government function when even the simple things become impossible?  Guest:...

Actor Lea DeLaria knew Orange is the New Black was a hit. But Netflix made sure their paychecks didn’t reflect it. Fast forward ten years and this business model is the norm for nearly all working American actors. So now, the actors are joining the writers on strike, something that hasn’t happened in Hollywood since 1960, when television was the new, upstart technology. Today the double strike is...

You can be forgiven for not thinking of Vermont as a place prone to catastrophic flooding. But as the climate changes, we have update our expectations—and our floodplain maps.  Guest: Anna Weber , senior policy analyst focused on the current and future effects of flooding and sea level rise at the NRDC. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benef...

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 No Accidents: The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster―Who Profits and Who Pays the Price .  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first of Amicus’ summer series of conversations about books and podcasts that have helped us look at the Supreme Court from a different angle, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Joel Anderson, host of Season 8 of Slate’s Slow Burn podcast: Becoming Justice Thomas . They talk about the experiences and people who helped shape Justice Thomas’ worldview and how deeply his jurisprudence is rooted in a...

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers talk about Disney’s challenges especially now that writers and actors are both on strike. They discuss the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on student loans. And finally, what to do if your bank suddenly closes your account.  In the Plus segment: Giant cruise ship!  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate...

Contract negotiations between the Teamsters and UPS broke down last week and now a strike looms. With time running out, can both sides reach a deal?  Guest: Noam Scheiber , labor 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 Dear Prude...

This week, John Dickerson and David Plotz are joined by Vox’s  Marin Cogan   @marincogan  to discuss the extreme weather, heat, and floods that are wreaking havoc across the United States and around the world; the social media phenomenon of Threads; and the American love-hate relationship with cars.    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Cara Buckley for The New York Times: “...

Beat it, Barbie; outta the way, Oppenheimer—this summer’s biggest box office surprise is “The Sound of Freedom,” a low-budget search-and-rescue thriller that Hollywood doesn’t want you to see —or so the implication goes. Guests: Sam Adams , Slate senior editor Will Sommer , media reporter at the Washington Post and author of Trust the Plan The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America...

Despite holding only twelve percent of Americans, the state of California is home to nearly one-third of the nation’s people experiencing homelessness. A landmark study from UCSF—the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness — produced an intimate look at who is living on the streets and in their cars in California, how they got there, and what actual aid would look like.  Gue...

The 4th of July was the hottest day yet—not just of the summer but of recorded human history . Between waves of Canadian wildfire smoke, malaria reappearing in the United States, and deaths from heat, this might be the year that we’re forced to reckon with what life will be like on our newly hotter planet. Guest: Jeff Goodell , contributing writer at Rolling Stone and the author of the upcoming bo...

Moms for Liberty call themselves a “parent’s rights group,” but the Southern Poverty Law Center calls them an “anti-government extremist” group. Even if they don’t all have kids, these “moms” do have goals for the future of education in America—and quite a bit of clout. Guest: Kiera Butler , senior editor at Mother Jones reporting on how purveyors of disinformation target online communities of wom...

Andrew Tate’s gross mix of self-help, toxic masculinity and misogyny captured the minds of young boys on the internet. It also led to indictments in Romania on human trafficking and rape charges.   Guest: Lisa Miller , contributing editor at New York magazine. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonu...

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza . Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. If you would like to help us continue to cover the courts aggressively, please consider joining Slate Plus .  In our final Opinionpalooza episode of 2023, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern host the Amicus annual “breakfast table” round-up at the end of the Supreme Court term, and they’re joined by: ...

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers talk about Threads, the new competitor to Twitter. They also discuss Janet Yellen’s trip to China and what it means for American foreign policy. Finally, have tipping and service charges gone too far? In the plus segment: Pregnant workers now have more workplace rights. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus memb...

It seems like with each new Musk innovation, a new Twitter replacement appears in response. But Threads is backed by Meta and available in just a few clicks for an Instagram user. Could it be the one? Guest: Mike Isaac , technology 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,...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are on vacation, but Emily taped an extra episode of Gabfest Reads for everyone. She sits down with author Monica Potts to talk about her new memoir  The Forgotten Girls . They discuss growing up in rural Arkansas, Monica’s childhood best friend Darci, and more. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, Emily, and John chatter about...

The Biden administration’s plan to forgive federal student loan debt has been stalled, perhaps indefinitely, by the Supreme Court’s decision in Biden v. Nebraska .  Was their plan to help borrowers always doomed, or was there another way? And after the Roberts court delivered such a broad-sweeping decision, what options does Biden have left? Guest: Jed Shugerman , professor at Boston University Sc...

America’s winner-take-all electoral system casts third-party candidates as spoilers—but what would it take to open the door to not just a third party, but a fourth or more?  Guest: Lee Drutman, senior fellow in the Political Reform program at New America, author of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop . If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits...

In honor of the holiday, enjoy this episode from our colleagues at Slow Burn. What Next resumes regular programming tomorrow. Anita Hill’s accusations launched urgent and heated conversations about racism and sexual harassment. They also stoked an anger in Clarence Thomas that’s never stopped raging. Season 8 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, and Sofie Kodner....

Unpopular decisions and multiple scandals involving lavish, undisclosed gifts from conservative megadonors have the Supreme Court handing down decisions under a cloud of public outcry and controversy—but that hasn’t stopped the conservative majority from acting just as hardline as its critics feared.  Guest: Mark Joseph Stern , court watcher and senior writer at Slate. If you enjoy this show, plea...

Even if you like the convenience of your phone unlocking after it reads your face, there are reasons to be wary of the TSA bringing facial recognition technology to the airport.  Guest: Geoffrey Fowler , technology columnist 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 podcast, bonus episodes...

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza . Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. We consider this coverage so essential that we’re taking down the paywall for all of it. If you would like to help us continue to cover the courts aggressively, please consider joining Slate Plus . And sign up for the pop-up newsletter to see the latest every week in your inbox. As the Supreme Court’s June term...

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers take on the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action. They also talk about the (very good!) marketing campaign behind the upcoming Barbie movie, and the (less good) influencer campaign for SHEIN.  In the Plus segment: Vanna White needs a raise!  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free e...

A shortage of basic chemotherapy drugs to treat cancer is jeopardizing the care of hundreds of thousands of patients. The drugs aren’t expensive, or patented—so where are they?  Guest: Ed Yong , science journalist at The Atlantic. Host: Lizzie O'Leary 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 episode...