Slate Technology

Candice Lim is joined by We Signed An NDA co-host Ann Maddox, who you may know as Tom Sandoval’s former personal assistant. In March 2023, Maddox was teaching improv to a middle school in Japan when she found out Sandoval and his then-girlfriend Ariana Madix had split. At first, Maddox assumed this was simply routine tabloid fodder, which often plagued her employers as long-time cast members on Vanderpump Rules. But one specific photograph made her realize the rumors were true, which escalated into one of 2023’s biggest online watercooler moments: “Scandoval.” Maddox joins the show to discuss how she got into this line of work, what she knew when Scandoval went down, and what it’s like to have your personal and professional life dissected online.

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.

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Five years ago, tech investor Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz bet our own Felix Salmon a 100-year-old bottle of wine that 10% of Americans would be using Bitcoin to pay for something by now. Ben lost, of course, but he’s ready to double down with a new digital wager! He and partner Chris Dixon discuss the past and present of crypto, blockchain, and AI.

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Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth.

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How the semi-legalization of marijuana has drawn a road map for legalizing psychedelics—and also provided a list of pitfalls to be avoided. 

Guest: Jane C. Hu, science journalist and author of the newsletter The Microdose.

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This week, Slate Money hacks the mainframe! Washington Post tech writer Shira Ovide joins Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers to discuss what’s wrong with America’s internet industry, how YouTube became the media empire no one talks about, and the promise and peril of the AI toothbrush. In the Plus segment: OpenAI is using YouTube to train ChatGPT. Is that legal?

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 regular 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 Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth.

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Why lately our search engines just don’t seem to deliver results. 

Guest: Jason Koebler, cofounder of 404 Media and co-host of the 404 Media Podcast. 

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Why scam obituaries are edging out earnest ones, with the help of artificial intelligence and an adept Google game.

Guest: Mia Sato, reporter for The Verge.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Anna Phillips.

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How did an attempt to simplify a tedious student-aid form turn into a full-on debacle that has some high school seniors wondering if they will have to delay starting college? 

Guest: Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, national higher education reporter for the Washington Post.

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The demand for electricity is surging in the U.S. With increasing amounts of power going towards artificial intelligence, manufacturing and electric vehicles, can the grid keep up?

Guest: Evan Halper, business reporter covering the energy transition for the Washington Post

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This week: Americans are less revved up about EVs. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss if Elon Musk’s mischief has played a role in slowing sales. Also: the crisis in the wine industry, and how a combination investigative publication/hedge fund wants to blow the lid off corporations — while shorting their stock. In the Plus segment: the proxy battle for the future of Disney. 

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Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth.

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Donald Trump got a huge financial boost when Truth Social went public last week—or did he?

Guest: Nitish Pahwa, associate writer on business and tech for Slate.

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