Artificial intelligence seems predestined to become a bigger part of our lives. To what extent is the A.I. push being led by Sam Altman and the OpenAI team a cause for concern? Guest: Karen Hao, journalist, data scientist and contributing wri

Kushner Mess-Ups Thrive Under D.C.’s Collective Amnesia

1 May 8th, 2020 48m 59s

Virginia Heffernan talks to Rolling Stone D.C. Bureau Chief Andy Kroll about the specifics around Jared Kushner’s mishandling of the coronavirus crisis, the role of Oscar Health, the group of Bush-era doctors and epidemiologists calling themsel

A New Election Forecasting Model for 2020

Feb 12th, 2020 40m 49s

Virginia Heffernan talks to political analyst Rachel Bitecofer about her new electoral theory sweeping the forecasting world, the outlook for 2020, swing voters, and more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Myriad Misdeeds of Moscow Mitch McConnell

1 Apr 24th, 2020 42m 1s

How did Mitch McConnell become Trump’s enabler-in-chief? Virginia Heffernan talks to Jane Mayer, staff writer at The New Yorker, about McConnell’s mishandling of the coronavirus crisis, his connections to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and Rus

What Next: Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand

8 hours ago 27m 43s

Spare a thought for the judge in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial. Justice Juan Merchan has gone from holding the former president in contempt of court… to telling Trump’s defense they probably should have objected more during Stormy Daniels’ te

What Next: Conservative Candid Camera in the Darién Gap

1 day ago 29m 50s

Crossing the Darién Gap, a 66-mile stretch of jungle in Panama, was hard enough before right-wing influencers began showing up with cameras, trying to bait would-be migrants into providing pro-Trump soundbites. Guest: Ken Bensinger, New York

Bryan talks to the creator of Queering the Map, a digital archive of queer stories from around the globe

1 day ago 27m 50s

This week Bryan talks to Lucas LaRochelle, the creator of the online platform Queering the Map. Queering the Map is a community-generated digital archive and map of LGBTQ2IA+ experiences around the globe. They dig into the map’s beginnings, sto

Punishing A Shooter’s Parents Misses The Point

2 days ago 39m 18s

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: prosecuting parents.Ethan Crumbley’s parents didn’t pull the trigger that killed 4 students in 2021 — but they’ve been sentenced to prison time for it all the same. School shootings are devastatingly commo

What Next: Hamas Agreed to a Ceasefire. Now What?

2 days ago 34m 1s

In a last minute twist, Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire with Israel. But targeted airstrikes are already underway in Rafah. With its infrastructure in shambles, Gaza is facing famine – and worse. What’s next for Gaza’s people? Guest: Gregg Ca

What Next: Why Democrats Will Save Mike Johnson’s Job

3 days ago 29m 39s

Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling for Mike Johnson’s job—again. But unlike Kevin McCarthy before him, Johnson has support from a surprising place.Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer.Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus

A Word: Flint's Decade of Disappointment

4 days ago 32m 44s

The city of Flint, Michigan made headlines in spring of 2014, after public officials recognized dangerously high lead levels in the water supply. After ten years and three presidents, many African American Flint residents say their health is st

Well, Now: How a Former Surgeon General Took on a $5,000 ER Bill

4 days ago 40m 7s

Who hasn’t received necessary medical care and got a shockingly high bill for it weeks later? Even with insurance, many Americans will experience this at some point–including one of the most recognizable doctors in the country: the U.S. surgeo

What Next TBD: Can California Save Journalism?

4 days ago 27m 16s

The California Journalism Preservation Act would make companies like Google and Meta pay publishers for the news content appearing in their feeds and search results—and force news organizations to spend that money on their journalists. How have

Slate Money: Will new DEA rules light up the weed business?

5 days ago 54m 18s

This week: A new DEA designation for cannabis means high times for pot smokers, but what about the industry? Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the future of the cannabis business, Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao’s lax,

Political Gabfest: Should Student Protesters Be Arrested?

5 days ago 56m 36s

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the increasing and increasingly violent campus protests of Israel’s war in Gaza, Emily’s article on How ‘History and Tradition’ Rulings Are Changing American Law, and South Dakot

What Next TBD: Bird Flu—It’s in Milk?

6 days ago 29m 38s

Bird flu isn’t new, you may even remember past outbreaks. But showing up in milk? Is America ready if it leaps to spreading among humans?Guest: Katelyn Jetelina, epidemiologist, senior advisor to the CDC Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe

What Next: Columbia Cracks Down

7 days ago 28m 18s

Professor Joe Howley has been working with student protesters for almost a year. When they occupied his building, he got texts from the kids—and nothing from the administration. Now that Columbia’s called the cops, and nearly 100 demonstrators

What Next: Biden’s Climate Report Card

8 days ago 25m 39s

It’s not that we aren’t making progress slowing our carbon and greenhouse gas emissions; it’s just that we still may not be doing enough—fast enough—to avert catastrophe. Guest: Umair Irfan, correspondent at Vox writing about climate change,

Student Protests Can Backfire (Badly)

9 days ago 44m 31s

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out: solidarity?College campuses across the country are grappling with protests and occupations in the name of a free Palestine. Many hundreds of students, faculty, and outside community members have been arreste

What Next: The Man Who Wrote the Trump Playbook—30 Years Ago.

9 days ago 29m 29s

In the ‘90s, Pat Buchanan was a fringe figure among Republicans whose positions on immigration and demographic change in the United States were considered too extreme for the party. Now, his ideas are what passes for Donald Trump’s 2024 campaig

What Next: The Jewish Case for Protest

10 days ago 34m 8s

As some members of Congress call for crackdowns, how do college administrators ensure the safety of their entire student body – while also respecting its right to free speech? Guest: Peter Beinart, Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents and the a

Well, Now: Living and Loving With OCD (feat. Allison Raskin)

11 days ago 36m 35s

A vital component of wellness is taking care of our mental health. But mental wellness is more than just drinking water, doing yoga, and going for a walk.Author and podcaster Allison Raskin has lived most of her life with diagnosed mental illn

What Next TBD: The Failures of ‘Organic’ Farming

11 days ago 29m 1s

There are regulations regarding how farm animals are transported, how they’re auctioned, how they’re slaughtered—but when they’re living on the farm? That’s where things get cloudy. Guest: Annie Lowrey, journalist writing on politics and econ

A Word: True Life, True Crime

11 days ago 25m 15s

True crime is a hot topic for movies, television, and –yes– podcasts. At the center of many of these stories is a missing woman. In the She Has A Name podcast, veteran journalist Tonya Mosley tries to reconstruct the death –and life– of a woman

Slate Money: The Rich People Restaurant Crisis

12 days ago 45m 20s

This week: a reservation at Carbone New York may cost a thousand dollars, but you’ve always got a table at Slate Money! Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss restaurant reservation resellers, the FTC’s new non-compete clause ba