Slate Business

During his first term, President Trump and Jeff Bezos openly sparred with each other. During this second administration, though, it seems like Bezos is trying to endear himself - and his companies - to the White House. So what changed?Guest: Dana Mattioli, reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the author of The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power.Special thanks to David Maraniss.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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: DOGE is taking its chainsaw to the Social Security Administration. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers examine the real reasons behind the Elon Musk led crusade against the SSA. And then, DOGE used extreme tactics against the US Institute of Peace including a physical takeover of the building by force. Meanwhile, the founder of Pirate’s Booty tried a similar tactic to try to gain power over his small Long Island town. The hosts discuss how these stories and recent actions by Trump call into question what authority really means when it comes to our government. And finally, Dan Primak of Axios joins to explain how a private equity firm just made the Boston Celtics the highest valued team (in dollars) in US sports history.In the Slate Plus episode: Why are US winemakers upset about a potential wine tariff? Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Institutes of Health is the primary engine of biomedical research around the world, which makes the Trump administration's dramatic cuts to its grant program both confusing and potentially incredibly harmful.Guest: Katherine J. Wu, staff writer for the Atlantic.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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 economy that Donald Trump inherited from Joe Biden had low unemployment, slowing inflation, and a growing GDP. So what is he trying to achieve by imposing heavy tariffs on our allies and trading partners? Guest: Stephanie Ruhle, NBC business analyst and the host of The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle.Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your  other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Money Talks: How does America assert its power globally? The short answer is money. For the long answer, Felix Salmon calls in authors Edward Fishman (Chokepoints) and Saleha Mohsin (Paper Soldiers) who both recently published books on the subject. They’ll discuss how the US dollar managed to become the world’s reserve asset, the ways it’s been weaponized in the past, and what that global status means under an “America First” president. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock weekly bonus episodes of Slate Money—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a Trump-friendly Supreme Court and a contentious relationship with the press, could Donald Trump follow through on his 2016 campaign goal of making it easier to sue media companies for libel—and imperil America’s free press?Guest: David Enrich, business investigations editor at the New York Times and author of “Murder The Truth.”Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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: The US Stock Market is plummeting during Trump’s second term. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers explain why headlines very rarely affect the movements of the Stock Market–and discuss whether we're currently living one of those exceptions. Then, the Wall Street Journal has reported that the Trump family is in talks to invest in the US arm of crypto giant Binance. If true, the move would almost certainly be an attempt to buy a pardon for billionaire founder CZ, who pled guilty to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements under Biden. And finally, Youtube megastar MrBeast, made popular among the Gen Alpha set for giving away fabulous prizes, is turning his fame into fortune via his candybars. Are they any good? Elizabeth will decide!In the Slate Plus episode: How many days a year should we all really spend at work?Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The public’s anger towards Elon Musk and DOGE has found an outlet in the form of Musk’s car company Tesla. How long can the company put up with a sinking reputation and stock price? Guest: Pranshu Verma, tech reporter for the Washington Post. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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.Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the election, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was doing away with Facebook’s fact-checking apparatus in the US. With content creators getting paid based on reach, and content spreading wider and faster the more extreme it is, is Facebook the perfect environment for misinformation to flourish? Guest: Craig Silverman, technology reporter for ProPublica.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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: Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China went into effect – only for him to turn around and suspend many of them. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss Trump’s love of tariffs and the political effects of his trade war. Then, Egg Watch gets a whole segment this week as Chenya Roth joins to discuss the economics of egg demand and the question of if eggs even should be super cheap. And finally, an elaborate scheme to buy every lottery ticket and guarantee a jackpot went down in Texas. The hosts debate whether there is actually anything wrong with that. In the Slate Plus episode: The Trump bump has become quite a slumpWant to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices