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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - What Happened After Meta Fired Its Fact-Checkers Aug 08, 2025

Show notes

In January, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta was moving from employing professional fact-checkers to letting its users fact-check each other. If you’ve heard that it’s going perfectly, then you, too, have been exposed to misinformation.

Guest: Geoffrey Fowler, tech columnist with the Washington Post

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Ethan Oberman, and Patrick Fort.

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

Political Gabfest - Putting the BS in BLS Aug 07, 2025

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the future integrity of US economic data after Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, what the mid-decade redistricting arms race portends for the future of US representative government, and the phenomenon of “Trump’s Rasputin,” Laura Loomer.

Here are this week’s chatters:

Emily: Jake Jones for BBC Sport: The rise of padel and why it's so popular; LTAPadel: Official padel rules explained; Padelexpress on YouTube: The BEST Out-of-Court Points in Padel HISTORY (video 3:52)

Juliette: Jack Smart for People: Liam Neeson Kisses Pamela Anderson in Cute Naked Gun Promo: 'Couple That Laughs Together, Stays Together'; Alyssa Bailey for ELLE: How Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson Slowly Fell for Each Other: He Was ‘Smitten’ From the Start; Lisa Respers France for CNN: Pamela Anderson is having a moment. And it’s about time

David: Anne Appelbaum for The Atlantic: The Most Nihilistic Conflict on Earth; Wednesday on Netflix; Platonic – Season 2 Official Trailer on YouTube (video 2:02)

Listener chatter from Bill Jacob in Provincetown, Massachusetts: The Telepathy Tapes: A Podcast Beyond Words, from creator and host Ky Dickens.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, David, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the benefits and challenges of giving kids more freedom to play outside and participate independently, parent-free, in the real world.

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 Kevin Bendis

Research by Emily Ditto

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What Next - Donald Trump Vs. Reality Itself Aug 07, 2025

Show notes

Donald Trump’s never been all that committed to the truth. But experts are warning that by firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and appointing loyalists across the judiciary, he’s taken his war on facts to another level. How long can he attempt to remake reality before the truth—someday, eventually, but inevitably—hits back?

Guest: David A Graham, staff writer at the Atlantic.

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.

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

What Next - A Rabbi’s Plea for Peace Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

More than a thousand rabbis and Jewish leaders have signed a letter calling for Israel to end “the use and threat of starvation as a weapon of war.” This New York rabbi, who has felt a connection to Israel her whole life, explains why she signed.

Guest: Sarah Reines, rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.

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.

Slate Money - Money Talks: The Fabulous Wealth of Carrie Bradshaw Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

In this Money Talks: Slate’s own Cheyna Roth joins Emily Peck to break down how HBO’s Sex and the City revival And Just Like That…has taken the fantasy of being fabulous in New York City into a whole new tax bracket. They’ll discuss the curious dimensions of the kitchen in Carrie’s Manhattan mansion among other real estate mysteries within the show, examine why it’s so annoying to watch incredibly wealthy people be happy on TV, and ask if there really is any such thing as a “hate watch.”

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.

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

What Next - Don’t Mess With Texas’s Election Maps Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

How Texas redrawing its election maps could set off a gerrymandering arms race across the country—a race the Republicans are likely to win.

Guest: Ari Berman is a voting rights correspondent at Mother Jones.

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

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What Next - Was Democracy Voted Out? Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

Belief in democracy was, until quite recently, taken for granted in America. But what if democracy is less a static noun, and more of a dynamic ideal we (could be) working towards?

Guest:

Osita Nwanevu, contributing editor at The New Republic, columnist at The Guardian, author of “The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding.”

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

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Slate Money - Money Travels: The Eternal Baggage Question Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

In this special episode of Slate Money Travels, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the constant question on travelers’ minds: should you check your bag? They dig into how to make your carry-on count, the beauty of Air Tags, and Felix offers an alternative to checking a bag that isn’t a carry on.

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.

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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - The A.I. Data Center Push That Wasn't Aug 03, 2025

Show notes

OpenAI’s Sam Altman, flanked by President Trump and Softbank’s Masayoshi Son, announced a hugely ambitious investment in data centers across America to support all the artificial intelligence we’re going to be using. Months in, the project has been scaled back to a single, power-hungry data center in Ohio.

Guest: Berber Jin, reporter covering A.I. for the Wall Street Journal

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What Next - Bonus: When the French Bombed Greenpeace Aug 02, 2025

Show notes

Some disputes resist an easy “good vs. evil” dynamic, but when one side calls their plans “Operation Satanique,” it’s not too hard to figure who “the baddies” are.

Guest: Dan Kois, Slate writer.

Articles mentioned in this piece:

Also mentioned: What Next: The Lawsuit Scaring Protesters.

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Podcast production by Madeline Ducharme.

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