What Next | Is Trump Running the Fugitive Slave Act Playbook?

The US government’s use of a prison in El Salvador as an extra-judicial due-process free black site has been rendered starkly visible by the story of one man they tried to disappear. On this week’s Amicus,  Dahlia Lithwick interviews Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, lawyer for Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident, husband and father, who was illegally deported to El Salvador in March due to what the government admits was an administrative error. Abrego Garcia was abruptly detained by ICE, torn from his family, and sent to a brutal Salvadoran prison despite having legal protections against deportation. The Justice Department  now says Abrego Garcia must remain in  the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador. On Friday a district court judge in Maryland ordered his return.  Next, we turn to the Trump administration's disastrous tariffs. Slate's Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia to  explore the legality of Trump’s latest, inexplicable round of tariffs against the rest of the world, and debate whether the Supreme Court will apply its so-called “major questions doctrine” when a Republican is in the White House.  Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Huhti 51min

This week, DOGE set its sights  and scythe on the Department of Health and Human Services, with a goal of cutting 10,000 federal workers, once again raising the question: what’s their endgame here? Guest: Makena Kelly, 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 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 and Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Huhti 28min

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss liberal judge Susan Crawford’s sweeping victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race; Trump’s new, nearly universal massive tariffs; and the dangerously casual standards the government is using to deport alleged gang members despite acknowledged mistakes. Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Stephanie Nolen for the New York Times: Millions of Women Will Lose Access to Contraception as a Result of Trump Aid Cuts. John: Arthur Delaney for HuffPost: Emails Confirm Social Security Administration Canceled Maine Contracts As Political Payback; Fatima Hussein and Patrick Whittle for the Associated Press: Social Security’s acting leader faces calls to resign over decision to cut Maine contracts. Bodkin on Netflix. David: Book Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, by author Adam Higginbotham; Movie The Intern with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway (official trailer on YouTube: The Intern); book Emma by Jane Austen (Emma ebook at Project Gutenberg; Emma at Jane Austen’s House). Listener chatter from Emma in Lebanon, New Hampshire: Vermont’s ‘Mr. Maple’ Has Great Stories To Tell For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily talks with Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater about their new book, Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, A Former Used Car Salesman, A Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man With Rats In His Walls Broke Congress. In the latest Gabfest Reads, David talks with author Adam Higginbotham about his new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Kevin Bendis Research by Emily Ditto Want more Political Gabfest? 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 Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Huhti 1h 5min

Trump campaigned on deporting dangerous criminals, but in his administration’s haste to deliver on that promise, men with no criminal records or who are in the United States legally have been taken to a prison in El Salvador, which even the administration admits was a mistake. Guests: Jonathan Blitzer, staff writer at the New Yorker, author of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis. Nick Miroff, staff writer for The Atlantic covering immigration. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your  other 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 Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Huhti 31min

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a case that will determine whether South Carolina can cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. But with clear legal precedent stating that they can’t, how did this case even end up before the Supreme Court? And, given how far the court has gone to accommodate the MAGA agenda, is the outcome of this case in doubt? Guest: Ian Millhiser, senior correspondent at Vox.  Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your  other 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 Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Huhti 28min

In this Money Talks: Amidst the Trump administration’s continued attacks on the press, David Enrich’s new book, Murder the Truth: Fear, the First Amendment, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful, feels incredibly timely. He joins Elizabeth Spiers to discuss his reporting on increasing efforts to exploit the legal system to protect the rich and powerful from being held accountable, creating an incredibly fraught landscape for journalists and news outlets. Want 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 and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Huhti 38min

As video of federal agents stopping Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk on the street and taking her away to be detained circulated on social media, people kept asking, “how could this happen here?” The answer involves organizations that claim to help the federal government identify and find activists, and victims whose rights to free speech and due process can be swiftly suspended. Guest: Aymann Ismail, staff writer at Slate. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your  other 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 Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Huhti 27min

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh welcome Joel Beall, senior Golf Digest writer and author of Playing Dirty, for a deep dive into Saudi Arabia’s continued sportwashing through investments in professional golf. The panel also discusses number one seeds steamrolling their way into the men’s Final Four. Alex Ovechkin inches closer to surpassing Wayne Gretzky's NHL goal record. Finally, Ben has an afterball on the Bronx Bombers and their new, lethal torpedo bats. On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel talks about foul-grifting and faking injuries in the NBA. LIV Golf (2:43): Why the PGA Tour/Saudi Arabia negotiations really failed.  March Madness (29:45): For the second time ever, the men’s Final Four is all No. 1 seeds Ovechkin (45:18): The Capitals captain is five goals shy of surpassing Gretzky (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.) Want more Hang Up and Listen? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page, or visit slate.com/hangupplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

31 Maalis 1h 15min