Slate News

Banks, healthcare providers, and retailers around the world still rely on COBOL, a programming language originally developed in the 1960s. By all accounts the code is powerful, practical, and very rarely problematic. But the small group of people who still know the language are aging out of the workforce. What happens when there are no more COBOL coders left?Guest: Clive Thompson, journalist and author of "Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World."Host: Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Searching for truthful versions of Black history can be tough, especially as honest lessons about racism are caught up in the controversy over Critical Race Theory. In his new book Who Are Your People?, political commentator Bakari Sellers delivers Black history to a generation of kids, something inspired by his own experience as a father. Bakari Sellers joined Jason Johnson on today’s episode of A Word to talk about the importance of being truthful about Black history with kids in a way that they can understand.Guest: Bakari Sellers, political commentator, attorney, and author of the book Who Are Your People? Podcast production by Jasmine Ellis You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate culture writer LIli Loofbourow is joined by Nichole Perkins, pop culture writer, author, and co-host of This Is Good for You. They talk about the history of the romantic comedy—and what makes it such an enjoyable, but sometimes insidious, genre. Then they unpack the return of the rom-com, why bromantic comedies are sometimes good for you, and shout to the heavens for more sex in rom-coms. In Slate Plus, are the cartoon makeovers of M&M’s and Minnie Mouse feminist? Recommendations:Lili: One in Me I Never Loved, by Carla GuelfenbeinNichole: The Worst Best Man, by Mia Sosa.Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus and June Thomas. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Spotify, the last month has seen a cascade of controversies around its exclusive podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Is it time for the streaming service to rethink its role as a podcast publisher? And is it even possible to moderate podcast misinformation?Guest: Evelyn Douek, lecturer at Harvard Law School, and Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & SocietyHost: Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A popular, outgoing liberal mayor in Silicon Valley is taking on gun rights groups with a splashy municipal ordinance fashioned to curb gun violence—and be the first of its kind. Gun rights groups are foretelling doom for the new law, and the NRA called it a “ridiculous publicity stunt.” Does this city’s initiative have the hallmarks of a breakthrough on gun violence prevention? Will lawsuits tank it before anyone has the chance to find out?Guest: Sam Liccardo, mayor of San Jose, California.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

Cobalt is the most important mineral of the future. It’s a key part of lithium-ion batteries, which power cell phones and laptops, not to mention electric cars. That demand is giving rise to a mining industry in Idaho, which sits atop a giant cobalt deposit. But the environmental costs of extraction raise questions about what “clean energy” really means.Guest: Michael Holtz, freelance journalist and author of “Idaho Is Sitting on One of the Most Important Elements on Earth.”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

The expanded Child Tax Credit slashed childhood poverty in the U.S. by an estimated 30%. Why won’t congress revive it?Guest: Jordan Weissmann, writer and editor at Slate focused on economics, politics, and public policy.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

No one is happy with the way this year’s Winter Olympics are unfolding. Athletes are frustrated with China’s excessive pandemic precautions. Diplomatic tensions are rising. Are the second COVID games on thin ice? Guest: Henry Bushnell, features writer for Yahoo Sports.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

For decades, it has a running joke that Black characters were the first to die in horror movies. But movies like Nia DaCosta’s Candyman and Jordan Peele’s Get Out are rewriting the script, and creating horror villains and heroes who represent the real Black experience. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Tananarive Due, an award-winning author and producer who teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA, to discuss the past and future of Black horror.  Guest: Tananarive Due, award-winning author, and producer who teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLAPodcast production by Jasmine EllisYou can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate podcast producer Cheyna Roth is joined by author Danielle Friedman. Friedman’s new book Let’s Get Physical explores the history of women’s exercise, and how some old attitudes still linger. They talk about the double bind women have faced when it comes to exercising, the “uterus myth,” and where we’re at with anti-fatness and inclusivity in exercise.  In the Slate Plus segment: Are yoga pants feminist? Recommendations:Cheyna: YouTube yogi Yoga With Adriene. Danielle: Watching movies from the 1930s. Especially Jewel Robbery. Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Susan Matthews and June Thomas. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices