Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay investigate the disappearance of SylvanianDrama . The creator behind the account gained millions of followers for role-playing salacious narratives with the fuzzy Calico Critters children’s toys, but a copyright lawsuit from the brand itself has threatened the future of the account. Fans of SylvanianDrama are in an uproar, but the story isn’t black and white. Instead, it’s a warning for all of us about how personal posts online could end up paying professional conseq...
Jul 26, 2025•46 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim break down everything that’s happened since a software CEO was caught in a suspicious position with his co-worker at a Coldplay concert. From Chris Martin’s viral dialogue to the dearth of content emerging from this story, they run through the tenets of a monocultural moment and debunk the misinformation that has transpired alongside this scandal. Get more of ICYMI with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of ICYMI and ad-free listening on all your favorite ...
Jul 23, 2025•47 min
Brendan Paul co-owns the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, which claims to be the site of the world's first Elvis-themed wedding. Dressed in sparkly jumpsuits, Brendan marries sometimes as many as 75 people a day—in back to back 15-minute appointments. But while his portrayal of Elvis is generally a jovialone, his view on The King's life isn't entirely one of reverence. "That loneliness, that despair, that unsatisfied inside," he told me about Elvis near the end of his life. "A lot people g...
Jul 22, 2025•38 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by New York Times reporter and former ICYMI host Madison Malone Kircher to break down the internet history of Jojo Siwa. The 22-year-old got her start on Dance Moms over ten years ago, and has gone on to be a singer, performer, and serial reality TV show contestant. During this time she came out as queer, and attempted to have her own Miley Cyrus Bangerz rebrand. Now, with a new single and a new boyfriend, Jojo is entering yet another era, prompting the qu...
Jul 19, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Candice Lim is joined by Dazed senior writer Laura Pitcher to discuss her piece , “Meet the people using ChatGPT as their therapist.” Since ChatGPT’s public release in late 2022, there has been a growing reliance on the artificially intelligent chatbot in people’s everyday lives. TikTok users are talking about the way they use ChatGPT as their therapist, their best friend, their life organizer, and more. But is reliant, daily use of an AI service worth possible consequences such as climate chang...
Jul 09, 2025•43 min
Ray Christian joined the U.S. Army in 1978, as a way to get his life started. He became a paratrooper, an infantryman, and a drill sergeant. He also endured trauma and found that getting out of the service was more challenging than he expected. This week, Ray discusses why he signed up in the first place, what it was like serving in-between major conflicts, and how he eventually transitioned into a life of academia and storytelling. To hear more of Ray’s stories, check out his appearances on Sna...
Jul 08, 2025•57 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim are joined by Ingrid Nilsen , an OG beauty lifestyle YouTuber who you may know as “MissGlamorazzi,” to reflect on the 10-year anniversary of her most iconic video to date. Throughout the 2010s, YouTube was the platform of choice for “coming out” videos. During those years, the U.S. saw progress in LGBTQ+ acceptance and representation, including a SCOTUS decision legalizing gay marriage nationwide in 2015. A part of this growing acceptance online included prominent cr...
Jun 28, 2025•51 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Yahoo senior entertainment reporter Kelsey Weekman , who is fresh off the plane from this year’s VidCon. Unlike past years, when TikTokkers took over the Anaheim Convention Center, VidCon 2025 put YouTubers front and center, inducting the first creators into the VidCon Hall of Fame. With platforms like MySpace and Vine coming and going, how has YouTube stuck around? Why can’t TikTok dethrone it? And who on earth is “ jmancurly ”??? This podcast is produ...
Jun 25, 2025•48 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Slate staff writer Nadira Goffe, whose coverage of the United States v. Sean Combs (also known as the Diddy trial) has meant sharing a press room with YouTubers and streamers. These new media journalists have millions of followers, and aren’t beholden to the same editorial and ethical standards as traditional news outlets. As a result, they might just be beating them at their own game. This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candic...
Jun 18, 2025•50 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Wired senior writer and producer of Black Twitter: A People’s History , Jason Parham, to attempt to explain the enigma that is “international bestselling author” Quan Millz. With titles like Old THOT Next Door and My Baby Daddy Is A Bedbug , Millz’s books have no trouble capturing the attention of the internet, so much so that the previously-anonymous author was forced to unmask himself to ward off a potential scandal. But who, exactly, are Millz’s book...
Jun 14, 2025•45 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim dive into the online workplace drama surrounding a millennial founder’s hot take about 9-to-5 workers. Lindsey Carter is the CEO of SET Active, an influencer-targeted athleisure brand you may have seen on Kaia Gerber and Kendall Jenner. Recently, Carter complained in a now-deleted TikTok about office workers who leave right when the clock strikes 5 p.m. This is not the first time Carter has come under fire for questionable workplace practices, but this time, she’s Su...
Jun 11, 2025•35 min
After dating influencer TheWizardLiz revealed she had been cheated on, her viral tips for how to “keep” a man rang hollow. Candice Lim fills in Kate Lindsay on all the Wizard Liz lore, and how TikTok dating gurus are this decade’s Carrie Bradshaws. But with so much more of our lives on display, it’s riskier than ever for anyone to claim they’ve figured out the secret to love. Have these creators really cracked the code for a successful relationship, or are they just pickup artists in a new font?...
Jun 07, 2025•38 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim break down the wedding weekend heard round TikTok starring one of r/NYCInfluencerSnark’s main characters. Jazmyn Smith (better known as @justjazzzyidk ) got married after a year-long engagement that was rife with criticism surrounding her relationship, her fiancé’s financial status, and more. But instead of burying the wedding, she brought her followers along by posting in real time, creating TikTok spreadsheets, and having her assistant run her account while she got...
Jun 04, 2025•38 min
Long before Celine Song was nominated for an Academy Award for her directorial debut, Past Lives , she was a struggling playwright in New York City with a side hustle: matchmaking. In this episode, Celine talks about how that experience inspired the plot of her new A24 movie, Materialists , starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. This podcast was produced by Zoe Azulay. Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membe...
Jun 03, 2025•46 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Sara Petersen, author of Momfluenced , to chat about season two of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives . Mormon women once pioneered mommy blogging, so how did we get from vlogging to…swinging? The influencers who make up the reality show cast, known as “MomTok,” claim their racy antics are breaking stigmas and modernizing gender roles. In reality, they’re weaponizing their misunderstanding of feminism for their own personal gain. This podcast is produced ...
May 31, 2025•50 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim are joined by Slate staff writer Molly Olmstead to talk all things Pope Leo XIV, who made the internet go wild following a highly-covered conclave, strong Chicago ties, and a digital footprint that keeps unfurling. But another reason the Pope has seemed more exposed than ever before is because for some groups online, it’s becoming trendy to be Catholic. They break down the first days of our new pope and how recent converts are creating a new Catholic culture that not...
May 21, 2025•39 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim explain the situation surrounding influencer Kayla Malec and beauty YouTuber James Charles. Malec is a 19-year-old TikToker who was in a 9-month relationship with a content creator named Evan Johnson. After their breakup, Malec posted a YouTube video accusing her ex-boyfriend of domestic abuse and violence. Days later , Johnson was charged by officials in Tennessee with domestic assault, and last week , he pled guilty to those charges and was sentenced to 18 months i...
May 14, 2025•28 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim check in with the “ Caveman Skincare ” method and they pour one out for Skype. Then, they dive into the internet controversy surrounding a TikTok running influencer and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Kate Mackz is the host of a TikTok series called The Running Interview Show where she jogs with celebrities. Last week, Mackz — who up until this point, did not discuss politics much on her page — interviewed Leavitt for the series and it ended up creating...
May 07, 2025•31 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay break down the drama surrounding an influencer’s new book that has kicked off a whole controversy before it’s even been released. Christina Najjar, better known as Tinx , has made a successful career as a TikTok influencer who doles out dating advice to her more than 1.5 million followers. Her new book is a summer beach read following an influencer who escapes to the Hamptons after getting canceled. But TikTok creators have been suspicious leading up to the book’s re...
Apr 30, 2025•34 min
J.D. Vance killed the Pope. Demi Lovato keeps their twin Poot locked in the basement. Lea Michele still can’t read. These things, unfortunately, aren’t true, and are instead just some of the inside jokes the internet has decided to collectively agree on over the years. In this episode, Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay break these internet lies down, and ask: Why do we make these jokes, and what happens when an inside joke breaks containment? This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Ber...
Apr 26, 2025•28 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay run through the lows of Coachella, before breaking down a lawsuit against one of the festival’s most visible e-commerce brands, Revolve. Earlier this month, Revolve was hit with a $50 million class-action lawsuit accusing them of deceiving more than 1 million customers using social media marketing tactics. The lead plaintiff named three influencers as co-defendants, saying they didn’t disclose that Revolve paid them for sponsored posts and had she known the posts wer...
