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Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates is arguably the strongest voice of his generation on the role of race and identity in American politics and culture. He’s the author of several books, including “Between the World and Me,” “We Were Eight Years in Power,” and “The Beautiful Struggle,” and the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant and a National Book Award. For this week’s episode, we feature a conversation between Coates and host Jason Johnson, recorded live at the recent Cascade PBS Ideas Festival. They discuss everything from the diss track battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, to the campus protests over the Middle East, to the limits –and necessity– of participating in electoral politics. 

Guest: Award-winning writer Ta-Nehisi Coates

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

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For many, pregnancy is a time of heightened and joyful anticipation. There are doctor’s appointments, tests, preparation…All with a focus on bringing home a healthy baby. 
The other side of pregnancy–the complications–is not readily discussed. 
On this week’s episode of Well, Now we discuss all of these potential roadblocks with economist Emily Oster. In her latest book The Unexpected: Navigating Pregnancy During and After Complications, she arms patients with the data they need to advocate for themselves in their appointments.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out: How a Former Surgeon General Took on a $5,000 ER Bill
Well, Now is hosted by Kavita Patel, MD and Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN.
Podcast production by Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Alicia Montgomery.
Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to wellnow@slate.com 
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The ability to choose the sex of your child through IVF is banned in most of the world. In America, however, parents can—and do—for a price.

Guest: Emi Nietfeld, writer and software engineer, author of “The Parents Who Want Daughters—and Daughters Only” for Slate.

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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Stormy Daniels’s testimony in Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial; marijuana rescheduling; and the media’s role and responsibility in defending democracy.
 
Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:
Josh Gerstein for Politico: Stormy spoke. Trump fumed. Jurors were captivated – but also cringed.
Ivana Saric for Axios: Status of Trump’s criminal cases
Li Zhou for Vox: Marijuana could be classified as a lower-risk drug. Here’s what that means.
Sam Tabachnik for The Denver Post: Black market marijuana grows are popping up faster than law enforcement can take them down. But is legalization the cause?
John Ingold for The Colorado Sun: What have we learned about the arguments for and against legalized marijuana in the past 10 years?
Nathaniel Meyersohn for CNN: The dark side of the sports betting boom
C-SPAN: President Biden Remarks at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Ben Smith for Semafor: Joe Kahn: ‘The newsroom is not a safe space’
Dan Pfeiffer for Message Box: Why Biden Won’t Do a New York Times Interview and A Response to the Editor of the New York Times
Matthew Yglesias and Brian Beutler for the Politix Podcast: The Times, They Aren’t A Changin’
Charles Homans for The New York Times Magazine: Donald Trump Has Never Sounded Like This
Eli Stokols for Politico: The Petty Feud Between the NYT and the White House

Here are this week’s chatters: 
Emily: Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice by David S. Tatel 
John: Gina Kolata for The New York Times: Locks of Beethoven’s Hair Offer New Clues to the Mystery of His Deafness
David: Randy Yohe for West Virginia Public Broadcasting: W.Va. Gubernatorial Campaign Attack Ads Vilify Transgender Children and Kyndall Cunningham for Vox: The Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar feud, explained
Listener chatter from Justin and Katie in Columbus, Ohio: Keziah Weir for Vanity Fair: The Vatican’s Secret Role in the Science of IVF.   
 
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment, David, John, and Emily talk with Emily Lawler, Detroit Free Press. See Emily Lawler for the Detroit Free Press: Voters’ voices in Saginaw County; John Wisely: Legal troubles don’t dampen Trump enthusiasm as he visits Michigan; and Paul Egan: As Trump visits, Michigan bellwether Saginaw County is feeling its political juice. See also Arpan Lobo: Michigan lawmaker says ‘illegal invaders’ landed at DTW. They were NCAA basketball teams.
 
In the latest Gabfest Reads, John talks with David E. Sanger about his new book, New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West.
 
Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
 
Podcast production by Cheyna Roth
Research by Julie Huygen
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This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by legal scholar Mehrsa Baradaran, author of The Quiet Coup: Neoliberalism and the Looting of America. Mehrsa explains the roots of the neoliberalism movement and how the myth of free market made the American economy more oppressive, especially against black and brown people. Also: A misogynistic party culture has been revealed at the FDIC, and small banks are feeling the economic pinch. In the Plus segment: The California wildfires weren’t caused by Jewish space lasers — but there was malfeasance behind the scenes.
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Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth.
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You might not know Brad Parscale by name, but you know his work: he was the digital campaign operative behind Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential victory. This election cycle, he’s back—and advising conservatives on how to utilize A.I. in their campaigns. 

Guest: Garance Burke, global investigative journalist for the Associated Press.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, Cheyna Roth and Anna Phillips.
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