Episodes

  • Earlier this year, when the future of Death, Sex & Money was up in the air, Anna Sale consulted Rebecca Auman, a tarot reader and self-described witch based in North Carolina. Anna felt lost, but Rebecca encouraged her to relax and to pay close attention to what her body and mind were telling her about that moment. 
    After the reading, Anna wondered how Rebecca became so good at reading people–and at helping them to navigate tough situations. But when the two of them spoke a second time, Rebecca revealed that her ability to help other people doesn’t always translate to an ability to help herself. In this episode, the two of them talk about how hard it is to trust our own intuition…and to even recognize it in the first place. 
    Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.
    And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected].
    Podcast production by Cameron Drews.
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  • A few years ago, Leah was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Her condition has posed many serious challenges, including how to start and maintain friendships. She wants to build a rich social life, but her symptoms—and the stigmas surrounding mental health—often get in the way. When Leah does meet a new person, she struggles with how (and when) to talk about her diagnosis and feels intense pressure to be “the perfect friend.” On this episode of How To!: Carvell Wallace brings on psychotherapist Dr. Aleksandra Rayska for a frank conversation about managing expectations, celebrating new achievements, and just going easy on yourself.

    If you liked this episode check out: How to Navigate Adult Autism.

    Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

    How To’s executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson and Kevin Bendis. 

    Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/howtoplus.
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  • On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: nobody wins with two parties.

    A competitive presidential election draws closer every day – and as ever, every vote will count. So is it fair to accuse third-party voters of wasting a vote, as often happens? Or are third-party candidates actually preserving what little we have left of a competitive democracy? 

    Bernard Tamas of Valdosta State University joins us to make the case for the power of the third party.

    If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: [email protected]

    Podcast production by Maura Currie.

    Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.
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  • Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin are joined by writer Tom Haberstroh to discuss Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban from the NBA for gambling. The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh also joins to talk about the scourge of pitcher injuries in Major League Baseball and what MLB should do to get the crisis under control.

    Jontay Porter (2:51): What his ban augurs for the future of pro sports and betting.
     
    Pitcher injuries (26:17): What is MLB doing about them? Is it too late?
     
    Afterball (47:02): Stefan on why the Ivy League’s best basketball players are transferring.

    (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad free.)

    Want more Hang Up and Listen? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page, or visit slate.com/hangupplus to get access wherever you listen.
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  • With all eyes on the WNBA as Caitlin Clark was drafted, many were surprised at the star player’s new salary, and how it paled in comparison to that of an NBA rookie. What would it take to address this disparity? 

    Guest: Lindsay Gibbs, author and founder of Power Plays, “a no-BS newsletter about women’s sports” and co-host of the Burn It All Down podcast.

    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 today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.
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  • In this week’s essay, John dives deep into the loss of his beloved dog, George, the essayist’s dilemma, the comfort of quiet mornings, and more.
     
    Notebook Entries:
    Notebook 75, page 5. September 5, 2021
    I go to the morning alone.
     
    Notebook 75, page 6. September 6, 2021
    Phantom nails on the stairs
     
     
    References:
    “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog” by John Dickerson for The Atlantic
    “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds” by Miho Nagasawa et.al for Science
    Haikus by Jennifer Gurney
    “Which Pet Will Make You Happiest?” by Arthur C. Brooks for The Atlantic
    “The Family Dog Is in Sync With Your Kids” by Gretchen Reynolds for The New York Times
     
    Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.
    Email us at [email protected]
      
    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen.

    Host
    John Dickerson
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  • This week, host Isaac Butler talks to novelist Julia Hannafin and ecologist Adam Rosenblatt. In the interview, they discuss Julia’s new novel Cascade, which includes information about sharks and other marine life that Adam helped to verify. Julia explains how factual accuracy helped to solidify and drive both the plot of Cascade and some of its emotional power. Adam talks about what the collaborative process was like for him and argues that science is more creative than people think. 

    After the interview, Isaac and co-host Ronald Young Jr. talk more about fact-checking in fiction. They also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of first-person present tense in fiction. 

