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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - How Elon Wields Power May 04, 2025

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What is it about the way that Elon Musk wields power that led 65 percent of Americans to agree he has too much influence on the federal government?

Guest: Faiz Siddiqui, Washington Post tech reporter and author of “Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk.”

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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - The Un-American Project May 03, 2025

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Whether it’s attempting to overturn birthright citizenship, effectively stripping citizenship from American children, or claiming Alien Enemy Act war powers under an imaginary invasion, Trump’s anti-immigrant moves are outlandishly unconstitutional. They are also being met with significant pushback from judges, even conservative ones. On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern who explains the landmark ruling from a Trump-appointed judge in the southern district of Texas that declared the administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act is unlawful. Next, Amanda Frost, University of Virginia law professor and author of You Are Not American: Citizenship Stripping from Dred Scott to the Dreamers, joins Dahlia to explain what Birthright Citizenship really means, and all the ways Trump is working to redefine what it means to be an American, including stripping citizenship from children and denaturalizing adults.

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Slate Money - Everyone Cares About Power Grids This Week May 03, 2025

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This week: The entire Iberian peninsula lost power for 18 hours. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by energy expert John Kemp to talk about why that might have happened and nerd out on power grids. Then, the GDP is down by 0.3%. But is that really the right metric to care about? Finally, the tech world is bringing back the brutal system of stack ranking management. The hosts discuss why this might be ill advised.

In the Slate Plus episode: Are Toy Tariffs…Good?

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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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Marc Andreessen’s New Deal May 02, 2025

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What drove Marc Andreessen’s transformation into a political actor, and what is he looking for from having Washington in his thrall?

Guest: Zoe Schiffer, WIRED journalist covering business and Silicon Valley.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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Political Gabfest - Only 100 Days May 01, 2025

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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Trump administration’s first 100 days and recent polls, the state of American health policy and underlying DOGE cuts with reporter Dan Diamond, and a potential radical shift in American life if the Supreme Court allows a religious charter school in Oklahoma.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily and David interview John about his professional and personal experience of covering the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome for CBS Evening News.

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.)

Research by Emily Ditto

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What Next - Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ May 01, 2025

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Many of the policy changes in Trump’s first 100 days have come from the White House—but now, it’s Congress’s turn. Republicans have roughly a month to pass a multi-trillion-dollar bill to advance the president’s domestic agenda. But will the bill’s combination of tax cuts and increases in spending on defense and border security render it unpassable for GOP budget hawks?

Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics writer at Slate.

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 - Inside the ICE Prison Holding Student Detainees Apr 30, 2025

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After Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk was abducted off the streets of her district, Rep. Ayanna Pressley is not mincing words when it comes to the Trump administration: “These are the actions of a dictator.”

Last week, Rep. Pressley traveled to Louisiana with a Congressional delegation to visit Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil in the ICE detention facilities where they’re being held. Now, she’s speaking out about what she witnessed firsthand.

Guest: Ayanna Pressley, US representative for Massachusetts’ 7th district and member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

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

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Slate Money - Money Talks: The Family Squabble That Could Change Right-Wing News Apr 29, 2025

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In this Money Talks: Succession may be over but the drama continues for the Roy family’s real world counterparts. Felix Salmon is joined by McKay Coppins to discuss his experience getting up close and personal with the Murdoch family and break down the dynamics behind the battle over the family empire.

Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth.

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What Next - Will HHS Survive RFK Jr? Apr 29, 2025

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At his first press conference as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. gave a glimpse of what the department will look like under his leadership: a smaller overall budget, relitigating settled scientific questions.

Guest: Kiera Butler, senior editor and reporter at Mother Jones and author of Raise: What 4-H Teaches Seven Million Kids and How Its Lessons Could Change Food and Farming Forever.

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

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What Next - Are Public Schools the Supreme Court's Next Target? Apr 28, 2025

Show notes

The Supreme Court is hearing two cases this month regarding religion in public schools that seem to contradict each other—a public school in Maryland where parents claim books with LGBTQ characters or themes are indoctrination, and a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma arguing it has the right to state funding. Can the court’s religion-friendly majority give them both what they want without falling afoul of the First Amendment?

Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer for Slate.

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

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