Politicians are touting “affordability” to describe the current regime of rising prices. However, most lawmakers who claim they are trying to make things more affordable demand policies that make things more costly.
A bad end is most likely though even in the best case scenario of AI increasing living standards. The build-up of asset inflation malinvestment and overleveraging will impose huge costs.
If you haven't been following conservative media for a long time, you might not know that there have actually been many eras of Tucker Carlson. He launched his career in print journalism before landing under the bright lights of Fox News in 2009. That's where he developed his super power – giving his audience exactly what they want, and feeding some of their worst impulses again and again under the glossy veneer of respectability. New Yorker staff writer Jason Zengerle first met Carlson back in the 1990s and has been following his career ever since. His new book, "Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind," examines Carlson's evolution and the media's. We spoke with Zengerle about Carlson's past and what his shifting priorities reveal about American politics.
And in headlines, the House narrowly passes a spending bill to end the partial government shutdown, Renee Good's brothers testify before Congressional Democrats, and a U.S. fighter jet shoots down an Iranian drone.
People wanting to purchase heat pumps might soon face sticker shock. Many consumers have sought out energy credits to find a greener and more affordable alternative to heating oil, but the tax credit to help make them cheaper has expired. Today on the show: how homeowners, the renewables industry, and its critics all feel about it.
Another 3 million pages of the Epstein files were released last Friday, with more big names named, more redactions, and more information that should have been redacted left unredacted.
Guest: David Enrich, deputy investigations editor at the New York Times.
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
There is no reason to be surprised by the total lack of commitment to any ideological standards. Nor is there any reason to expect anything better. That's just how American politics works.
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 Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that all federal officers in Minneapolis will now wear body cameras. She also said the program would expand nationwide "as funding is available." The push for body cameras is a key Democratic demand to end the partial government shutdown. It also comes on the heels of major concerns over DHS immigration tactics. In January alone, two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minnesota. Radley Balko has been covering law enforcement misconduct for decades. We spoke to him about how federal immigration enforcement's actions feel different – and what worries him most.
And in headlines, Bill and Hillary Clinton agree to testify before Congress about their ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, RFK Jr. announces an initiative to address homelessness and substance abuse in eight unspecified cities, and the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt reopens – potentially offering hope for thousands of Palestinians.