Slate News

John and David are joined by guest host Ruth Marcus to discuss Biden’s infrastructure win, Trump’s January 6 obstruction, and the Rittenhouse trial.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Adie Tomer, Joseph W. Kane, Caroline George, and Andrew Bourne, for The Brookings Institution: “America Has An Infrastructure Bill. What Happens Next?”Ruth Marcus for the Washington Post: “At Yale Law School, a Party Invitation Ignites a Firestorm”Josh Dawsey, Isaac Stanley-Becker, and Michael Scherer for The Washington Post: “Donors Threatened to Shun the Gop After Jan. 6. Now, Republicans Are Outraising Democrats.”Sandy West for Kaiser Health News: “‘Drinking Through a Lead Straw’ — $15B Approved to Fix Dangerous Water Pipes”The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, by Jonathan Rauch Here’s this week’s chatter:Ruth: Julian Mark for The Washington Post: “A Fertility Center Mixed Up Two Couples’ Embryos, Lawsuit Says. When They Found Out, They Had To Trade Babies.”David: David is leading an “Exploring a Secret Fort” tour of Fort DeRussy in Washington, D.C. for Atlas Obscura and Airbnb; Jonathan D. Karl for The Atlantic: “The Man Who Made January 6th Possible”John: Pew Research Center: “Where Do You Fit In The Political Typology?”Listener chatter from Tsur Somerville: Reuters: “Wandering Dog is Istanbul Commuters' Best Friend”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Ruth, John, and David discuss the controversy over the founding of the University of Austin.Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last Friday, a surging crowd killed at least eight people and left hundreds injured at Travis Scott’s music festival Astroworld in Houston. Public uproar over the needless deaths has placed responsibility at the rapper’s feet - and at those of police officers who failed to intervene and shut the show down.How did Scott’s signature “raging” spill over into a mass casualty event? And how do we tease out blame between Scott himself, and the way music festivals are run? Guest: Tom Breihan, senior editor at Stereogum. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Los Angeles City Council has passed a new policy giving Council members the power to target specific encampments for cleanup. While the effort might eventually result in less visible homelessness in some parts of the city, critics say it might be more in service of political gain than anything else.Guest: Benjamin Oreskes, reporter at the LA 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. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Minneapolis voters have rejected a referendum to dissolve and replace their police department by a dramatic 12-point margin. The election result reflects a different mood from what the city saw a year ago, when protesters booed the mayor for resisting the movement to defund the police.Why were the planned police reforms so unpopular in the city where George Floyd’s murder sparked an international movement for justice? And what lessons should activists for and against the measure take from this moment? Guest: Jon Collins, senior reporter for MPR News. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slate Money is obsessed with Succession, HBO's wonderful drama about the lives of the superrich Roy family. So, every Monday, we'll be discussing the previous night's episode with spoiler-filled glee. For Episode 4, Felix Salmon and Emily Peck are joined byMichael Mechanic, author of Jackpot: How the Super-Rich Really Live – and How Their Wealth Harms Us All to talk about the arrival of Adrian Brody, trying to kill your father with the sun, and how true to life Succession really is. Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In mid-October, Mayor Bill DeBlasio announced that New York City municipal workers would have just nine days to get the COVID vaccine or risk being put on unpaid leave. Thousands of workers showed up the next week to protest the mandate. A week after the hammer came down, did Mayor DeBlasio correctly call their bluff? Guest: Eric Lach, staff writer for The New Yorker.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Dickerson talks with Kirsten Powers about her new book Saving Grace: speak your truth, stay centered and learn to coexist with people who drive you nuts.Powers offers advice about on how to navigate the toxic divisions within our culture without compromising personal convictions and emotional well-being.Kirsten Powers is a New York Times bestselling author, USA Today columnist, and senior political analyst for CNN, where she appears regularly on Anderson Cooper 360, CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, and The Lead with Jake Tapper. Her writing has been published in The Washington Post, Elle, The Daily Beast, The Wall Street Journal, The Dallas Morning News, The New York Observer, Salon, the New York Post, and The American Prospect online. Raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, Powers lives in Washington, D.C, with her fiancé, Robert Draper, and their two fur children, Lucy and Bill.Gabfest Reads is an occasional author interview series with the hosts of Slate's Political Gabfest. Join John Dickerson, Emily Bazelon and David Plotz in one on one conversations with thought-provoking authors discussing books that range from the overtly political to the politically adjacent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Elizabeth Wydra, President of the Constitutional Accountability Center, a think tank, law firm, and action center dedicated to the project of using the original text, purpose and history of the Constitution to achieve progressive outcomes. Together, they take us inside the chamber for the big cases at the Supreme Court this week, concerning guns and abortion. In our Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia to discuss some significant orders concerning religious exemption and capital punishment, the cert grant that’s bad news for the climate, and whether some of the justices might be having a shadow docket hangover. Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show.Podcast production by Sara Burningham.. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Stacy-Marie Ishmael talk about a recent CNN segment claiming milk has gone from $1.99 per gallon to $2.79 per gallon, the United Nations climate summit in Scotland, and the conflict surrounding the Penguin Random House merger attempt with Simon & Schuster. In the Plus segment: Holding a tungsten cube.  Email: slatemoney@slate.comPodcast production by Cheyna Roth Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In schools across the country, tighter digital controls were put in place to keep kids on task during the pandemic. Are they here to stay?Guests: Priya Anand, reporter at BloombergHost: Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.