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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Online and Pregnant May 11, 2025

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The intimate and extremely personal experience of bringing a child into this world? There’s an app for that…and forums…and so much advice…that contradicts other advice…and a surprising amount of eugenics.

Guest: Amanda Hess, critic at the New York Times and author of the book “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age.”

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Slate Money - Tariff Stockholm Syndrome May 10, 2025

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This week: The UK and the US agreed to the framework for a trade deal. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the details of the agreement and what it means that it includes keeping the 10% baseline tariffs staying in place. Then, Bill Gates has announced that he’s winding down the Gates Foundation and doubling the money he’s giving away. The hosts discuss how this is a reaction to Elon Musk’s slashing of USAID and the state of billionaire philanthropy. And finally, OpenAI has reversed its plan to become a for profit enterprise after public backlash. The hosts discuss implications of the governance structure going forward.

In the Slate Plus episode: Can Trump really put tariffs on Hollywood?

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 - SCOTUS, Meet The Broligarchs May 10, 2025

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After Silicon Valley’s yeet to the right after Donald Trump was elected in 2016, and the DOGE-ification of the federal government (read: chaos and abuse as the driving ethos of HR), it felt like high time to delve into the evolving relationship between tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel and the U.S. government. Their influence has massive implications for core constitutional issues such as mass surveillance, privacy, and deregulation. Kara Swisher joins Dahlia Lithwick on this week’s Amicus to highlight the dangers of tech giants' encroachment on government oversight and the implications of AI and cryptocurrency.

This week’s episode concludes with a heartfelt tribute to Justice David Souter who died on Thursday. Dahlia and former Souter Clerk Mary-Rose Papandrea reflect on the late Justice’s humility, judicial philosophy, and the profound loss felt by his former clerks and the legal community.

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 - Bonus Main Character Syndrome: Your Mom May 09, 2025

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As we head into Mother’s Day weekend (there’s still time to get to the florist if you hurry!), we dive into “motherhood in the moment”—where “pro-natalism”, the rising cost of childcare, and, um, Chapelle Roan are making the “Tiger Mom” era of a decade ago seem quaint.

Guest: Jenée Desmond-Harris, staff writer for Slate and host of Dear Prudence.

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

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

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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Chatbots All The Way Down May 09, 2025

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Why artificial intelligence isn’t waiting for consumer demand.

Guest: Gerrit De Vynck, tech reporter for The Washington Post.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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Political Gabfest - Trump Backlash, Australian-Style May 08, 2025

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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss anti-Trump sentiment in foreign elections with former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, why the Trump administration has done relatively little about medication abortion so far and whether it will last, and how looming Medicaid cuts will hurt millions of Americans.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss whether and how to pay attention and respond when Trump “jokes” about the possibility of serving a third term as president.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with author Maggie Smith about her new book, Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life.

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

Podcast production by Ethan Oberman

Research by Emily Ditto

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.

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What Next - Yes, Shelves Will Be Empty May 08, 2025

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The consequences of Donald Trump’s new tariffs are working their way through the supply chain and soon will start showing up for consumers in the form of empty shelves, higher prices, and potentially even layoffs and a recession.

Guest: Christopher Mims, Wall Street Journal tech reporter and the author of Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door---Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy.

Jessica Berger, CEO of Bundle x Joy.

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, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.

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What Next - The Arts of the Deal May 07, 2025

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How Donald Trump is attempting to shape the arts to his own liking, from installing himself as head of the Kennedy Center to canceling grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, throwing organizations and projects of all sizes into uncertainty and chaos.

Guests:

Alisa Solomon, director of the Arts & Culture concentration at the Columbia Journalism School

Katy Waldman, staff writer for the New Yorker.

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

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What Next - A Marco Rubio for All Seasons May 06, 2025

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Marco Rubio has been collecting titles. In addition to Secretary of State, he’s now also the acting administrator of USAID, the acting archivist for the National Archives and Records Administration—and he just became a National Security Advisor. It fits his career trajectory, wherein Rubio has proven time and time again to be whatever he needs to be.

Guest: Justin Peters, Slate correspondent and author of “What Happened to Marco Rubio?”

Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

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

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What Next - Trump v. the Judiciary May 05, 2025

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Is the arrest of Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan the start of Trump’s open war on judges?

Guest: Jeremy Fogel, retired federal judge and executive director for the Berkeley Judicial Institute.

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

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