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What Next - Are We Ready for the World Cup? Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

When the US won a bid to co-host the World Cup, Trump was midway through his first term. Eight years later, he’s back in office, and giving soccer fans eager to watch the tournament this summer good reasons to squirm.

Guest: Jon Arnold, sports journalist and author of the Getting CONCACAFed 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.

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What Next - How Immigration Enforcement Became So Violent Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

How ICE and Border Patrol’s mission became harassing the president’s personal enemies.

Guest: Radley Balko, journalist and the author of Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forcesand a Substack called The Watch.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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What Next - Everyone Saw CBP Kill Alex Pretti Jan 26, 2026

Show notes

Once again, federal agents have shot and killed a legal observer in Minneapolis. Once again, the shooting is on video. And once again, the Trump Administration has closed ranks around the officers. But could the fallout from Alex Pretti’s death be different? And Minnesotans want to know – when will the feds finally leave?

Guest: Will Stancil, lawyer and observer in Minneapolis

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - David Ellison, Eldest Boy Jan 25, 2026

Show notes

Having already taken over Paramount, David Ellison was vying to add Warner Bros. Discovery to his portfolio. Are his dad’s politics behind his drive to run Hollywood or is there something else going on?

Guest: Reeves Widemann, features writer at New York Magazine.

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.

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Slate Money - Davos is So Back Jan 24, 2026

Show notes

This week: World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos is all over the news. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck, explain the moments that made headlines and why Davos feels so much more relevant this year. Then, Trump promised to address the affordability crisis at Davos but failed to say much. The hosts discuss what he did say, and how the ongoing crisis is being addressed overall. And finally, a new lawsuit claims that the AI screening tools that have taken over the job hunting landscape should be subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The hosts get into what these tools do now and why this change could be beneficial.

In the Slate Plus episode: Celebrities interviewing celebrities. It’s an epidemic.

Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? 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 Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth.

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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Who Gave ICE Permission to Trample the Constitution? Jan 24, 2026

Show notes

The evidence is mounting that ICE is not only unbothered by moral boundaries, but immigration and customs enforcement agents acting on behalf of President Trump believe they are not constrained by constitutional red lines, either. According to a super-secret internal memo flagged in a whistleblower complaint this week, the Fourth Amendment simply doesn’t apply to ICE. That sense of impunity is also clear in a growing chamber of horrors from their enforcement operations; from masked agents taking a child in a blue bunny hat, to the shooting of Renee Good. Worryingly, this sweeping concept of immunity is kind of true—though maybe not for the reason you think. This week on Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick talks with Alex Reinert, the Max Freund Professor of Litigation & Advocacy at Cardozo School of Law. He is also the director of the Center for Rights and Justice and Co-Director of the Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy. Alex explains the origins of qualified immunity—a legal theory that allows law enforcement officers to be free from consequences for their actions—why ICE’s lawlessness is not a new phenomenon (even if it is a phenomenon in hyperdrive under Trump), and what we can do about the obvious problem of maximal impunity for the people who have the most power to inflict harm.

Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - The Right’s Minneapolis Outrage Machine Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

The administration’s justification for their actions in Minneapolis owe a lot to the right-wing influencers—and they seem happy to keep this vicious cycle rolling onto California next.

Guest: Will Sommer, journalist for the Bulwark.

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Political Gabfest - Greenland War Averted Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether Trump’s lust for Greenland will break the world (or indeed, whether it already has), what this week’s arguments at the Supreme Court suggest about the future of Fed independence, and how FBI sources say the Bureau is being turned into a weapon of the president.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss a new memoir from Pennsylvania governor and likely presidential candidate Josh Shapiro, and what it tells us about his views on the presidency, his relationship with former VP Kamala Harris, and how he might approach a campaign.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with author Curtis Sittenfeld about her short story collection, “Show Don't Tell.” They discuss the recurring themes of the book from troubled marriages and middle age to the passage of time, and characters who are navigating moments of racial privilege and prejudice.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

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Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.

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What Next - President TACO’s Greenland Gambit Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

Donald Trump isn’t one for clear policy objectives, but one of his top priorities, apparently, is making Greenland part of the United States–even at the expense of alienating our allies.

Guest: Joshua Keating, senior correspondent at Vox covering foreign policy.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Preview: Fed Up Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

In this member-exclusive episode, co-hosts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discuss the Supreme Court’s fact-free foray into Trump v. Cook, a case that economists warn could crater the economy. President Donald Trump spent the first weeks of his second stint in the White House firing a lot of people from government agencies. For the most part, the High Court’s conservative justices let it slide, in line with their general “he’s the President, let him do it” posture. But Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook was different. In August, Trump fired off a post on Truth Social, then sacked Cook a few days later, leaving a huge question mark hanging over the independence of the Fed. Turns out, that’s a very big deal for anyone who wants to avoid hyperinflation and economic disaster. During Wednesday’s arguments, it was clear that even Trump’s hand-picked justices felt as though they would like to avoid such catastrophes. What ensued was more about feelings, fear, and frustration than law, but that may be the best we can hope for.

This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock weekly bonus episodes of Amicus—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

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