Slate News

It’s the holiday season, which means it’s time to press play on your favorite Christmas movies. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by essayist and pop culture critic Rebecca Theodore-Vachon to talk about what really makes a Black Christmas movie, and which classics they recommend. Guest: Rebecca Theodore-Vachon, essayist, pop culture critic, and host of The Spectrum Lounge podcast. 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

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in July 2021.Brittany Hogan worked in diversity and inclusion for the Rockwood School District for eight years. As public debate intensified over the way race is discussed in schools and threats were made against her, Hogan eventually was pushed to resign.Guest: Brittany Hogan, former director of educational equity and diversity for the Rockwood School District in St. Louis County.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.Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz, Davis Land, and Carmel Delshad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in May 2021.A year after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, residents near the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue—now dubbed George Floyd Square—continue to keep the area closed off. The city wants to reopen the intersection, but activists say they aren’t giving in until the community’s demands for justice are met.Guest: Marcia Howard, security volunteer and organizer in George Floyd Square.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.Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz, Davis Land, and Carmel Delshad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the last few years, New York City’s delivery workers have become a key part of the food industry’s infrastructure, allowing restaurants to do business with customers who are too stressed to leave their desks, or too cautious to leave their homes. But a spate of violent attacks and bike thefts has shown that the people delivering your Grubhub and Seamless orders are deeply vulnerable. Why are these essential workers being exploited by apps and abandoned by the police, forced to band together just to get by?Guest: Josh Dzieza, an investigations editor and feature writer at The Verge covering technology, business, and climate change.We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in September of 2021.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

What does a massing of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border mean? And could this conflict be defused yet by diplomacy?Guest: Slate’s Fred Kaplan, author of The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War. 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

It’s already a devastating situation when a loved one goes missing. And if you’re Black, you’ll likely have fewer resources and help to find your family member. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Derrica Wilson. She’s the co-founder and CEO of the Black and Missing Foundation, the group that inspired the HBO documentary Black and Missing. They talk about the disparities in the way the media and police treat missing people of color, how that impacts the chances that people are found, and what the Black and Missing Foundation is doing to change the dynamics.Guest: Derrica Wilson, Co-Founder, and CEO of the Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. Podcast 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, senior managing producer of Slate podcasts June Thomas is joined by Slate senior writer Seth Stevenson to talk about the ongoing trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, which Seth has been covering since it started at the end of November. Maxwell is accused of helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse minors by recruiting and grooming underage girls. First, Seth and June catch up on what has been happening in the courtroom now that the prosecution has rested its case. In the second half of the show, they unpack some of Maxwell’s history of benefiting from shady men and Seth predicts what’s to come. Looming over the trial, and our discussion: Is it fair to hold a woman accountable for aiding in a man's wrongdoings?Also mentioned in the episode: Seth’s 2019 account of his experience being a member of the jury in a murder trial.In Slate Plus, Seth and June discuss TV shows that focus on young women trying to make it in New York media, like Younger and The Bold Type.Recommendations:June: The British TV show Antiques Road TripSeth: The Peter Jackson documentary The Beatles: Get Back. 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

Using experimental technology to pull gigatons of carbon out of the air and bury it deep beneath the Earth sounds like a bad sci-fi plot point. If things don’t change soon, it also might be one of our only options.Guest: Clive Thompson, journalist and author of Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the WorldHost: Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After initially cooperating with the select committee investigating the events of January 6, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows reversed course, deciding instead to assert executive privilege. But Meadows had already handed over documents and text messages relating to that day—painting a picture of how Trump’s inner circle reacted as the Capitol was under siege. What happens to Meadows now that he’s been held in contempt of Congress? And could possible criminal charges for defying the committee spur other witnesses to speak? Guest: Nicholas Wu, congressional reporter for Politico.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

Maryland Democrats had a shot at an 8-0 gerrymander this redistricting cycle. To the frustration of the national Democratic party, they stopped just shy of that number. Should Maryland Democrats have just taken the total low road on partisan gerrymandering? Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics reporter for Slate. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, The Surge.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices