Slate Technology

A guide to keeping your phone, and your digital life, safe when you’re crossing the border.

Guest: Lily Hay Newman, senior writer for WIRED covering information security.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Wired senior writer and producer of Black Twitter: A People’s History, Jason Parham, to attempt to explain the enigma that is “international bestselling author” Quan Millz. With titles like Old THOT Next Door and My Baby Daddy Is A Bedbug, Millz’s books have no trouble capturing the attention of the internet, so much so that the previously-anonymous author was forced to unmask himself to ward off a potential scandal. But who, exactly, are Millz’s books for? And the even more ominous question: What will he do next?

This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay, with help from A.C. Valdez.

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Elon Musk has ridden off into the sunset acrimoniously (maybe), but the Department of Government Efficiency is just getting started. Will DOGE continue wildly cutting or is something even more chaotic coming next? 

Guest: Makena Kelly, senior writer at WIRED. 

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater inherited the government’s antitrust case against Google and is eager to follow it through—but likely not for the same reasons as her predecessors. 

Guest:  Nancy Scola, reporter and contributing writer at POLITICO. 

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Money talks, and sometimes it speaks as law by fiat from the highest court in the land. In this episode of  Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick delves into the impact of money on the judiciary and, eventually, on, democracy with Michael Podhorzer, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.  They discuss how the many faces of big money in America, currently personified by Elon Musk and Donald Trump, have shaped the Supreme Court and government regulations. They explore the implications of recent court decisions, the downfall of unions, and the crucial role of collective action in preserving democracy. Michael Podhorzer also writes a weekly newsletter, Weekend Reading.

This is part of Opinionpalooza, Slate’s coverage of the major decisions from the Supreme Court this June. 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. Delivered every Tuesday.

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One of the goals of DOGE was to get rid of the “silos” that keep government agencies from sharing freely amongst themselves efficiently and instead organize data using tools offered by companies like Palantir. The thing is, a lot of those silos are there by design, and removing them could be a nightmare for privacy advocates. 

Guest: Sheera Frenkel, tech reporter for the New York Times.

Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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.

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Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim break down the wedding weekend heard round TikTok starring one of r/NYCInfluencerSnark’s main characters. Jazmyn Smith (better known as @justjazzzyidk) got married after a year-long engagement that was rife with criticism surrounding her relationship, her fiancé’s financial status, and more. But instead of burying the wedding, she brought her followers along by posting in real time, creating TikTok spreadsheets, and having her assistant run her account while she got married. So why are her haters still mad?

Plus, how an influencer sued another content creator for stealing their “sad beige” aesthetic, and why the lawsuit sounds a lot like the plot of Ingrid Goes West.

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay.

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His time in Washington was brief, but we’ll be picking up the pieces for a long time. What Elon’s exit signals for the future of DOGE, and Musk’s political career. 

Guest: Kate Conger, reporter for the New York Times covering X and other technology companies.

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Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Sara Petersen, author of Momfluenced, to chat about season two of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Mormon women once pioneered mommy blogging, so how did we get from vlogging to…swinging? The influencers who make up the reality show cast, known as “MomTok,” claim their racy antics are breaking stigmas and modernizing gender roles. In reality, they’re weaponizing their misunderstanding of feminism for their own personal gain. 

This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay.

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The war between Ukraine and Russia is being fought increasingly via drone —and NATO and US military leadership is training troops for future conflicts that will pit man against machine.

Guest: Jake Epstein, senior defense reporter for Business Insider.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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