Slate News

A ProPublica investigation revealed that Justice Clarence Thomas has been gifted luxury vacations by Republican donor and billionaire Harlan Crow. For over two decades, Justice Thomas has taken private jets, gone on yachts and stayed at private resorts alongside powerful Republican donors, all funded by Crow. For the most part, Justice Thomas did not disclose these vacations. 

The investigation raises questions on the legality of these types of gifts, as well as the lack of oversight and ethics standards for the Supreme Court. Did these vacations break the law? To what extent could Justice Thomas’s court rulings have been influenced by Crow and other people on these trips? And even if some of these gifts may not have been illegal, why doesn’t the Supreme Court have more oversight and ethical guidelines to prevent potential conflicts of interest?

Guest: Justin Elliot, reporter at ProPublica.

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U.S. air travel is being strained on all sides—travel demand is back to 2019 levels, but the number of pilots and planes and ground crew hasn’t caught back up, and a rash of close calls are raising safety concerns about America’s aging flying infrastructure.

Guest: Jon Ostrower, editor in chief of The Air Current.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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Folklorist and Harlem Renaissance author Zora Neale Hurston made her hometown of Eatonville, Florida famous in her writing, including her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. But her fame hasn’t saved the town from the pressures that many African American communities have endured: a population fighting poverty, government indifference, and developers that want to scoop up the land to build housing that current residents can’t afford. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Aallyah Wright, a reporter with Black news non-profit Capital B, who has written about the town’s recent success in resisting developers, and its hopes for the future.

Guest: Capital B reporter Aallyah Wright

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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On this week’s Amicus Dahlia Lithwick is first joined by Sherrilyn Ifill, former President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, to talk about Tennessee and the mounting evidence of Republican state houses and governors finding novel (but also depressingly old) ways to disenfranchise voters and subvert democracy. Ifill sounded the alarm about all of this in a prescient piece in Slate last month that deserves your attention.

Next, Dahlia is joined by Professor Stephen Vladeck on the opaque, unquestioned and largely unquestionable Supreme Court processes that undergird conservative contempt for the rule of law. Professor Vladeck’s book, The Shadow Docket - 

How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic is out in May.

In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern. There was, categorically, Too Much News this week, so Dahlia turned to Mark for an exclusive conversation for our Slate Plus members about all the stuff we couldn’t cram into an already jam-packed main show. They start with what’s really not happening, and that is Supreme Court decisions. It’s April and there has been a mere smattering of decisions from the High Court. Mark and Dahlia try to figure out what the looming logjam might mean. Next, they talk yacht etiquette, gift grift, and Justice Clarence Thomas’ law breaking. And… Hey! Remember Wisconsin? It’s a big deal - Mark and Dahlia delve into why. Finally, the Supreme Court may not be issuing decisions, but it did deny a petition to overturn a stay of West Virginia’s extreme trans athlete ban. Mark has more on that decision and the shortcomings of a new Biden regulation about trans athletes. 

Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show.

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Slate Money hosts Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers talk about the podcasting economy and if the bubble has burst—or if it will soon. They also talk about Anthony Scaramucci’s hedge fund troubles, and a story about how to win at roulette. 

In the Plus segment: The implications of Supreme Court Justice Thomas’ ties to a billionaire, and the broader politicization of the American judicial system.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Slate Money. Sign up now at slate.com/moneyplus to help support our work.

Podcast production by Patrick Fort, with technical assistance from Ben Richmond.

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On this week’s episode of The Waves, author, journalist, and former host of Slate podcast Thirst Aid Kit Nichole Perkins is joined by journalist Eliana Dockterman to discuss the disappearance of sexuality in recent movies. They unpack Eliana’s recent piece in TIME, “Why Aren’t Movies Sexy Anymore?” and try to work through the reasons films that hit the theaters are lacking heat. Hint: One reason has to do with some superheroes.

In Slate Plus: Movies that DO have sex scenes. 

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Tori Dominguez with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.

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

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This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus discuss Donald Trump’s arraignment; the elections of Janet Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Brandon Johnson for Chicago mayor; and the possibility of No Labels playing spoiler in 2024 presidential politics.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Manhattan District Attorney’s Office: “District Attorney Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Indictment of Former President Donald J. Trump” 

Ruth Marcus for The Washington Post: “The Trump indictment is a dangerous leap on the highest of wires”

Jim Robbins for The New York Times: “Mass Yellowstone Hunt Kills 1,150 Bison”

Here are this week’s chatters:

Ruth: Dublin Murder Squad 6-book series by Tana French ; Dún Aonghasa

John: Carrie Hagen for Smithsonian Magazine: “The Media Learned Nothing After Misreporting the Reagan Assassination Attempt: As the shooter John Hinckley returns to life outside of imprisonment, it’s worth looking back at every thing the media got wrong that day” 

David: Adam Taylor, Júlia Ledur, Francesca Ebel, and Mary Ilyushina for The Washington Post: “A web of trenches shows Russia fears losing Crimea“; the Putrid Sea

Listener chatter from Zach Marks @zmarks215: The arrest of President Ulysses S. Grant

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Ruth discuss the sanctioned killing of Yellowstone bison that leave the boundaries of the national park.

Email your questions and chatters to [email protected] or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

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While TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, is fighting to keep its flagship app from being banned in the United States, it’s also pushing a new app into the marketplace—Lemon8. One part Pinterest, one part Instagram and a dash of its sister app, Lemon8 is most likely saddled with the same security concerns that led lawmakers to consider banning TikTok.

Guest: Sapna Maheshwari, business reporter for the New York Times.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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 TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

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

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus discuss Donald Trump’s arraignment; the elections of Janet Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Brandon Johnson for Chicago mayor; and the possibility of No Labels playing spoiler in 2024 presidential politics.

Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:

Manhattan District Attorney’s Office: “District Attorney Bragg Announces 34-Count Felony Indictment of Former President Donald J. Trump” 

Ruth Marcus for The Washington Post: “The Trump indictment is a dangerous leap on the highest of wires”

Jim Robbins for The New York Times: “Mass Yellowstone Hunt Kills 1,150 Bison”

Here are this week’s chatters:

Ruth: Dublin Murder Squad 6-book series by Tana French ; Dún Aonghasa

John: Carrie Hagen for Smithsonian Magazine: “The Media Learned Nothing After Misreporting the Reagan Assassination Attempt: As the shooter John Hinckley returns to life outside of imprisonment, it’s worth looking back at every thing the media got wrong that day” 

David: Adam Taylor, Júlia Ledur, Francesca Ebel, and Mary Ilyushina for The Washington Post: “A web of trenches shows Russia fears losing Crimea“; the Putrid Sea

Listener chatter from Zach Marks @zmarks215: The arrest of President Ulysses S. Grant

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Ruth discuss the sanctioned killing of Yellowstone bison that leave the boundaries of the national park.

Email your questions and chatters to [email protected] or Tweet us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

Research by Julie Huygen

Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

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

Is the Manhattan DA’s case against Donald Trump something he can wriggle out of, or is the former president in real legal trouble this time? Some are already dismissing Alvin Bragg’s investigation as weak and small potatoes. But others are more optimistic. What’s the case for indicting - on these charges? 

Guest: Norm Eisen, senior fellow at Brookings Governance, CNN legal analyst. 

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 Amicus—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.

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