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David Plotz talks with with author Tom Perrotta about why Tracy Flick doesn’t have the life she dreamed of in his new novel, Tracy Flick Can’t Win. A sequel to Perrotta’s 1998 novel Election, Tracy Flick Can’t Win meets up with Tracy Flick decades later where she’s a single mother and assistant principal of a New Jersey high school.  Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Judge Michael Luttig for the definitive conversation on a giant elections case now on the calendar at the Supreme Court. Moore v Harper is a North Carolina redistricting case that is also a vehicle for the Independent State Legislature Theory - a so-called doctrine that could radically re-order democracy in America. Judge Luttig - a stalwart of conservative legal circles for decades - will argue the case as co-counsel alongside former Acting Solicitor General under Obama, Neal Katyal.  In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Mark Joseph Stern to talk about the blossoming of bonkers gun cases in the wake of last term’s SCOTUS decision in Bruen, a big case concerning consumer protections and much more…  Dahlia’s new book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America, is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25% discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2020, the Black vote proved critical for Joe Biden in key states, and helped win the Senate for the Democrats. But in the years since, Republican leaders have pushed through laws aimed at discouraging and diluting the power of the Black vote. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson speaks with Cliff Albright, executive director of the Black Voters Matter Fund, about why fighting for ballot access remains essential, even in the face of violence.  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 just $1 for your first month. Thanks Avast.com! Learn more about Avast One at Avast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One company’s software is helping set prices for apartments across the country. But when does an algorithm telling landlords how much to charge—by drawing on property data—cross the line from “handy tool” to “illegal price-fixing”?  Guest: Heather Vogell, reporter with ProPublica Host: Lizzie O'Leary 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

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson concerning polls for Democrats, women protesting Iran’s regime, and the trial of Arkansas’ law targeting trans kids. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Roya Hakakian for The Atlantic: “The Bonfire of the Headscarves” A Beginner’s Guide to America for the Immigrant and the Curious, by Roya Hakakian  Matthew Yglesias for Slow Boring: “Pre-Registering Some Takes On The Midterms: Why I Think Democrats Will Undershoot Their Polling And What It Means” Kelli María Korducki for The Atlantic: “'I Think the Women Are Winning': Roya Hakakian on Iran”  Here are this week’s chatters: John: The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward's Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump;  Michael Wines and Neil Vigdor for The New York Times: “Videos Show Confusion as Florida Police Arrest People on Voter Fraud Charges” Emily: Emily Heil for The Washington Post: “Olivia Wilde Solves Salad Dressing Mystery With A Nora Ephron Recipe” David: Jeff Maysh for The Atla

On this episode: Zak and Jamilah are joined by Ophira Eisenberg, stand-up comedian and host of the podcast Parenting Is a Joke. They share some funny triumphs and fails spanning from spoiled birthday presents to a dance recital mix up. Then they continue the birthday train and advise a parent who is looking for party alternatives for their son’s first birthday bash with friends. The problem? They live in a small house—too small to host a party—and don’t want to spend a fortune to rent a space.  Then on Slate Plus, they play a trivia game to see how well they know parenting pop-culture. 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 Mom and Dad are Fighting. Sign up now at https://slate.com/momanddadplus to help support our work. Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of toda

You can divide the career of the artist formerly known as Kanye West into chapters using off-script televised moments—announcing “George W. Bush doesn’t care about Black people” during a Hurricane Katrina telethon; interrupting Taylor Swift on stage at the VMAs; calling 400 years of slavery a choice in the TMZ offices. Now his Tucker Carlson appearance and subsequent bans from social media for antisemitic posts have Ye entering the “buying Parler phase” of his career. Fans of the “old Kanye” are missing more than just his choice samples.  Guest: Nitish Pahwa, staff writer and web editor at Slate.  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 https://slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate senior supervising producer of audio Daisy Rosario is joined by author Elissa Bassist to talk about women’s voices. They discuss Elissa’s new book, Hysterical and unpack why we cringe when we hear vocal fry, and ask why we don’t have similar words to describe male vocal ticks. Later in the show, they dig into how the fear of scrutiny women have over their voices silences them in ways you haven’t imagined.  In Slate Plus, Elissa talks about her involvement in Cheryl Strayed’s famous quote, “Write like a motherfucker.”  Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Shannon Palus, Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.  Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this edition of Working Overtime, hosts Karen Han and June Thomas help a listener named Alisa who wants to know if it’s possible to move beyond goal-focused work. Alisa works in academia, where the goals and checkpoints are clear, but she feels like she’s gone as far as she can go. Karen and June share their experiences with goal-focused work and try to think of alternative methods for motivation.    Do you have a question about creative work? Call us and leave a message at 304-933-9675, or email us at working@slate.com.   Podcast production by Kevin Bendis and Cameron Drews. Check out Remote Works here: https://link.chtbl.com/remoteworks?sid=podcast.WORKING Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the beginning of World War II, the greatest threat to the American war effort wasn’t the Nazis or the Japanese—it was runaway inflation. The man in charge of stopping it was the country’s “price czar,” Leon Henderson. In 1942, he controlled how much coffee ordinary people could drink and how many tires they could buy. Those rules made him a nationwide villain. But would they save the country? One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, and Josh Levin.  Derek John is senior supervising producer of narrative podcasts and Merritt Jacob is senior technical director. Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, Rachelle is joined again by Daisy Rosario to discuss what’s been happening online. First they scrape heaps of butter off their cutting boards, and then Daisy explains all the drama surrounding actor Sara Porkalob’s recent interview in Vulture where they tear into their own production. And then Rachelle gets powered up to tell Daisy exactly what a linewife and a bucket bunny are, and why they’ve taken over TikTok. This podcast is produced by Daniel Schroeder, Rachelle Hampton, and Daisy Rosario. Subscribe to Slate Plus at slate.com/icymiplus Thanks Avast.com! Learn more about Avast One at Avast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bryan Lowder is still out on book leave, but hosts Christina Cauterucci and Jules Gill-Peterson summon him back to discuss Bros, the gay rom-com of the moment. The film lingers on questions of queer history, shows what happens when a nerdy podcast guy dates a beefy gay bro, and is a fascinating meditation on what it means to be a cis gay man in a time of both progress and prosecution. (This segment lasts around 31 minutes if you want to skip ahead to avoid Bros spoilers.) Then they are joined by Meg Metcalf, an LGBTQ collections specialist at the Library of Congress, to discuss how the world’s biggest library is surfacing the plentiful LGBTQ resources that can be found in its building and in cyberspace. Finally, they add some new items to the gay agenda. Items discussed in the show: The Problem With Jon Stewart, “The Problem With Gender”  “Why Jon Stewart’s Humiliation of an Anti-Trans Official Is So Important,” by Evan Urquhart in Slate A new report from the Human Rights Campaign and Bowling Green State Uni

