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When television and screenwriters went on strike in 2007, Netflix had just started offering the option to stream content. This week, the Writer’s Guild of America went on strike to update pay structures for the streaming era—and to get ahead of A.I. and the changes it may bring. Guests: Michelle Dean, television writer and journalistAnousha Sakoui, entertainment industry writer for the Los Angeles 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.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and the New York Times’s Jamelle Bouie @jbouie discuss the battle between President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy on raising the debt ceiling; the courtroom drama of E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump; and the power of Republican supermajorities in state legislatures.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Nick Mourtoupalas and Derek Hawkins for The Washington Post: “Washington is running out of workdays to strike a debt ceiling deal” Jacob Bogage for The Washington Post: “Debt ceiling showdown: 5 possible outcomes”Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United StatesLola Fadulu for The New York Times: “In Trump Trial, a Lawyer Pushes, and E. Jean Carroll Pushes Right Back”Jamelle Bouie for The New York Times: “A Sinister New Page in the Republican Playbook” and “Republicans Did Something Most People Don’t Like, So They’re Changing the Rules”Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United StatesMovement Advancement Project: “Snapshot: Democracy Ratings By State”Michael Waldman for the Brennan Center for Justice: “The Great Resignation … Of Election Officials”James Madison: “Federalist No. 10”  Here are this week’s chatters:Jamelle: the films of Seijun Suzuki, including Tokyo Drifter and Branded to KillJohn: using ChatGPT to simplify text, such as statements by the Federal Reserve and George Washington’s farewell addressEmily: Eleanor Klibanoff for The Texas Tribune: “Three Texas women are sued for wrongful death after allegedly helping friend obtain abortion medication” and “Women accused of facilitating abortion in Galveston wrongful-death lawsuit file countersuit” Listener chatter from Ted Hogeman: Community Media Center, Institute for Contemporary Art, Virginia Commonwealth University For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Jamelle, John, and Emily discuss cooking, including roast chicken with bread, Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin, broccoli and cauliflower salad with curried dressing, broccoli salad with peanuts and tahini-lime dressing, and Soom tahini. In the next Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Curtis Sittenfeld @csittenfeld about her latest book, Romantic Comedy. Email your questions and chatters to gabfest@slate.com or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie HuygenMake an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the first British coronation in 70 years and along with the celebration, questions abound: What kind of king will Charles be? Who is Charles anyway? And why even have a king? Guest: Imogen West-Knights, writer and Slate contributorIf 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been nearly a year since the Supreme Court set a precedent that gun control laws should be judged against “America's historical tradition.” That ruling has opened the door to more than 100 legal challenges — and dozens of gun control laws being overturned. But experts say when it comes to actual U.S. history... lax gun laws are the exception, not the rule. What's the truth behind America's history with firearms? And what can America's present learn from its past?Guest: Robert J Spitzer, professor emeritus at SUNY Cortland, author of The Gun Dilemma.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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author E. Jean Carroll has accused Donald Trump of raping her in a dressing room in the mid-1990s—and she’s suing him for battery and for defamation in response to his claims that she’s lying and “mentally sick.” The trial began on Tuesday, April 25th, in federal court in Manhattan. What’s at stake in this latest trial against the former president?Guest: Christina Cauterucci, Slate senior writer and host of Outward.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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a slew of documents leaked via Discord reveal about Ukraine’s war against Russia—both from Ukraine’s and Washington’s perspectives.Guest: Shane Harris, senior national security writer at the Washington PostIf 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.Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by Ed Lee of the New York Times for a spoilery recap of episode six of the final season of HBO’s Succession. They talk about Waystar’s investors meeting, Roman’s attempts to fire some people, and Tom and Shiv’s new game. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two gig workers standing side-by-side can be offered the very same job and get offered two different wages. Set by an algorithm and based on calculations that are never explained to the workers themselves, this unequal pay for equal work is already subject to lawsuits that call it a form of price fixing and wage discrimination, but the tech is being tested in other industries.Guests: Veena Dubal, law professor at the University of California College of the Law, San FranciscoSergio Avedian, senior contributor at The Rideshare GuyIf 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.

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith to discuss his new book. They also break down Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News and the end of Buzzfeed News.In the Plus: A throwback to the olden days of blogging. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twitter’s “blue check” verification went from something you applied for, to something you could pay for, to something you had to pay for…to something that many celebrities wouldn’t even accept for free. Master of horror Stephen King told us he wouldn’t pay for a blue check, but he’s not going to fight it either—he just doesn’t really understand what’s going on. Does anyone at Twitter understand?Guests: Alex Heath, deputy editor of The VergeJon Favreau, co-founder of Crooked Media, speechwriter for President Barack ObamaStephen King, authorIf 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.