Slate Debates Slate Podcasts

Why is everyone—on the left and the right—suddenly touting the benefits of a married two-parent family? And what is it about this institution that appeals to a certain class of politicians and pundits as means to address American poverty, even as it loses popularity?

We consider the public meltdown over lower marriage rates and the renewed interest in ending no-fault divorce. 

Guest: Rebecca Traister, author of All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation and writer-at-large for New York magazine. 

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.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Madeline Ducharme, Anna Phillips, Paige Osburn, and Rob Gunther.
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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… what? Oh my god, who told you?

Adoption is a complicated thing. Raising a child who’s not related to you is challenging — and being that child, in many ways, is even harder. 

And it’s all too easy for adoption, particularly a white family adopting a black or brown child, to be framed as a heroic act. The truth, as adoptees will tell you, is a lot messier.

Angela Tucker, a writer and transracial adoptee, joins us to argue that adoption is traumatic… and with the right reforms, it shouldn’t need to happen as often as it does.


If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie

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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… the conscription question.

The U.S. military is having trouble meeting recruitment goals — and for the first time in recent history, the Army has actually failed to meet its minimum. 

Joe Plenzler, a writer, consultant and Marine Corps veteran, joins us to argue that it’s time to bring back the draft; more specifically, a partial one. It’d help address recruiting shortfalls, but more importantly, it might also change how Americans feel about public service… and how politicians feel about endless war.


If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie

You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months.
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Following “The Call,” our series on the opioid epidemic continues in Harlem. Inside a safe-consumption site, addiction is destigmatized—outside, however, the neighbors feel differently.

Guest: Syderia Asberry-Chresfield, co-founder of the Greater Harlem Coalition and a former Vice President for JP Morgan Chase.

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.
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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… popping the question.

By The Knot’s estimates, we’re officially entering peak wedding season. And we know there are many, many controversial opinions we could tackle about weddings, but let’s start with that thing that precedes most weddings: the engagement ring. 

The ring – especially a diamond one – is an institution that feels like a foregone conclusion for couples taking the next step in their relationship. But does it need to be? 

Belinda Luscombe, author of Marriageoloy and editor-at-large at TIME Magazine, joins us to argue for the end of the engagement ring. 

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie

You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months.
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On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… supreme hubris.

The Supreme Court is currently unpopular to a historic degree. That popularity is, of course, contingent on political opinion – and whether the court has bucked it recently. But most people agree that something’s wrong with the Supreme Court as an institution.

And, according to Aaron Tang, it’s not partisanship… even though that’s a popular scapegoat. It’s overconfidence and egos running wild.

Professor and author Aaron Tang joins us to discuss what’s wrong with SCOTUS, and how we might start to fix it.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie

You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices