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On this week’s show, Steve, Dana, and Julia gab about Another Simple Favor, the sequel to Paul Fieg’s 2018 A Simple Favor, which again pits Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in a twisty, noir comedy. Next, they discuss Amy Sherman Paladino’s new Franco-American ballet TV confection Étoile. Finally, they confer on the shocking conclave pick of an American pope with New York Times journalist and Vatican-watcher Ruth Graham. In the exclusive Slate Plus Bonus Episode, the panel spoils the heck out of all the many wild plot turns of Another Simple Favor. Endorsements: Dana: The new film April by up-and-coming Georgian filmmaker Déa Kulumbegashvili. Julia: An essay by Keith Phipps’s about six crucial seconds in The French Connection and the experience of seeing this William Friedken film classic at a repertory cinema near you. Steve: The enduringly nourishing poem “Peeling Onions” by Adrienne Rich. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of his first trip to the region, Donald Trump’s policies toward the Middle East have been full of surprises. He wants sanctions on Syria lifted; he revealed the U.S. has been negotiating directly with Hamas; and he’s considering a new nuclear deal with Iran—and without consulting with Israel. Guest: Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent for the Economist. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 in jail. While Malec did win this case, somehow, the controversial makeup influencer James Charles entered the scene and caused more drama than necessary. ICYMI will explain how Malec’s story got sabotaged and overshadowed by influencers who may be trying to get clout off of her trauma, and why James Charles is somehow always involved in internet drama. This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the Democratic Party’s problem isn’t just messaging—it’s the Democrats themselves, and “seniority politics” that never call incumbents to account? Is it time for a Tea Party-style cleaning-of-the-house? Guest: David Hogg, DNC Vice Chair and founder of Leaders We Deserve PAC Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Money Talks: Redfin’s Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather has a new book, Hate The Game, where she shares the "economic cheat codes” she’s discovered for life, love and work. She joins Emily Peck to discuss topics from the book like how to use game theory when asking for a raise and why Destiny’s Child is such a good parable for knowing your negotiating power. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you stuck in a hair rut? On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin brings on Alana Lucia Balestrino, hairstylist, barber, and founder of the Brooklyn-based studio Baddies. Alana explains how to work with a stylist or barber to get a haircut you love. If you liked this episode check out: How To Dress with Confidence. Also: Decoder Ring’s Mystery of the Mullet. Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A man delivers an unforgettable pickup line. A woman asks her Uber driver out on a date. A rancher swears off men and then, years later, suddenly develops feelings for the guy down the road. This week, listeners share offline dating stories for the ages, including charming meet-cutes, frustrating missed connections, and happily ever afters. We also hear from Maxine Simone Williams, founder of WeMetIRL, a company that hosts in-person dating events in Brooklyn, NY. To learn more about our Uber driver love story, check out this marriage announcement in the New York Times! Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh return to talk about the latest in the NBA playoffs where the Warriors are in trouble, and the Knicks are…fun to watch? Then they talk about Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback quagmire. In the third segment, they discuss Boston Red Sox third or first baseman (depending on who you ask) Rafael Devers, and the history of asking players to switch to a different position. Ben has this week’s Afterball on Ayami Sato, the first woman to play in Canada’s Intercounty Baseball League. On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, they catch up on stories they’ve talked about on previous shows, including Justin Tucker’s release from the Ravens, and Sovereignty skipping the Preakness. NBA Playoff Latest (3:51): The Knicks are fun! Steelers Quarterback (23:17): Aaron Rodgers may or may not be it. Rafael Devers (36:42): Never ask a third baseman to go to first. (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.) Want more Hang Up and Listen? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page, or visit slate.com/hangupplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite being perhaps the least experienced person to ever hold his position, Pete Hegseth has set about dramatically reforming the Department of Defense to Donald Trump’s specifications—which seem to have less to do with creating a more effective fighting force, and more to do with window dressing. Guest: Tom Bowman, Pentagon reporter for NPR. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Zak, Elizabeth and Lucy talk about clothes. This listener’s six-and-a-half-year-old is super particular about what he wants to wear… and it’s making school mornings really hard. We’ll talk about how to accommodate the pickiness while also not derailing the start of your day. And then, we’ll circle up for a round of checkins… and on Slate Plus, we’re talking about teen joy. If you’re not part of the Slate Plus community, we hope you’ll consider joining! Keep reading to learn how. Zak’s checkin: self-defense against 4-year-olds Elizabeth’s checkin: all bamboo everything Lucy’s checkin: birthday gift politics Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@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. