The Waves: Gender, Relationships, Feminism

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate editor-at-large Noreen Malone and executive producer of Slate podcasts Alicia Montgomery talk about Vice President Kamala Harris. They unpack what she’s done (and hasn’t done) and how the White House may be using her as a shield for unpopular policies. Then they dig into whether it’s possible to turn Harris’ abysmal approval ratings around.  In the Slate...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate staff writer Rebecca Onion is joined by leftovers expert and cookbook author Tamar Adler , author of An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace , to talk about what to do with all your excess food. They start out by discussing why dealing with leftovers has historically fallen on women and the division of labor in their own homes. Then they shift...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, managing producer of Slate Podcasts Asha Saluja and senior editor Shannon Palus dive into new releases from superstars Adele and Taylor Swift. In the first half, they talk about how Taylor Swift shaped their views of romance and being 22, and whether her move to take back her song catalogue is actually feminist. Then, Asha and Shannon explore the conversation a...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate’s news director Susan Matthews talks with Slate writer and community manager Evan Urquhart about the phrase, “pregnant person.” What started as an effort to be inclusive of transgender men has devolved into an argument that at times has become transphobic. Susan and Evan unpack what’s going on with this “debate,” and, later in the show, get into more prod...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate Money Succession podcast host Emily Peck and Slate staff writer Lili Loofbourow talk about the men versus the women of HBO’s Succession. They start out by talking about the power struggles and anxieties facing the female characters, and debate whether Shiv Roy just sucks . Then they talk about men in this bro-y show, including all that toxic masculinity a...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior editor Allegra Frank and Waves producer Cheyna Roth embrace the Halloween season and talk about horror movies. They get into the mainstays of horror and slasher movies that continue to haunt the genre to this day, ask whether the “final girl” trope is feminist, and question whether it’s possible to remake a classic without all its original (often s...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate news director Susan Matthews and Waves producer Cheyna Roth talk about one of the most popular reality TV shows: Below Deck . First, they share why they love it even though it is...a bit problematic, and then they bring on Rachel Hargrove, the chef from Seasons 8 and 9. Hargrove dishes on what it’s really like to be behind the camera, the backlash she rec...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate staff writer Rebecca Onion is joined by Grace Lynch, host of As She Rises , a podcast that centers the poems of artists around the world to explore the climate crisis. The pair talk about the dangerous impact climate change has on the lives of women—emotionally, physically, and, in some cases, as mothers. Is there hope? Depends on how you look at it. In o...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate’s news director, Susan Matthews sits down with former colleague and host of the Why Oh Why relationship podcast, Andrea Silenzi to talk about all things weddings. They get into the weirdness of weddings, the sexist nature of some of the traditions, and how to reckon with all that while still having a good time on the dance floor.  In Slate Plus: Is The Ne...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate executive producer of podcasts Alicia Montgomery and The Waves producer, Cheyna Roth talk about the Clinton impeachment and the why, decades later, we can’t seem to let go of this story. They start out by unpacking Ryan Murphy’s new show, American Crime Story: Impeachment and how feminist thinking has evolved since the mid-90s. After the break they talk a...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate staff writer and co-host of the podcast Outward, Christina Cauterucci sits down with author Amia Srinivasan to discuss her new book The Right to Sex. They talk about why false rape accusations are like plane crashes—greatly feared, but not as prevelant as we think. Then they dig into what could help us all start having a better kind of sex, and why just g...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate staff writers Rebecca Onion and Heather Schwedel dive into girls’ and women’s magazines. Many outlets like Sassy and CosmoGirl have been shuttered or moved to online-only editions. With the recent resurrection of teen magazine icon Atoosa Rubenstein in the media, Rebecca and Heather talk about what made these types of magazines pop and how problematic the...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate Money co-host Emily Peck and Slate senior editor Shannon Palus talk all things #girlboss. They explore how the concept went from being a sought-after status to a ridiculed slogan. Then they dive into the upcoming trial of possible former (and current?) girlboss Elizabeth Holmes and talk about whether potential trial strategies and defenses are sexist.  Re...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate TV critic Willa Paskin and Vulture staff writer Kathryn VanArendonk talk about the precarious position of white men on TV this summer. Their conversation, inspired by Kathryn’s recent piece in Vulture, TV's White Guys Are in Crisis , surveys the history of white men on TV, from the good-guy dad to the complex antihero, through to our current moment, where...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate news director Susan Matthews is joined by Slate senior writer Christina Cauterucci to talk about the saga of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. They delve into the risks vs benefits of an investigation into sexual harassment complaints, and why it seemed so unlikely that Cuomo would go until suddenly he did. In the second half of the show, Susan and C...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, show producer and true crime author Cheyna Roth sits down with Rebecca Lavoie , co-host of the Crime Writers On podcast and fellow true crime author. The pair start by talking about the current state of true crime and beg Hollywood to stop making sexy serial killer movies. After the break, Rebecca and Cheyna dissect how the genre treats victims and whether crit...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior editor and science writer Shannon Palus is joined by staff writer Rebecca Onion to talk parenting and family life during the Delta wave. They start by talking about how they get through the days when all the news feels apocalyptic and Rebecca’s fears for her unvaccinated child. Then they get real about their varying levels of optimism and tolerance...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Waves producer Cheyna Roth and Slate senior culture editor Allegra Frank take a trip to FBoy Island . They discuss the ups and sexisms of HBO Max’s newest dating show and question why the narrative of women saving men persists. Later in the show, Allegra and Cheyna talk about the deception inherent in these shows and ask why everyone is the same type of beautif...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, it’s all about the Olympics. Amira Rose Davis , assistant professor of history and African American studies at Penn State University and co-host of the feminist sports podcast Burn it All Down , is joined by Slate’s gymnastics reporter Rebecca Schuman . The pair start with a discussion of the racial and gender inequalities that have permeated the Games, past an...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, author and professor of history at Georgetown University Marcia Chatelain and Slate staff writer Lili Loofbourow dissect Bill Cosby’s release from prison, and what that could mean for the #MeToo movement. First they unpack exactly what happened in the Cosby case. Then they get into the potential ripple effects it could have on victims seeking justice more broad...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, June Thomas , senior managing producer of Slate podcasts and a host of Working , talks with Willa Paskin , Slate TV critic and host of Decoder Ring , about the reboot of Gossip Girl . They discuss how the show messed up by making its characters too nice, why the teachers may be the most interesting part of the reboot, and whether Gossip Girl has finally figured...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate Supreme Court reporters Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern join forces to dissect Amy Coney Barrett’s first term on the bench. They talk about how her confirmation hearings were shaped by Democrats’ desire to paint her as an enemy of health care, and how her recent decision upholding the Affordable Care Act has gotten her outsized praise. Then, they di...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, a conversation with Atlantic writer, Elizabeth Bruenig.  In the first half of the show, Elizabeth talks about her recent New York Times article, “I Became a Mother at 25, and I’m Not Sorry I Didn’t Wait” with Slate’s news director Susan Matthews. The two get into why pregnancy is both so personal and yet so public, how society and particularly the job market de...

This week’s episode of The Waves considers whether there is a uniquely feminist way to divorce your skeevy rich husband. Slate executive producer of podcasts, Alicia Montgomery, and business journalist and co-host of Slate Money , Emily Peck, delve into the stories of two billionaire women who have both recently ended their marriages—Melinda French Gates and MacKenzie Scott.  The two discuss wheth...

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior writer and host of Outward Christina Cauterucci and Julia Craven , Slate staff writer covering race, politics, and health disparities, talk about one woman: Kyrsten Sinema. From her wardrobe to her position on the filibuster, Sinema has been in the news a lot recently. The hosts talk about the Arizona senator’s political evolution—she moved from th...