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Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Melissa Murray, Leah Litman, and Kate Shaw of the Strict Scrutiny podcast for a special Supreme Court term kick-off panel recorded at the Texas Tribune Festival. They tackle the big-ticket items facing the high court: abortion, guns, and maybe affirmative action. They also discuss the court’s struggle to shore up its legitimacy in the middle of a hard-right turn. In our Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia to thrash out what on earth is going on in all the various courts with Texas’ abortion law SB 8, how on earth the author of the how-to-do-a-coup memo is still a welcome after-dinner speaker in legal land, and what is Justice Stephen Breyer thinking, Part 483. 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 the precarious position of the huge Chinese real-estate company Evergrande, the debt ceiling and revolving door of tax policies, and the foreign policy dustup over submarines. In the Plus segment: Corruption in the Treasury Department. Mentioned In the show: “Understanding Evergrande, the Chinese Real Estate Conglomerate That’s Nearing Collapse,”by Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway for Bloomberg’s OddlotsAxios Capital Newsletter, by Felix SalmonAxios Closer Newsletter, by Courtenay Brown“How Accounting Giants Craft Favorable Tax Rules From Inside Government,” by Jesse Drucker and Danny Hakim for the New York Times   Email: slatemoney@slate.comPodcast production by Jessamine Molli.Twitter: @felixsalmon, @EmilyRPeck, @s_m_i  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the U.S., the PCR test is the gold standard for COVID testing. Common knowledge would have it that the test is more accurate—and therefore more effective at containing the spread of the dease—than the rapid antigen test. What if that isn’t quite true? Guest: Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Host: Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the U.S., the PCR test is the gold standard for COVID testing. Common knowledge would have it that the test is more accurate—and therefore more effective at containing the spread of the dease—than the rapid antigen test. What if that isn’t quite true? Guest: Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Host: Lizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily, John and David discuss what it will take to save the Biden agenda, the abortion doctor's defiance of the Texas ban; and true crime mania.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Josh Marshall for Talking Points Memo: “Policy vs Positioning Has Dems in a Stalemate”Michael Dorf for Dorf on Law: “Texas Could Not Get Away With This Absent SCOTUS-Created Limits On Constitutional Adjudication”Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “The Dawn of the Post-Clinic Abortion”Impeachment: American Crime Story The Clinton Impeachment - Slow Burn: Season 2Here’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Susan Dominus for The New York Times Magazine: “He Was the ‘Perfect Villain’ for Voting Conspiracists”John: Elizabeth Elkin for Bloomberg: “Food Prices Poised to Surge With Fertilizer at Highest in YearsBy” David: CityCast: “City Cast Houston Launches Oct. 5”; “Evidence That A Cosmic Impact Destroyed Ancient City In The Jordan Valley”; Ted E. Bunch et al, for Scientific Reports: “A Tunguska Sized Airburst Destroyed Tall El-hammam A Middle Bronze Age City In The Jordan Valley Near The Dead Sea”Listener chatter from Jeffrey Itell: You Tube: “15 Unfinished Buildings in Kunming Were Demolished by Blasting”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, David, and Emily discuss the merits of revisiting the stories of Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest.Sign up now at slate.com/gabfestplus to help support our work.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.

Congressional Democrats are struggling to bring together their moderate and progressive factions to pass an infrastructure bill and its gigantic sidecar, a budget plan filled with tax hikes, climate-related legislation, and social spending. With the party divided, is Biden’s agenda about to hit the skids?Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer and author of the weekly newsletter, The Surge. 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 final episode of Season 1 features Ted Ross, Chief Information Officer for the City of Los Angeles. His role became more vital than ever during the pandemic, with L.A.’s 4 million residents and 50,000 employees relying on the city’s complex technological operation for support. Ted helped his city navigate the challenge with tech solutions built on principles designed to serve citizens and inspire employees: focus on people, improve lives, and lean into promising innovations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By last weekend, nearly 14,000 migrants primarily from Haiti had amassed along the border in Texas. Then the Biden administration began a massive deportation effort.Now, Haitians facing violence and instability at home are caught at the intersection of multiple disasters and an American president whose immigration goals remain murky, with many migrants saying they were never given the chance to make an asylum claim in the first place.Guest: Jacqueline Charles, Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald.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.

General Mark Milley, the nation’s top military officer, is making sure the press knows about the role he played in safeguarding democracy under President Trump. How singular were his efforts? And what do they reveal about our governmental institutions? Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s War Stories correspondent and author of the book, The Bomb.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.

Who are the people seeking a religious exemption to the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate? What are their religious claims? And how do workplaces decide who has a real claim to belief versus a convenient letter from a pastor-for-hire? Guest: Ruth Graham, reporter 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. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.