Slate News

This week: OpenAI has moved away from being run as a non-profit.  Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss the stated reasons behind the move and what it actually means to be a not-for-profit company. Then, the rates for next year's Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance have come out, and the prices have skyrocketed, reflecting an increase in healthcare costs across the board in the US. The hosts examine the reasons for this depressing trend. And finally, lovers of Maurizio Cattelan’s “America”, rejoice. Though his original piece was stolen, it turned out there was a spare 14k gold toilet all along and it will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s amid record high gold prices.  In the Slate Plus episode: AI Job Apocalypse…Now? Want to hear that discussion and hear more Slate Money? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The Chief Justice… is presiding over the end of the rule of law in America”. That quote did not come from host Dahlia Lithwick, but this week’s guest, former Federal Circuit Court Judge and George H. W. Bush appointee, J Michael Luttig. On this week’s show, Judge Luttig explains the unprecedented split we’re seeing between the federal courts and the highest court in the land in response to Trump’s lawlessness on everything from tariffs, to due process, to deploying the National Guard, and what it all means for the future of American democracy.  Next, Dahlia talks to the CEO of the small family business at the center of the tariffs case that will be argued at SCOTUS on Wednesday. Rick Woldenberg of Learning Resources explains why he’s standing up to Trump’s monarchic power grab, and why he sees himself standing shoulder-to-shoulder with James Madison. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, live from Chicago to celebrate 20 years of the Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Trump vs. Chicago showdown and the dynamics between progressive and centrist Democrats with former Chicago Mayor and Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, what threat President Trump poses to the future of American elections and how to push back, and memorable moments from Gabfest history. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, live from Chicago to celebrate 20 years of the Political Gabfest, Emily, John, and David take audience questions and discuss whether the damages caused by the Trump administration can ever be reversed, the most controversial topics from the show’s history, and more.   In the latest Gabfest Reads, Emily talks with Yale law professor John Witt about his new book, The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America. They explore the remarkable story of the Garland Fund—a small 1920s foundation that bankrolled early work by A. Philip Randolph, and others who would go on to shape the civil rights and labor movements.   Email your chatters, questions, and comments to [email protected]. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)   Podcast production by Nina Porzucki and Jake Sorgen   Research by Emily Ditto You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why SNAP benefits potentially won’t be replenished Nov. 1, and what happens to the people who depend on them to eat. Guest: Dr. Lindsay Allen, health economist and policy researcher at Northwestern University. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having successfully gotten their photo ops, the National Guard receded from the streets of Los Angeles, but an aggressive border patrol, with an eye on raising arrest numbers, has taken their place. In the South Bay, an activist group has formed to monitor where raids are happening, who’s conducting them, and try to help residents keep themselves safe. Guest:  Alexander Sammon, politics writer for Slate.  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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, the FBI indicted more than 30 people in a series of NBA gambling scandals. The sports leagues are promising drastic action – but with everyone from the states to the owners getting rich off legal sports gambling, is the game rigged?  Guest: Jay Willis, editor-in-chief of Balls and Strikes. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Money Talks: Emily Peck and Felix Salmon are joined by legal scholar Ray D. Madoff to discuss her new book The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy. Ray lays out how the US tax code favors the wealthy to an unbelievable degree, helping them to essentially opt out of the system altogether.  Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slate Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh discuss the federal indictments of NBA players and coaches for gambling incidents and how the ubiquity of online betting plays a role.. Then the panel is joined by the host of the Ringer’s F1 podcast, Megan Schuster, to discuss the excitement and drama heading into the final stretch of the Formula 1 season. Finally, they finish with a mid-season NFL check-in. On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel discusses the San Francisco Giants hiring a college baseball coach as their new manager, a first in MLB. Gambling and the NBA (2:47): Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier have been indicted F1 (21:56): Can Verstappen eke out another championship? NFL (38:14): Could Daniel Jones really be an MVP (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.) Get more Hang Up and Listen with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Hang Up and Listen and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Hang Up and Listen show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/hangupplus for access wherever you listen. You can email us at [email protected]. Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Isn’t a government shutdown supposed to be a crisis? The Republicans, in control of the White House, Congress and Supreme Court haven’t taken steps to end it on their own, and the ship may have already sailed on the only real ask from the Democrats. So what now? Guest:  Jonathan V. Last, editor at The Bulwark. 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, conservatives claimed that the Biden administration was pressuring tech companies to censor conservative speech with no solid evidence.  In Trump 2.0, the administration is explicitly bragging about doing the very same thing they accused democrats of. What gives?  Guest: Renée DiResta, Associate Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown and author of “Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices