The Revenge Of The Comment Section

Comment sections are dying. At least, when it comes to digital media. Platforms like Twitter have become the new place for discourse, and apps like TikTok are changing what the comment section is even for. Slate’s comments, however, are special. On today’s show, host Kate Lindsay is joined by staff writer Luke Winkie, who dove into the lore of Slate’s decades-old commenter community, and even called up his biggest hater to find out what keeps him coming back. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dumbphones are a popular recommendation for people looking to reduce their screen time, but it’s not as simple as it looks. When writer Stephanie Murray made the switch, while she found it did solve many of her problems, it created them for pretty much everyone else around her. On today’s show, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Murray, who wrote about her experience for The New York Times, to discuss how the outside world is also too smartphone-dependent, and what people should know before taking the dumbphone plunge. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay, with help from Kevin Bendis. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Like clockwork, another article has created a moral panic about so-called “sickfluencers,” or people—usually women—who share online about their illnesses and disabilities. Critics argue that the rise of these diagnoses and creators is some kind of social contagion, with participants faking their symptoms for social media attention. But these fears are not just overblown—they’re harmful. On today’s show, host Kate Lindsay is joined by social psychologist Devon Price, author of Unmasking Autism and Laziness Does Not Exist, to discuss the realities of this trend, and why so much of the criticism is rooted in sexism. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A former Anthropic employee claimed AI would lead to the end of humanity, and soon. In the weeks since, the “whistleblower” has done a full press tour, with even Anthropic and OpenAI themselves seeming to cosign this claim. As a result, hysteria has ensued—and that’s exactly what these AI companies want. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Better Offline host and #1 AI Hater Ed Zitron to debunk the doomsdayers, and explain why, exactly, these companies are so interested in the end of the world. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pregnant werewolves and surprise quadruplets are just two of the tropes you might find while watching what might be the next evolution of TV: vertical microdramas. Told in 90 second clips, these stories are soap operas for the smartphone era, and are keeping the industry afloat during an otherwise turbulent time for Hollywood. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Yahoo senior culture reporter Kelsey Weekman to hear why dedicated fans are tuning into such ridiculous stories, and how AI is already threatening to bring this rare good thing to an end. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Curtain for Zoosha! K-smog and Batboy caught flipping a grunt.” If that’s also what every headline sounds like to you, then you’re in the right place. Alex Earle and Stella Lefty are taking over For You Page discourse, but are two pop culture figures we somehow know everything and nothing about. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Hip Replacement’s Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick to get to the bottom of exactly who these women are, and how the ambient, “nothing” nature of their digital footprint is precisely the point. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay, with help from Evan Campbell.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How many apps does it take to raise a child in 2026? Not only are parents navigating countless WhatsApp groups and summer camp platforms, there’s also a whole world of Reels, subreddits, and Facebook groups filled with advice. Often, however, the answers just lead to more questions. On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by What Next: TBD host Lizzie O’Leary to talk about the parenting side of the internet, and how understandable anxieties play out online. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many women are hiding their boyfriends online, or losing followers if they hard-launch. Some go as far as to say having a boyfriend “feels republican.” Is this heterofatalism gone too far, or a long-overdue correction to the patriarchy? On today’s encore episode host Kate Lindsay was joined by writer and content creator Josh Lora, who also goes by TellTheBees. Josh’s Substack essay, Boyfriendland, was cited in the viral Vogue article written by Chanté Joseph, “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, and Kate Lindsay.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rise of AI has led to a rise of distrust, but the “tools” used to identify AI and plagiarism are perpetuating preexisting biases. Jason Arday, the former Cambridge professor who was found dead in his home last month, is the latest in a string of headline-making scandals targeting writers and academics of color, while white infractors fall quickly out of the news cycle. In today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by The Drey Dossier to discuss why plagiarism and AI accusations are our weapon of the moment, and why institutions, not individuals, should bear the brunt of our frustrations. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you remember the last time you had fun online? In recent years, it’s felt like social media has become overridden with hot takes, discourse, and something called “bean soup theory,” and it’s making the internet a frustrating place to be. In today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by social strategist Carmen Vicente to talk about why TikTok is starting to feel like Twitter, and if every social media platform is doomed to the same fate. But the real question is: Is it because of us, or them? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.