The Trump administration bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. While the Pentagon says these facilities are severely damaged, a diplomatic end to the conflict and a nuclear disarmament agreement feel less possible than ever. Guests: ⁠Gregory Gause⁠, Visiting Scholar at the ⁠Middle East Institute⁠ and ⁠Professor Emeritus of International Affairs⁠ for …

ARC, the data broker owned by the country’s major airlines, has been selling domestic flight data in the US to Customs and Border Protection. But in the contract, they told CBP not to reveal where the data was from… why? Guest: Joseph Cox, co-founder of 404 Media and the co-host of the 404 Media Podcast. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate …

Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay start off with two sounds of the summer from a divisive Love Island USA contestant and a popstar “standing on business.” Then, they explain the controversy brewing behind Partiful, the hip event invite app that was a rising star in the tech world, until an NYC Noise blog post brought up that Partiful’s co-founders used …

The Justices seem intent on packing their summer vacation bags and getting on their way. Earlier in the week, the court’s conservative supermajority upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for trans kids. The logic behind the decision was…lacking (Slate Plus members can hear about this right now). In this episode, Dahlia Lithwick talks to C…

This week: We become cheerleaders for crypto regulation, AI, and…Cheerleaders. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the GENIUS act, the major crypto regulation bill which recently passed the Senate, and its implications for regulating stable coins and how it could upend payment processing as we know it in the United States. Then, t…

The Trump administration's anti-immigration campaign has become defined by distasteful memes that gleefully portray the mass deportations being carried out across the country. It’s impossible to ignore… which is exactly what the administration wants. Guest: Drew Harwell, tech reporter at the Washington Post. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Sl…

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…

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 traditio…

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-i…

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…

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 “nonpart…

A guide to keeping your phone, and your digital life, safe when you’re crossing the border. Guest: Lily Hay Newman, senior writer for WIRED covering information security. Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Slate Podcasts

This week: Warner Brothers and Discovery breakup again. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers examine the undoing of the three-year-old merger. Then, the hosts discuss runaway AI valuations as Meta spends billions on AI and xAI raises equity off a multi-billion dollar valuation. And finally, what effects are Trump’s aggressive immigration p…

America feels very different this weekend. While the president’s planned military parade (that just happens to coincide with his birthday) will see tanks and armored vehicles rolling through Washington DC, federalized National Guard and US Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles over the objections of state and city electeds, many of us are reeli…

Elon Musk has ridden off into the sunset acrimoniously (maybe), but the Department of Government Efficiency is just getting started. Will DOGE continue wildly cutting or is something even more chaotic coming next? Guest: Makena Kelly, senior writer at WIRED. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole W…

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the ominous juxtaposition of Trump sending National Guard troops and Marines to quell mostly peaceful protests in LA with his impending military parade in DC, RFK Jr. firing the entire CDC vaccine advisory board and what this means for the future of vaccines, and a una…

Donald Trump is sending the troops to California, while also getting ready for a big birthday parade—for himself and the US Army—in DC. Does grasping for symbols of military strength smack a bit of desperation? Guests: Jamelle Bouie, columnist at the New York Times Jeremy Lindenfeld, reporter and Capital and Main local news fellow. Want more What N…

In Gaza, two million people are at risk of starvation, as Israeli-controlled aid has been repeatedly interrupted and marked by violence towards aid workers and chaos at distribution sites. Guests: Mohammed Mhawish, journalist and writer from Gaza City. Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and …

After years of bigger floats and bigger rainbow-ified logos, corporate sponsorship for Pride Month celebrations is dropping off this year. But, given that Pride is the commemoration of an uprising against police harassment, maybe that’s a good thing. Guests: Christina Cauterucci, Slate senior writer and the host of Outward, Slate’s podcast about LG…

In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon is joined by Barry Lam, host of Slate’ philosophy podcast Hi-Phi Nation to help him explain how the GOP sees the budget deficit in the “Big Beautiful Bill” using philosophical arguments. Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-f…

When immigration raids began in the Los Angeles area last weekend, so did spontaneous protests. On Sunday, Trump federalized 2,000 California national guardsmen in response. While Trump stopped short of invoking the Insurrection Act, he claimed authority to send troops wherever ICE operations might be contested by mass demonstrations. Guest: Elizab…

Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater inherited the government’s antitrust case against Google and is eager to follow it through—but likely not for the same reasons as her predecessors. Guest: Nancy Scola, reporter and contributing writer at POLITICO. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Ne…

This week: Prices are going up, but inflation data has become unreliable under Trump. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers discuss how staffing cuts at The Bureau of Labor Statistics have called economic data into question, and what that means for our economy. Then, someone went ahead and told Trump what TACO stands for and he’s pissed. Th…

Money talks, and sometimes it speaks as law by fiat from the highest court in the land. In this episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick delves into the impact of money on the judiciary and, eventually, on, democracy with Michael Podhorzer, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. They discuss how the many faces of big money in America, curre…

One of the goals of DOGE was to get rid of the “silos” that keep government agencies from sharing freely amongst themselves efficiently and instead organize data using tools offered by companies like Palantir. The thing is, a lot of those silos are there by design, and removing them could be a nightmare for privacy advocates. Guest: Sheera Frenkel,…

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Elon Musk’s dramatic entrance into the fight between Republican factions over details of the Big Beautiful Bill, whether an independent judiciary can survive in the face of new threats, and the implications of Trump’s cruel new travel bans. Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Chris…

This is part of ⁠Opinionpalooza⁠, Slate’s coverage of the major decisions from the Supreme Court this June. The best way to support our work is by joining ⁠Slate Plus⁠. (If you are already a member, consider a ⁠donation⁠ or ⁠merch⁠!)Also! Sign up for ⁠Slate’s Legal Brief:⁠ the latest coverage of the courts and the law straight to your inbox. Delive…

Since January, the Trump administration has suspended the right to claim asylum at the southern border. One narrower form of protection—for those who had been tortured by their governments—was supposed to remain. But lawyers have realized that even that appears to be gone. Guest: Mark Betancourt, freelance reporter covering immigration from DC, who…

After 20 months of war, with violence erupting far from the Middle East, where is the future of Zionism headed? Guest: Isaac Saul, Tangle executive editor and author of “I think I’m leaving Zionism, or Zionism is leaving me.” Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your f…

Five years after George Floyd’s murder sparked nationwide protests, the legacy of that movement is still being written in Minneapolis and America writ large—even as some attempt to erase it. Guest: Marcia Howard, president of the teacher chapter of Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Brandt Williams, senior editor covering race, class and communitie…

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Ben Lindbergh and Lindsay Gibbs break down the NBA Finals and the savvy draft and trade decisions that led to this year’s showdown between two small-market teams. They also unpack the NHL Finals rematch between Edmonton and Florida and whether a Canadian team can finally reclaim glory. Finally, they speak with New York Times sp…

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: voter discontentment at the two major parties is creating an opening for a far-right populist with an anti-immigration, protectionist agenda that economic experts warn would be devastating. With a Trump trade deal in hand, can Keir Starmer and Labour give British voters something to vote for, rather than jus…

His time in Washington was brief, but we’ll be picking up the pieces for a long time. What Elon’s exit signals for the future of DOGE, and Musk’s political career. Guest: Kate Conger, reporter for the New York Times covering X and other technology companies. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole W…

This week: Felix Salmon left Axios. He, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the opaque language and politics around parting ways with an employer and the motivation behind giving severance packages. Then, it seems the threat of AI taking over jobs is becoming real as the hosts examine the role state of AI in tech and other industries and its ef…

The end (of the Supreme Court term) is nigh. This week, Amicus goes into June Opinionpalooza mode with some meta-analysis of what to look out for as the Supreme Court delivers dozens of decisions over the next month or so. Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern say this is a term-ending unlike any other, partly because the number of cases pinging on…

