The intimate and extremely personal experience of bringing a child into this world? There’s an app for that…and forums…and so much advice…that contradicts other advice…and a surprising amount of eugenics.
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After Silicon Valley’s yeet to the right after Donald Trump was elected in 2016, and the DOGE-ification of the federal government (read: chaos and abuse as the driving ethos of HR), it felt like high time to delve into the evolving relationship between tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel and the U.S. government. Their influence has massive implications for core constitutional issues such as mass surveillance, privacy, and deregulation. Kara Swisher joins Dahlia Lithwick on this week’s Amicus to highlight the dangers of tech giants' encroachment on government oversight and the implications of AI and cryptocurrency.
This week’s episode concludes with a heartfelt tribute to Justice David Souter who died on Thursday. Dahlia and former Souter Clerk Mary-Rose Papandrea reflect on the late Justice’s humility, judicial philosophy, and the profound loss felt by his former clerks and the legal community.
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As we head into Mother’s Day weekend (there’s still time to get to the florist if you hurry!), we dive into “motherhood in the moment”—where “pro-natalism”, the rising cost of childcare, and, um, Chapelle Roan are making the “Tiger Mom” era of a decade ago seem quaint.
Guest: Jenée Desmond-Harris, staff writer for Slate and host of Dear Prudence.
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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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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.
The consequences of Donald Trump’s new tariffs are working their way through the supply chain and soon will start showing up for consumers in the form of empty shelves, higher prices, and potentially even layoffs and a recession.
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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.
How Donald Trump is attempting to shape the arts to his own liking, from installing himself as head of the Kennedy Center to canceling grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, throwing organizations and projects of all sizes into uncertainty and chaos.
Guests:
Alisa Solomon, director of the Arts & Culture concentration at the Columbia Journalism School
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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Isabel Angell, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.
Outward’s Bryan Lowder and Christina Cauterucci talk to Alden Jones, editor of the new anthology, Edge of the World. With essays from Alexander Chee, Daisy Hernández, Edmund White, and more, the collection makes clear that queer travel writing isn’t just overdue—it’s transformative.
Isabel Allende didn’t publish her first book until she was 39, after losing nearly everything in the wake of the Chilean military coup. More than four decades later, she’s become one of the most beloved Spanish-language authors, with over 80 million copies of her books sold worldwide.
After political exile, writing books became Allende’s way of making sense of the world. She wrote through divorce, affairs, and moving across continents. But after the devastating loss of her daughter Paula, even writing felt impossible, until her mother urged her to begin again. “My mother knew that the only way for me to walk the tunnel of grief was writing,” she says.
In this episode, Anna and Isabel talk about loss, late starts, and new beginnings. Isabel met her most recent husband, Roger, in her late 70s, “an age when most people are knitting for their great-grandchildren.”
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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. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.
Marco Rubio has been collecting titles. In addition to Secretary of State, he’s now also the acting administrator of USAID, the acting archivist for the National Archives and Records Administration—and he just became a National Security Advisor. It fits his career trajectory, wherein Rubio has proven time and time again to be whatever he needs to be.
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.
At least 10 percent of parents in the U.S. are disabled, but Andrea can’t seem to find parenting advice on disability and accessibility. On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace brings on Jessica Slice, author of the new book Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World, to helpAndrea reimagine parenthood.
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The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer.
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