Slate Money

In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zxqezqfhjwidbrsvk66ded57] is joined by author James Frey to discuss his new novel, Next to Heaven [https://goldenhourbookstore.com/products/next-to-heaven-a-novel-by-james-frey-6-17-25], set among America’s ultra-ultra-rich, the real life billionaires he knows who inspired it, and why he thinks money is addicting.  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 and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week: We become cheerleaders for crypto regulation, AI, and…Cheerleaders. Felix Salmon [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zxqezqfhjwidbrsvk66ded57], Emily Peck [https://www.axios.com/authors/epeck] and Elizabeth Spiers [https://www.elizabethspiers.com/] discuss the GENIUS act, the major crypto regulation bill which recently passed the Senate, and its implications for regulating stable coins and how it could upend payment processing as we know it in the United States. Then, the hosts discuss the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, who recently received a 400% raise as chronicled on the Netflix series America’s Sweethearts. And finally the hosts listen and react to an AI recreation of the podcast with the help by one of our listeners. Please enjoy your new parasocial relationships with Felix-bot, Emily-bot, and Elizabeth-bot. In the Slate Plus episode: What the hell is an EMILLI? Check out Felix’s recommendation, the Zero Art Fair, [https://zeroartfair.com/] July 8-12, 2025, at The FLAG Art Foundation, NYC. 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 Benjamin Frisch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

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]

In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zxqezqfhjwidbrsvk66ded57] is joined by Barry Lam, host of Slate’ philosophy podcast Hi-Phi Nation [https://slate.com/podcasts/hi-phi-nation] to help him explain how the GOP sees the budget deficit in the “Big Beautiful Bill” using philosophical arguments.  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 and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week: Prices are going up, but inflation data has become unreliable under Trump. Felix Salmon [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zxqezqfhjwidbrsvk66ded57], Emily Peck [https://www.axios.com/authors/epeck] and Elizabeth Spiers [https://www.elizabethspiers.com/] discuss how staffing cuts at The Bureau of Labor Statistics have called economic data into question, and what that means for our economy. Then, someone went ahead and told Trump what TACO [https://www.ft.com/content/5aabc3e9-47e3-4d95-83b9-4a8c9df8c6d1] stands for and he’s pissed. The hosts discuss how a markets term coined by finance journalist Robert Armstrong went mainstream and whether Trump knowing about it changes anything. And finally, does Gen Z hate reading [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/the-elite-college-students-who-cant-read-books/679945/] or not? What are these kinds of stories [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jun/02/gen-z-parents-reading-kids?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pocket_hits&utm_campaign=POCKET_HITS-EN-DAILY-PREMIUM-2025_06_04&sponsored=0&position=3&category=fascinating_stories&scheduled_corpus_item_id=d3be650f-3464-412d-8488-ba5afa152de8&url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jun/02/gen-z-parents-reading-kids] really telling us? In the Slate Plus episode: The most anticipated fight is ON! 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 and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]