Slate Debates

Sleep is objectively worse when splitting a bed. Yet that’s the default for most couples. But that doesn’t mean sharing the covers is easy. Especially when one person is having trouble falling or staying asleep. On this episode of How To!, the second in a two-part series, co-host Carvell Wallace continues the conversation with Dr. Wendy Troxel, author of Sharing the Covers: Every Couple’s Guide to Better Sleep. Dr. Troxel explains how couples can experiment with sleeping arrangements in a way that makes everyone feel safe, and why sleeping apart might be the key to saving your relationship. 

If you liked this episode, check out: “How To Stop Snoring (and Breathe Easier).”

Do you have a problem that’s keeping you up at night? 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.

Podcast production by Derek John, Rosemary Belson, Kevin Bendis, and Jabari Butler.

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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… royal pains.

The British Royals are far from the imperial power they once were. Whether you love the institution, hate it, or simply don’t care, it’s hard to deny that it feels like an artifact of another time.

Which is perhaps why Meghan Markle’s arrival on the scene – and subsequent departure, with Prince Harry at her side – threw so many people for a loop. Meghan continues to receive racist, sexist, and downright fabricated harassment from the public, and particularly the tabloids… and so do the people who defend her. 

Kristen Meinzer, culture critic and host of The Daily Fail, joins us again to explain why we need to care about Meghan — and defend her.

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

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America’s winner-take-all electoral system casts third-party candidates as spoilers—but what would it take to open the door to not just a third party, but a fourth or more? 

Guest: Lee Drutman, senior fellow in the Political Reform program at New America, author of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… don’t you know they’re talking ‘bout a revolution? 

July 4th celebrates one of the least bloody milestones of the American Revolution. But we have a complicated relationship with overthrowing the powers that be in this country – not to mention when other nations do it. 

We call what happened on January 6th, 2021 an insurrection. But what do we do with the George Floyd uprisings? Other efforts to buck the system? Who, as the “common man,” should we be rooting for? 

Geo Maher, writer and political organizer, once again joins us to make the case for good-faith insurrection, even when it’s messy. 

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

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Josh Levin and Stefan Fatsis are joined by TV producer Mike Schur for a special episode: a debate on which sports have generated the best art and made the greatest contributions to culture. Topics discussed include Schur’s Field of Dreams adaptation, whether basketball or football has a greater canon, and if boxing will lose its cultural footprint. 

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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… gendering, everywhere, all at once.

In the final days of Pride Month, we wanted to turn our attention to another complicated and contentious facet of the LGBT+ dialogue: gender identity. If gender isn’t a binary, but a fluid spectrum, what do we do with our notions of sexism, misogyny, and toxic masculinity?

As it turns out, we do very much live in a patriarchal society — but the truth of how that society operates, and who it advantages, might be more complicated than you think.

Robin Dembroff, assistant professor in Yale University’s philosophy department, joins us.

 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

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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… an archaeology of grievances.

In honor of the third Juneteenth being celebrated as a national holiday, it’s worth unpacking symbolic gestures like Juneteenth — and, as many states are finding out, like Reparations.

The movement to compensate the descendants of slaves is gaining more traction than ever before, in many parts of the country. Could this be our chance to clear a massive, lingering blight on our nation’s history? 

Our guest today argues no. Podcast host and columnist Coleman Hughes joins us to make the case that compensating the victims of slavery was something we should’ve done long ago – and now, it’s too late for it to be anything other than a problem.

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

Podcast production by Maura Currie

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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… Racism Lite.

Racial politics is responsible for a lot of ugliness, in the United States and around the world. Humans want, and even need, to sort themselves into categories — and sometimes, that tribalism yields as much good as it can bad. So do we always need to be a melting pot? 

Writer Damon Young joins us to make the case that we’re all racist, and there’s no reason to pretend otherwise.

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

Podcast production by Maura Currie

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If the Supreme Court rules against affirmative action for certain racial groups, as expected, how will colleges and other institutions create diverse student bodies and address racial disparities? 

Guest: Richard Kahlenberg, non-resident scholar at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… these gays are trying to murder my neutral palate.

Pride Month festivities come at a time this year when LGBT+ rights are under attack across the country. Brands like Target and Bud Light are facing backlash for lifting up queer voices — but is this all a symptom of pride having gone a little too mainstream? 

Comedian, writer and podcast host H. Alan Scott joins us to discuss his vision for a pride to be proud of… and, at length, the trouble with rainbows.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can now 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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