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The intimate and extremely personal experience of bringing a child into this world? There’s an app for that…and forums…and so much advice…that contradicts other advice…and a surprising amount of eugenics. Guest: Amanda Hess, critic at the New York Times and author of the book “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age.” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week: The UK and the US agreed to the framework for a trade deal. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the details of the agreement and what it means that it includes keeping the 10% baseline tariffs staying in place. Then, Bill Gates has announced that he’s winding down the Gates Foundation and doubling the money he’s giving away. The hosts discuss how this is a reaction to Elon Musk’s slashing of USAID and the state of billionaire philanthropy. And finally, OpenAI has reversed its plan to become a for profit enterprise after public backlash. The hosts discuss implications of the governance structure going forward. In the Slate Plus episode: Can Trump really put tariffs on Hollywood? 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While snark pages are universal, the UK website Tattle.Life has gained a reputation for being particularly cruel and relentless against influencers. Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay give a full breakdown of the website, which was founded in 2018 by a woman whose identity has never been revealed. She, along with other diehard users, reject the dramatic narrative the site has earned, and insist they’re just there to hold influencers accountable. Where, then, does this reputation come from? And what will happen to Tattle now that the UK government may get involved? This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Silicon Valley’s yeet to the right after Donald Trump was elected in 2016, and the DOGE-ification of the federal government (read: chaos and abuse as the driving ethos of HR), it felt like high time to delve into the evolving relationship between tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel and the U.S. government. Their influence has massive implications for core constitutional issues such as mass surveillance, privacy, and deregulation. Kara Swisher joins Dahlia Lithwick on this week’s Amicus to highlight the dangers of tech giants' encroachment on government oversight and the implications of AI and cryptocurrency. This week’s episode concludes with a heartfelt tribute to Justice David Souter who died on Thursday. Dahlia and former Souter Clerk Mary-Rose Papandrea reflect on the late Justice’s humility, judicial philosophy, and the profound loss felt by his former clerks and the legal community. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Jenée is joined by Brittany Luse — the host of NPR’s It’s Been a Minute. Together, they answer questions from a reader distraught that their fiance won’t stop publishing smutty fiction about real-life historical figures, another unsure what to do after her husband stole a $500 bottle of wine from their friends’ dinner party, a spooked listener who can’t get over how much she looks like her boyfriend’s dead wife, and a daughter trying to break it to her mom that her choice to live child-free isn’t a result of some unknown childhood trauma. Want more Dear Prudence? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/prudie-plus to get access wherever you listen. This week’s podcast is produced by Jenée Desmond Harris, Maura Currie, and Daisy Rosario, with special thanks to Anuli Ononye and Cameron Drews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why artificial intelligence isn’t waiting for consumer demand. Guest: Gerrit De Vynck, tech reporter for The Washington Post. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss anti-Trump sentiment in foreign elections with former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, why the Trump administration has done relatively little about medication abortion so far and whether it will last, and how looming Medicaid cuts will hurt millions of Americans. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss whether and how to pay attention and respond when Trump “jokes” about the possibility of serving a third term as president. In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with author Maggie Smith about her new book, Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Ethan Oberman Research by Emily Ditto Want more Political Gabfest? 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 Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Zak, Elizabeth and Lucy help a listener decide whether she’s done having kids. No pressure, right? But seriously: this listener has three little boys and is weighing the possibility of a fourth kid. There’s more love for her and her husband to give… but they’re also feeling burnt out. So how do you decide what to do? After that, of course, we’ll circle up for a round of triumphs and fails. Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@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. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The consequences of Donald Trump’s new tariffs are working their way through the supply chain and soon will start showing up for consumers in the form of empty shelves, higher prices, and potentially even layoffs and a recession. Guest: Christopher Mims, Wall Street Journal tech reporter and the author of Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door---Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy. Jessica Berger, CEO of Bundle x Joy. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Donald Trump is attempting to shape the arts to his own liking, from installing himself as head of the Kennedy Center to canceling grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, throwing organizations and projects of all sizes into uncertainty and chaos. Guests: Alisa Solomon, director of the Arts & Culture concentration at the Columbia Journalism School Katy Waldman, staff writer for the New Yorker. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Isabel Angell, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices