Slate Money

This week: Felix Salmon [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zxqezqfhjwidbrsvk66ded57] finally gets to nerd out on Argentina's economy as Trump goes against the GOP playbook by bailing the country out to the tune of $20 billion. Felix, Elizabeth Spiers [https://www.elizabethspiers.com/], and Emily Peck [https://www.axios.com/authors/epeck] break down why this is such an unusual move, how it shows Trump’s favoritism, and what it means for America’s soy farmers. Then, the US government has officially shut down but stocks are soaring. The hosts talk about who, if not Wall Street, is economically impacted by the shutdown. And finally, Jared Kushner helped broker a record-breaking $55 billion private equity deal for Electronic Arts that includes Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Do we care if the Saudis own a controlling stake of the gaming giant? In the Slate Plus episode: What number is Felix thinking of?  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, Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at ⁠www.monarchmoney.com/SLATE⁠ [http://www.monarchmoney.com/SLATE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

In this Money Talks: Felix Salmon is joined by Doug Woodham, author of the upcoming biography Jean-­Michel Basquiat: The Making of an Icon, to discuss Basquiat’s path to becoming a darling of the art market. They discuss the idiosyncrasies of the art market and  why Basquiat – the “Jimi Hendrix” of the art world – was initially undervalued but later became part of the modern day art canon.  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: NVIDIA has announced a $100 billion investment in OpenAI to help build out data centers equipped with NVIDIA chips. Felix Salmon [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zxqezqfhjwidbrsvk66ded57], Elizabeth Spiers [https://www.elizabethspiers.com/], and Emily Peck [https://www.axios.com/authors/epeck], joined by Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin [https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/ASsN7vM58E0/max-chafkin], examine the complexities of this massive deal and why it might feed the argument that the AI boom is a bubble. Then,Trump has announced a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas.They discuss how the clunky rollout of this plan has caused chaos and what it signals about the administration's immigration goals. And finally, Max explains how a parody of Enron that turned into a memecoin fiasco [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-09-18/how-an-enron-parody-turned-into-a-financial-mess-of-its-own].  In the Slate Plus episode: Digging into the 0.01% rule 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: The Fed announced an expected rate cut with an unexpected dissent.      Felix Salmon [https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zxqezqfhjwidbrsvk66ded57], Elizabeth Spiers [https://www.elizabethspiers.com/], and Emily Peck [https://www.axios.com/authors/epeck] are joined by Axios’ Neil Irwin [https://www.axios.com/authors/nirwi] who breaks down why the Fed meeting was so unusual – thanks to the very recent Trump appointee Stephen Miran– and what it means for the future of the central bank. Then, AMEX announced an increase that brings their Platinum fee to $895. Neil and the hosts reflect on the trend of making credit cards more and more premium and explain why you should think again before signing up. And finally, Publishers Clearing House filed for bankruptcy and its new owner ARB Interactive has said it won’t be honoring the “lifetime” winners from before July 15 of this year. What will happen to the people who have built their lives around those payouts? In the Slate Plus episode: Labubus, the Avatar of 2025?  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. Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at ⁠www.monarchmoney.com/SLATE⁠ [http://www.monarchmoney.com/SLATE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

In this Money Talks: Elizabeth Spiers is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Rivlin [https://garyrivlin.com/] to discuss his book AI Valley [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/ai-valley-gary-rivlin?variant=42846781964322], a deep dive into the Silicon Valley companies that are competing to create the best–and most profitable–AI model. Gary has been covering the tech world for decades and has seen the major players in this arms race evolve over that time. He discusses the perspectives of the companies competing for AI superiority, what we should and shouldn’t be worried about when it comes to this technology, and how he sees the AI boom playing out.  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]