

Slate News
Slate Podcasts
Daily news updates from across the Slate Podcast network.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 21, 2024 • 41min
Well, Now: We Don’t Need to Cure Autism
April is Autism Acceptance Month, and how we’ve come to understand autism has evolved over the past several decades. For years, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was thought of as something that needed to be cured. Through better data and years of activism, that misunderstanding is changing.On this week’s episode of Well, Now we discuss that evolution with Sara Luterman, caregiving reporter for The 19th.Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry and Ahyiana Angel with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to wellnow@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 21, 2024 • 23min
What Next TBD: The Internet Archive Endangered
From the Wayback Machine to the mass-digitization of the history of Aruba, the Internet Archive is a non-profit doing valuable work. But some of its other projects—a pandemic-era lending library and the ongoing digitalization of 78 rpm records—have led to lawsuits now threatening the future of this repository of the past. Guest: Kate Knibbs, senior writer at Wired.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

Apr 21, 2024 • 26min
A Word: Freaknik: Party in the Black
Nostalgia for the 1990s is everywhere, and for a generation of African Americans, perhaps nothing symbolizes the fun of that decade more than Freaknik. A sprawling days-long festival of all the good –and bad– of spring break behavior, at its height, Freaknik drew tens of thousands of partiers each year from around the country to Atlanta. So why did the party stop, and is there any way it could ever come back again?On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson discusses the Hulu documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told with director P. Frank Williams and executive producer Geraldine Porras..Guests: P. Frank Williams and Geraldine Porras, the director and executive producer of Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told on Hulu.Podcast 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

Apr 20, 2024 • 1h 3min
Political Gabfest: Could You Be A Trump Juror?
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Donald Trump’s first criminal trial and the Supreme Court argument on a criminal charge related to another Trump case and talk with The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich about his profile of Governor Gavin Newsom. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Norman Eisen for CNN: Don’t call it a ‘hush money’ caseBrian Beutler for the Politix podcast: Alvin Bragg’s Liberal Critics Are WrongBen Protess, Jonah E. Bromwich, Maggie Haberman, and Wesley Parnell for The New York Times: Prosecutors and Defense Lawyers Begin to Seat Jurors for Trump Trial and Maggie Haberman: A Weary Trump Appears to Doze Off in Courtroom Ahead of Criminal TrialDavid Bauder for AP: Trump trial: Why can’t Americans see or hear what is going on inside the courtroom?Ann E. Marimow for The Washington Post: Supreme Court divided over key charge against Jan. 6 rioters and TrumpMichael C. Dorf for Dorf On Law: The Ejusdem is Loose -- SCOTUS Insurrectionist Case EditionMark Leibovich for The Atlantic: Gavin Newsom Can’t Help HimselfHBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher: Gov. Gavin NewsomHere are this week’s chatters:Emily: Uri Berliner in The Free Press: I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust.; David Folkenflik for NPR: NPR editor Uri Berliner resigns with blast at new CEO; Alicia Montgomery for Slate: The Real Story Behind NPR’s Current Problems; A24’s Civil War; and HBO’s The Last of UsJohn: The Annie E. Casey Foundation; diversitydatakids.org by Brandeis’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management: Child Opportunity Index (COI); Aliya Schneider for The Philadelphia Inquirer: ‘They’re cheating.’ President Biden floats higher tariffs on Chinese imports in Pittsburgh speech; John Dickerson for Slate’s Navel Gazing podcast; and CBS News Prime Time with John DickersonDavid: Trevor Aaronson, Sam Eifling, and Michael Mooney for Audible’s Hold Fast podcast and Jacques Billeaud for AP: Backpage founder will face Arizona retrial on charges he participated in scheme to sell sex adsListener chatter from Josh in Brisbane, Australia: Ross Scott’s website Stop Killing Games For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk with Anna Sale about her podcast, Death, Sex & Money, which is now on Slate. See Death, Sex & Money podcast: A Sociopath’s Guide to Death, Sex, and Money and Patrick Page in All The Devils Are Here. In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Tana French about her book, The Hunter: A Novel. 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

Apr 20, 2024 • 39min
Amicus: Twelve Jurors and One Angry Ex-President
Get your tickets for Amicus Live in Washington DC here. The first criminal trial of Donald Trump is finally here. This week, hundreds of possible jurors filed through Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom in lower Manhattan. The selection process was a preview of some of the challenges and pitfalls in the first ever criminal trial of a sitting or former President. On this week’s show, Slate’s senior legal writer Mark Joseph Stern sits down with Slate jurisprudence editor and Chief Law of Trump™ correspondent Jeremy Stahl to discuss what we learned this week, and what we can expect when the trial truly gets underway next week. In today’s bonus episode only for Slate Plus members, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern welcome Justice Clarence Thomas back from his long weekend, with a close listen to the January 6th case that was argued before the court on Tuesday. Fischer v United States is raising more alarm bells about the conservative justices’ posture toward armed insurrection. They also dig into Justice Elena Kagan’s opinion in a potentially tricky TitleVII case that, miraculously for this court, went pretty well in terms of civil rights protections in the workplace. Listen now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive SCOTUS analysis and weekly extended episodes of Amicus, but you’ll also 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/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 20, 2024 • 53min
Slate Money: Tesla’s Toxic Relationship With Musk
This week: Elon Musk wants his colossal, court-blocked pay package, and Tesla’s board wants to give it to him. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers also chat with Alicia Montgomery, current Slate audio VP and veteran of NPR, to discuss what is — and isn’t — behind NPR’s troubles. Also: inflation is high, but does the Fed really need to cut rates? In the Plus segment: Why Biden is going after Chinese steel.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

Apr 19, 2024 • 23min
What Next TBD: What’s Driving Tesla’s Layoffs?
Bloomberg reporter Dana Hull discusses Tesla's market cap drop, layoffs, Cybertruck concerns, and Elon Musk's resilience. They explore Tesla's challenges, Musk's focus on autonomy, impact of controversial behavior on market share, and future uncertainties in the EV market.

Apr 18, 2024 • 29min
What Next: Is It Too Late to Escape “Forever Chemicals”?
Man-made per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are found in all sorts of industrial and consumer products, including carpets, rain jackets, and makeup. They’re also in our drinking water—and in our blood.The EPA has recently announced plans to regulate the amount of certain PFAS in our water supply. But will these rules do enough to control chemicals for which there is no safe level of exposure?Guest: Esmé E. Deprez, independent investigative journalist.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

Apr 17, 2024 • 35min
Outward: A History of the Gay Right with Neil J. Young
This week Bryan talks to writer Neil J. Young about his new book Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right. They dig into some of the inherent contradictions of the Gay Right and the pillars of their political strategy and reveal how central whiteness and maleness is to their politic. Podcast production by Palace Shaw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 17, 2024 • 28min
What Next: Will Abortion in Florida and Arizona Decide the Election?
How will impending abortion restrictions in Florida and Arizona impact votes this fall?Guests: Anna Hochkammer, executive director of the Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition.Grace Panetta, political reporter for The 19th. 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


