On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… if you need a Chief Diversity Officer, you’ve already failed. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) trainings are reaching ubiquity in pretty much every American workplace. There’s no doubt that discrimination, harassment and sequestering — on the basis of sex, sexuality, gender, race, age — all of that exists. The question becomes what to do about it. And there’s an argument to be made that the trainings and buzzwords might be doing more to make workplaces wor...
May 16, 2023•33 min
On this week’s episode of The Waves, E. Jean Carroll won, but what now? Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth talks with Slate senior writer Christina Cauterucci about the use of civil trials in cases of alleged rape and domestic violence, how the #MeToo movement influenced the trial, and what Carroll’s win could mean going forward. More About Carroll: “Not My Type” by Christina Cauterucci Lie Detector by Christina Cauterucci There’s a Remarkable Piece of Evidence in the E. Jean Carroll Trial by Chr...
May 11, 2023•38 min
On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… stop with the breakfast in bed. As we approach the summertime season of parenting holidays in the U.S. — Mother’s Day in May and Father’s Day in June — it’s worth remembering that these holidays’ histories are deeply political… not unlike parenting itself. Parenting is complicated, now more so than ever. In the best of circumstances, it’s a two-way relationship with a person who didn’t ask to be here. So what can we expect from our children? Gabrielle Blair, fo...
May 09, 2023•39 min
Emily Bazelon talks with author author Curtis Sittenfeld about her new book Romantic Comedy. They discuss why ordinary guys get to be with famous women, but usually not the other way around, the fun of writing a fictional version of Saturday Night Live, and how to write witty email exchanges. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at [email protected]. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad...
May 06, 2023•26 min
On this week’s episode of The Waves, we’re doing a very special Mom and Dad Are Fighting crossover with host Jamilah Lemieux. Jamilah sits down with author Virginia Sole-Smith to talk about her new book, Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture. They discuss helping kids accept their bodies in whatever form they take, dealing with our own internalized fatphobia, and more. In Slate Plus, answering a listener’s question on secret snacking. If you liked this episode, check out Making Friends ...
May 04, 2023•38 min
Author E. Jean Carroll has accused Donald Trump of raping her in a dressing room in the mid-1990s—and she’s suing him for battery and for defamation in response to his claims that she’s lying and “mentally sick.” The trial began on Tuesday, April 25th, in federal court in Manhattan. What’s at stake in this latest trial against the former president? Guest: Christina Cauterucci, Slate senior writer and host of Outward. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus m...
May 02, 2023•27 min
On this week’s episode of The Waves, finding friends as an adult. Slate executive editor Susan Matthews is joined by author, comedian, and musician Lane Moore to talk about Moore’s new book You Will Find Your People. They dig into the necessity of healthy boundaries, letting go of old friendships that no longer serve you, and the importance of deep friendships that require work. In Slate Plus, unpacking celebrity friendships. Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Daisy Ro...
Apr 27, 2023•34 min
On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… Kim, there’s people that are dying. We can probably all agree that reality shows aren’t exactly peak TV. But there’s a time, a place, and an audience for pretty much everything. In a world where Love Is Blind’s chart-topping run is frequently described as brilliant and awful in the same breath, it’s easy to dismiss this stuff as a product of the social media era. But that’s not quite accurate. Culture critic and podcast host Kristen Meinzer joins us to talk all...
Apr 25, 2023•33 min
Spring is in the air, and the Outward hosts are gay like tulips and queer like allergies! First, they discuss a new animated version of the beloved Frog and Toad series of children’s books, which premieres on Apple TV+ on April 28. Then they welcome Daniel M. Lavery to the pod. Danny was Slate’s own Dear Prudence for many years, and now a Dear Prudence book is here to grace our bookshelves. Danny shares his philosophy of advice-giving, talks about what it was like to transition in the public eye...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 24 min
This week, host June Thomas talks to drag queen, author, and activist Lil Miss Hot Mess. In the interview, LMHM explains the origins of her drag persona and drag name and discusses the skills she had to build up early in her career. Then she discusses her work with Drag Story Hour and talks about what it means for drag to be simultaneously more mainstream and constantly under attack. Finally, she discusses her two children's books, The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish and If You’re ...
