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Slate Podcasts
The Slate Daily feed includes new episodes from more than 30 shows in the Slate Podcast Network. You'll get thought provoking analysis, storytelling, and commentary on everything from news and politics to arts, culture, technology, and entertainment. Discover new shows you never knew you were missing.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 1, 2025 • 29min
What Next: TBD | The Death of an Online Whisper Network
A shadow app for the dating world had its data hacked and exposed, and it laid bare the perils of creating safe spaces for women online — and of relying on tech companies.
Guest: Kate Lindsay, host of Slate’s ICYMI
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

Jul 31, 2025 • 1h 4min
Political Gabfest | Gaza is Starving
This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the international condemnations of Israel’s actions. They also examine how the Trump administration is gaining control of both universities and the judiciary—through settlements with Ivy League institutions and a controversial judicial confirmation.
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, David, Emily and John discuss the controversy surrounding American Eagle
In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with Carl Hiaasen about his new book, Fever Beach, a political satire for the Trump Era.
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 Roth
Research by Nora Moses
Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 31, 2025 • 32min
What Next | How Elon Musk Colonized NASA
How an Obama-era decision to invest in space capitalism handed Elon Musk a monopoly on space.
Guest: Franklin Foer, staff writer at the Atlantic, author of “The Last Politician” and “World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech.”
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

Jul 31, 2025 • 35min
Care & Feeding | I Need Them To Stop. Right Now
On this episode: Elizabeth, Zak, and Jamilah respond to a letter from a parent of young kids who’s worried that when it really matters—her children just won’t listen. How do you teach safety, boundaries, and urgency to kids under 5... without fear or yelling? The hosts talk about authority, instinct, and what actually works in high-stakes parenting moments.
But first, we’ll circle up for a round of triumphs and fails: Zak’s week of solo parenting, Elizabeth’s trip to Mongolia, and Jamilah’s New York summer.
Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.
If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 30, 2025 • 29min
What Next | Why Are So Many Institutions Caving to Trump?
As Trump came back to the presidency, one of the first warnings liberals began repeating was “Do not obey in advance.” But from government-agency heads to university presidents to news organizations, people are opting to simply leave their jobs, rather than do the uncomfortable work of standing up to authoritarianism.
Guest: Jonathan Last, editor of The Bulwark.
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

Jul 30, 2025 • 44min
ICYMI | Astronomer Updates, Jessie Murph, and Dubious Cults
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim run through some updates following the Coldplay concert cheating scandal, and why Astronomer’s latest PR stunt is hitting them differently. Then, they surprise each other with two stories from different sides of the internet. First, what’s going on with this fake TikTok cult that possibly involves animal sacrifices, skin carvings, and questionable leadership? And who is Jessie Murph, the pseudo-country singer whose recent performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon has the internet questioning whether her lyrics are satirical or regressive?
Get more of ICYMI with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of ICYMI and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the ICYMI show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/icymiplus for access wherever you listen.
This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 30, 2025 • 51min
Decoder Ring | The Bad-Mouthing of British Teeth
From The Simpsons’ Big Book of British Smiles to Austin Powers’ ochre-tinged grin, American culture can’t stop bad-mouthing English teeth. But why? Are they worse than any other nation’s? June Thomas drills down into the origins of the stereotype, and discovers that the different approaches to dentistry on each side of the Atlantic have a lot to say about our national values.
In this episode, you’ll hear from historians Mimi Goodall, Mathew Thomson, and Alyssa Picard, author of Making the American Mouth; and from professor of dental public health Richard Watt.
This episode was written by June Thomas and edited and produced by Evan Chung, Decoder Ring’s supervising producer. Our show is also produced by Willa Paskin, Katie Shepherd, and Max Freedman. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.
If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.
Sources for This Episode
Goodall, Mimi. “Sugar in the British Atlantic World, 1650-1720,” DPhil dissertation, Oxford University, 2022.
Mintz, Sidney. Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History, Penguin Books, 1986.
Picard, Alyssa. Making the American Mouth: Dentists and Public Health in the Twentieth Century, Rutgers University Press, 2009.
Thomson, Mathew. “Teeth and National Identity,” People’s History of the NHS.
Trumble, Angus. A Brief History of the Smile, Basic Books, 2004.
Wynbrandt, James. The Excruciating History of Dentistry: Toothsome Tales & Oral Oddities from Babylon to Braces, St. Martin’s Griffin, 2000.
Watt, Richard, et al. “Austin Powers bites back: a cross sectional comparison of US and English national oral health surveys,” BMJ, Dec. 16, 2015.
Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus for access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 30, 2025 • 1h 2min
Culture Gabfest: Trump Goes on Down to South Park Edition
On this week’s show, Dana, Steve and guest host Nitish Pahwa summon their critical superpowers to assess Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps. Can the charms of Pedro Pascal and company mixed with a Jetsons-style retrofuturism energize this long-troubled comic book IP? They discuss.
Next, they’re joined by Euny Hong, author of The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture, to unpack why KPop Demon Hunters is such a record-breaking hit. Finally, they revisit a little town called South Park to talk about the long-running animated series’ latest episode which brutally satirizes President Trump.
In an exclusive Slate Plus bonus episode, the panel takes a look at the confusing messaging in advertisements for A.I. products.
Endorsements:
Nitish - The music of the late, great musical satirist and mathematician Tom Lehrer, who recently passed. His archive is available for free at tomlehrersongs.com.
Steve - The great spy thriller The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John le Carré.
Dana - Tim Maia's irresistible "Do Leme Ao Pontal." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 29, 2025 • 29min
What Next | Trans and Shut Out in Trump’s America
Trans rights and access to health care have been under attack on the state level for years, but the second Trump administration and the Supreme Court have accelerated a chilling effect at clinics across the country.
Guest: Grace Byron, author of “The Grim State of Trans Health Care” and “The Bureaucratic Nightmares of Being Trans Under Trump” for the New Yorker.
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

Jul 29, 2025 • 47min
How To! | Gossip for Good
Psssst. You didn’t hear this from me, but gossiping—can be good for you! … our series on embracing your inner antihero wraps—for now—with a guilty pleasure: gossiping. Normal Gossip host (and beloved former Slatester) Rachelle Hampton sits down with How To!’s Carvell Wallace to dish on the right way to gossip, the link between whisper networks and safety, and the importance of leaving no receipts.
This conversation concludes—for now!—our miniseries on embracing your inner antihero. Check out our episodes on How To Get Sweet, Sweet Revenge and How To Be an Ethical Hater.
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. This episode was produced by Sophie Summergrad.
Get more of How To! with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of How To! and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the How To! show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus for access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices