Slate Conversations

Travel can be thrilling, relaxing, even life-changing. But planning for your big trip? Not so much. There are so many unknowns: Where to go? When is the best time? How much do you want to spend? In this special episode of How To!, founding host Charles Duhigg brings in Brady Binstadt, owner and CEO of the adventure travel company Geographic Expeditions. Brady explains how to pick the right destination, when to splurge, and how to make sure everyone will have an amazing time. 

If you liked this episode, check out: How To Live Anywhere in the World

Do you have a question we can help you solve? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

How To’s executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer and our producer is Rosemary Belson. 

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on How To!. Sign up now at slate.com/howtoplus to help support our work.

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A generation of activists –and well-meaning citizens– was pulled into intense social justice work by the murder of George Floyd in 2020. And the horrific crime, the fight for progess, and the backlash has taken a toll on their mental health. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by writer and activist Ijeoma Oluo about her new book, Be a Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World--And How You Can, Too. It’s the collected wisdom of activists across a range of issues about how to do the hard and emotional work of confronting racism without losing hope.

Guest: Writer Ijeoma Oluo

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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In this episode, Michael Hobbes (If Books Could Kill and Maintenance Phase) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters from readers about how to tell a friend they’re a horrible boss, whether a husband who won’t open the bathroom shades to give the plants light is a problem, and what to do when your friends setting you up on dates makes you think you might be a bigot.

If you want more Dear Prudence, join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members.

Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to sign up. It’s just $15 for your first three months.

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, and Jenée Desmond-Harris, with help from Maura Currie.

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On this episode: Elizabeth, Zak and Jamilah help a member of our Facebook group who’s worried that her son isn’t making friends… because the kids at school separate into gender cliques, and he’s not into roughhousing “boy stuff.” We’ll discuss how to help this kid feel more comfortable joining games — and whether the teacher needs to be looped in.

We’ll also debrief on our week in parenting with a round of triumphs and fails, and then revisit a conversation we had about a toddler with separation anxiety. 

Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus to help support our work.

Podcast produced by Maura Currie, with special thanks to Rosemary Belson.

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It’s award season in Hollywood, and it’s got the Well, Now team thinking about wellness and the entertainment industry. Can a medical drama really teach us accurate health information? Or is it all just high-stakes surgeries with beautiful actors?

Maya and Kavita talk this out with physician, showrunner and Harvard lecturer Neal Baer. He brought powerful, data-supported stories on HIV, emergency contraception, cervical cancer and more to hit cable shows like ER and Law and Order: SVU.

If you liked this episode, check out: Breaking Up With Diet Culture

Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.

Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to [email protected]

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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… folie à deux (again).

A few weeks ago, Frank Buckley joined us to argue that Trump voters aren’t delusional. And a lot of you disagreed.

One of you, though, turned out to be an expert in the nature of delusion. So who better to join us, and make the case that we got it wrong?

Barry Mauer, a Hear Me Out listener and associate professor at the University of Central Florida, joins us to argue that the pro-Trump movement isn’t just delusional — it’s dangerous, it’s a cult, and it has to be called what it is.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: [email protected]

Podcast production by Maura Currie.

You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus! Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months.

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We’re constantly getting bombarded with messages about our bodies: They’re too big. They’re too small. They’re not muscular enough, not curvy enough, and so on and so on. Rebecca has lived in a bigger body all her life and she wants the messaging to stop. She’s done all the things—followed plus-size influencers, deemphasized weight from her health goals, tried to rewire how she thinks about weight. But it’s just not working. In this episode, Carvell Wallace brings in Ronald Young Jr., host of Weight For It. Ronald challenges the notion that we need to love our bodies and helps Rebecca navigate away from stigmatized “fixes” and toward a place of acceptance. 

If you liked this episode, check out: How To Eat Whatever You Want and How To Love Your Face.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

How To’s executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer and our producer is Rosemary Belson. Special thanks to Kevin Bendis. 

Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/howtoplus.

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This week, host June Thomas talks to children’s book author and illustrator Mika Song, whose work includes the Norma and Bellie series about two squirrels with big appetites. In the interview, Mika explains how she collects ideas just by moving around her neighborhood and jotting down notes and drawings. She also talks about her materials, her audience, and her experiences giving book presentations to her young readers. 

After the interview, June and co-host Isaac Butler discuss how to find inspiration in the everyday. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Mika shares some of her current favorite children’s books. 

Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to [email protected] or give us a call at (304) 933-9675.

Podcast production by Cameron Drews.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus to help support our work.

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In this episode, Cheryl Strayed (Dear Sugar and Tiny Beautiful Things) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters from readers about whether it’s a good idea to offer to be your platonic best friend’s housewife, how to handle a husband’s disturbing body odors, and what an overachieving eldest millennial daughter can do to find happiness.

If you want more Dear Prudence, join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members. 

Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to sign up. It’s just $15 for your first three months. 

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, and Jenée Desmond-Harris, with help from Maura Currie.

Dear Prudence is sponsored by BetterHelp.

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On this episode: Elizabeth, Zak and Lucy help a listener who’s pretty sure they smelled marijuana when their young teen and a friend got in the car. The parent is wondering if they should have said something… but if so, what? And when is really too young?

We’ll also go over our week in parenting triumphs and fails — including an update on Henry’s solo trip in Tokyo — and share some listener mail we got about teenage tattoos.

Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus to help support our work.

Podcast produced by Maura Currie, with special thanks to Rosemary Belson.

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