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This week, David Plotz and guest hosts Will Saletan and Catherine Rampell discuss what the Senate’s regressive budget bill will do to the health of America, whether there is space left for non-Trump conservatives in American politics, and how Paramount’s settlement of Trump’s meritless lawsuit signifies the fall of another guardrail against an authoritarian president.

Here are this week’s chatters:

Will: Amy MacKinnon and John Sakellariadis for Politico: CIA review of 2016 Russia election probe finds no major flaws; Jonathan Landay for Reuters: CIA review finds flaws but does not dispute finding Putin sought to sway 2016 vote to Trump.

Catherine: Elizabeth Crisp for The Hill: Trump unveils $249 ‘Trump Fragrances’; Alisha Haridasani Gupta for The New York Times: What Does President Trump’s New Perfume Smell Like?; Nick Turse for The Intercept: The Whiff of Corruption: Trump’s New Perfume Has Strong Notes of Graft.

David: Itchy Feet Tours & Safaris in South Africa; Geoff Beattie for The Conversation: Psychology of trophy hunting: why some people kill animals for sport; Hugh Webster for Conservation Frontlines: Trophy Hunting – A Complex Picture.

Listener chatter from Teri Weaver in Syracuse, New York: Michelle Breidenbach for Syracuse.com: Cheap milk and immigration: A blunt farmer’s uncomfortable truth about NY’s dairy industry

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, David and guest hosts Will Saletan and Catherine Rampell discuss recent data showing declines in American pride largely along partisan and generational lines, and what it means to be a proud American.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with author Alison Bechdel about her new book, Spent.

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

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Trump wants his “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by July 4. But the bill is so large and expensive—with deep tax cuts only partially offset by huge cuts to Medicaid and SNAP—there’s something in there for almost every member of Congress to hate.

Guest: David Dayen, executive editor of the American Prospect.

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

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Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern host the panel that’s guaranteed to help you understand what happened during the Supreme Court’s latest term – examining the major decisions, the emergency docket, and the evolving dynamics on the court. Dahlia and Mark welcome the New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie, civil rights lawyer and 14th Amendment scholar Sherrilyn Ifill of Howard University, and Professor Steve Vladeck of Georgetown Law to Amicus, to discuss the implications of the cases and the controversies of the term that just wrapped. Together, they offer close analysis of the court’s decisions and the various justices’ machinations, while stepping back to set it all in vital historical and political context.

This is part of Opinionpalooza, Slate’s coverage of the major decisions from the Supreme Court. The best way to support our work is by joining Slate Plus. (If you are already a member, consider a donation or merch!)Also! Sign up for Slate’s Legal Brief: the latest coverage of the courts and the law straight to your inbox. 

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The Trump administration’s plans to strip funding from PBS and NPR is the latest in a long line of Republican fights against public broadcasting. The House has already voted to take back over a billion dollars it had previously agreed to pay. Will the Senate sign off on it next?

Guest:  Brian Stelter, chief media analyst at CNN.

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

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Last week’s big Supreme Court decisions walked back rights for individuals and the powers of the lower courts—and in aggregate made it ever more difficult to believe the court is anything other than another vehicle for delivering the outcomes favorable to Republicans and the conservative project. 

Guest:  Mark Joseph Stern, Slate senior writer covering courts and the law.

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

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ICE agents have begun concealing their identities in masks and plainclothes while making arrests. Experts—including a former ICE official—say that endangers those agents, and violates the trust between law enforcement and the citizenry.

Guests:

Philip Bump, columnist for the Washington Post

Scott Shuchart, ICE’s Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs and Policy Counselor to the Director, 2022–2025.

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

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Under a normal administration, a merger between two large advertising firms might attract the government’s interest for anti-monopoly reasons. Under this one, the Federal Trade Commission is creating conditions to…ensure that X still gets advertiser dollars?

Guest: Kate Conger, technology reporter for the New York Times.

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The cataclysmic opinions from SCOTUS on Friday certainly suggest that the courts can no longer save us. In fact, in Trump v. CASA., we learned that it’s somehow not actually the job of the courts to save us from blatant violations of our rights. With universal injunctions drop-kicked and district court judges sidelined, it’s going to be nearly impossible to vindicate your rights in Trump’s America. No rights are safe when the only way to get relief is to sue the government yourself.

And yet in a definitely-not-planned-last-day-of-the-term-with-all-the-big-cases lineup, several other bad things happened as well. Hosts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discuss all of Friday's big decisions including Mahmoud v. Taylor, which will allow parents to opt-out of having to hear about LGBTQ+ people in schools. 

This is part of Opinionpalooza, Slate’s coverage of the major decisions from the Supreme Court. The best way to support our work is by joining Slate Plus.

By joining, not only will you unlock weekly bonus episodes of Amicus—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

Also! Sign up for Slate’s Legal Brief: the latest coverage of the courts and the law straight to your inbox. 

Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

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This week: Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary in the race for New York City mayor.  Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the alarmist reactions from business leaders to the Mamdani’s win and why he’s hardly the threat to capitalism they make him out to be. Then, Trump has turned his sights on Jay Powell once again, threatening to prematurely name his successor for Fed Chair. The hosts break down why this “shadow chair” tactic is unlikely to work. And finally, mega-billionaire Jeff Bezos is finally marrying his beloved Lauren Sanchez in an over-the-top, star-studded wedding in Venice. Whatever happened to stealth wealth and quiet luxury?

In the Slate Plus episode: The MAGA Blue Collar Obsession 

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Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth.

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In addition to the three-dimensional war of bombs and missiles, Iran and Israel—and the US—are squaring off in a cyber battle. With everything from water infrastructure to banking connected to the internet in some way, how much damage can cyberattacks do?  

Guest: Maggie Miller, POLITICO cybersecurity reporter

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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