The war between Ukraine and Russia is being fought increasingly via drone —and NATO and US military leadership is training troops for future conflicts that will pit man against machine. Guest: Jake Epstein, senior defense reporter for Business Insider. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Ne…

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss this week’s Supreme Court decision that validates Trump’s firing of 2 officials without cause thus stealth-overruling a key check on presidents, the power dynamics around who benefits from Trump’s attempts to destroy Harvard, and the challenges and rewards of male friendship in moder…

Adriana Smith was nine weeks pregnant when she was declared brain dead in February—far enough along that her fetus showed cardiac activity. The hospital then refused to let her family decide whether or not they want to keep Smith on life support long enough for the fetus to be delivered. Guests: Imani Gandy, Editor-at-Large for Rewire News Group, c…

Everyone assumes the reason Gavin Newsom has had right-wingers like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon on his podcast is to burnish his credentials for an imminent presidential run. But no podcast episode is going to make Republican voters forget that he’s a California Democrat. Guest: Marisa Lagos, political correspondent for KQED and co-host of the Po…

A Revlimid pill costs about 25 cents to make, and about a thousand dollars to buy—but it’s keeping him alive, so what choice does he have? Guest: David Armstrong, investigates healthcare at ProPublica, author of “The Price of Remission.” Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and acros…

In this Money Talks: Hillary Frey joins Emily Peck to discuss the kind of rich people that populate the Apple TV+ show Your Friends & Neighbors, Jon Hamm’s Don Draper-esque charm, and whether there’s any real point to having a murder plot line. Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. …

The crypto industry poured tons of money into the last election cycle. Is the GENIUS Act, which has bipartisan support, their big payoff? Guest: Hilary Allen, professor at American University’s Washington College of Law. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite …

This week: The bond vigilantes are being summoned by Trump’s take bill. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the contents of the controversial bill and how the bond markets are reacting. Then, Julian Sanchez of the WatchCats podcast joins to discuss Elon Musk’s announcement that he’s stepping back from the government and break dow…

This week’s episode attempts to understand the ways in which the law of Trump unfolds along two tracks at the same time. First, Mark Joseph Stern joins us to talk about the Supreme Court’s decision to let Trump fire the heads of independent agencies, undermining a 90-year-old precedent in an unsigned, two-page decision on the shadow docket. This is…

OpenAI started as a non-profit dedicated to building safe A.I. Now, they’re obsessed with building artificial general intelligence by any means necessary - even if they don’t quite know what that is. Guest: Karen Hao, reporter and author of “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus…

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the huge House tax bill and its broad economic implications with Harvard economist Jason Furman, the DOJ’s selective investigation and prosecution of officials as a method of intimidation, and the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther” as the Trump administration’s blueprint for shut…

Rev. Dr. Barber II is objecting to Republicans’ budget bill on the grounds of morality as much as politics—which is why he’s been praying, protesting, and getting arrested to stick up for those who will be affected by it. Guest: Reverend Doctor William J. Barber II, pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro, North Carol…

One of the more surprising targets of Project 2025—and now, therefore, the Trump administration—is FEMA. How will proposed changes affect what FEMA can do, as hurricane season begins, and as a changing climate makes weather more unpredictable? Guest: Thomas Frank, editor for E&E News’ climate finance team. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Pl…

Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim are joined by Slate staff writer Molly Olmstead to talk all things Pope Leo XIV, who made the internet go wild following a highly-covered conclave, strong Chicago ties, and a digital footprint that keeps unfurling. But another reason the Pope has seemed more exposed than ever before is because for some groups online, it…

In a return to a classic party policy goal, Republicans want to add “work requirements” to Medicaid to offset costs in Trump’s “one big beautiful bill.” Work requirements for health insurance have been tried before, on the state level, and the end result is a lot of people—including working people—losing their health insurance. Guest: Leo Cuello, r…