Slate News

This week: South Korea and France are the latest governments to fall apart. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the public conversation around the failures of the US healthcare system that was sparked by the shocking murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.Then, South Korea and France follow Germany in having a governmental meltdown. What’s going on with all of this political chaos? And finally, the hosts discuss a piece in The Ringer about why headlights are just way too bright and what, if anything, is being done about it. 

In the Slate Plus episode: The conclusion on Felix and Emily’s year long bet about ETFs and Bitcoin. 

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Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth.

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From Dr. Oz to RFK Jr. to Donald Trump himself—the incoming administration looks like it will be populated with pitchmen and influencers. Will anyone take steps to divest from their businesses or avoid conflicts of interest—or will everyone just follow Trump’s lead from last time? 

Guest: Drew Harwell, tech reporter for the Washington Post. 

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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss President Joe Biden’s pardon of son Hunter and President-Elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth; the Democrats’ debate on why they lost and how they might win in the future; and the Supreme Court case on treatment for transgender children. 

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David answer Conundrums. Or Conundra.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Stephanie Gorton about her new book, The Icon & the Idealist: Margaret Sanger, Mary Ware Dennett, and the Rivalry That Brought Birth Control to America. 

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

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

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During his first administration, Donald Trump tried naming Kash Patel as deputy director of the FBI, but members of the administration pushed back. Now with the second administration filled with loyalists, Trump has named Patel as his pick for FBI director. What does Trump see in this guy?

Guest: Elaina Plott Calabro, staff writer at The Atlantic.

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

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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, leading South Korea’s parliament to cross barricades to convene and vote it down.

Though this episode resolved quickly and peacefully for the moment, where is the country’s government heading?

Guest: Terence Roehrig, professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College specializing in Korean and East Asian security issues.

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

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How problematic is it for Joe Biden to pardon his son Hunter after promising, again and again, that he wouldn’t?

Guest: Ankush Khardori, senior writer for POLITICO and a former federal prosecutor at the Department of Justice.

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

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The House already voted to pass the “The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act.” But with Donald Trump returning to the White House next year, some Democrats are viewing the power that the bill gives the executive branch—to label non-profit organizations as “funding terrorism” and strip them of their non-profit status—in a new light.

But is it too late? 

Guest: Emily Tamkin, global affairs journalist and the author of The Influence of Soros and Bad Jews.

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

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More than half the population will experience menopause if they’re fortunate enough to age. Yet so much of this full-body transformation remains a mystery.

Journalist and filmmaker Tamsen Fadal is out to change that. 

Her new documentary The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause premiered on PBS earlier this year. In it, her team interviews patients and health experts worldwide about the lack of research into this important stage of life.

On this week’s episode of Well, Now Kavita and Maya ask her what can be done to better care for the millions of women experiencing it now and in the future.

If you liked this episode, check out: Michelle Obama Gets Health Advice From This Gyno. Now You Can, Too.

Well, Now is hosted by registered dietitian nutritionist Maya Feller and Dr. Kavita Patel.

Editing and podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with oversight from Alicia Montgomery.

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

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Anyone stuck in a knotted snarl of interstate clovers knows that GPS is both important and imperfect. But if GPS fails while you’re bringing a 737 in for a landing it could be catastrophic. 

Why is “GPS spoofing” on the rise—and how can airlines protect their flights against being caught up in conflict zones.

Guest: Drew FitzGerald, telecom reporter for the Wall Street Journal.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.

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When it comes to gender affirming care for teenagers, parents’ rights no longer matter. Doctors’ opinions no longer matter. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in United States. v Skrmetti, challenging Tennessee’s ban on healthcare for trans kids, and upending half a century of gender protection doctrine. 

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, who will also be the first openly trans lawyer to argue at SCOTUS when he argues, alongside the Biden administration, representing the parents and physician of trans adolescents seeking care, in what will be the biggest trans rights case the court has ever heard. Chase and Dahlia dig through the doctrine to reveal the conservative legal movement’s deep hypocrisy when it comes to trans rights as compared to the rights of parents and doctors when it comes to abortion.

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