On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior supervising producer of audio Daisy Rosario is joined by sisters and authors Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar. Amber and Lacey just released their second book, The World Record Book of Racist Stories, a collection of humorous and sometimes heartbreaking essays about the racism they and the people they know experience every day. Daisy, Amber and Lacey talk about needing to write a second book (because they didn’t fit all the stories in the first book), the importance of family in surviving micro and macro aggressions, and why humor is the only way to get through the pain. In Slate Plus, Daisy, Amber and Lacey talk about why Omaha actually is a great place to live.  Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate Money host Emily Peck is joined by journalist and author Taffy Brodesser-Akner to talk about Taffy’s new show, Fleishman is in Trouble, based on her bestselling novel. They dig into why men’s magazines are more freeing to write for, how ambition can mess up a marriage, and how midlife crises and divorce are different experiences for women. In Slate Plus, Emily and Taffy talk about Toby’s eating disorder, how empathy can make people mad, and more.Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth is joined by author Gabrielle Blair. Blair’s new book Ejaculate Responsibly presents the radical idea that men should take control of the fertility conversation by better managing their sperm. After all, they're fertile 24-hours a day compared to women’s 24-hours a month. Cheyna and Gabrielle also talk about the problem with not prioritizing women’s pain, Gabrielle’s history as a “Design Mom” and how even Mormons seem to agree with Gabrielle’s book. In Slate Plus: How the pope got involved in your birth control.Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This season of The Relentless, we’re speaking with inspiring leaders who break through barriers and move fearlessly. In episode two, we meet a social entrepreneur, explorer, and titan of the tech world, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado. As one of the most influential executives in Silicon Valley and the first Peruvian and openly gay woman to climb the Seven Summits, she knows a thing or two about overcoming fear and staying relentless.From the icy summit of Mount Everest to the competitive arena of Silicon Valley, Silvia shares what she learned about staying present in the face of fear, healing through nature, and revolutionizing male-dominated industries. Later in the episode, CENTURY 21 Broker Adam Oberski shares how his own outdoor passion has given him new perspectives on his entrepreneurial journey (hint: it involves swimming, biking, and an entire marathon).GuestsSilvia Vasquez-Lavado: Social Entrepreneur, Technologist, Explorer, and Author of In the Shadow of the MountainAdam Oberski: Owner & Broker of CENTURY 21 Curran & Oberski Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior supervising producer of audio, Daisy Rosario is joined by actress and director Lake Bell to talk about voices. Bell’s new audio book Inside Voice is all about her obsession with how people sound. They dig into why we should take better care of our voices, how trauma impacts our ability to speak, why candidate voices impact their electability, and more.In Slate Plus, Lake and Daisy talk about the problem with the sexy baby voice.  Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, we dig into why Sarah Palin is still around - and if you should be paying attention. Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth is joined by Slate senior writer Christina Cauterucci to talk about Christina’s time spent in Alaska where Palin is trying to make a political comeback in a tight race for Alaska’s lone Congressional seat. Later in the show, Christina explains why it’s necessary to keep talking about Palin after all these years.In Slate Plus, Cheyna and Christina talk about whether Sheryl Sandberg’s abortion rights donation to the ACLU is feminist. Recommendations:Christina: Cleanness by Garth Greenwell Cheyna: When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior editor Rebecca Onion is joined by Jess Zimmerman, who writes about witches, feminism, and all the scary ladies. They sit down to unpack their feelings about Disney’s Hocus Pocus films - both past and present and how the witch discussion has changed in the thirty years between movies. In Slate Plus, is Taylor Swift’s Anti Hero music video feminist?Recommendations:Rebecca: The audiobook of The Mercies by Kiran Milwood Hargrave and read by Jessie Buckley.Jess: The new book Toil and Trouble by Lisa Kroger and Melanie Anderson. Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior supervising producer of audio Daisy Rosario is joined by author Elissa Bassist to talk about women’s voices. They discuss Elissa’s new book, Hysterical and unpack why we cringe when we hear vocal fry, and ask why we don’t have similar words to describe male vocal ticks. Later in the show, they dig into how the fear of scrutiny women have over their voices silences them in ways you haven’t imagined. In Slate Plus, Elissa talks about her involvement in Cheryl Strayed’s famous quote, “Write like a motherfucker.” Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate homepage editor Sol Werthan sits down with trans rights activist and author, Paisley Currah. They discuss Paisley’s new book, Sex Is As Sex Does and discuss why “male” and “female” are used as a legal and social classifier. And why, even for cis people who identify with the gender binary, that might not be the right way to go.In Slate Plus, Sol and Paisley talk about the politicization of trans kids.Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior editor Rebecca Onion is joined by Slate contributing writer Imogen West-Knights to talk all about queens. From the daily news to Sunday nights on HBO, queens are everywhere right now. Rebecca and Imogen talk about the enduring appeal of shows like The Crown, House of the Dragon, Victoria, and more and what these representations are lacking. In Slate Plus, is the modern iteration of Hillary Clinton still feminist?Recommendations:Rebecca: Dirty Dancing abortion fundraisers, like this one.Imogen: Netflix’s Dahmer (in order to grapple with its lack of sensitivity) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Daisy Rosario, and Alicia Montgomery.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices