Slate News

This week, Israel’s far-right coalition government voted to strip the Supreme Court of the power to overturn “unreasonable” government actions and appointments. Protesters and experts alike worry it's the first step in a broader push towards gutting the judiciary altogether. Is Israel on the brink of authoritarianism? Guest: Yair Rosenberg, staff writer at The Atlantic, author of its “Deep Shtetl” newsletterIf 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 Amicus—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.Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… safety on. July sees the most accidental shootings involving children of any month on the calendar — but there’s not really a month where these tragedies don’t happen. So put aside your feelings on gun control for a moment and consider: how, in the world we live in right now, can we protect children from their own curiosity? Our guest, author Yehuda Remer, argues that teaching kids what guns can do — and how they can keep themselves safe — is the best solution.*NOTE*: Slate reached out to Everytown for comment regarding allegations that they “skew” data. At the time of this publication, we have not received a response — but we’ll update you if and when we do.  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

A recent escalation of Texas’ Operation Lone Star is facing renewed scrutiny. The Justice Department plans to sue the state over a floating barrier in the Rio Grande. It’s also investigating accusations from a state trooper that agents were told to push a group of migrants - including children - back into the water. What is happening at the southern border? And how did it get so dire?  Guest: Ben Wermund, Washington correspondent for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-NewsIf 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 Amicus—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.Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around the United States and around the world, people are suing their governments and governments are suing fossil fuel companies over the changing climate—revealing what they knew and when they knew it. But even if these lawsuits succeed, what difference can they make for a problem with a literal global scale?Guest: Dharna Noor, fossil fuels and climate reporter at The Guardian.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

Oklahoma’s legendary “Black Wall Street” was destroyed in the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. Hundreds of victims were murdered and dumped in mass graves, and dozens of homes and businesses were burned to the ground. More than a century later, three survivors remain, fighting for justice. But their lawsuit seeking reparations was recently dealt a blow in court. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons to talk about the case, the history and the next steps.Guest: Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, founder of the Justice 4 Greenwood organizationPodcast production by Kristie Taiwo-MakanjuolaYou 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

When the tech industry started rounds of layoffs this year, almost half of the people let go were women—even though they make up a much smaller percentage of the workforce. What does this say about women in tech, and efforts to diversify the industry overall?Guest: Emma Goldberg, a reporter who covers the future of work for the New York Times.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

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz are together again and talking about Donald Trump’s next indictment and the charges against his “false electors” in Michigan; the struggles of candidates Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, et al.; and Congressional Republicans’ culture war against the U.S. military.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:James Madison: “Impeachment of the Executive, [20 July] 1787”FiveThirtyEight: “Who’s Ahead In Republican Primary Polls?” Fox News Digital: “Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott says Donald Trump is ‘overqualified to be my vice president’” Manu Raju, Rashard Rose, and Lauren Fox for CNN: “Tommy Tuberville now says ‘White nationalists are racists’ after refusing to denounce them”Zoë Richards for NBC News: “Arizona Republican refers to Black Americans as ‘colored people’ in House floor debate” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Elise White, Basaime Spate, Javonte Alexander, and Rachel Swaner for the Center for Justice Innovation: “’Two Battlefields’: Opps, Cops, and NYC Youth Gun Culture” and Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration by Emily Bazelon  John: Mona El-Naggar, Johan M. Kessel, and Alexander Stockton for The New York Times: “What Is War to a Grieving Child?”; Jeanna Smialek and Ben Casselman for The New York Times: “The Pandemic’s Labor Market Myths”; and Chris Cameron for The New York Times: “Over 700 Civil War-Era Gold Coins Found Buried on a Kentucky Farm”David: “Exploring a Secret Fort” with David through airbnb; Steve Bohnel for The Frederick News-Post: “$200,000, or the city burns: The story of the Confederacy’s ransom on Frederick”; and Caity Weaver for The New York Times Magazine: “My Impossible Mission to Find Tom Cruise” Listener chatter from Dianne Denton: Harriet McBryde Johnson for The New York Times Magazine: “Unspeakable Conversations” and Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice WongFor this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily discuss the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes, artificial intelligence, and the future of work. In the next 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 Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna RothResearch by Julie Huygen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, it’s all about Barbie. Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth sits down with M.G. Lord, author of Forever Barbie and co-host of “LA Made: The Barbie Tapes” from LAist and So Cal Public Radio. They discuss the history of the Barbie doll and how she’s managed to endure, how Barbie might actually be feminist, and what the new Greta Gerwig movie gets right about Barbie.  In Slate Plus: Episode 6 of our And Just Like That…recap.If you liked this episode check out Is The Wedding Dress Dead? 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

To keep places like Phoenix habitable, we need to have air-conditioning. But to have air-conditioning, we need a functional, modern electrical grid. With America’s grid already aging—and more demand coming in the form of electric cars and more A/C for hotter weather—what will it take to keep it going as the weather gets more extreme? Guest: Dr. Joshua Rhodes, research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin studying energy systems and how they interact with our environment, climate, and life.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 Senate Judiciary Committee is considering a code of ethics for the Supreme Court—but Chief Justice John Roberts doesn’t believe they have the right to impose one.But with the Court’s legitimacy in question - and its popularity down the tubes - who should hold the Justices accountable? Guest: Judge Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute.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