Slate News

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the public figures being shamed and punished for their associations with Jeffrey Epstein while others remain unscathed, the insights and lessons revealed by a new oral history archive and interview with former President Obama, and the meaning of the Trump administration’s efforts to whitewash history.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss this week’s dust-up between Stephen Colbert and CBS amid FCC threats over an interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily Bazelon talks with author Curtis Sittenfeld about her short story collection, “Show Don’t Tell.” They discuss the recurring themes of the book from troubled marriages and middle age to the passage of time, and characters who are navigating moments of racial privilege and prejudice.

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

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

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Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park. 

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was arrested after a release of Epstein files revealed he had allegedly shared confidential trade reports with the financier. 

Guest: Imogen West-Knights, Slate contributing writer.

This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your 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, and Rob Gunther.

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From the hundreds of Washington Post staffers fired, to Anderson Cooper leaving 60 Minutes, to Stephen Colbert and his own network fighting in public, Trump’s return to the White House is transforming legacy media into something less antagonistic to power—but also less capable of fulfilling its own self-described mission.

Guest: Oliver Darcy, journalist behind the Status substack.

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

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Trump’s “Board of Peace” emerged from last year’s ceasefire negotiations to govern Gaza after the war. But since then, the board has evolved into a motley group of countries that are willing to pay a billion dollars to join a body that has Donald Trump as its chairman for life. They also have mostly stopped talking about Gaza.

Guest:  Gregg Carlstom, Middle East Correspondent at The Economist. 

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

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In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon is joined by journalist Mariana van Zeller, who has spent years reporting on black and gray markets around the world and has a new podcast, The Hidden Third, that delves into these powerful underground economies. They’ll get into what Mariana has seen embedded with criminal operators, from the surprisingly mundane to the darker side of working outside the system.   

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Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth.

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An activist and former political director for Bernie Sander’s presidential campaign shocked the field by winning a primary for a special congressional election. Now the favorite to win the solidly blue district, she’s actually excited to work with congressional moderates—and to keep pushing them.

Guest: Analilia Mejía, Democratic nominee for New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election

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

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

Youth sports have grown into a $40-billion dollar per year industry, where eager parents shell out for private coaches, off-season practice, and travel leagues, in the hopes of giving their child a competitive edge. 

Guest:  Anna North, senior correspondent at Vox. She writes Kids Today, a newsletter about kids.

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

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

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The Olympics are touted as a moment for the world to come together and celebrate sport and achievement and check their politics at the door—yeah right.

Guest:  Justin Peters, Slate correspondent currently covering the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics and author of The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet. 

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

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

The machinery to enable Stephen Miller’s darkest deportation dreams is both tangible and legal. In this week’s show, Dahlia Lithwick explores the statutory and regulatory foundations of the Trump administration’s expanding network of detention camps, plus the historical background of the vast warehouse system they are using to imprison tens of thousands of migrants. First, she speaks with Linus Chan, who represents Minnesotans detained by ICE, he teaches law at the University of Minnesota School of Law. Chan describes how the most basic right of habeas corpus has been whittled away by the courts to a filament when it comes to immigration law, allowing the federal government to weaponize brutal detention against ordinary Americans. 

Next, Dahlia is in conversation with Andrea Pitzer, about her chilling and urgent new piece, Building the camps: The warehouseification of detention and initial thoughts on stopping it. It is essential reading (and listening!) in light of the billion dollar detention camp system being built in warehouses near you in cities around the nation. 

If you want to check if your town is on the list, Andrea recommends checking out Project Salt Box.

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This week: Alphabet announced a rare 100-year bond issuance.  Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck, explain the calculation the tech giant is making here and how the market responded to the move. Then, an analysis from the NY Fed has concluded that most of the burden of Trump’s tariff hikes is on US households and the hosts debate the possible pros – and obvious cons – of this sneaky tax hike. And then, Felix goes deep on one of his favorite topics: why knockoffs aren’t so bad. 

In the Slate Plus episode: What’s up with the new Ferrari design? 

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.

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