ICYMI | Why Online Whisper Networks Never Work

This week: The stock market is coming back after its post Liberation Day fall. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss what this does, and mostly doesn’t, signal about the economy under Trump. Then, one stock that is not doing well at all is the UnitedHealth Group. The hosts explain the perfect storm the company has found itself in, and examine if that’s actually the reason for its decline in the market. And finally, did you know there was insurance for self-defense shootings and AI chatbot errors? In the Slate Plus episode: Can a (very expensive) calendar fix your marriage?  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

17 Touko 46min

Our eyes this week were trained on the arguments over birthright citizenship at the Supreme Court on Thursday. While Solicitor General John Sauer advanced wild arguments on behalf of the Trump administration, four of the justices (hint: the women) seemed extremely suspicious of his motives. The five men? Not so much. Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia Lithwick to break down Trump v. CASA Inc. and the growing  divide on the court between those who trust this president and those who don’t. Although Thursday’s arguments touched on fundamental rights, SCOTUS made the strange choice to largely avoid the constitutional question and focus on a different one: Whether district courts have the power to issue “universal” injunctions that apply nationwide, as multiple courts did in order to protect birthright citizenship from the president. Judges have issued an unprecedented number of these orders against the Trump administration—in response to Trump’s unprecedented barrage of lawless executive orders. Some conservative justices seem perturbed by the explosion of universal injunctions. But it became clear on Thursday that this is the worst case for the court to use to rein them in.  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

17 Touko 1h

Aging equipment and chronically understaffed air traffic control have made flying in and out of Newark’s Liberty International Airport a delay-snarled mess. And the problems there aren’t entirely unique. Will Congress and the Trump administration be the ones to fix it?  Guest: Will Guisbond, staff reporter covering air traffic control for The Air Current 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

16 Touko 30min

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss how Trump’s trip to the Middle East is wildly off the scale of any past corruption and offensive to American tradition, the Supreme Court hearing arguments in the first case in Trump’s attempts to limit birthright citizenship, and the buzz about a new book from Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the Trump administration admitting White South Africans as expedited refugees from a nonexistent “genocide” while removing deportation protections from Afghan refugees.   In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with author Maggie Smith about her new book, Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   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

15 Touko 1h 10min

Between the crypto ventures, real estate deals, and a gift-wrapped tricked-out 747, it feels like Donald Trump is more open-for-business than ever this term. And since no one seems able or willing to stop him, why wouldn’t he be? Guest: Andrea Bernstein, investigative journalist and host of Trump Inc and author of “American Oligarchs: The Kushners, The Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power.” 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 Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Touko 25min

Ahead of his first trip to the region, Donald Trump’s policies toward the Middle East have been full of surprises. He wants sanctions on Syria lifted; he revealed the U.S. has been negotiating directly with Hamas; and he’s considering a new nuclear deal with Iran—and without consulting with Israel.  Guest: Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent for the Economist. 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 Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Touko 27min

Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim explain the situation surrounding influencer Kayla Malec and beauty YouTuber James Charles. Malec is a 19-year-old TikToker who was in a 9-month relationship with a content creator named Evan Johnson. After their breakup, Malec posted a YouTube video accusing her ex-boyfriend of domestic abuse and violence. Days later, Johnson was charged by officials in Tennessee with domestic assault, and last week, he pled guilty to those charges and was sentenced to 18 months in jail. While Malec did win this case, somehow, the controversial makeup influencer James Charles entered the scene and caused more drama than necessary. ICYMI will explain how Malec’s story got sabotaged and overshadowed by influencers who may be trying to get clout off of her trauma, and why James Charles is somehow always involved in internet drama. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Touko 24min

In this Money Talks: Redfin’s Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather has a new book, Hate The Game, where she shares the "economic cheat codes” she’s discovered for life, love and work. She joins Emily Peck to discuss topics from the book like how to use game theory when asking for a raise and why Destiny’s Child is such a good parable for knowing your negotiating power. 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

13 Touko 37min