Slate Technology

On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice are joined by sustainable stylist and fashion educator Lakyn Carlton to discuss TikTok Shop — a new feature that lets users purchase products without ever leaving the app. TikTok Shop is a modern day QVC, where merchants can shell products they’ve made — or are authorized to resell — in live videos with products tagged on screen. In the age of Amazon Storefronts and Etsy, it’s not surprising for TikTok to enter the e-commerce space. But the crowded, merchant-filled experience has ruined the app’s appeal and made users consider quitting TikTok for good.

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

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

On this month’s episode of Future Tense Fiction, host Maddie Stone talks to Janelle Shane about her short story “The Skeleton Crew.”

The House of A.I. is a next-level haunted house: In it, a suite of advanced A.I.s read visitors’ facial expressions to generate perfectly tailored scares. Or at least, that’s what the marketing materials want you to believe. It turns out, the house is actually operated by a group of underpaid gig workers, tasked with posing as spooky A.I.s as they guide visitors through the mansion. When two gunmen sneak into the house in search of a famous rock artist who’s there visiting, things go south quickly—and everyone ends up really grateful for the humans behind the house’s spooky machines.

After the story, Maddie and Janelle discuss why the human workers behind A.I. are so often invisibilized—and why you should be suspicious when a company oversells its tech.

Guests: Janelle Shane is a research scientist. She writes about A.I. on her blog, aiweirdness.com, and she’s also the author of You Look Like a Thing and I Love You.

Story read by Kat Bohn

Podcast production by Tiara Darnell

You can skip all the ads in Future Tense Fiction by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/plus for just $15 for your first three months.

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

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers talk about the state of working in the United States three years after the COVID pandemic began. They discuss the latest in the efforts in the SEC’s attempts to litigate cryptocurrencies. And finally, can you be a guilt-free investor? 

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 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 Patrick Fort.

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

In this episode, Dr. Orna Guralnik (host of Showtime's Couples Therapy) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer letters from readers about what to do when a friend is obsessed with misogynistic love and relationship podcasts, when your husband just can’t figure out birthday gifts, and when you’re wondering “Does therapy just not work for me?”

If you want more Dear Prudence, join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members. 

Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to sign up. It’s just $15 for your first three months. 

Podcast production by Se’era Spragley Ricks and Daisy Rosario, with help from Maura Currie.

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

As Twitt—sorry, X—continues to go through tumult, an unlikely, long-time player is emerging as the last acceptable place to post.

Guest: Sarah Frier, tech editor at Bloomberg Businessweek.

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

Podcast production by Evan Campbell.

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

On this episode: Award-winning journalist Dashka Slater joins to talk about her new book, Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed. It’s a story of a teen sharing extremely racist memes and photos of classmates on a private instagram and what happened when the account was discovered. It led to even more hurt, protests, botched mediation, and a community-wide conversation about justice and what it means to be complicit. 

Besides the interview, hosts Jamilah Lemieux, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen share their parenting ups and downs of the week—including a late night before the first day of kindergarten and big-kid summer camp. Then, on Slate Plus: we share lots of listener letters ranging from two player games to suggestions for handling the great bathroom conundrum of 2023. 

Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. 

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Mom and Dad are Fighting. Sign up now at slate.com/momanddadplus to help support our work.

Podcast produced by Rosemary Belson and Maura Currie.

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

As an end of summer treat, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim dive deep into the drama that engulfed BookTok earlier this August. Over the spring and early summer, hockey-themed romance novels enjoyed a rise in the BookTok charts, a rise that led to an influx of new fans into the hockey community. One team in particular, the Seattle Krakens, became the unofficial team of BookTok, with Swedish player Alex Wennberg receiving special attention. Sexualized commentary by content creators like Kierra Lewis was both tacitly and overtly encouraged by the Kraken, who flew Lewis out to games.

All of this changed when Wennberg’s wife asked fans to stop posting sexualized content about her husband, a request that sent HockeyTok into a tailspin. So, what does this all mean in an era where loud and overt female desire is not only celebrated but monetized? Is there a difference between thirsting loudly for celebrities like Chris Evans and minor stars like Wennberg? And has internet thirst perhaps gone too far?

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

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

Most pet food is made from the byproducts of the meat that we, humans, eat. Recently, there’s been a rise in high-end pet food products - including things like lab-grown meat - that are touted as sustainable options for your furry friend. But a closer look raises questions about whether or not this food is actually better for the environment.

Guest: Chloe Sorvino, writer for Forbes and the author of the book Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed, and the Fight for the Future of Meat.

Special thanks to Patrick Fort and Garbanzo. 

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

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

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers speak with author and academic Bjorn Lomborg about his latest book, “Best Things First”. How does Bjorn’s advice differ from effective altruism? And where should you donate your own money?

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 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 Patrick Fort.

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

On today’s show, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton walk through Addison Rae’s quest for Hollywood stardom. They run through her moments of flop before the release of AR, a collection of Rae’s leaked music from her “lost album.” Then, Candice and Rachelle are joined by Pitchfork associate editor Cat Zhang to break down her bold and delicious review of “I Got It Bad.”

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

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