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A trial a decade in the making has started, as the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google and its unrivaled position as the top search engine begins. Is this the beginning of the government “taking on Big Tech” and the end of Google as we know it?Guest: Leah Nylen, covering antitrust for Bloomberg.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 and David Plotz are reunited with John Dickerson to discuss the Wisconsin Republicans’ effort to impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz and protect their gerrymander; Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to start an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden and prevent a government shutdown; and Biden’s age problem and Donald Trump’s battleground-state difficulties. Join us for Political Gabfest Live in Madison, Wisconsin on October 25!Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Scott Bauer for AP: “Why Wisconsin Republicans are talking about impeaching a new state Supreme Court justice”City Cast Madison podcast: “How We Know Wisconsin’s Maps are Gerrymandered”Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765 (2002)Luke Broadwater for The New York Times: “What We Know About the Impeachment Case Against Biden” and Carl Hulse and Luke Broadwater: “McCarthy Tries to Leverage Biden Impeachment to Avoid a Shutdown”Nate Cohn for The New York Times: “Trump’s Electoral College Edge Seems to Be Fading” and “How to Interpret Polling Showing Biden’s Loss of Nonwhite Support”FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast: “Why Biden Is Losing Support Among Voters Of Color”Paul Waldman for MSNBC: “You can talk about Biden’s age. Just not like this.”The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency by John DickersonThe Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future by Franklin FoerDan Balz for The Washington Post: “Mitt Romney says he will not seek a second term in the Senate”McKay Coppins for The Atlantic: “What Mitt Romney Saw In The Senate”“Mitt” on Netflix Laura Vozzella for The Washington Post: “Va. Dem. House candidate performed sex online with husband for tips”Here are this week’s chatters:Emily: The Knockout Queen: A Novel by Rufi Thorpe and The Vaster Wilds: A Novel by Lauren GroffJohn: The Journals of John Cheever edited by Robert Gottlieb; CBS News Sunday Morning; Ted Gioia in The Honest Broker: “Why Is Music Getting Sadder?”; and Chris Dalla Riva: “Tears Are Falling And I Feel The Pain”David: Zhong sauce by Fly By JingListener chatter from Ben: Tyler Vigen’s “The Mystery of the Bloomfield Bridge”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss Susanna Gibson, the Virginia Democratic House candidate who “performed sex online with husband for tips.” In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily, David, and John talk with Barbara Kingsolver about her best-selling book, Demon Copperhead. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna RothResearch by Julie HuygenHostsEmily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David PlotzFollow@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfestSlate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following “The Call,” our series on the opioid epidemic continues in Harlem. Inside a safe-consumption site, addiction is destigmatized—outside, however, the neighbors feel differently.Guest: Syderia Asberry-Chresfield, co-founder of the Greater Harlem Coalition and a former Vice President for JP Morgan Chase.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.

It feels like we live in a world of near constant environmental disasters. Whether it’s living through an emergency, or consuming coverage in the media, collective trauma takes a mental toll. What steps can we take to be ready—for ourselves, our communities, and to help the recovery? Guest: Dr. Tara Powell, associate professor, School of Social Work, University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignIf 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.

Back in January, Ron DeSantis appointed six new trustees to the board of Florida’s New College, who swiftly set about remaking the school according to a much more conservative vision of what college should be. Now, as the new school year begins, we’re starting to see what that vision actually looks like. Guest: Sam Greenspan, freelance journalist who attended New College of Florida from 2004 to 2008 and reported on the college for Reveal in June.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.

Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio was just sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the January 6th insurrection. With much of their leadership, and that of the Oath Keepers, now behind bars, has their movement hit a dead end? Or is this just more grist for the anti-government outrage mill?Guest: Brandi Buchman, independent journalist covering the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys trialsIf 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.

As the opioid overdose crisis continues, a group of volunteers started a hotline with one mission—not to encourage people to go to rehab, not even to discourage them from using—just to keep them alive for one more day. A collaboration with This American Life.Guests: Stephen Murray, paramedic and overdose researcher at Boston Medical Center.Jessie, a registered nurse who answers calls on the Never Use Alone hotline. Kimber, a caller to the hotline.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.

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Marc Elias, who has litigated more election and voting cases than almost anyone, to talk about Alabama’s disregard for SCOTUS’ decision in the big Voting Rights Act case of last term, and why the lawlessness is the point. They also delve into the dangers of tying the disqualification of former President Donald J Trump from office under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the outcomes in his criminal trials. And why, when it comes to defending democracy, depending on the courts may make sense in the short term, but faces serious problems in the long term.In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern to discuss Justice Samuel Alito’s chosen venue to publish a love letter to Senator Dick Durbin, Chief Justice John Roberts’ chosen venue to publish a love letter to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and why a major religious freedom case is looking more and more like a fake spike.  Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. Dahlia’s book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America, is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25 percent discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by Coco Krumme to discuss her book Optimal Illusions: The False Promise of Optimization. In the Plus segment: The story in Felix’s newsletter today on why the city of Birmingham in the UK has gone bankrupt. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

COVID’s still here but the public’s appetite for masking, social distancing, or remote learning is long gone. One palatable way to stop the spread: improving air circulation indoors. Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, science and global health reporter for the New York TimesIf 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.