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While the What Next team enjoys the holiday, hear this episode from our friends at Question Everything. Mary will be back in the feed with a new episode of What Next tomorrow.In June, disgraced former Florida Congressman turned right-wing One America News Network anchor Matt Gaetz peddled a novel and dangerous conspiracy to his audience: that using sunscreen causes skin cancer. Gaetz’s guest was Nicholas Hulscher, a prominent voice in the COVID anti-vaccination movement and co-author of one of the most prolific medical disinformation newsletters in America. Within days, this false claim had reached millions of viewers and dozens of countries – and was popping up in the comments of innocuous mommy blogger videos about applying suntan lotion to kids. NewsGuard health editor John Gregory explains how Hulscher’s false claim metastasized throughout the internet, and how he sold it to the world by twisting the surprising findings of a legitimate scientific study. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

It’s past time to say it. This Supreme Court is helping President Donald J. Trump evade accountability. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the Berkeley School of Law, joins Dahlia Lithwick to break down the conservative majority's procedural toolkit—standing, ripeness, the Purcell principle, and inscrutable rulings on the shadow docket —and how these doctrinal headfakes are being used to ensure Trump always wins in court, even when he loses. They dig into the White House ballroom case and Trump’s attempt to disrupt mail-in voting and the midterms, they explore what's different from Trump's first term, and ask which of the justices are worried about the court's legitimacy.Plus, we remember Gloria Steinem, who died at 92 this week. From co-founding Ms. magazine to her lifelong allyship with the civil rights movement, Steinem's legacy of building coalitions, lifting up others, and never letting anyone steal her joy carries urgent lessons for a moment in which so much of what she fought for is being erased. Dahlia talks

Many women are hiding their boyfriends online, or losing followers if they hard-launch. Some go as far as to say having a boyfriend “feels republican.” Is this heterofatalism gone too far, or a long-overdue correction to the patriarchy? On today’s encore episode host Kate Lindsay was joined by writer and content creator Josh Lora, who also goes by TellTheBees. Josh’s Substack essay, Boyfriendland, was cited in the viral Vogue article written by Chanté Joseph, “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Nvidia joined Silicon Valley’s A.I. investment frenzy and bought Hugging Face for $12.93 billion. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss what this deal signals about the astounding amounts of money being thrown around the relatively niche market of A.I. investment. Then, bond yields are on the rise and the hosts discuss why global concern is rising with them. And finally, what do George Santos and Steve Ballmer have in common? Felix will explain.In the Slate Plus episode: The $500 A.I.-powered Mouth CameraWant to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When an actor opens their mouth to sing in a movie, chances are high that the voice you hear will be their own. Even in music biopics, movie stars without much singing experience regularly go to great lengths to impersonate the most beloved vocalists of our time. Why not simply play Johnny Cash or Bruce Springsteen’s actual recordings, the reasons why we care about them in the first place? When the world is full of beautiful singing voices, why force Pierce Brosnan to bray his way through Mamma Mia?What you hear when an actor unhinges their jaw is a matter that Hollywood has been negotiating since the dawn of sound. So in this episode, we’ll learn about the “ghost singers” of classic Hollywood musicals, find out why they went extinct, and why today’s music biopics so often fudge the music. Then we leave Hollywood for Bollywood, where the rise of the celebrity “playback singer” shows what can happen when good singing is the highest priority.In this episode, you’ll hear from Slate’s pop music critic Jack Hamilt

Does Meta’s $17 billion (give or take) settlement address people’s concerns about social media and its impact on teenagers… or is it already too late?Guest: Paresh Dave, senior writer for WIRED.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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.Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how a narrow Supreme Court majority used aesthetic standing to greenlight Trump's ballroom construction, why bond yields are rising around the world and how that impacts everyone with guest Jason Furman, and how the extradition showdown between Texas and Minnesota over an ICE officer involved in a shooting betrays fraying relations among the states.Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Does Cutting Flower Stems Underwater Really Help?; Rachel Feltman for The Washington Post: How to keep fresh cut flowers from dying (with science) John: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky; Line of Duty on Rotten Tomatoes; The Economist: What Democrats—and Republicans—can learn from Raphael Warnock; Lia Picard for Huffpost: The Hidden Health Benefits Of Eating Leftovers For Breakfast David: Simon Ducroquet and John Ismay for The New York Times: The Logistics Nightmare Facing U.S. Warships; The Last Ship on Netflix Listener chatter from D