    In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Julia talks about the difference between writing novels and writing for TV. 
     
    Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to [email protected] or give us a call at (304) 933-9675.

    Podcast production by Cameron Drews.

    If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus to help support our work.
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  • John Dickerson talks with author David E. Sanger about his new book, New Cold Wars. They discuss how Russia and China came to reach their new levels of power, the role the Middle East and Obama Administration played in all of this, and more.

    Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at [email protected]. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

    Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.
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  • On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice answer listener questions about the rapid rise of Donghua Jinlong, a Chinese company that manufactures glycine. Over the past few weeks, paradoxically deadpan and impassioned videos about the high quality of Donghua Jinlong’s products have taken over TikTok. Are teens actually consuming industrial grade chemicals? Or is something even weirder happening?
    This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.
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  • In this episode, Bassey Ikpi (New York Times bestselling essay collection, I’m Telling the Truth but I’m Lying) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters from readers about an international sisters’ trip gone awry, a husband’s struggle to live with his wife’s mental health issues, and an uncomfortable situation between coworkers.
    If you want more Dear Prudence, join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members.
    Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to sign up. It’s just $15 for your first three months.
    This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, and Jenée Desmond-Harris, with help from Maura Currie.
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  • Nostalgia for the 1990s is everywhere, and for a generation of African Americans, perhaps nothing symbolizes the fun of that decade more than Freaknik. A sprawling days-long festival of all the good –and bad– of spring break behavior, at its height, Freaknik drew tens of thousands of partiers each year from around the country to Atlanta. So why did the party stop, and is there any way it could ever come back again?

    On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson discusses the Hulu documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told with director P. Frank Williams and executive producer Geraldine Porras..


    Guests: P. Frank Williams and Geraldine Porras, the director and executive producer of Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told on Hulu.

    Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel

    Want more A Word? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/awordplus to get access wherever you listen.
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  • For this week’s episode of Working Overtime, hosts Ronald Young Jr. and Isaac Butler examine a listener’s question about tackling the stickiest aspects of collaborating on a creative project. Both hosts have had their fair share of nightmare scenarios, but they agree that some of the best practices for collaborating involve having frank conversations before a project begins. 

    Do you have questions or advice of your own about the creative process? Reach out at (304) 933-9675 or email us at [email protected]

    Podcast production by Kevin Bendis and Cameron Drews.
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  • This week Bryan talks to writer Neil J. Young about his new book Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right. They dig into some of the inherent contradictions of the Gay Right and the pillars of their political strategy and reveal how central whiteness and maleness is to their politic. 

