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Amazon evolved from a place to get cheap used books to the “everything store”—one encompassing warehouses, logistics and shipping. But with the FTC now run by Lina Khan—who wrote the essay ‘Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox” while at Yale Law School—a new contender for “antitrust trial of the century” has begun. Guest: Leah Nylen, antitrust reporter for Bloomberg If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is everyone—on the left and the right—suddenly touting the benefits of a married two-parent family? And what is it about this institution that appeals to a certain class of politicians and pundits as means to address American poverty, even as it loses popularity? We consider the public meltdown over lower marriage rates and the renewed interest in ending no-fault divorce. Guest: Rebecca Traister, author of All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation and writer-at-large for New York magazine. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Madeline Ducharme, Anna Phillips, Paige Osburn, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everybody loves pandas—and China knows it. As we say goodbye to the National Zoo’s pandas, we look back at 50 years of “panda diplomacy” and consider its uncertain future. Guest: E. Elena Songster, author of Panda Nation: The Construction and Conservation of China’s Modern Icon and professor of environmental history of modern China at St. Mary’s College of California. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Madeline Ducharme, Anna Phillips, Paige Osburn, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After five long months, the WGA and major Hollywood studios have reached a tentative agreement to end the strike—well, that one anyway. Who won what and where do the actors stand? Guest: Michael Schulman, staff writer at The New Yorker. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At 92, Rupert Murdoch is retiring and handing the reins over to his son. Will Lachlan Murdoch watch over a period of managed decline—or will he chase the audience Fox News has been losing to the even-more extreme right? Guest: Nicole Hemmer, Director of the Roger Center for the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Against the odds, a tight-knit group of Black families created the community of Shoe Lane in Newport News, Virginia in the early 20th century. Residents bought land, and often built their homes, expecting to hand down a thriving African American neighborhood to future generations. Then Christopher Newport University systematically took the land over, pushing out all but a handful of now-elderly residents. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by journalist Brandi Kellam, who helped bring the story to light. She co-reported Erasing the “Black Spot”: How a Virginia College Expanded by Uprooting a Black Neighborhood for ProPublica and the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO. Guest: Journalist Brandi Kellam Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Host Kat Chow welcomes back author and science journalist Rachel E. Gross to talk about the misogynist origins of many names and diagnoses in the female reproductive system. Gross is the author of Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage and the New York Times column Body Language. In Slate Plus: Rachel E. Gross’s thoughts on the documentary Every Body about intersex people If you liked this episode, check out: The Vagina et Al., an interview with Rachel E. Gross and Slate’s Shannon Palus about Gross’s book Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry and Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/thewavesplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by Kashmir Hill to talk about her new book, Your Face Belongs to Us. They dig into the way facial recognition technology is used in unexpected (and sometimes creepy) ways. They also talk about the A.I. revolution and Rupert Murdoch’s “exit” from the Fox empire. In the Plus segment: Kashmir talks about tracking her husband. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Slate Money. Sign up now at slate.com/moneyplus to help support our work. Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the UAW autoworkers’ strike against the Big Three automakers, talk with Yoel Roth about social media trust and safety, and weigh teachers’ burden to engage in parent diplomacy. Join us for Political Gabfest Live in Madison, Wisconsin on October 25! Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Danielle Kaye for NPR: “Why the UAW is fighting so hard for these 4 key demands in the auto strike” Yoel Roth in The New York Times: “Trump Attacked Me. Then Musk Did. It Wasn’t an Accident.” Yoel Roth on Lawfare: “Content Moderation’s Legalism Problem” Sarah Chaves in The Atlantic: “Parent Diplomacy Is Overwhelming Teachers” 9News: “Surveillance video: “Boebert seen vaping, arguing with patrons before removal from Denver theater” Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Susan Haigh and Eric Tucker for AP: “Former federal prosecutor who resigned from Trump-Russia probe says she left over concerns with Barr” John: Ashley Strickland for CNN: “How NASA has prepared to scoop up an asteroid sample landing in the desert” and The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate with Clarity and Confidence by Ros Atkins David: NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries: “Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary” and National Trust for Historic Preservation: “Ghost Fleet of the Potomac, Mallows Bay” Listener chatter from Kevin Collins: Thomas Kole’s a portrait of Tenochtitlan: a 3D reconstruction of the capital of the Aztec Empire For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, Emily, John, and David discuss the surveillance camera video of Representative Lauren Boebert behaving badly in a Denver theater. In the next Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Zadie Smith about her book, The Fraud: A Novel. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com or X us @SlateGabfest. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth Research by Julie Huygen Hosts Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz Follow @SlateGabfest on X / https://twitter.com/SlateGabfest Slate Gabfest on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/Gabfest/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As other tech companies that rode the pandemic to success started sinking, Instacart managed to stay above water—they turned a profit and even made it to an IPO. But a stubbornly static stock price has some asking if Instacart—and the whole gig economy—hasn’t already peaked. Guest: Erin Griffith, who reports on tech startups and venture capital for the New York Times If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Ryan Busse, a former gun-industry executive turned gun-safety advocate, who is now running for governor in his home state of Montana. As the right to bear arms for domestic abusers is set to be argued at SCOTUS this term, Dahlia and Ryan discuss how gun culture has been radicalized in order to… sell more guns. They also examine how that radicalization has reached the Supreme Court, and threatens our safety, and our democracy. Next, Dahlia is joined by Alison Block MD, a family doctor and abortion provider who is also executive producer and host of The Nocturnists podcast’s Post-Roe America season. The season lifts the voices of healthcare workers and abortion providers around the country, scrambling to survive in the confusing legal landscape created by Dobbs. The conversation highlights the impossible bind for red state abortion providers forced to choose between caring for patients and criminalization, and how providers in neighboring states are trying to keep up with unquenchable demand for care. In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern to discuss why they never ever want to go to the all-male rich dude Lord of the Flies camp that is Bohemian Grove, why it’s pretty shocking that Justice Clarence Thomas did, and how the latest Propublica reporting shows the scheme in sharp relief: interest groups founded and funded by billionaires wanted to end the regulatory state, and they found a justice ready to change his mind and do just that. Dahlia and Mark also discuss why the abortion pill banning Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is all of a sudden so worried about misogyny. Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. Dahlia’s book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America, is now out in paperback. It is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25 percent discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Host Kat Chow dives into the public divorce of actress Sophie Turner and pop artist Joe Jonas. But we’re not so much getting into the actual divorce, more the way tabloid news is covering it and leaning into some seriously sexist tropes. As news spread about the marriage’s end, articles immediately started speculating as to who was at fault, and tabloids reported using anonymous sources saying Turner was more focused on partying and going out, leaving Jonas at home with their two young kids. Kat is joined by Rolling Stone senior writer Ej Dickson, to dig into the long history of sexist tropes about mothers and motherhood, the “bad mommy” PR spin, and more. Further Reading: Sophie Turner Isn’t A Bad Mom. You’re Just A Mysoginist by Ej Dickson In Slate Plus: Ej Dickson on why Gweneth Paltrow is uncancellable. If you liked this episode, check out: Is The Wedding Dress Dead? Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry and Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on How To!. Sign up now at slate.com/thewavesplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The sword of regulation, which has been swinging over New York AirBnBs for over a decade, is falling at last. But will new laws for short-term rentals have the effect housing advocates are hoping for? And after many failed efforts, can these laws actually be enforced? Guest: Heather Tal Murphy, Slate writer covering tech and business. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following “The Call,” our series on the opioid epidemic continues in Seattle. Harm reduction focuses on meeting people where they are, including enabling them to use drugs safely when experiencing addiction. But some advocates are asking, what happens when you think bigger? Guest: Lisa Daugaard, criminal justice reform activist and Co-Executive Director of the nonprofit organization Purpose. Dignity. Action. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wisconsin has been something of a model for Republicans looking to entrench themselves in the state legislature, and one key move has always been to draw the electoral map as favorably as possible. But now, the state Supreme Court has swung to the left – for the first time in 15 years. The GOP is scrambling to keep this battleground state deeply gerrymandered—and keep power in their own hands. Guest: Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… the conscription question. The U.S. military is having trouble meeting recruitment goals — and for the first time in recent history, the Army has actually failed to meet its minimum. Joe Plenzler, a writer, consultant and Marine Corps veteran, joins us to argue that it’s time to bring back the draft; more specifically, a partial one. It’d help address recruiting shortfalls, but more importantly, it might also change how Americans feel about public service… and how politicians feel about endless war. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com Podcast production by Maura Currie You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of members of the United Auto Workers walked off the line at Midwestern auto plants Friday, putting an exclamation mark on a summer where labor—from screenwriters to UPS drivers—flexed its muscles. But is this a true resurgence of the broader U.S. labor movement? Guest: Barry Eidlin, associate professor of sociology at McGill University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the opening of an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, but members of the Freedom Caucus—a group of right-wing Republicans with a taste for dramatic, extreme actions—had already moved on to fighting the next spending bill, potentially steering the government to another shutdown. Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Criminals series, the gang talks with Rebecca Jarvis, host of “The Dropout” about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. Who were the real victims of Holmes’ crimes? How did her lofty goals drift into scandal? And where does she sit on a scale of “one to evil”? If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Slate Money. Sign up now at slate.com/moneyplus to help support our work. Podcast production by Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The teaching of Black history has been under increasing political attack in recent years. But the version of African American history taught –even to Black people– has always been incomplete. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by columnist Michael Harriot to discuss his new book, Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America. They discuss the inspiration for the book, the most persistent myths of race and racism, and fighting the backlash against Black history. Guest: Michael Harriot, author of Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices