On this week’s show, Slate staff writer Nadira Goffe sits in for Stephen. First, the panel explores Babygirl and its kinks. The latest feature from Dutch writer-director Halina Reijn stars Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson, and is fascinated by sex (mostly, as a concept.) Then, the three puzzle over Nickel Boys and the film’s audacious use of first-person point-of-view in filmmaker RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Nickel Boys. Finally, what does a Hollywood smear campaign look like? The trio discusses the messy legal and PR conflict embroiling Blake Lively and former It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, the panel checks in with Julia and production assistant Kat, as they share their experiences of the L.A. wildfires.  

Email us at [email protected]. 

Endorsements:

Nadira: Transa by Red Hot Org. Specifically, “Is It Cold In The Water” performed by Moses Sumney and ANOHNI.

Julia: Niksa sleep masks.

Dana: Exploring your local college radio stations. She likes WFUV (owned by Fordham University) and Columbia University’s WKCR. 

Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry. Production assistance by Kat Hong.

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On this episode: Lucy sits down with actress and author Mandy Gonzalez for a wide-ranging conversation about parenting, building a creative mom group, and enduring cancer treatment with your head held high. Mandy also answers questions from our own budding Broadway stars.

Lucy also shares a quick update about her mom's cancer journey - and Care & Feeding's production schedule in the new year.

Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] 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. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.

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 Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus to help support our work.

Podcast produced by Maura Currie.

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On this episode: it’s the day after Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah — so we thought there would be no better time than now to sit down to talk about parenting, faith, and the cultural traditions that we adopt, and craft, for our kids.

Zak is joined by Slate writer and friend of the show Aymann Ismail and interfaith relationship and parenting expert Susan Katz Miller. 

Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] 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. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts.

Podcast produced by Maura Currie.

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Slate Political Gabfest host David Plotz talks with author David Greenberg about his new book, John Lewis: A Life. They discuss how Lewis went from marching with Martin Luther King, Jr. to an iconic career as a politician, Lewis’s commitment to non-violence, how Greenberg uncovered never-before-seen documents, and more.

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.

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After a tepid embrace of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and a back-and-forth over Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” country music fans are all in on Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” How has this hip-hop-inflected country hit perched atop the charts for a record-tying 19 weeks? 

Guest: Chris Molanphy, chart analyst, pop critic, host of the Hit Parade podcast, and author of Slate's “Why Is This Song No. 1?” series and the book Old Town Road.

Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more.

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All good things must come to an end. For now. After close to four years at Slate, A Word will be moving on. For today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson highlights some of the memorable conversations on the show, on issues from politics, police brutality, Afro-Futurism and more. 

Want more A Word? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/awordplus to get access wherever you listen.

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Many of the American musical genres that began in the Black community get taken over—artistically, financially, or both—by white Americans. Go-go, which traces its roots to the African-American neighborhoods in and around Washington, DC, is an exception. Now a new museum aims to preserve and amplify the essence of go-go, and extend its legacy to the next generation of fans. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Natalie Hopkinson, chief curator of the Go-Go Museum and Cafe Washington, DC, and the author of “Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City.” They discuss the museum, the history go-go across the region, and its unique role in inspiring resistance to gentrification and erasure of the city’s Black heritage.

Guest: Professor Natalie Hopkinson, writer and co-curator of the Go-Go Museum in Washington, DC.

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

Want more A Word? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/awordplus to get access wherever you listen.

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On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Capital B reporter, Brandon Tensley to discuss Trump’s cabinet picks, and their potential impact on the Black community.

Guest: Brandon Tensley, Capital B News reporter

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

Want more A Word? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/awordplus to get access wherever you listen.

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In this Money Talks: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs are being targeted by “anti-woke” pundits. Emily Peck is joined by Simone Foxman of Bloomberg to explain why DEI is under fire from conservatives, and what these programs might look like under Trump’s second term – if they exist at all. 

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.

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A sizable number of pregnancies end in a loss, whether to miscarriage, still-birth or abortion. But until very recently, discussions of these losses were kept out of public—and policy—conversations. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Colleen Long and Rebecca Little, co-authors of the book, “I’m Sorry for My Loss: An Urgent Examination of Reproductive Care in America.” They share their own stories of pregnancy loss, and what they learned about the range of experience from dozens of interviews for their book. They also offer their insights about why reproductive rights remain popular, even when the politicians who champion them aren’t.

Guest: Colleen Long and Rebecca Little, co-authors of “I’m Sorry for My Loss: An Urgent Examination of Reproductive Care in America.”

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

Want more A Word? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/awordplus to get access wherever you listen.

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On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to deport millions of “illegal immigrants.” As he prepares to return to the White House, it’s time to figure out how that would work—and who it would include.

Guest: Molly O'Toole, reporter covering immigration and security.

Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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