Extraditing someone who was arrested in one state for a crime committed in another state is an extremely routine process—or at least it was. But an ICE officer charged in a shooting in Minnesota was arrested in Texas and, rather than being sent to Minnesota for trial, he was simply released 90 days later.Guest: Quinta Jurecic, staff writer at The Atlantic.Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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.Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inflation is up, borrowing is up, debt is rising. If the bond market is offering a review of the new US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, it seems to be saying “This guy may not know what’s going on.” Guest: Catherine Rampell, economics editor at The Bulwark, author of the Receipts and anchor at MS NOW.Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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.Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rise of AI has led to a rise of distrust, but the “tools” used to identify AI and plagiarism are perpetuating preexisting biases. Jason Arday, the former Cambridge professor who was found dead in his home last month, is the latest in a string of headline-making scandals targeting writers and academics of color, while white infractors fall quickly out of the news cycle. In today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by The Drey Dossier to discuss why plagiarism and AI accusations are our weapon of the moment, and why institutions, not individuals, should bear the brunt of our frustrations. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One-hundred-million-year-old bones are so hot right now. In this Money Talks, Felix Salmon is joined by Salomon Aaron, director of an antiquities gallery specializing in fossils, to explain everything you ever wanted to know about dealing in dinosaurs and why the market has exploded in recent years.Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The WNBA is enjoying its most profitable and popular season in league history. At the same time, it’s become another front in the culture war. Guest: Matreyi Anantharaman, staff writer at Defector. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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.Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Porn. It’s something that people use in their most intimate, private moments. It’s a way to acknowledge desire — without any of the attachments of intimacy. For some of you, that's incredibly freeing. For others, it's caused some real problems.This episode originally aired in 2016 and was produced by Chester Jesus Soria and Katie BishopIf you have stories about using AI porn, experimenting with deepfakes, or seeing yourself depicted in one, record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected]. Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info

Donald Trump, Supreme Court justices, states, and even the Post Office are all trading legal salvos over mail-in voting. Where does it stand now? And what’s Trump’s end goal in making mail-in voting—something rural and elderly voters rely on—more difficult?Guest: Richard Hasan, Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law, Professor of Political Science, Director, Safeguarding Democracy ProjectWant more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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.Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Amicus on a brief summer break, we’re bringing you the final installment of Slow Burn’s latest season, Becoming Justice Gorsuch. Host Susan Matthews enlists Slate’s jurisprudence team—Amicus co-hosts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern—to discuss Neil Gorsuch’s key rulings to date, his unpredictability, and how this textualist will shape this court (and our country) for decades to come.In this week’s bonus episode: Susan, Dahlia, and Mark recently reconvened to record an update to this conversation, complete with analysis of how Gorsuch figured into the blockbuster, end-of-term decisions handed down in June. Want to listen to that update? If you’re not a Pluskateer yet, join Slate Plus to unlock this conversation—and other 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. Ho

Do you remember the last time you had fun online? In recent years, it’s felt like social media has become overridden with hot takes, discourse, and something called “bean soup theory,” and it’s making the internet a frustrating place to be. In today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by social strategist Carmen Vicente to talk about why TikTok is starting to feel like Twitter, and if every social media platform is doomed to the same fate. But the real question is: Is it because of us, or them? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Meta settles with the U.S. states suing the company over teen safety concerns. Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by Scarlet Fu of the new Bloomberg Money (while Felix is stuck on a tarmac somewhere in Canada) to discuss if Meta’s $17 billion settlement is as big of a deal as it sounds, and what this outcome really means for the social media guardrails overall. Then, they turn to the disastrous trade talks between the U.S. and Canada and how President Trump’s tactics have managed to piss off our friendliest ally. And finally, they’ll discuss why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s latest market tinkering has everyone chiming in.In the Slate Plus episode: The Big A.I. Writing DebateWant to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access

The idea of a big ol’ group of friends taking a vacation sounds so fun…in theory. In practice, though, the museum friends and the beach friends are forming opposing factions, and the vegetarian friend is hovering between malnourishment and total banishment. But these problems have one elegant solution: the parallel play vacation.Guest: Luke Winkie, Slate staff writer and author of “There’s Only One Palatable Way to Travel With Friends.”This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.

Through stealing your job or simply tanking the stock market—whichever comes first—the rise of artificial intelligence (companies) is a very futuristic sounding problem. It may have some very old-fashioned sounding solutions however.Guest: Cory Doctorow, sci-fi author, journalist, blogger and author of “The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI.”This episode originally aired June 26. TBD will be back to regularly scheduled programming next week.Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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.Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, John Dickerson, David Plotz, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss this week's Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to move forward for now with his order restricting mail-in voting, the likely effects of trade wars with Canada and Iran, and what we humans can do about safety as A.I. models rapidly get more sophisticated and autonomous.For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, John, David, and guest host Juliette Kayyem discuss the newest drama enveloping semi-royals Prince Harry and Meghan after they announced an impending move back to the UK. In the latest Gabfest Reads, David Plotz talks with John Lanchester about his new novel, Look What You Made Me Do, a darkly funny psychological thriller about two couples in modern-day London whose lives collide in a story of infidelity, obsession, and revenge. The book explores the performance of niceness, class, intergenerational frictions and how technology makes vengeance not just possible but almost exceedingly easy in the modern