Episodes

  • As the debate around child safety online rages on, an investigation by The New York Times found a seedy world of pedophiles interacting with child influencer accounts, often run by their parents, on Instagram. 

    Guest: Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, investigative reporter at the New York Times. 

    Want more What Next TBD? 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.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • March is Women’s History Month, and for centuries, the roles of Black women in key moments of American history have been diminished. One book that takes a unique approach to exploring their stories is Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts. The book combines historical narrative with illustrations depicting African and African American women rising up against their enslavers, often at the cost of their own lives. On today’s episode of A Word, host Jason Johnson is joined by Wake’s author, attorney and educator Rebecca Hall. They discuss the leading role many Black women played in slave uprisings, and the complicated politics that have kept their stories hidden for so long. 

    Guest: Rebecca Hall, author of Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts

    Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola.

    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.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Missing episodes?

    Click here to refresh the feed.

  • It’s impossible to ignore the impact of climate change. Sea levels are rising, and natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires are increasing in strength and number each year. 
    A major contributor to a warming planet is the way we’re processing our food. So on this week’s episode of Well, Now we discuss ways to eat a full, balanced diet while keeping the health of the planet in mind with registered dietitian nutritionist Chris Vogliano.
    If you liked this episode, check out: Breaking Up With Diet Culture
    Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.
    Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to [email protected]
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim are joined by writer and journalist Fortesa Latifi who has been reporting extensively on child influencer legislation for Teen Vogue. In August 2023, the governor of Illinois passed an amendment to the state’s child labor law that would require parents to compensate their children for their appearances in monetized content. Drawing comparisons to the Coogan Law, several states have followed suit and proposed their own legislation to finally address the privacy and monetary concerns that former children influencers have started speaking up about.
    This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • The New York Times declared that physical wallets are on the outs. But is digital enough? Felix Salmon Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers discuss! Also: Steve Mnuchin’s heroic $1 billion bailout of New York Community Bank, and new rules requiring public companies to report their carbon emissions. In the Plus segment, a leaked Department of Labor email to a mysterious group of “super users” may reveal why January’s inflation numbers spiked. 
    If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our regular show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Slate Money. Sign up now at slate.com/moneyplus to help support our work.
    Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Biden v. Trump polls and Super Tuesday, the Supreme Court’s decision to leave Donald Trump on the ballot, and whether The Golden Age of American Jews Is Ending with The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer. Join us for Political Gabfest Live in Washington, D.C. on March 27! Tickets are on sale now. Planning to attend? Submit a Listener Chatter to [email protected] and you might be picked to chatter live. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:538: Latest PollsShane Goldmacher for The New York Times: Voters Doubt Biden’s Leadership and Favor Trump, Times/Siena Poll FindsMark Joseph Stern for Slate: The Supreme Court’s “Unanimous” Trump Ballot Ruling Is Actually a 5-4 DisasterMichael C. Dorf for Dorf on Law: Nine Justices in Search of an Excuse to Nullify Section 3 of the 14th AmendmentKate Shaw, Melissa Murray, and Leah Litman for Crooked Media’s Strict Scrutiny podcast: SCOTUS Restores Trump to the Colorado Ballot, Unanimously (Kind Of)Franklin Foer for The Atlantic: The Golden Age of American Jews Is EndingElena Schneider and Melanie Mason for Politico: AIPAC uncorks $100 million war chest to sink progressive candidatesCenter for Antisemitism Research: 24% of Americans Harbor Extensive Antisemitic Prejudice, Up From 20% in 2022, Survey FindsRomain Chauvet for The Times of Israel: ‘I’m afraid every day for my children’: As antisemitism soars, French Jews flee to IsraelHere are this week’s chatters:Emily: Madaleine Rubin for The Texas Tribune: Sean Teare unseats Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg in primary; Serena Lin for the Austin American-Statesman: Incumbent JosĂ© Garza wins Democratic primary for Travis County district attorney; Stefanie Dazio for AP: Progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George GascĂłn advances to runoff; Mensah M. Dean for The Trace: In Philadelphia, a Program Offers Some People Arrested for Unlicensed Guns a Second Chance; and Jenice Armstrong for The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly program keeps gun offenders out of prison. I’m all for it.John: Bozi Tatarevic for Road & Track: Here’s Why NASCAR Driver Joey Logano Was Penalized For Cheating Gloves and Victoria Beaver: Caught Webbed-Handed: Here’s the Cheated-Up Glove NASCAR Fined Joey Logano OverDavid: One Day on Netflix and One Day by David Nicholls; Normal People on Hulu and Normal People: A Novel by Sally Rooney; Shƍgun on Hulu and Shƍgun, Part One by James Clavell; Atlas Obscura’s Ecliptic Festival; and Danielle Dowling for The New York Times: 31 Things to Do for the Big Eclipse This AprilListener chatter from Jason Dewees in San Francisco, California: Julie Zigoris for The San Francisco Standard: He died in a Jewish ghetto. How did his long-lost art end up on a bench in San Francisco? For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk with Researcher Julie about working as an election judge. See Arapahoe County (Colorado) Elections; Election Judges; Election Transparency; and Arapahoe County Life of the Ballot. In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Kiley Reid about her book, Come and Get It. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie HuygenLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • It’s not just the justices on the Supreme Court who can’t seem to agree with each other anymore. As we slide into Trump v. Biden 2 (The Second One), it seems like voters can’t seem to come to a consensus on just about anything either, including the facts they are arguing over. Author and superstar litigator Barbara McQuade argues in her new book Attack From Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America the information we consume is crucial to the health of our democracy. She speaks with Dahlia Lithwick about America’s problems with dis- and mis-information, and how we can solve them.

