The Supreme Court has told Maryland parents their children do not have to sit through militant LGBTQ+ indoctrination classes, violating their religious values. Previous courts had forbidden parents from “opting out” of such sessions. This is a blow against government tyranny.
In this episode, Cato Institute's Scott Lincicome and Adam Michel dive deep into the sweeping new legislation—dubbed "The One Big Beautiful Bill"—moving through Congress. They break down what’s at stake as key provisions of the 2017 tax reform are set to expire, unpack the bill’s complex mix of tax cuts, new carve-outs, and industrial subsidies, and examine why temporary tax policy and policy uncertainty could derail economic growth. Plus, they confront the fiscal fiction behind tariffs as a reliable revenue source and make the case for a cleaner, more permanent pro-growth tax system. If you're looking for a sharp, honest take on where tax and trade policy stand in 2025—and where they should go—this one’s for you.
As Republicans in Congress look to gut Medicaid with President Donald Trump’s supposed “Big Beautiful Bill,” the Supreme Court ended its session ruling on United States vs. Skirmetti that Tennessee could bar gender-affirming care for minors. The ruling itself centered on whether or not such a ban would violate the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. In a 6–3 decision, with the three liberal justices dissenting, the court decided the Tennessee law did not violate the clause. To learn more about what gender affirming care does, and what providers working on the ground think of efforts to ban it, we spoke to Dr. Alex Dworak. He’s the associate medical director of family medicine at One World Community Health Centers and specializes in LGBTQ medicine.
Then in headlines: Republicans in the Senate are literally racing to pass President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” by the Fourth of July, the Trump administration’s spat with Harvard continues as it accuses the university of being in violation of the Civil Rights Act, and Trump goes to “Alligator Alcatraz,” Florida’s new migrant detention center.
Over the past century, the world's human population has exploded from around 2 billion to 8 billion. Meanwhile, the average fertility rate has gradually declined. And if that trend continues as it has, we may soon see a crash in the population rate, which some argue could have disastrous effects.
Last week’s big Supreme Court decisions walked back rights for individuals and the powers of the lower courts—and in aggregate made it ever more difficult to believe the court is anything other than another vehicle for delivering the outcomes favorable to Republicans and the conservative project.
Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, Slate senior writer covering courts and the law.
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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
It’s make-or-break week for Congressional Republicans and their big policy and spending legislation, a.k.a. President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’ Trump says he still expects to see the final package on his desk by this Friday, even as new estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office show the latest version of the bill could add more than $3 trillion dollars to the national debt over the next decade. Is that deterring members of the party that professes to care about federal spending? Not really. Senate Republicans are expected to vote on the measures, after narrowly advancing it to the floor for debate over the weekend. Elana Schor, senior Washington editor for the online news publication Semafor, gives us an update on where the bill stands now and the possible speed bumps ahead.
And in headlines: Trump hints at a possible TikTok buyer, the Supreme Court hands the White House another huge win by limiting the powers of lower court judges, and the president pressures Israeli officials to drop Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial.
Whether you're watching Love Island in an RV or streaming a playlist in a remote California campground, if you're using satellite internet, odds are you're using Elon Musk's Starlink.
Today on the show, we learn how Starlink got such a big lead in the satellite market and if it can stay ahead of the European Union, China, and, of course, Jeff Bezos.
ICE agents have begun concealing their identities in masks and plainclothes while making arrests. Experts—including a former ICE official—say that endangers those agents, and violates the trust between law enforcement and the citizenry.
Scott Shuchart, ICE’s Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs and Policy Counselor to the Director, 2022–2025.
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/whatnextplusto get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
Under a normal administration, a merger between two large advertising firms might attract the government’s interest for anti-monopoly reasons. Under this one, the Federal Trade Commission is creating conditions to…ensure that X still gets advertiser dollars?
Guest: Kate Conger, technology reporter for the New York Times.
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It’s been over three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the human toll is growing on both sides.
Recently, politicians and journalists have declared a grim milestone, one million Russian casualties.
But is this number accurate?
Tim talks to Seth Jones, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Olga Ivshina, from the BBC Russian service, to investigate this statistic.
If you’ve seen a number in the news you think we should take a look at, email the More or Less team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Nicholas Barrett
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Gareth Jones
Editor: Richard Vadon