Apr 16, 2023•52 min
There’s a terrible legal Easter egg in Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk’s ruling on the abortion medication, Mifepristone. And that same Easter egg makes an appearance in the Fifth Circuit’s partial stay. It’s the Comstock Act - a mostly forgotten 19th century vice statute that is suddenly the anti-abortion movement’s favorite zombie legislation. On a special extra episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Mary Ziegler, an expert on the law, history, and politics of reproduction, health care, an...
Apr 15, 2023•35 min
This week, David Plotz and Emily Bazelon discuss the federal court rulings on the F.D.A.-approved abortion medication mifepristone, the expulsion of two Democratic representatives by the Republican-supermajority state legislature in Tennessee, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ latest ethics problem. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Adam Unikowsky for Adam’s Legal Newsletter: “Mifepristone and the rule of law, part II” Allison McCann for the New York Times: “Insi...
Apr 13, 2023•54 min
On this week’s episode of The Waves - the freelancing side of acting with Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actress Caroline Aaron. Slate senior supervising producer Daisy Rosario is joined by Caroline Aaron - a familiar face in movies for over forty years, if not a household name. They discuss building a life with an unstable career path, how women’s stories are done a disservice in film and television, and how Caroline’s show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel seeks to overturn all of that. In Slate Plus, Caroline...
Apr 13, 2023•31 min
Last week a federal judge in Texas refuted the FDA approval for mifepristone, a pill used for medication abortions, which would suspend that approval across the country. But some experts say - plenty of drugs don’t have FDA approval, and are still widely distributed… from baby formula, to multivitamins. Guest: Rachel Rebouché, dean and James E. Beasley professor of law at the Temple University Beasley School of Law and faculty fellow at the Center for Public Health Law Research. If you enjoy thi...
Apr 13, 2023•29 min
Danny Lavery welcomes Tuck Woodstock, a journalist, educator, and the host of the podcast Gender Reveal. Lavery and Woodstock give advice to someone wondering why they’re suddenly identifying with their birth sex five years into their transition. Another letter writer is concerned about coming out to their social media following. A third letter is about fearing you are no longer attractive to your partner. Finally, a letter writer is wondering if they should speak up about her daughter’s water a...
Apr 08, 2023•51 min
In this episode, Danny M. Lavery (former Prudie and host of Slate’s Big Mood, Little Mood) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to recount his time answering your questions and take on new ones from people dealing with unwanted gifts, wedding dilemmas, and a parent refusing to let their college-aged daughter get a gun. If you want more Dear Prudence, you should join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members. Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to ...
Apr 07, 2023•46 min
On this week’s episode of The Waves, author, journalist, and former host of Slate podcast Thirst Aid Kit Nichole Perkins is joined by journalist Eliana Dockterman to discuss the disappearance of sexuality in recent movies. They unpack Eliana’s recent piece in TIME, “Why Aren’t Movies Sexy Anymore?” and try to work through the reasons films that hit the theaters are lacking heat. Hint: One reason has to do with some superheroes. In Slate Plus: Movies that DO have sex scenes. Podcast production by...
Apr 06, 2023•36 min
On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… the right to life and socialized healthcare walk into a delivery room. Writer and journalist Liz Bruenig joins Celeste to discuss her vision for a United States where childbirth costs nothing. In a nation with skyrocketing healthcare costs, attacks on reproductive rights, and potential rollbacks on preventive care, we tell birthing people that not only do they have to give birth — they have to court financial ruin in order to do it. Liz says it doesn’t have to ...
Apr 04, 2023•36 min
On this episode: Zak and Jamilah are joined by Evan Urquhart. Evan covers anti-trans propaganda on Assigned Media, writes for Slate, and manages Slate’s comments section. Today we’re going to be talking with Evan about his recent piece, There Are Two Sides to the Debate on Health Care for Trans Kids. Here’s What You’re Missing About One of Them. People and resources mentioned: Julia Serano, Assigned Media, and Trans Safety Network. Recommendations: Jamilah recommends the Dear Culture podcast. Ev...
Apr 03, 2023•37 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton is joined once again by BuzzFeed internet culture report Kelsey Weekman. The two discuss the fandom surrounding Succession’s Kendall Roy, the second son of billionaire Logan Roy, played by Jeremy Strong. This podcast is produced by Daniel Schroeder, Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 01, 2023•45 min
Baltimore is one of many aging American cities that is plagued with both a lack of affordable housing, and a surplus of vacant homes. But a local non-profit is addressing both those issues, and teaching community members to rebuild their neighborhoods one house at a time. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Shelley Halstead, who founded Black Women Build in Baltimore. Guest: Shelley Halstead, founder of Black Women Build Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel You can skip all t...
Mar 31, 2023•23 min
On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate supervising producer Daisy Rosario is joined by Texas Tribune reporter Roxanna Asgarian to discuss her book We Were Once A Family: A Story of Love, Death and Child Removal in America and its findings on the foster care system. The book covers the tragic Hart family murders in 2018 where two mothers drove their six adopted children off a cliff. In Slate Plus: How Roxanna navigated writing about a tragic family story in a pandemic while being a first-time...
Mar 30, 2023•36 min
Two weeks after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Lauren Hall found out the baby she was carrying had a fatal condition: her head and skull weren’t properly developing. Texas’s three overlapping bans on abortion forced her to fly to Washington to terminate the unviable pregnancy. With the Center for Reproductive Rights, she’s now one of five plaintiffs suing the state, so no one else will have to go through what she did. Guest: Lauren Hall, plaintiff suing the state of Texas over its abortion bans. If...
Mar 30, 2023•34 min
Two weeks after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Lauren Hall found out the baby she was carrying had a fatal condition: her head and skull weren’t properly developing. Texas’s three overlapping bans on abortion forced her to fly to Washington to terminate the unviable pregnancy. With the Center for Reproductive Rights, she’s now one of five plaintiffs suing the state, so no one else will have to go through what she did. Guest: Lauren Hall, plaintiff suing the state of Texas over its abortion bans. If...
Mar 30, 2023•34 min
In this episode, Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) answers questions from letter writers about coping with aging, dealing with a spouse’s out-of-control frenemy, and explaining a little medicinal drug use to in-laws. Tonya Mosley (host of Webby award-winning podcast Truth Be Told) joins to share some nuggets of wisdom. If you want more Dear Prudence, you should join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members. Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to sig...
Mar 24, 2023•41 min
On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior producer Cheyna Roth is joined by New Yorker editor Jessica Winter to talk all about postpartum psychosis. They dig into how the medical world is failing new moms during one of the “worst psychiatric emergencies” and why we need to talk about it more. After the break, Cheyna and Jessica talk about how movies and television have depicted postpartum depression and psychosis. In Slate Plus, are “influencer parents” really new? Articles Mentioned Wha...
Mar 23, 2023•40 min
For decades, there has been a stigma attached to remaining unmarried and childless in the Black community, particularly for women. But a growing part of the Black middle class is single, childfree adults. Does the trend threaten the future of the Black family, or is it time to recognize a different model for family life? On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by sociologist Kris Marsh, author of “The Love Jones Cohort: Single and Living Alone in the Black Middle Class.” Guest: Kri...
Mar 17, 2023•26 min
In this episode, Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) answers questions from letter writers who are dealing with judgemental parents, homophobic in-laws, and neighbors who throw dog poop over the fence. Mark Joseph Stern (a Slate senior writer) joins to share advice on what to do. If you want more Dear Prudence, you should join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members. Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to sign up. It’s just $15 for your first three m...
Mar 17, 2023•40 min
On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior editor Shannon Palus talks with longtime health and foodwriter Tamar Haspel about her views on weight loss, and why it’s important for feminist to not shy away from the topic. They dig into why crank diets don’t work and often fail in trials, how Tamar changed her mind about “just lose weight!” being good, blanket advice, and how to make conversations about weight empowering—or, at least, less fraught. In Slate Plus, a discussion about the latest...
Mar 16, 2023•43 min
This month, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder explore two parts of the queer world heavily associated with the 1970s: PFLAG and “The Lesbian.” First, they mark the 50th anniversary of PFLAG with a discussion of how the relationship between parents, parenthood, and queer people has changed over the last five decades, how it hasn’t, and what all that means in this dangerous era of “parental rights.” Then, they’re joined by Mairead Sullivan, a scholar and author of t...
Mar 15, 2023•1 hr 25 min