Apr 23, 2025•30 min
To fly a plane, pilots must prove to the Federal Aviation Administration that they’re physically and mentally fit. But when it comes to mental health, the rules are complicated and, some say, outdated. Pilots who need antidepressants are limited to a short list of approved medications and must take a mandatory six-month leave. Even common diagnoses like anxiety or depression can trigger reviews that could ground them. The F.A.A.’s rules are born out of desire to keep the public safe, but in this...
Apr 22, 2025•55 min
Kareem Rahma, host of the viral web series Subway Takes , says he’s been working since he was 14 and hasn’t really taken a break. In high school, he worked service jobs. In college, he bought and re-sold motorcycles, jeans, and whatever else he thought he could flip. This week on the show, Kareem explains why he’s had so many jobs, including posts at Vice and the New York Times, and he discusses the financial maneuvering that allowed him to pivot to comedy in his 30s. You can check out his podca...
Apr 15, 2025•56 min
On this week’s show, the hosts discuss Apple TV’s latest ode (tragic comedy?) to the movie industry with The Studio . Then, they step up to the plate and take a swing at the baseball film Eephus . Finally, they invite Slate’s Rebecca Onion to discuss the new edition to Panem’s dystopia: Suzanne Collin’s Sunrise on the Reaping . Endorsements: Dana: A French Village Podcast Steve: “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship” by Hannah Arendt Dan: Sky Daddy ’ by Kate Folk Podcast production and res...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 14 min
On this week’s show, no amount of star power can save a “screamingly stupid show.” (Sorry, Robert De Niro et al.) With Sam Adams —Slate Senior Editor and Staff Writer—sitting in for Dana, the team talks about the Netflix political thriller series Zero Day . Then they remember the career of Gene Hackman and end with their thoughts about this Atlantic article on navigating optimism during times of crisis. Endorsements: Julia: Moist Peanut Butter Cake Recipe from Cakes By MK Steve: The savage subur...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 10 min
On this week’s show, we preview the Oscars and Trump’s demolition throughout renowned institutions of art. Isaac Butler — author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act and host of the new Criterion Channel series, The Craft of Acting — sits in for Stephen Metcalf. First, the hosts discuss I’m Still Here and the continued addition of non-English speaking films getting some of the biggest Oscar buzz. Then we tackle the latest Trump shakeups at the National Endowment for the Arts a...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 13 min
On this week’s show, Slate Business and Tech reporter Nitish Pahwa sits in for Julia. The panel discusses Severance season 2 from Apple TV+. They then talk about the Oscar-nominated film No Other Land – a Palestinian documentary following a young activist fighting his community's mass expulsion by Israeli occupation. They end by discussing Nitish’s recent reporting on Buzzfeed’s upcoming AI-infused social media platform, BF Island . Endorsements: Dana: The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller and ...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 2 min
At nearly 40, Valerie is itching to pay off her student loans and finally become debt-free. But… how? On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace brings on Yanely Espinal, financial educator , author of Mind Your Money , and host of the Marketplace podcast Financially Inclined . Yanely breaks down the best ways to pay off your education debt without putting the rest of your life on hiatus. If you liked this episode check out: How To Make a Big Purchase Without Panicking Do you have a problem tha...
Feb 18, 2025•52 min
On this week’s show, the hosts dive into A Complete Unknown , director James Mangold’s surprisingly charming Bob Dylan biopic that’s all about fame and what it looks like to be adjacent to it. Then, the three explore Dick Wolf’s latest project: On Call , a half-hour cop procedural set in Long Beach, California that’s streaming on Prime Video. Finally, the trio remembers David Lynch, the iconic, singular filmmaker who passed away last week at the age of 78. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, th...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 21 min
For three decades, Mike has worked in a field with an uncertain future: journalism. He loves the stability of his current job mentoring student reporters, but he can’t stop thinking about starting a new career—in his 50s—in astrophysics, architecture, or law. On this episode of How To!, co-host Courtney Martin enlists career coach and psychologist Dr. Dawn Graham to help Mike think through his midlife career crisis, especially his urge to go back to school. Dawn’s book is Switchers: How Smart Pr...
Jan 14, 2025•44 min