    In this week’s Amicus Plus members-only segment, Dahlia is joined by her co-pilot in the jurisprudence news cockpit, Mark Joseph Stern to talk about President Biden's SOTU SCOTUS FU, why Alabama's legislative quick fix for its theocratic state supreme court's IVF decision is unlikely to hold, and the meta story of the meta data in the liberal justices’ concurrence in Monday’s Supreme Court decision to restore former President Trump to the Colorado primary ballot. 

    This segment is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive SCOTUS analysis and weekly extended episodes of Amicus, but you’ll also 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/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Thousands of songs have disappeared from TikTok in recent months as music giant Universal Music Group, or UMG, has pulled its catalog from the app. UMG claims that TikTok is a music platform, and that TikTok needs to pay more to license its music. TikTok claims they're a marketing platform that helps labels promote their artists. But while the two sides argue over contract negotiations for licensing music on the video platform, many artists are left scrambling.

    Guest: Ethan Millman, staff writer at Rolling Stone covering the music industry.

    Want more What Next TBD? 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.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • With Biden trailing Trump in the polls and thousands of Democrats casting votes for “uncommitted” in the primaries, can the president make his case for a second term to frustrated progressives at the State of the Union? 

    Guest: Pramila Jayapal, U.S. representative from Washington's 7th congressional district and the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

    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.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Airdropping aid, food, and supplies is expensive, inexact, and inefficient and usually only a last resort when your enemies have left you no other options. So why is the United States airdropping aid into Gaza, when the borders are controlled by America’s ally, Israel?

    Guest: Jane Arraf, reporter for NPR based in the Middle East.

    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.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • In this episode Bryan speaks with Reporter Jessica Bateman about her recent Washington Post article ‘They found spiritual joy. They won’t have it taken away. That details the importance of LGBTQ-affirming churches in Tennessee and the challenges they face. 

    Email us at [email protected]
    Podcast production by Palace Shaw.


    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… Parliamentary America?

    It’s Super Tuesday, and the process by which we elect a president is on full display (warts and all). Americans on both sides of the aisle agree that the electoral college has to go. But what should replace it? 

    Maxwell Stearns, author of Parliamentary America: The Least Radical Means of Radically Repairing Our Broken Democracy (out 3/5/2024), presents his case for restructuring American government to look more like a parliamentary system — and, in the process, to take presidential elections out of the hands of voters and conventions and into the hands of elected coalitions.


    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.

    You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus! Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Nancy Pelosi is no longer in charge of the House Democrats, and Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat is now up for grabs. Will a new generation of progressives step up in deep blue California? It’s not so simple…

    Guest: Alexander Sammon, Slate politics writer. 

    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.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive SCOTUS analysis and extended episodes of Amicus, but you’ll also 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/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

    ROTATING RED LIGHT!!! The Supreme Court ruled early Monday that alleged insurrectionist Donald Trump can remain on the Colorado republican primary ballot, and that no state may remove him, even if they want to. That’s Congress’ job. The 9-0 decision wasn’t unexpected, but the broad reasoning used by five of the court’s conservative justices certainly was, to the chagrin of the liberals and Amy Coney Barrett. 

    In this special emergency episode, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate’s very own pocket justice league, Mark Joseph Stern and Jeremy Stahl, to discuss what this blockbuster result in Anderson says about the court’s consolidation of power and how it has helped Trump in so many ways. 

    Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Measles happens, but this outbreak in Florida is unfolding in a post-pandemic world where mistrust in public health officials and vaccinations is practically the party line. 

    Guest: Lauren Weber, Washington Post accountability reporter focused on scientific and medical disinformation. 