    Podcast production by Palace Shaw.
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  • April is Autism Acceptance Month, and how we’ve come to understand autism has evolved over the past several decades. 
    For years, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was thought of as something that needed to be cured. Through better data and years of activism, that misunderstanding is changing.
    On this week’s episode of Well, Now we discuss that evolution with Sara Luterman, caregiving reporter for The 19th.
    Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry and Ahyiana Angel with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.
    Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to [email protected] 
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  • Candice Lim is joined by We Signed An NDA co-host Ann Maddox, who you may know as Tom Sandoval’s former personal assistant. In March 2023, Maddox was teaching improv to a middle school in Japan when she found out Sandoval and his then-girlfriend Ariana Madix had split. At first, Maddox assumed this was simply routine tabloid fodder, which often plagued her employers as long-time cast members on Vanderpump Rules. But one specific photograph made her realize the rumors were true, which escalated into one of 2023’s biggest online watercooler moments: “Scandoval.” Maddox joins the show to discuss how she got into this line of work, what she knew when Scandoval went down, and what it’s like to have your personal and professional life dissected online.
    This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.
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  • On this week’s show, Slate culture writer (and Very, Very Good Friend of the Show, a.k.a. VVGFOP) Nadira Goffe sits in for Dana Stevens. The three begin with Civil War, writer-director Alex Garland’s (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Men) dystopian travelog starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, and Wagner Moura that imagines a burned out, bombed out America in the throes of a raging internal conflict. But who is fighting whom? Our panel discusses. Then, they examine Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, an eight-part series on Max depicting a very different civil war. Here, the exemplary sit-down stand-up comedian goes to war with himself, his public image, and the very nature of “reality.” It’s “Seinfeld meets reality TV meets Sylvia Plath,” and is a painfully naked confessional that begs the question: “Is Jerrod Carmichael trolling us?” (Read Nadira’s fantastic piece, “Who Did People Think Jerrod Carmichael Is?” Finally, the trio turns to “gaslighting,” the pop psychology term up for debate in Leslie Jamison’s essay for The New Yorker, “So You Think You’ve Been Gaslit.” Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year in 2022, is “gaslighting” a handy term used to describe harmful behavior? Or has “gaslighting” become so ubiquitous, it’s lost all meaning? The panel gets into it. 
    In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the hosts explore stuffed animals (including but not limited to: Squishmallows, Jelly Cats, and “lovies”), the difference between a blanket and blankie, and the joys of embracing one’s inner child, inspired by Valerie Trapp’s essay for The Atlantic, “Welcome to Kidulthood.” 
    Email us at [email protected]
    Outro music: "200 Dont's" by Conditional
    Endorsements:
    Nadira: (1) The Wiz revival on Broadway. 
    (2) Costco! 
    (3) Willow Smith’s new song, “b i g f e e l i n g s” off of her upcoming album, empathogen. 
    Julia: G. T. Karber’s book of puzzles, Murdle: 100 Simple to Impossible Mysteries to Solve Using Logic, Skill, and the Power of Deduction. “It’s a cross between an LSAT logic puzzle and a murder mystery.” 
    Stephen: Becca Rothfeld’s debut essay collection, All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess. (Becca will be on the show next week to discuss! For extra credit, grab a copy of her book and come prepared.)
    Podcast production by Jared Downing. Production assistance by Kat Hong. 
    Hosts
    Nadira Goffe, Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf
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  • “Doing the work” is a phrase often heard when talking about racial justice. We heard it a lot after the death of George Floyd in 2020. And we need to continue talking about it—but there’s an important aspect of “the work” that’s been missing. On this episode of How To!: Courtney Martin brings in Garrett Bucks, author of The Right Kind of White and founder of The Barnraisers Project, to help Elizabeth Doerr talk to fellow white parents about the implications of opting out of their kids’ public school.

    If you liked this episode check out: “How To Fight Racism in Your Town”

    CAST YOUR VOTE FOR HOW TO! IN THE 2024 WEBBY AWARDS! https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2024/podcasts/shows/advice-how-to

    Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

    How To’s executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson and Kevin Bendis. 

    Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/howtoplus.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: blaze it.

    Ahead of the honorary stoner holiday that is 4/20, we’re taking a look at the marijuana landscape. Public opinion has warmed considerably to legal weed in the past few decades – both medicinal and recreational – even though it remains a Schedule 1 drug on the federal level.

    But some public health experts are still sounding the alarm, because this has all happened very quickly… and though hard-line illegality was harmful, what we’re doing now might be causing harm, too.

    Dr. Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, joins us.

    If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: [email protected]

    Podcast production by Maura Currie.

    Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen.
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  • Patric Gagne says being a sociopath is like having an emotional learning disability. In this episode, she talks about the good and the bad of having limited access to shame and guilt, how she overcame violent compulsions, and becoming a wife and mother. 
    Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.
    And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected].
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Joel Anderson, Stefan Fatsis, and Josh Levin, discuss the death of O.J. Simpson and everything his life and his murder trial dredged up. They’re also joined by Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports for a breakdown of the NBA playoffs.

    O.J. Simpson's legacy (2:05): Reckoning with the meaning of O.J.

    NBA Playoffs (23:45): Breaking down the upcoming playoff picture.

    Afterball (41:42): Joel on O.J. Simpson’s long and not so successful sportscasting career.

    (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad free.)

    Want more Hang Up and Listen? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page, or visit slate.com/hangupplus to get access wherever you listen.
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