Death, Sex & Money

Slate Podcasts

4.6 (7.3K)
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Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.

3D AGO

Why Chef José Andrés Googled ‘How to Be a Father’

José Andrés is at the helm of more than a dozen restaurants and is famous for the humanitarian work that his organization World Central Kitchen does everywhere from Haiti to Gaza. But when it comes to parenting, José says he’s often felt less than confident. In this episode, he discusses his somewhat rocky upbringing in Spain, his successes and struggles as a chef and restauranteur, and his frustration that parenthood doesn’t come with a set of instructions. This episode was originally produced in 2019 when our team was Katie Bishop, Anabel Bacon, Emily Botein, and Andrew Dunn with help from Stephanie Joyce and Joanna Solotaroff. This week’s update was produced by Anna. 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

41 min
MAY 14 · BONUS • SLATE PLUS ONLY

Bonus: An Ode to Rom-Coms

Is The Princess Bride a rom-com? What about Broadcast News? In this exclusive Slate Plus episode, Anna answers these questions and more with Slate writer and editor Sam Adams and Slate's director of media relations Katie Rayford. They list some of their favorite films of the genre, discuss why Hollywood isn’t making more of them, and share stories from their personal lives that are…sort of reminiscent of rom-coms. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive bonus episodes of Death, Sex & Money—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Death, Sex & Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/dsmplus to get access wherever you listen.

35 min
MAY 13

Your IRL Dating Stories

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

55 min
MAY 6

Isabel Allende on Grief, Ayahuasca, and Dating After 70

Isabel Allende didn’t publish her first book until she was 39, after losing nearly everything in the wake of the Chilean military coup. More than four decades later, she’s become one of the most beloved Spanish-language authors, with over 80 million copies of her books sold worldwide. After political exile, writing books became Allende’s way of making sense of the world. She wrote through divorce, affairs, and moving across continents. But after the devastating loss of her daughter Paula, even writing felt impossible, until her mother urged her to begin again. “My mother knew that the only way for me to walk the tunnel of grief was writing,” she says. In this episode, Anna and Isabel talk about loss, late starts, and new beginnings. Isabel met her most recent husband, Roger, in her late 70s, “an age when most people are knitting for their great-grandchildren.” Allende’s newest novel, “My Name Is Emilia del Valle,” is out now. 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

53 min
APR 29

The Patient and Cunning Work of Defending LGBTQ Rights with a Republican Supermajority

In West Virginia, Republicans hold one of the largest supermajorities in the country, and it’s growing. Just 11 Democrats — down from 14 last year — are in the 134-member Legislature. It's a political reality that isn't necessarily conducive to advancing LGBTQ rights. But that's Andrew Schneider's job. As head of Fairness West Virginia, Andrew has spent a decade as the only full-time lobbyist at the state capitol working on LGBTQ issues. His approach? Winning people over through listening rather than confrontation, a strategy he developed in college when he purposely chose a conservative campus to practice changing minds. "I quickly realized that if I sat back and let someone talk to me and did not jump in and judge, they would trust me and we could actually have a meaningful conversation where ultimately I could inject my views," Andrew said. In this episode we talk to Andrew, and political leaders in West Virginia whom he’s lobbied, about his relational approach to getting through issues that matter to him, and how that strategy is being tested in Donald Trump’s second term. This episode is part of a series we’re calling Living At Odds, you can hear the rest of the series in the Slate podcast How To! 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

56 min
APR 23 · BONUS • SLATE PLUS ONLY

Bonus: How to Handle Bad Bosses, Office Romances, and Other Workplace Headaches

In this exclusive Slate Plus drop, Anna talks to Doree Shafrir and Laura Helmuth, authors of the work advice column 'Good Job.' They discuss how to deal with bad bosses, office romances, tricky social politics, and much more. Plus, they offer practical tips on how to kick off an uncomfortable conversation with a coworker. You can find 'Good Job' here: https://slate.com/advice/good-job Podcast production by Cameron Drews. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive bonus episodes of Death, Sex & Money—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Death, Sex & Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/dsmplus to get access wherever you listen.

37 min
APR 22

Are Airline Pilots Allowed to Be Depressed?

To fly a plane, pilots must prove to the Federal Aviation Administration that they’re physically and mentally fit. But when it comes to mental health, the rules are complicated and, some say, outdated. Pilots who need antidepressants are limited to a short list of approved medications and must take a mandatory six-month leave. Even common diagnoses like anxiety or depression can trigger reviews that could ground them. The F.A.A.’s rules are born out of desire to keep the public safe, but in this episode we talk to pilots, aspiring pilots, and medical aviation professionals about their unintended consequence: incentivizing people to stay quiet about their mental health issues. Read: Why Airline Pilots Feel Pushed to Hide Their Mental Illness Podcast production by Zoe Azulay. 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

55 min
APR 16 · BONUS • SLATE PLUS ONLY

Bonus: What the Heck is Going On With Student Loans?

For this bonus episode, writer Jillian Berman discusses her new book Sunk Cost: Who's to Blame For the Nation's Broken Student Loan System and How to Fix It. In her conversation with Anna, Jillian touches on the uncertainty of the moment and then dives into a history of the student loan system to illuminate how exactly we got here. You can find Jillian's Book here -- https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo244056598.html You can check our previous series on student loans, called Our Student Loan Secrets, here -- https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/deathsexmoney/projects/death-sex-money-our-student-loan-secrets Podcast production by Cameron Drews. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive bonus episodes of Death, Sex & Money—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Death, Sex & Money show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/dsmplus to get access wherever you listen.

31 min

See All (522)

In 1992, hundreds of armed federal agents surrounded a family of white separatists in a ramshackle mountaintop cabin. Eleven days later, three people were dead—and the story of Ruby Ridge was just beginning. Journalist Ruth Graham explores a tragedy that’s become a foundational myth for the modern right, and finds some frightening lessons about power and paranoia. Get full access to Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge with Slate Plus. Join to unlock the full season—plus ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Standoff show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/standoffplus for access wherever you listen.

2.7 (81)

TRUE CRIME
Slow Burn illuminates America’s most consequential moments, making sense of the past to better understand the present. Through archival tape and first-person interviews, the series uncovers the surprising events and little-known characters lurking within the biggest stories of our time. Want more Slow Burn? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Slow Burn and your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slow Burn show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/slowburnplus to get access wherever you listen. Season 10: The Rise of Fox News How a cable news channel became a cultural and political force—and how a whole bunch of people rose up to try and stop it. Season 9: Gays Against Briggs A nationwide moral panic, a California legislator who rode the anti-gay wave, and the LGBTQ+ people who stepped up and came out to try and stop him. Season 8: Becoming Justice Thomas Where Clarence Thomas came from, how he rose to power, and how he’s brought the rest of us along with him, whether we like it or not. Winner of the Podcast of the Year at the 2024 Ambies Awards. Season 7: Roe v. Wade The women who fought for legal abortion, the activists who pushed back, and the justices who thought they could solve the issue for good. Winner of Apple Podcasts Show of the Year in 2022. Season 6: The L.A. Riots How decades of police brutality, a broken justice system, and a video tape set off six days of unrest in Los Angeles. Season 5: The Road to the Iraq War Eighteen months after 9/11, the United States invaded a country that had nothing to do with the attacks. Who’s to blame? And was there any way to stop it? Season 4: David Duke America’s most famous white supremacist came within a runoff of controlling Louisiana. How did David Duke rise to power? And what did it take to stop him? Season 3: Biggie and Tupac How is it that two of the most famous performers in the world were murdered within a year of each other—and their killings were never solved? Season 2: The Clinton Impeachment A reexamination of the scandals that nearly destroyed the 42nd president and forever changed the life of a former White House intern. Season 1: Watergate What did it feel like to live through the scandal that brought down President Nixon?

4.6 (23772)

HISTORY
Decoder Ring is the show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters.

4.6 (1954)

DOCUMENTARY
A show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America. 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.

4.6 (3183)

NEWS COMMENTARY
Voted “Favorite Political Podcast” by Apple Podcasts listeners. Stephen Colbert says "Everybody should listen to the Slate Political Gabfest." The Gabfest, featuring Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz, is the kind of informal and irreverent discussion Washington journalists have after hours over drinks. 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.

4.4 (8140)

POLITICS
The problem with the news right now? It’s everywhere. And each day, it can feel like we’re all just mindlessly scrolling. It’s why we created What Next. This short daily show is here to help you make sense of things. When the news feels overwhelming, we’re here to help you answer: What next? Look for new episodes every weekday morning.

4.3 (2292)

DAILY NEWS

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4.6

out of 5

7,337 Ratings

Gift that keeps on giving…

Mar 27

HooliaVC

Authentic, warm, fun chats around 3 topics that can make anyone feel weird. Turning awkward things interesting & sad things charming isn’t easy - you guys are awesome at it. I feel a bit lighter after every listen:). Also - Anna Sale’s voice could soothe a 3rd degree burn & turn egomaniacs empathetic. So…if you guys aren’t too busy…? No presh but lots of options :) Love the show & truly appreciate what you all do. 🌼
Ditched because it used AI to write content

Apr 7

Leftahead

I liked the show well enough despite the vast range of unrelated topics and occasionally self-indulgent navel-gazing. But when Ana started a segment of her live show with “I asked AI to write…” I saw the fin of the shark as we passed over it.
Humane and fearless!

Mar 1

CZ in DC

So grateful that Anna Sale will talk about stuff no one else wants to. When nothing else seems to have a beating heart…
Love DSM And Anna - Hate Slates Choices of Advertisement

Jan 28

Katie Skaw

Okay I’ve been listening to DSM for almost a decade. Anna Sale is an interview goddess - she is truly such a unique talent for seeing and being seen. However - in the Babygirl episode - which is all about women embracing their inner beast and not subscribing to societal pressures - each commerical was a freaking female directed weight loss app, method, etc. I have whiplash from going from the feminist discussions to “LOSE WEIGHT WITH HERS”. The transparency of Slates Marketing and Comms team assessing the demographic market of DSM and selling to this companies is comically ridiculous. Anna Sale and DSM are awesome, Slate be better with your targeted marketing.