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What Next - What the John Bolton Raid Means Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

John Bolton isn’t exactly beloved by the right or the left. But sending the FBI to raid his house fits a pattern: Either tell the president what he wants to hear, or face the consequences.

Guest: Shane Harris, staff writer covering national security and intelligence for The Atlantic.

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

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

What Next - The Man Behind Trump’s Firing of Lisa Cook Aug 26, 2025

Show notes

Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte has led investigations into Senator Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Leititia James, and the Federal Reserve’s Lisa Cook for mortgage fraud.

With a background a lot like Trump’s—and a little like Mr. Beast’s—who is Pulte? And what kind of damage could a vengeful FHFA director do?

Guest: Rachel Siegel, reporter covering the economics of real estate and housing for the Washington Post.

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

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

What Next - The Womanosphere Wants To Make America Hot Again Aug 25, 2025

Show notes

Katie Miller, whose husband Stephen Miller is Trump’s right-hand man, launched a new podcast to join the growing ranks of content made specifically for conservative women. But is there enough demand—in listeners and supplement sponsorship—to make the same impact that the conservative manosphere has?

Guest: Emma Goldberg, business features writer at The New York Times.

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

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

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Trump Vs. Cancer Research Aug 24, 2025

Show notes

President Trump has proposed cutting $2.5 billion from the National Cancer Institute, which in addition to cuts to the National Institutes of Health and research universities almost makes you wonder: whose side is he on in the fight against cancer?

Guest: Angus Chen, cancer reporter for STAT news

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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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Punished For Their Pregnancies Aug 23, 2025

Show notes

Women were prosecuted for experiencing miscarriage or stillbirth even before the Supreme Courtswept away the protections of Roe v. Wade. But these prosecutions have ramped up since, in both red and blue states. The stakes are ramping up too, with legislators introducing bills that would treat abortion as homicide, potentially subjecting patients to the death penalty. This week, Mark Joseph Stern talks with Karen Thompson, the legal director of Pregnancy Justice. They discuss what happens when the state decides a fetus, or even an embryo, has equal or greater rights than pregnant people. As fetal personhood legislation moves ahead in more and more red states, this concept is also seeping into the law in blue states. Women have been jailed because their pregnancies ended in a way the state disliked. Grandmothers have been prosecuted decades after pregnancy loss thanks to investigators using forensic genetic genealogy to hunt them down. As Thompson explains, a frightening frontier in the battle for bodily autonomy and reproductive rights is here, and it demands our attention.

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Slate Money - ATM Scam Summer School Aug 23, 2025

Show notes

This week: We got more details on the ATM scam that swept New York City thanks to a teen summer job program and an infinite money glitch last month. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss the mechanics of the scam, the fallout for the many parties involved, and the tragic irony that a program meant to teach teen financial literacy led them straight into a harsh real world lesson. Then, Yieldstreet is part of a growing trend of startups that want to democratize private investing but it’s not proving to be a great bet. The hosts discuss the economy of private investment and ask whether or not it's a good idea to make it more public. And finally, the Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece from a 22-year-old about how you should sacrifice your youth to get rich. What’s the real value in trying to become a “thought leader” with pieces like this?

In the Slate Plus episode:

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Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth.

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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - The CDC Under Fire Aug 22, 2025

Show notes

Two weeks ago, a gunman fired over 500 bullets at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention building in Atlanta. Between the anti-public health rhetoric coming from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the top, personnel cuts and firings, and now a literal shooting, many employees are reaching their breaking point.

Guest: Lauren Weber, health science accountability reporter for the Washington Post.

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

Political Gabfest - Is This Martial Law? Aug 21, 2025

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Trump’s deepening takeover of Washington D.C. as National Guard troops from red states arrive, what if anything was accomplished in the whirlwind of Putin-Trump-Zelensky diplomacy, and this week’s launch of the new liberal publication The Argument with its Editor-in-Chief Jerusalem Demsas.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss escalations of the retribution campaigns against Trump’s rivals, spearheaded by Department of Justice officials Pam Bondi and Ed Martin.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Jonathan Mahler about his new book, The Gods of New York. They discuss the unraveling of Mayor Ed Koch’s New York City; how the city’s current mayoral race is mirroring the past; and more.

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

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

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What Next - D.C’s Senator Knew This Would Happen Aug 21, 2025

Show notes

Donald Trump was able to take over the Metropolitan Police Department and send in National Guard troops and federal agents to patrol the streets due to Washington D.C.’s strange, not-a-state status. One of the district’s (non-voting) Congressional representatives believes D.C. statehood could come in the backlash.

Guest: Ankit Jain, U.S. Senator for Washington, D.C. since 2024.

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

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

What Next - Can Trump Kill Mail-In Ballots? Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

Donald Trump returned from his meeting with Vladimir Putin convinced that mail-in voting is how he was cheated from winning the 2020 election. Though he’s come to this conclusion without evidence, how much damage can he do to American democracy?

Guest: Rick Hasen, UCLA School of Law, Director, Safeguarding Democracy Project, Election Law blog

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

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