Slate News

Israeli Defense Forces have extended their campaign to Rafah, the southern-most city in Gaza, and where many Gazans have been gathering to escape the war. Guest: Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, Middle East political analyst, founder and executive director of Project Unified AssistanceIf you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did America end up back in a Gilded Age of incredible wealth disparity, and how did a new generation of oligarchs bend society to their vision? Guest: Tim Murphy, senior reporter for Mother Jones.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The special election for George Santos’s vacated U.S. House seat has attracted tons of spending and a lot of attention—all to hold the position for less than a year. Who’s running, and what can this vote tell us about what to expect in November? Guest: Mark Chiusano, writer, journalist, and author of The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The special prosecutor’s report into Biden’s classified documents case is out… and it says Joe Biden’s memory is too bad for a jury to convict him. Is the report a politically motivated hit job, or an honest assessment of one of the two very old men running for president? Guest: Ben Mathis-Lilley, Slate senior writer.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a while, it seemed like the only place to meet potential partners was through an app—Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, etc. But as the apps are trying to monetize their matchmaking—and some users now with a whole decade of striking out under their belts—old-fashioned meet-cutes-in-bars or, say, debutante balls look more and more appealing.Guests: Katherine Lindsay, culture writer and cofounder of EmbeddedRachael Stein, dating-app spelunker If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oral arguments at the Supreme Court Thursday in Trump v. Anderson revealed a lot about some of the justices’ commitment to the primacy of originalism. Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, joins Dahlia Lithwick to discuss why his organization took up and pursued the long shot case to try to keep former President Donald J Trump off the ballot in Colorado. While the Supreme Court appeared to have little appetite for taking the big swing to find that Trump had disqualified himself from office when he engaged in an insurrection, Noah insists the case is far from having been in vain - eloquently highlighting the dangerous potential consequences of inaction. It's a chilling reminder of what’s at stake.Next, Dahlia is joined by slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern to discuss whether the liberal justices have some grand bargain in mind as they offered multiple off-ramps for Trump’s side, despite dozens of bipartisan briefs arguing for Trump to be kept off the ballot, the court’s originalist’s sudden concern for consequences in this case, when they have had no interest in weighing the life and death consequences for ordinary people in cases concerning guns and abortion. Finally, they tackle a worrying undercurrent to Thursday’s arguments: an apparent capitulation to threats of chaos and violence as a basis for deciding constitutional cases. In our Slate Plus segment, Mark sticks around to discuss a landmark gun decision out of the Hawaii Supreme Court, and why it’s a problem that DOJ’s special counsel, Robert Hur, issued a report declining to prosecute, but affirming that Joe Biden is old (hint: the problem isn’t that he’s old). Want more Amicus? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock exclusive SCOTUS analysis and weekly extended episodes. Plus, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BREAKING NEWS: Felix Salmon paid money to watch the Taylor Swift concert movie, he reveals it in a tell-all chat with Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers. They discuss CEO Bob Iger’s efforts to keep Disney the fairest entertainment company in the land and why New York Community Bank’s financial straits could be a win for ordinary renters. Also, has the backlash against the SAT test been misguided? Dartmouth thinks so. In the Plus segment, the gang explains Superbowl commercial trends.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The NFL's concussion settlement was meant to provide financial support and medical help for players who developed traumatic brain injuries from the sport. So why are so many players denied the help they need?Guest: Will Hobson, sports reporter for the Washington Post.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Republicans’ beginning and end of both the border bill and the impeachment of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; the criminal conviction of a mother for a school shooting by her son; and the D.C. Circuit Court decision on presidential immunity and the Supreme Court argument on the presidential ballot.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Rachael Bade for Politico: Schumer presses forward with Ukraine Plan B as GOP leaders reel and Burgess Everett: Behind the border mess: Open GOP rebellion against McConnellCleve R. Wootson Jr. for The Washington Post: Biden vows to make GOP defeat of a conservative border bill a campaign issue and Jacqueline Alemany, Amy B Wang, Marianna Sotomayor, and Paul Kane: In stunning vote, House Republicans fail to impeach Secretary MayorkasFormer Rep. Charlie Stenholm in The Hill in 2015: How Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan would make this Congress workTresa Baldas for the Detroit Free Press: Jennifer Crumbley guilty: Understanding involuntary manslaughter charge, possible sentenceand Paul Egan: Michigan’s gun laws change: Background checks, storage, temporary removalMichael Barbaro and Lisa Miller for The New York Times The Daily podcast: A Guilty Verdict for a Mass Shooter’s MotherRachel Weiner for The Washington Post: Trump has no immunity from Jan. 6 prosecution, appeals court rulesIan Millhiser for Vox: The Supreme Court is about to decide whether to sabotage Trump’s election theft trialAmy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court to decide whether insurrection provision keeps Trump off ballot Here are this week’s chatters:John: Ian Sample for The Guardian: AI helps scholars read scroll buried when Vesuvius erupted in AD79; Pierina Pighi Bel for the BBC: Bodegas: The small corner shops that run NYC; David Blank in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Philodemus; Moss and Fog; and Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School: Theodore H. White Lecture with John DickersonEmily: Sofia Resnick for News From The States: Study cited by Texas judge in abortion pill case retracted and Sage Publishing: A note from Sage on retractions in Health Services Research and Managerial EpidemiologyDavid: Patrick Radden Keefe for The New Yorker: A Teen’s Fatal Plunge Into The London UnderworldListener chatter from Patrick Johnson in Anchorage, Alaska: Rhonda McBride for KNBA - Anchorage: Anchorage’s white raven becomes a local legend as a tracked trickster For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss “Fast Car,” Tracy Chapman’s 1988 original, and Luke Combs’s 2023 cover. In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with Brad Stulberg about his book, Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supreme Court now has to decide if the 14th amendment’s provision to keep insurrectionists off the ballot applies to Donald Trump.Guest: Jamelle Bouie, New York Times opinion columnist.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.