Author: Slate Podcasts

What drove Marc Andreessen’s transformation into a political actor, and what is he looking for from having Washington in his thrall?

Guest: Zoe Schiffer, WIRED journalist covering business and Silicon Valley.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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Many of the policy changes in Trump’s first 100 days have come from the White House—but now, it’s Congress’s turn. Republicans have roughly a month to pass a multi-trillion-dollar bill to advance the president’s domestic agenda. But will the bill’s combination of tax cuts and increases in spending on defense and border security render it unpassable for GOP budget hawks?

Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics writer at Slate.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.

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After Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk was abducted off the streets of her district, Rep. Ayanna Pressley is not mincing words when it comes to the Trump administration: “These are the actions of a dictator.” 

Last week, Rep. Pressley traveled to Louisiana with a Congressional delegation to visit Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil in the ICE detention facilities where they’re being held. Now, she’s speaking out about what she witnessed firsthand.

Guest: Ayanna Pressley, US representative for Massachusetts’ 7th district and member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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At his first press conference as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. gave a glimpse of what the department will look like under his leadership: a smaller overall budget, relitigating settled scientific questions.  

Guest: Kiera Butler, senior editor and reporter at Mother Jones and author of Raise: What 4-H Teaches Seven Million Kids and How Its Lessons Could Change Food and Farming Forever.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.

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The Supreme Court is hearing two cases this month regarding religion in public schools that seem to contradict each other—a public school in Maryland where parents claim books with LGBTQ characters or themes are indoctrination, and a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma arguing it has the right to state funding. Can the court’s religion-friendly majority give them both what they want without falling afoul of the First Amendment?

Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer for Slate.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.

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The Trump administration has already begun cutting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the U.S. National Weather Service. What’s the advantage to understanding the weather less?

Guest: Daniel Swain, weather and climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

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One of DOGE’s goals is to get government data out of “silos” and make it more easily shared across departments. But there are good reasons for some data to be kept apart. 

Guest: Vittoria Elliot, WIRED reporter covering platforms and power.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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The Trump administration’s actions on immigration and firing the federal workforce have drawn condemnation from all sorts of unions—from building trades to graduate students. What happens when labor speaks as one?

Guest: Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL–CIO.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.

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