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What Next - Bonus: SchadenFriday: Are You Fitter Than an ICE Applicant? Nov 21, 2025

Show notes

You can have enough ICE recruits or you can have standards for the shape that they’re in, but you can’t have both—this was just one lesson Donald Trump could have learned this week, in between hosting a summit of McDonald’s franchise owners and calling a reporter “piggie.”

Guest: Rebecca Onion, Slate senior staff writer.

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, and Rob Gunther.

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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Crypto Keeps Criming Nov 21, 2025

Show notes

Trump promised to stop the “persecution” of the cryptocurrency industry. He did call off the SEC investigations that began under Biden, and pardoned Binance cofounder and ex-CEO Changpeng Zhao. But is the crypto industry ultimately better off because of that?

Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, tech reporter for the New York Times.

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.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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Political Gabfest - DOJ is DOA Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss a new oral history of President Trump’s Department of Justice, the complex transactional nationalism of this week’s visit from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with guest Jake Sullivan, former National Security Advisor and co-host of the new podcast The Long Game, and what is likely to happen now that Trump has signed the bill to release the Justice Department’s Epstein files.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the sordid scandal around the tangled relationships of political reporter Olivia Nuzzi and the complex questions it raises about relationships between journalists and their sources.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin about his new book, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History and How It Shattered a Nation — the story of speculation, debt, and the human drives that fueled the Wall Street crash that changed everything.

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.

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 - Who Killed the Penny? She Did. Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

People have been talking about how the penny is more trouble than it’s worth for 50 years—so why drop it now? And—other than having nothing to put in our loafers—will it be missed?

Guest: Caity Weaver, 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 Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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

What Next - Sudan on the Brink Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

Ongoing civil war in Sudan has left tens of thousands dead, with millions displaced. A country of great natural resources, regional foreign governments have chosen sides—but foreign aid from the US that had mitigated some of the war’s damage is gone.

Guest: David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, former UK foreign secretary 2007-2010.

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 - Have the Epstein Files Broken MAGA? Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

You can’t really blame Donald Trump for thinking he could just handwave away the Epstein Files. But for the first time in what feels like forever, his base, the GOP, and his own desires don’t quite align.

Guest: Will Sommer, senior reporter at the Bulwark.

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

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What Next - The National Guard Is Asking Questions Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

Trump can’t seem to decide if the National Guard is needed in American cities to stop violent crime, or to assist ICE deportations, or something else entirely. And the lack of a clear and present crisis is starting to make some Guard members uncomfortable.

Guest: Kat Lonsdorf, news reporter for National Public Radio.

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 - How Meta Profits Off Fraud Nov 16, 2025

Show notes

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, doesn’t (just) have a scam problem—with 10 percent of its revenue coming from scam ads, and a third of all successful scams in America using a Meta platform at some point, it’s more an interdependence with scammers.

Guest: Jeff Horwitz, tech reporter for Reuters.

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Slate Money - The Correct Opinion on 50-Year Mortgages Nov 15, 2025

Show notes

This week: FHFA director Bill Pulte convinced Trump to back 50-year mortgages with some posterboard and a photo of FDR. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck, discuss why Trump’s post about 50-year mortgages angered conservatives – officials and voters alike – and why they’re more of a hindrance than a solution to the housing crisis. Then, the White House is considering limiting the power of proxy advisers and index-fund managers on shareholder voting. The hosts explain what this would mean for shareholders and how billionaires like Elon Musk and Jamie Dimon, vocal opponents of these firms, stand to gain even more power if they do. Then finally, Robinhood has announced a new service that delivers cash to your door and the hosts ponder the use cases and mechanics of such a thing.

In the Slate Plus episode: Can You Do That With a Comma?

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Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth.

Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at ⁠www.monarchmoney.com/SLATE⁠

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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - He Quit the Bench to Raise the Alarm Nov 15, 2025

Show notes

Dahlia Lithwick welcomes retired federal judge Mark Wolf for his first ever podcast interview. The Reagan-appointed jurist made headlines last week with his searing indictment of the threat posed to the rule of law and democracy by the current administration. Judge Wolf opens up about his decision to leave the bench after decades of public service and the challenges faced by judges in the face of a president and a Justice Department showing scant regard for the rules.

Next, Dahlia is joined by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who tells her, “If Trump breaks the law and hurts our state, we sue him.” Together, they discuss the urgency of justice in response to the tactics employed by the Trump administration. As Democratic AGs band together to sue against unlawful executive actions, Bonta explains their strategies in securing injunctions against the administration.

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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