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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… almost affirmative. We don’t yet know what the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action is going to do, tangibly, to college admissions — or how long those impacts will last. But, based on past experiments, we have a decent idea. And many advocates say the implications here are urgent and dire.But affirmative action might not have been the great equalizing force that a lot of people believe it was. Bertrand Cooper, freelance journalist and policy researcher, joins us to elaborate on his belief that poor Black kids were failed by affirmative action. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.comPodcast production by Maura CurrieYou 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

Who are the judges presiding over Donald Trump’s trials and what can the prosecution—and defense—expect, based on what’s happened already?Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer covering courts and the law for Slate MagazineIf 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In July, Florida approved the use of Prager U materials in its classrooms. The organization claims its videos offer an alternative to the prevailing left-wing ideology in the classroom. Its founder told a sympathetic audience that what they offer is indoctrination. What impact could these videos have in public schools? And where could they be heading next?Guest: John Knefel, senior writer for Media Matters for America.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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a quiet spring, COVID is surging back for the fourth consecutive summer. So, is this just life now? Guest: Katherine Wu, staff writer at the AtlanticIf 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More people are watching women’s sports than ever before, and the U.S. has high hopes for the Women’s World Cup. Still, there’s a lag in media coverage and resources for women athletes, particularly women of color. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Subria Whitaker, the chief of the non-profit organization Grow the Game. They discuss why the growth of women’s sports still isn’t matched by media coverage and economic resources, and how that impacts audiences and athletes of color.Guest: Subria Whitaker, founder and executive director of the non-profit, Grow the Game Podcast production by Ahyiana AngelYou can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, we’re talking the Hollywood strikes. Slate senior supervising producer Daisy Rosario is joined by longtime journalist and author of Burn It Down, Maureen Ryan to unpack the systematic oppression that has taken place behind the scenes of your favorite movies and television shows for decades. They dig into the structures in place to keep women and marginalized voices from getting to the top of the ladder, and how none of these stories are examples of one bad apple. They also explore how the ongoing writers and actors strikes are an inevitable result of years of injustice - and what they need to bargain for to make true change in Hollywood.In Slate Plus: A recap of episode 8 of Max’s And Just Like That…If you liked this episode, check out: How to Survive in Hollywood Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery. Additional help from Paige Osburn.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on How To!. Sign up now at slate.com/thewavesplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Donald Trump’s third indictment, this one for January 6th and the 2020 election; Trump v. President Joe Biden poll results; and, joined by David French of The New York Times, the country song “Try That In A Small Town.” Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Devlin Barrett and Josh Dawsey for The Washington Post: “Heart of the Trump Jan. 6 indictment: What’s in Trump’s head”Judd Legum for Popular Information: “The biggest misconception about Trump’s third criminal indictment”Reid J. Epstein for The New York Times: “Quick to Mock MAGA, Biden Stays Silent on Trump Indictments”Reid J. Epstein, Ruth Igielnik, and Camille Baker for The New York Times: “Biden Shores Up Democratic Support, but Faces Tight Race Against Trump” and Nate Cohn: “Can the Race Really Be That Close? Yes, Biden and Trump Are Tied.”David French for The New York Times: “Try Tolerance in a Small Town” and “The Trial America Needs”18 U.S. Code § 241 – Conspiracy against rightsJill Filipovic for The Guardian: “Musicians like Jason Aldean love to glorify ‘small-town’ America. It’s embarrassing”Aaron Zitner for The Wall Street Journal: “They’re the Happiest People in America. We Called Them to Ask Why.”Here are this week’s chatters:Emily: Deborah Treisman for The Writer’s Voice: New Fiction from The New Yorker: “Camille Bordas Reads ‘Colorín Colorado’” and How to Behave in a Crowd by Camille BordasJohn: Meghan Bartels for Scientific American: “NASA Detects ‘Heartbeat’ from Voyager 2 Spacecraft after Losing Contact” and John Dickerson for The Prime Time Interview, CBS News: “Author Dan Pink on the meaning of regret, how he captures his ideas, more with John Dickerson”David: “Exploring a Secret Fort” with David through airbnb and Emma Marris for Nature: “Could this ancient whale be the heaviest animal ever?”Listener chatter from Alex Callahan: Peter Braul for Maisonneuve: “We’ll Never Be That Drunk Again” For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss “The Socio Political Demography of Happiness” by Sam Peltzman. In the most recent edition of Gabfest Reads, David talks with David Grann about his book, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. 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 Cheyna Roth and Jared DowningResearch by Julie HuygenHostsEmily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David PlotzFollow@SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfestSlate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers talk about the recent downgrade of America’s credit rating by one agency. They also cover how Taylor Swift and Beyonce are changing concert tours, and figure out whether or not anyone is judging you during a business lunch. 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 Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tesla sold a vision of how electric vehicles would work: just like gas-powered cars, but cleaner, better. But as a scandal about misrepresented battery life and driving range unfolds, and the price of their cars remains high, it increasingly looks like the transition will be anything but seamless—if it happens at all. Guest: Edward Niedermeyer, author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors.You can check out Reuters reporting on Tesla’s range scandal here. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The temperature is going up, but the number of open, public pools isn’t. It’s not just a summer bummer; it’s turning into a public health crisis.Guest: Mara Gay, member of the New York Times editorial board, focused on New York State and local affairs.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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices