Slate Daily Feed

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether the US should join Israel’s war on Iran, the tragic Minnesota assassinations and why US political violence is surging now, and the Supreme Court’s unsurprising but willfully obtuse decision to uphold Tennessee’s youth transgender care ban. Here are this week’s chatters:   Emily: A Family Matter by Claire Lynch; The Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Higher Education by Justin Driver; A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children by Haley Cohen Gilliland.   John: Mary Cunningham for CBS News: Federal Reserve holds its benchmark interest rate steady at today's FOMC meeting; ABA Banking Journal: Fed’s Powell says some areas of U.S. may be ‘uninsurable’ in next decade   David: Trip Gabriel for the New York Times: William Langewiesche, the ‘Steve McQueen of Journalism,’ Dies at 70   Listener chatter from Jacob Podell in Chicago, Illinois: Juliana Kim for NPR: Family shows AI video of slain victim as an impact statement – possibly a legal first   For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the exciting possibilities and likely limitations of using AI tools for historical research and writing.   In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with author Susan Dominus about her new book, The Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Research by Emily Ditto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Slate staff writer Nadira Goffe, whose coverage of the United States v. Sean Combs (also known as the Diddy trial) has meant sharing a press room with YouTubers and streamers. These new media journalists have millions of followers, and aren’t beholden to the same editorial and ethical standards as traditional news outlets. As a result, they might just be beating them at their own game.  This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is a first for Decoder Ring: a live show, recorded at the WBUR Festival in Boston, Massachusetts. Given the setting, we decided to take on a Boston-based cultural mystery: namely, the “Boston movie.” Beginning in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Hollywood has churned out a whole cycle of films drenched in Beantown’s particularities, crimes, crops, class conflicts, and accents, from The Departed to The Town. Why does a city smaller than El Paso or Jacksonville loom so large in the cinematic imagination? Why does Boston have a movie subgenre all its own? What makes a Boston movie a Boston movie? With the help of three guests—film critic Ty Burr; Lisa Simmons, founder of the Roxbury International Film Festival; and Boston University linguist Danny Erker—we look closely at the history and heyday of the Boston movie: how The Friends of Eddie Coyle set the template, Good Will Hunting shoved the door wide open, and Mystic River ushered in an imperial phase. We discuss the importance of race and class to the Boston movie and the city itself, the role of homegrown movie stars like Ben Affleck and Mark Wahlberg, and, of course, the best and worst of Boston accents on film. This episode of Decoder Ring was produced by Willa Paskin and Max Freedman. Our team also includes Katie Shepherd and supervising producer Evan Chung. Merritt Jacob is Slate’s Technical Director.  If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, please email us at DecoderRing@slate.com, or leave a message on our hotline at 347-460-7281. Films referenced in this episode: The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) Love Story (1970) The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) The Brink’s Job (1978) The Verdict (1982) Quiz Show (1994) Good Will Hunting (1997) Squeeze (1997) Monument Ave. (1998) The Boondock Saints (1999) Southie (1999) Lift (2001) Blue Hill Avenue (2001) Mystic River (2003) Fever Pitch (2005) The Departed (2006) Gone Baby Gone (2007) The Fighter (2010) The Town (2010) Ted (2012) Ted 2 (2015) Black Mass (2015) Spotlight (2015) Want more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem has made herself the official face of the Trump administration’s military crackdowns on protesters in Los Angeles, raids in majority-Democratic cities, and the deportations of student activists. How has she been able to consolidate so much power so quickly? Guest: Seth Tupper, Editor-in-Chief of the South Dakota Searchlight Ahilan Arulanantham, Co-Director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law 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 Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s show, Steve and Dana are joined by guest host Dan Kois to weigh the suitability of Materialists as a rom-com for our transactional age. In choosing between suitors played by Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans, matchmaker Dakota Johnson must choose between love and money— but is there a soul beneath all this romantic calculation? They debate. Next, they return to the depths of a billionaire-backed fiasco in the new documentary Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster about the jaw-dropping 2023 submarine implosion. Finally, they remember and appreciate the life and ineffable, enduring work of pop music auteur, and Beach Boys, frontman Brian Wilson.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Steve, Dana, and Dan discuss Lauren Michelle Jackson’s New Yorker essay about “P.O.V.” videos and what they say about how we see the world. Want more Culture Gabfest? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Culture Gabfest show page. Or, visit slate.com/cultureplus to get access wherever you listen. Endorsements: Dana - The intimate and revealing 2021 documentary about Brian Wilson, Long Promised Road.   Carl - Seeing the singular and surreal British musician Robyn Hitchcock live. And if he’s not coming to city near you, catching his performance in the Jonathan Demme-directed documentary Storefront Hitchcock.   Dan -  For deeper exploration of his body of work, Brian Wilson’s 1988 self-titled solo album. For an innovative portrayal of another eccentric musical genius the film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould.  Steve -  Roberto Bolaño's posthumous masterwork 2066, Netflix’s new mystery thriller Dept Q, and sticking with works of art beyond their initial chapters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drawing isn’t just child’s play. It’s a shortcut to joy, presence, and connection—all things we could use a lot more of these days. On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin brings on artist, graphic journalist, and founder of DrawTogether Wendy MacNaughton to explain how everyone at the grown-ups table can start drawing, too. Courtney’s blind contour drawing If you liked this episode check out: How To Be an Artist and Not Starve Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2018, we followed eight listeners as they dated over the course of the summer. We heard about having sex for the first time, being ghosted, downloading and deleting dating apps, and grieving one partner while falling in love with someone new. In this episode, you’ll hear the final check-in with our eight daters (you can listen to the first and second episode here).  Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Friday, Israel launched massive strikes in Iran, targeting nuclear sites and killing top military leaders in the largest single-day attack on the country since the 1980s. Iran has retaliated, launching ballistic missiles at Israeli cities and killing at least eight people. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is walking a tightrope as it tries to maintain its alliance with Israel and negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran. How might the war escalate from here? And what does this mean for America’s relationships in the region? Guest: Gregg Carlstom, Middle East Correspondent for The Economist.  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 Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Ben Lindbergh, and Lindsay Gibbs talk about the rainy and unforgiving weekend at the U.S. Open, where J.J. Spaun was the only player to finish under par. They also get into the shocking trade of Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants. Plus, journalist and host of the podcast Sonic Boom, Jordan Ritter Conn, joins to discuss how Seattle lost its iconic basketball team and how Oklahoma City has reaped the benefits. There’s also an Afterball from Ben on WNBA's new “Line ‘Em Up” campaign in the wake of a three-point shooting surge. On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel speaks to soccer journalist Kim McCauley about the state of the USMNT. U.S. Open (3:53): The soggiest weekend in golf. Red Sox boot Raffy (19:01): The shocking trade of Boston’s biggest star What happened to the SupersSonics? (36:26): How Seattle lost and OKC might win. Afterballs (52:02): Ben on WNBA’s three-point push. (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.) Want more Hang Up and Listen? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page, or visit slate.com/hangupplus to get access wherever you listen. You can email us at hangup@slate.com. Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, accusing members of serving industry interests and never recommending against a vaccine. Their role, however, was advising on usage for vaccines that the FDA already approved.  As RFK Jr. restaffs the committee with his own “nonpartisan” members, where does that leave vaccines and the state of American health? Guest: Noel Brewer, Gillings Distinguished Professor in Public Health at the University of North Carolina. 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 Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices