Slate News

This week: A new DEA designation for cannabis means high times for pot smokers, but what about the industry? Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the future of the cannabis business, Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao’s lax, four-month prison sentence, and why Americans keep buying more cheap junk (but spend fortunes on ravioli). In the Plus segment: Elon Musk fired Tesla’s Supercharger network team: a bold move, or just a dumb one?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 regular 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 Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the increasing and increasingly violent campus protests of Israel’s war in Gaza, Emily’s article on How ‘History and Tradition’ Rulings Are Changing American Law, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s chances of a vice presidential nomination after killing her dog and writing about it. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:April Rubin, Kavya Beheraj, Tory Lysik, and Will Chase for Axios: Mapped: Where pro – Palestinian student protesters have been arrestedSharon Otterman and Santul Nerkar for The New York Times: As Protests Grow, Universities Choose Different Ways to End UnrestMary Harris for Slate’s What Next podcast: Columbia Cracks DownThe University of Chicago: Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social ActionJonathan Chait for New York’s Intelligencer: Why the Right Loves the Anti-Israel EncampmentsAbigail Hauslohner for The Washington Post: House passes antisemitism bill over complaints from First Amendment advocatesAlexander Bolton for The Hill: Democrats split over campus protest crackdownEmily Bazelon for The New York Times: How ‘History and Tradition’ Rulings Are Changing American LawRegulations on YouTubeCalvinball on WikipediaThe Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law: A Conversation with Justice Amy Coney BarrettIan Millhiser for Vox: The Supreme Court appears poised to rein in its worst decision on gunsUlysses S. Grant Revealed: President Ulysses S. Grant On The U.S. ConstitutionMartin Pengelly for The Guardian: Trump VP contender Kristi Noem writes of killing dog – and goat – in new bookPBS American Experience: Nixon’s Checkers SpeechMarc A. Caputo for The Bulwark: Trump: ‘Marco has this residency problem.’Here are this week’s chatters:Emily: Gal Beckerman for The Atlantic: A Prominent Free-Speech Group Is Fighting for Its LifeJohn: Sonja Anderson for Smithsonian Magazine: This Newly Deciphered Papyrus Scroll Reveals the Location of Plato’s GraveDavid: Kenny Holston for The New York Times: Inside a Navy Submarine Navigating the ArcticListener chatter from Christina in Philadelphia: Marina Bolotnikova for Vox: Mega drive-throughs explain everything wrong with American cities; Wikipedia: Third place; Jake Blumgart for The Philadelphia Inquirer: Starbucks plans a new Center City location with no restrooms or seating; and Marin Cogan for Vox: The deadliest road in America.    For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk with Professor Deborah Tuerkheimer about the Harvey Weinstein case in New York. See Hurubie Meko and Maia Coleman for The New York Times: Prosecutors Say They Plan to Retry Harvey Weinstein as Soon as the Fall and Maria Cramer: Here are five takeaways from the overturned conviction. See also Deborah Tuerkheimer for CNN: Reversal in Harvey Weinstein case isn’t the demise of sex crimes prosecution and Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers by Deborah Tuerkheimer.  In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with David E. Sanger about his new book, New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna RothResearch by Julie Huygen HostsEmily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bird flu isn’t new, you may even remember past outbreaks. But showing up in milk? Is America ready if it leaps to spreading among humans?Guest: Katelyn Jetelina, epidemiologist, senior advisor to the CDC Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Joe Howley has been working with student protesters for almost a year. When they occupied his building, he got texts from the kids—and nothing from the administration. Now that Columbia’s called the cops, and nearly 100 demonstrators have been arrested, what does that mean for the future of the institution—and for free speech on campus nationwide?Guest: Joe Howley, associate professor in the Columbia University Classics DepartmentWant more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s not that we aren’t making progress slowing our carbon and greenhouse gas emissions; it’s just that we still may not be doing enough—fast enough—to avert catastrophe. Guest: Umair Irfan, correspondent at Vox writing about climate change, Covid-19, and energy policy.Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the ‘90s, Pat Buchanan was a fringe figure among Republicans whose positions on immigration and demographic change in the United States were considered too extreme for the party. Now, his ideas are what passes for Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign platform.Guest: Ari Berman, Mother Jones’ national voting rights correspondent and author of “Minority Rule.”Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: solidarity?College campuses across the country are grappling with protests and occupations in the name of a free Palestine. Many hundreds of students, faculty, and outside community members have been arrested in tense clashes with police — called onto campuses by the universities themselves. Student protestors have shaped public discourse on matters like war and the environment for many decades. But without a clear, sympathetic goal, they can also lead to political backlash that far outlasts a four-year degree. So are today’s student protestors instigating change in Gaza… or teeing up a crackdown on speech and protest here at home? Prof. Steven Mintz of UT Austin joins us, and urges a cautionary look at the history books. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.comPodcast production by Maura Currie.Want more Hear Me Out? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hearmeoutplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As some members of Congress call for crackdowns, how do college administrators ensure the safety of their entire student body – while also respecting its right to free speech? Guest: Peter Beinart, Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents and the author of “The Beinart Notebook” on Substack.Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

True crime is a hot topic for movies, television, and –yes– podcasts. At the center of many of these stories is a missing woman. In the She Has A Name podcast, veteran journalist Tonya Mosley tries to reconstruct the death –and life– of a woman who went missing in 1987, a woman who happens to be her long lost sister. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Tonya Mosley to talk about uncovering the mystery around her sister Anita’s disappearance and death, and how the podcast helped her connect to a family that she never knew. Guest: Tonya Mosley, host of the podcast She Has A NamePodcast production by Ahyiana AngelWant more A Word? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/awordplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are regulations regarding how farm animals are transported, how they’re auctioned, how they’re slaughtered—but when they’re living on the farm? That’s where things get cloudy. Guest: Annie Lowrey, journalist writing on politics and economic policy for The Atlantic.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Anna Phillips. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices