Slate News

This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Stacy-Marie Ishmael are joined by Robin Wigglesworth to talk about his new book Trillions. They get into active investing, what’s going on with Tether, and the art company Masterworks. 

In the Plus segment: Snacks. 

Mentioned In the show: 

“Why Masterworks is worth $1 billion” by Felix Salmon

“Anyone Seen Tether’s Billions?” by Zeke Faux

“Former Pepsi C.E.O. Indra Nooyi on the Truth of Corporate Responsibility” by David Marchese

“You’re snacking more when working from home, too right ?” by Emily Peck

Email: [email protected] 

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth

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The last month has seen a steady drip of leaked documents from inside Facebook, each seemingly more damning than the next. This week, the whistleblower behind the leaks revealed her identity.

What motivates Frances Haugen? And can she do real damage to the social media giant?

Guest: Jeff Horwitz, tech reporter at the Wall Street Journal. 

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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

Emily and John are joined by guest host Mary Harris (host of What Next) to talk about the dangerous debt ceiling games; blowing the whistle on Facebook; and new revelations about January 6th and the plan to overturn the election.

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

Wall Street Journal: The Facebook Files

Wall Street Journal: The Facebook Files, A Podcast Series

Nathaniel Persily for the Washington Post: “Facebook Hides Data Showing It Harms Users. Outside Scholars Need Access.”

Charlie Warzel’s Substack, Galaxy Brain: “The Algorithm Tweaks Won't Save Us”

Katie Benner for The New York Times: “Report Cites New Details of Trump Pressure on Justice Dept. Over Election”

Mike Stobbe for The Associated Press: “More Than 120,000 Us Kids Had Caregivers Die During Pandemic”

YouTube video: “Richard Feynman Magnets”

Slate’s What Next With Mary Harris

Here’s this week’s chatter:

John: The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth, by Matthew Algeo

Mary: Gary Shteyngart for The New Yorker: “A Botched Circumcision and Its Aftermath”; Robert Kolker for The New York Times Magazine: “Who Is the Bad Art Friend?”

Emily: Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law: Annual Awards Virtual Event–Championing Disability Rights for 49 Years; Sabrina Tavernise and Katie Benne for The New York Times: “Federal Judge Pauses Strict Texas Law Banning Most Abortions”

Listener chatter from Kyle Amann: Matthew Fox for Insider: “A Hamster Has Been Trading Cryptocurrencies In A Cage Rigged To Automatically Buy And Sell Tokens Since June - And It's Currently Outperforming The S&P 500”

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John and Emily talk to Mary about work as a daily podcaster. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Danny Lavery's show Big Mood, Little Mood and you’ll be supporting the Political Gabfest.

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

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

Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.

Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap.

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

Congressional Republicans are forcing Democrats into a game of chicken over the debt ceiling where the stakes are the well-being of the global economy. It’s a showdown that has played out time and again since 2011, but it doesn’t have to be this way. 

Guest: Jordan Weissmann, senior editor for Slate

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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You might think that the wreckage caused by COVID-19 would be enough to make the U.S. take pandemic planning seriously. But a close look at current pandemic preparedness efforts reveals that’s far from the truth. It’s not too late, though, to get ready for the next Big One - if we’re willing to make serious investments beyond fighting germs.

Guest: Ed Yong, a staff writer at The Atlantic covering science.

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.

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

You might think that the wreckage caused by COVID-19 would be enough to make the U.S. take pandemic planning seriously. But a close look at current pandemic preparedness efforts reveals that’s far from the truth. It’s not too late, though, to get ready for the next Big One - if we’re willing to make serious investments beyond fighting germs.

Guest: Ed Yong, a staff writer at The Atlantic covering science.

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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With the results of the 2020 census in hand, all 50 states have begun the process of redistricting. Extremely thin margins in the House of Representatives mean that this hyper-local process has big implications on the balance of power at a national scale.

After aggressive Republican gerrymandering in the 2011 redistricting cycle, many Democrats came out in favor of creating non-partisan commissions to draw new voting maps. But how much of a moderating force are they really? And what happens if either side decides not to play by the commissions’ rules?

Guest: Nick Riccardi, a western political writer for AP.

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.

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

With the results of the 2020 census in hand, all 50 states have begun the process of redistricting. Extremely thin margins in the House of Representatives mean that this hyper-local process has big implications on the balance of power at a national scale.

After aggressive Republican gerrymandering in the 2011 redistricting cycle, many Democrats came out in favor of creating non-partisan commissions to draw new voting maps. But how much of a moderating force are they really? And what happens if either side decides not to play by the commissions’ rules?

Guest: Nick Riccardi, a western political writer for AP.

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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As the U.S. Supreme Court begins a new session, several justices are trying to reassure the public of the court’s nonpartisanship. But, as Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick argues, when you dig into the recent decisions of the court, you’ll see it becoming steadily more political. 

Guest: Dahlia Lithwick writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast Amicus.

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.

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

As the U.S. Supreme Court begins a new session, several justices are trying to reassure the public of the court’s nonpartisanship. But, as Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick argues, when you dig into the recent decisions of the court, you’ll see it becoming steadily more political. 

Guest: Dahlia Lithwick writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast Amicus.

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices