In this episode, Jenée returns from parental leave and is joined by Solomon Missouri — a pastor at AME Zion Church in Snowhill, North Carolina, and author of the forthcoming “Not a Biblical Dating Book.”

Together, they answer questions about a listener rekindling with his ex (and her children), someone who’s nervous about starting a romantic relationship for the first time in 20 years, and a childfree woman who’s afraid her boyfriend’s not on the same page.

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This week’s podcast is produced by Jenée Desmond Harris, Maura Currie, and Daisy Rosario, with special thanks to Anuli Ononye and Kevin Bendis.

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This week, the FTC and Meta began a trial to determine if—by adding Instagram and WhatsApp to its portfolio with Facebook over a decade ago—the company became a monopoly in social media. If Meta loses, it could be forced to split up, losing Instagram—and its substantial ad revenue.

Guest: Paresh Dave, senior writer at WIRED.

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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Trump administration’s ramped up attacks on Harvard and international students, the courts flirting with findings of contempt after the administration ignores and mocks court orders, and the ways the Trump tariffs and exemptions invite corruption and “swampiness.”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the implications of the White House cutting the wire services seat from the press pool to explicitly punish the Associated Press.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with author Adam Higginbotham about his new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Research by Emily Ditto

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On this episode: Zak, Elizabeth and Jamilah answer a letter from a member of the Slate Parenting Facebook group who’s wondering how much people-pleasing is too much. This parent’s nine-year-old daughter is a little bit of a doormat, when it comes to doing what her friends want… so how can her parents help her balance some softness with some strength?

And after that, of course, we’ll circle up for a round of triumphs and fails.

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 to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts.

Podcast produced by Maura Currie. 

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In an ongoing opioid epidemic, hospitals drug testing new mothers and their babies has an intuitive logic. But applied unequally, rife with false positives, and prone to disrupting those important early weeks, is it a best practice?

Guest: Shoshana Walter, investigative reporter for The Marshall Project

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, and Rob Gunther.

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In February, Donald Trump and Maine Governor Janet Mills got into a spat over Trump’s executive order on trans athletes, that ended with both parties tersely agreeing to meet in court. Since then, the Trump administration seems to be trying to make an example of the state—cutting off federal funding where it can. 

Guest: Callie Ferguson, investigative reporter for the Bangor Daily News.

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, and Rob Gunther. 

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On this week’s show, Julia, Stephen, and Dana are reunited! The panel starts with Apple TV+’s new prestige offering, Your Friends and Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm. 

Then, they talk about A Minecraft Movie, already the most financially successful movie of the year. Finally, they bat around the purpose of, and responses to, the all-female Blue Origin flight that happened on Monday. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, a conversation about The Pitt season finale. 

Email us at [email protected]. 

Endorsements:

Dana: What Rough Beast, a new podcast from Gabfest’s own Stephen Metclaf, and for Trumpcast host Virginia Heffernan. 

Steve: Read something by poet and writer, Delmore Schwartz. Start here. 

Julia: John Mulaney’s Netflix talk show, Everybody's Live! Though, she does prefer the previous title, Everybody's in LA. 

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

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In this episode, Christina Cauterucci speaks with Zein Murib, Fordham professor and author of Terms of Exclusion: Rightful Citizenship Claims and the Construction of LGBT Political Identity, about the historical roots of the marginalization of trans and bi people in the gay rights movement. Zein, who recently wrote the Slate piece "Why Are Trans People Such an Easy Political Target? " breaks down how the movement’s focus on a narrow definition of identity left trans and bi people vulnerable to political attacks.

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Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim break down the controversy surrounding 30-year-old influencer Remi Bader, who was recently accused of lying to her audience for undergoing a procedure without telling them. Bader gained popularity on TikTok where she’d post “realistic” clothing hauls as a size 16 woman. Soon, she was heralded as a body positive influencer and the face of a movement she didn’t necessarily attach herself to. But when Remi started rapidly losing weight, her followers clocked it immediately. Not only were they feeling deceived, but they were also feeling somewhat betrayed, and finally, Remi came clean and admitted she underwent a weight loss surgery that was even more jarring and invasive than her followers speculated.

This podcast is produced by Olivia Briley, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay.

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In this Money Talks: The federal student loan program was meant to help students seeking a route to a better life – so why is it putting so many of them into crippling debt instead? Journalist Jillian Berman, author of Sunk Cost: Who’s to Blame for the Nation’s Broken Student Loan System and How to Fix, joins Emily Peck to unpack the fraught history of the national student debt system and discuss where it stands now. 

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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