This week, the panel begins by discussing Cate Blachett’s new film Tár. Then, they dig into the ways the Star Wars universe is expanded in the series Andor. Finally, Slate’s own Dan Kois joins the panel to discuss his recent feature on forgotten American poet Rod McKuen.  In Slate Plus, the panel talks about the practice of reading out loud.  Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements Dana: Sharing a musical endorsement after coming across a CD on the street by chance. Josquin Desprez’s choral religious work is wonderful thinking music, and this version is performed by La Chapelle Royale.  Julia: A character in Tár inspires a revisit to the incredible New York Times obituary of Gilbert E. Kaplan written by Margalit Fox in 2016.  Steve: Joining Dana with a music suggestion, enjoy the oddly bewitching charm of jazz pianist McKoy Tyner’s Nights of Ballads & Blues from 1963.  Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Yesica Balderrama. Outro music is "Break The Line" by Coma Svensson. If

Republican rhetoric paints America’s cities as cesspools of crime, homeless and, uh, out-of-touch elites, and the party has largely given up courting urban voters. The GOP may be able to hold on to power thanks to voting systems that favor rural areas, but legislating as though their responsibilities stop at the city lines is a growing concern for the Americans who actually live there. Guest: Henry Grabar, staff writer at Slate.  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

Danny Lavery welcomes Emi Nietfeld, a writer, software engineer, and author of ACCEPTANCE: A Memoir. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Rumpus, Vice, and many more publications. Lavery and Nietfeld take on two letters. First, someone trying to cope with a failed gender-affirming surgical procedure. Another letter writer is wondering how to have a conversation with her elderly mom about her mental health. Plus, a chat about Nietfeld’s memoir, Acceptance.  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 Big Mood, Little Mood. Sign up now at Slate.com/MoodPlus to help support our work Need advice? Send Danny a question here. Email: mood@slate.com Production by Phil Surkis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dahlia Lithwick is on the road with Amicus and Lady Justice. In this bonus episode, she’s joined by Loyola Law Professor, legal commentator and columnist Jessica Levinson for a conversation about what we can learn from the women lawyers who held the line during the Trump years, and how to respond to the steady drum beat of “Lock Her Up” threatening women around America today.  The conversation is available in full for Slate Plus members.  Dahlia’s new book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America,  Lady Justice is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25% discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout. :https://books.supportingcast.fm/lady-justice 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 Amicus. Sign up now at slate.com/amicusplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices.

Five years after exposés in the New Yorker and New York Times, Harvey Weinstein is in jail—but a major rallying point of #MeToo was just how widespread this sexual harassment, abuse, and violence really is in workplaces across industries. Looking back, from the top of media to blue- and pink-collar work, how much has the #MeToo movement changed? Guest: Christina Cauterucci, senior writer at Slate. 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

Becca is 6-feet tall, bold and strong-willed. She’s also easily startled and paralyzed by fear — even a children’s haunted house can reduce her to tears. In this episode of How To!, we bring in sociologist Margee Kerr, author of Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear, to give us the lowdown on surviving scary situations. Can making fear more fun help Becca overcome her startle reflex in time for Halloween? Do you have a problem that needs solving? Have you found the advice on our podcast helpful? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001. 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/howtoplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Anderson and Stefan Fatsis are joined by Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley to review a crazy weekend in college football. ESPN’s Pablo Torre talks with Joel, Stefan, and Vinson Cunningham of The New Yorker about the new documentary 38 at the Garden on Jeremy Lin’s short but brilliant run with the New York Knicks a decade ago. Finally, Joel, Stefan, and Vinson discuss another new documentary, The Redeem Team, about the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team. College Football (5:25): Alabama vs Tennessee and CFB's explosive offenses. Linnsanity revisited (28:32): 38 at The Garden. Is Jeremy Lin still underrated? Redeem Team (49:28): Lebron, Kobe, Wade's quest for gold. Afterballs (1:09:01): Joel examines which high basketball stars lived up to the hype. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Elizabeth, Zak, and Dan debate what to do about a dad who threw a half-eaten bite of burger at his preteen. The fight started because his daughter protested that he took too big of a bite from her burger. But when he was questioned as to why he threw the bite of burger, he said he was justified because he had purchased it for her. Our letter writer is concerned that this spat is just another instance of his anger escalating. Elizabeth, Zak, and Dan share some tips on how to set boundaries within the family and possible next steps. Recommendations:  Dan recommends making holiday decorating easy by leaving the corresponding pictures stacked in the frame all year round. Zak recommends Little Big Boy by Nick Kroll. Elizabeth recommends Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty. Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes.  Podcast produced by Kristie Taiwo-Makanju