Slate News

President Biden’s student loan debt relief plan goes before the Supreme Court this week. Though the court’s conservative majority seems opposed to the program, debt-relief detractors are struggling to answer a major question: who does this program harm? Guests: Mark Joseph Stern , Slate senior writer covering the courts Alice Turner, hospital pharmacist and compounder If you enjoy this show, pleas...

It’s a rare bi-partisan point of agreement: the price of insulin is too high—and it’s still rising. With the stakes literally life-or-death for millions of Americans, what can be done? Guest: Bram Sable-Smith , Midwest correspondent for Kaiser Health News. 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 ep...

When John Fetterman checked himself into a hospital for clinical depression in mid-February, he was praised by both parties and public health officials for his bravery. But not long ago, being diagnosed with depression or taking time for your mental health were seen as disqualifying for those seeking public office.  Guest: Jason Kander , President of National Expansion at Veterans Community Projec...

When Beijing passed a new law that harshly penalized protests in Hong Kong, activists and dissident groups had to choose whether to shut down or get out. Now, 47 pro-democracy activists are facing charges and likely prison time, and a generation of dissent may be quelled.  Guest: Emily Feng , NPR’s Beijing correspondent.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plu...

New understandings of how our brains develop are changing how the law considers who is mature and who isn’t. But If our brains are still developing, when can the law treat us like adults?  Guest: Jane C. Hu , independent science journalist. 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, bon...

This week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers discuss why the market for newly built homes is outperforming the market for existing homes. They also talk about the increased employment rate for people with disabilities, as well as the new slew of charges against Sam Bankman-Fried.   In the Plus segment: the new World Bank president.   Podcast production by Anna Phillips. Hosted on Ac...

For every person screaming about Section 230 ( looking at you, Ted Cruz ), there are approximately 0.0000001 Danielle Citrons, i.e. folks who actually understand it, what it does, and how it might be tweaked or interpreted to do better. Luckily, we have a whole Professor Danielle Citron on this week’s show. Professor Citron not only manages to make sense of Section 230 for us, she also takes us th...

Microsoft has been testing out their new artificial intelligence on their long-ridiculed search engine Bing. The results? A chatbot that lies brazenly and confidently, and has a penchant for manipulation. What are the risks and rewards of letting bots loose on the world? Guest: Drew Harwell , Washington Post tech reporter covering artificial intelligence  Host: Emily Peck If you enjoy this show, p...

* Due to an audio issue, the original episode has been replaced. This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss the year of war on Ukraine with Anne Applebaum; the smoking gun Fox News text messages; and Google’s defense of Section 230 at the Supreme Court. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Anne Applebaum and Nataliya Gumenyuk for The Atlantic: “ ‘They Di...

The sound of air raid sirens in Kyiv are almost comforting to one Ukrainian journalist—it means the air defense system still works. But even with the Russians running low on weaponry, he doesn’t see how the war ends while Vladimir Putin is alive.  Guest: Romeo Kokriatski , managing editor of New Voice of Ukraine, and co-host of the podcast Ukraine Without Hype If you enjoy this show, please consid...

How getting recovery aid and assistance to Turkey and northern Syria has been complicated by on-going aftershocks from the earthquake and the reverberations of the Syrian civil war.  Guests:   Louisa Loveluck , Baghdad bureau chief for the Washington Post .  Dr. Ahmad Dbais, Operations Director and Disaster Management Team Leader for UOSSM (Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations). If you e...

How a derailed train and the dark cloud of chemical burn off over East Palestine, Ohio, came to confirm everything you think is wrong with everything. Guest: Ben Mathis-Lilley , 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 and Amicus—and you’ll be supp...

Enjoy this episode of Slate's Amicus, while the What Next team enjoys the holiday. Wisconsin’s State Supreme Court heard one of the landmark cases of the 2020 presidential election. During oral arguments in Trump v Biden in December 2020, Justice Jill J Karofsky participated in proceedings via Zoom from her office inside the state capitol in Madison. Outside her office window, she could see armed...

The tech-laden, luxury bassinet “Snoo” has been presented as preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, helping babies sleep longer, and a totally reasonable way to spend $1,700. Is any of that true? Guest: Kate Taylor , senior features correspondent for Business Insider John Collins, Lizzie’s husband. Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus...

Emily Bazelon  talks with author  Rebecca Makkai  about her new book,  I Have Some Questions For You . They discuss why it’s so easy to suspend disbelief with this type of story, the “cancelled” subplot, and whether we’d be better off without Twitter. Tweet us your questions  @SlateGabfest  or email us at  gabfest@slate.com . (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise...

This week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers explain why the president of the World Bank is stepping down, and throw out some guesses of who might replace him. They also discuss the train derailment in Ohio, and the influx of subpar online advertisements.   In the Plus segment: How should Felix market his upcoming book?   Podcast production by Anna Phillips. Hosted on Acast. See aca...

Come to think of it, a giant balloon seems like a pretty conspicuous way to spy on another country. So what was that Chinese spy balloon doing above the U.S.—and what have American planes been shooting down since? Guest: Shane Harris , Washington Post reporter covering intelligence and national security.  Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate...

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign; the legal history likely to lead to the end of affirmative action; and Slate How To! podcast host Amanda Ripley’s reporting on the congressional committee that got things done. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Emily Bazelon for The New York Times Magazine: “ Why Is Affirm...

A judge in north Texas is considering a lawsuit that could make access to abortion pills more difficult across the country. While anti-abortion activists can point to a string of recent successes, the existence of another, widely-used abortion medication would make medical abortions nearly impossible to ban outright.  Guest: Christina Cauterucci , Slate senior writer and host of Outward. If you en...

Former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley announced that she is running to be president in 2024—challenging Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. How will she define herself in contrast to the former president—her former boss—without losing his base? Guest: Ed Kilgore , political columnist for New York magazine. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate...

With hard-right, pro-settler representatives in the Israeli government, and the Palestinian Authority losing credibility with Palestinians, illegal settlements in the West Bank have become flashpoints in the ever-present yet still-escalating tension in the region. Guest: Yair Rosenberg , staff writer at the Atlantic and the author of its newsletter, Deep Shtetl , about the intersection of politics...

Why does someone become a mass shooter? Researchers are interviewing perpetrators and their victims—and those who narrowly averted committing a mass shooting—and discovering a common thread of psychological despair. Can their work be applied to the prevention of future violence? Guest: Jillian Peterson , forensic psychologist, violence researcher, and author of The Violence Project .  If you enjoy...

It’s hard to put a number on it but judging from the number of videos emerging online, there are more and more contraband cell phones finding their way into the hands of people in prison, who use them to record TikTok dances, take online courses, and alert the outside world to what’s happening on the inside. Guest: Keri Blakinger , criminal justice reporter at the Los Angeles Times, author of Corr...

This week, Felix Salmon , Emily Peck , and Elizabeth Spiers discuss Microsoft’s attempt to break into artificial intelligence assisted search with a revamp of their Bing search engine. They also talk about record high profits for oil companies and Bed Bath & Beyond’s financial shenanigans.   In the Plus segment: Tether.   Podcast production by Anna Phillips. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

Wisconsin’s State Supreme Court heard one of the landmark cases of the 2020 presidential election. During oral arguments in Trump v Biden in December 2020, Justice Jill J Karofsky participated in proceedings via Zoom from her office inside the state capitol in Madison. Outside her office window, she could see armed protesters gathered in what she later viewed as a dry run for January 6th. In a 4-3...