    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.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • The U.S. healthcare system can split the country into two Americas.
    Your zip code, education, class status and more all play a role in the outcome of your health as well as the kind of care you receive. 
    Fewer markers more clearly define these disparities than race. 
    On this week’s episode of Well, Now Maya and Kavita talk about racism in American healthcare with Dr. Uché Blackstock. 
    Her new book Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine gives a historical view of how racism has always played a role in U.S. healthcare. 
    This book is also a memoir of her own experience as a physician carrying on the legacy of her late mother, Dr. Dale Gloria Blackstock.
    Health Resources Mentioned in the Episode:

    Health in Her HUE

    Irth App


    Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.
    Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to [email protected] 
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Environmentalism has long been viewed as a preoccupation of white, educated, affluent voters. But climate change disproportionally impacts communities of color. Now a new generation of activists is building political awareness around environmentalism in the Black community. That’s part of the mission of the Hip Hop Caucus, a group that’s been working for decades to activate young voters around climate justice as a civil rights issue. On today’s episode of A Word, Hip Hop Caucus leader Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. joins host Jason Johnson to talk about the impact of environmental policy on Black Americans, and how to harness political power around the issue.

    Guest: Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr., chief of the Hip Hop Caucus

    Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

    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.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Why scam obituaries are edging out earnest ones, with the help of artificial intelligence and an adept Google game.

    Guest: Mia Sato, reporter for The Verge.

    Want more What Next TBD? 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.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign; the Supreme Court’s boost for Donald Trump and review of social media’s content moderation; and Senator Mitch McConnell’s decision to time out as minority leader. Join us for our next Political Gabfest Live show in Washington, D.C. on March 27! Tickets are on sale now. Planning to attend? Submit a Listener Chatter to [email protected] and you might be picked to chatter live. 
     
    Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
    Ezra Klein for The New York Times Ezra Klein Show podcast: Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden
    Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: It’s Not as Easy as Just Getting Biden to Drop Out
    Yasmeen Abutaleb and Marianne LeVine for The Washington Post: Biden wins Michigan primary but faces notable showing by ‘uncommitted’
    Thomas L. Friedman for The New York Times: Israel Is Losing Its Greatest Asset: Acceptance
    Karl Rove for The Wall Street Journal: Trump Goes on Fox and Shows His Weakness
    Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court skeptical of Texas, Florida regulation of social media moderation
    G.S. Hans for Balls and Strikes: How the Supreme Court’s Latest Big Tech Case Pits Cancel Culture Hysteria Against Corporate Power
    Michael C. Dorf for Dorf on Law: The Partial Facial Challenge Option in the Netchoice Cases
    Alan Feuer for The New York Times: In Taking Up Trump’s Immunity Claim, Supreme Court Bolstered His Delay Strategy
    John Dickerson for CBS News: Examining Mitch McConnell’s legacy as Senate Republican leader
    The Long Game: A Memoir by Mitch McConnell
    Mariana Alfaro for The Washington Post: Here’s who could replace Mitch McConnell as Senate’s top Republican
    Mark Sumner for the Daily Kos: Watch Tim Scott utterly humiliate himself for Trump
    Katelyn Caralle and Sarah Ewall-Wice for the Daily Mail: Lindsey Graham is mercilessly BOOED at Trump’s South Carolina victory party: Ex-president brings Senator on stage after introducing him as a ‘little further to the left’
    Saturday Night Live: Trump Victory Party Cold Open

    Here are this week’s chatters:
    Emily: Molly Ryan for WRKF 89.3 Baton Rouge Public Radio: House lawmakers advance bills targeting early release from prison – and more
    John: Aliza Chasan for CBS News: Cardboard box filled with unopened hockey cards sells for more than $3.7 million at auction and Joshua Rapp Learn for Discover: SchrƑdinger’s Cat Experiment and the Conundrum That Rules Modern Physics
    David: Plainsong by Kent Haruf and City Cast: Work with us.
    Listener chatter from Jacob in Chicago, Illinois: citiesbydiana on TikTok: Top 6 Best Stroads in America
     
    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss the Republican obsession with Hunter Biden and the possibility of impeaching President Joe Biden. See Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: Republicans can’t stop swallowing Russian propaganda. See also Ken Tran for USA Today: Hunter Biden denies Joe Biden involved in family business: ‘Destructive political charade’; Amy Taxin and Alanna Durkin Richer for AP: Ex-FBI informant charged with lying about Bidens to remain jailed while he awaits trial, judge rules; and Philip Bump for The Washington Post: Evaluating the anti-Biden case House Republicans offered on social media. 
     
    In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Kiley Reid about her book, Come and Get It.
     
    Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
     
    Podcast production by Cheyna Roth 
    Research by Julie Huygen
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers ponder the future of computers, cars, and…fast food? They discuss why Elon Musk is suing Sam Altman and OpenAI and the altruistic origins of ChatGPT. Also: Wendy’s “surge pricing” gaff had customers crying foul and Apple’s electric car has been scrapped. In the Plus segment: The downfall of Macy’s and the American department store. 
    If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Slate Money. Sign up now at slate.com/moneyplus to help support our work.
     Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth.
    Clips in the show:
    After segment one: The Thinking Machine - MIT 1961
    After segment two: 1975 Wendy’s Commercial
    Plus outro: Scene from Miracle on 34th Street
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices