Slate Daily Feed

This week: Warner Brothers and Discovery breakup again. Felix Salmon [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zxqezqfhjwidbrsvk66ded57], Emily Peck [https://www.axios.com/authors/epeck] and Elizabeth Spiers [https://www.elizabethspiers.com/] examine the undoing of the three-year-old merger. Then, the hosts discuss runaway AI valuations as Meta spends billions on AI and xAI raises equity off a multi-billion dollar valuation. And finally, what effects are Trump’s aggressive immigration policies having on the economy? In the Slate Plus episode: What happened to happy hour? 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 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slate-money/id876523888] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2AgxNbNcUOckZSww9mk8mX]. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Money&utm_source=episode_summary] to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Wired senior writer and producer of Black Twitter: A People’s History [https://www.hulu.com/series/9d5bbed5-ddfc-4e65-8ed5-78dc23ea4380], Jason Parham, to attempt to explain the enigma that is “international bestselling author” Quan Millz. With titles like Old THOT Next Door [https://www.amazon.com/THOT-Next-Door-Quan-Millz-ebook/dp/B08M8T9JTW] and My Baby Daddy Is A Bedbug [https://www.tiktok.com/@quanmillztv/video/7495081270481898782], Millz’s books have no trouble capturing the attention of the internet, so much so that the previously-anonymous author was forced to unmask himself to ward off a potential scandal. But who, exactly, are Millz’s books for? And the even more ominous question: What will he do next? This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay, with help from A.C. Valdez. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

America feels very different this weekend. While the president’s planned military parade (that just happens to coincide with his birthday) will see tanks and armored vehicles rolling through Washington DC, federalized National Guard and US Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles over the objections of state and city electeds, many of us are reeling from seeing a sitting US Senator forced to the floor and cuffed for trying to ask a question, and dozens of protests are planned around the country to declare “No Kings”.  It’s. A. Lot. In this episode of Amicus  Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Mark Joseph Stern to try to process some of the events of the last week, and to understand where the law stands on the key question of whether President Trump lawfully deployed troops quell anti-ICE raid  protests in California that the administration is trying to claim are a “rebellion”. This is part of Opinionpalooza [https://slate.com/tag/opinionpalooza-2025], Slate’s coverage of the major decisions from the Supreme Court this June. The best way to support our work is by joining Slate Plus [https://slate.com/plus]. (If you are already a member, consider a donation [https://slate.com/donate?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus&utm_content=nav_bar&utm_source=nav] or merch [https://shop.slate.com/collections/exclusive-amicus-merch]!)Also! Sign up for Slate’s Legal Brief: [https://slate.com/legalbrief] the latest coverage of the courts and the law straight to your inbox. Delivered every Tuesday. 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 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786] and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl]. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary] to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded freedom. What all of these LGBTQ artists had in common was bold hitmaking—and fear of being fully out of the closet. For decades, queer acts topped the charts while cloaking their true identities and paving the way for today’s more openly queer stars. For Pride Month, join Chris Molanphy as he traces the hidden history of queer hitmakers on the charts—including those that managed to be both out and No. 1, right up through our modern age of Lil Nas X and Chappell Roan. It’s a celebration of these artists’ quest to feel… mighty real. Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for monthly early-access episodes, bonus episodes of "The Bridge," and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Hit Parade show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hit-parade-music-history-and-music-trivia/id1291058235] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/4GqbdfOT9Je4nEp5BqnGit]. Or, visit slate.com/hitparadeplus [http://slate.com/hitparadeplus] to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Elon Musk has ridden off into the sunset acrimoniously (maybe), but the Department of Government Efficiency is just getting started. Will DOGE continue wildly cutting or is something even more chaotic coming next?  Guest: Makena Kelly [https://www.wired.com/author/makena-kelly/], senior writer at WIRED.  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 [http://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 [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]