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It’s a record-breaking year for America: we’ve now had the most reported cases of measles since the disease was declared “eradicated” in 2000.  How did public health backslide so hard that it undid decades of progress—and is there any hope we can get back on track?  Guest: Dylan Scott, senior health correspondent at Vox. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week, David Plotz and guest hosts Mike Pesca [https://www.mikepesca.com/] and Susan Glasser [https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/susan-b-glasser] discuss what to make of Elon Musk’s quixotic attempt to start a third political party in America, how Trump’s conflation of national interest with self-interest creates an incoherent foreign policy, and the tedious but impactful “summer rerun season” of Trump’s tariff folly.  Here are this week’s chatters: Mike: ABC7 New York: Traffic deaths across NYC at record low so far this year as City sees historic drop [https://abc7ny.com/post/nyc-traffic-deaths-officials-say-city-has-seen-fewest-fatalities-recorded-history-far-2025/16920646/]; Tomoki Chein for The San Francisco Standard: Policing has little effect on SF traffic deaths, decades of data show [https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/07/san-francisco-traffic-deaths-police-enforcement/]; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: NHTSA Announces Traffic Fatalities Decreased in the First Quarter of 2025 [https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/traffic-fatalities-decreased-first-quarter-2025]. Susan: Meg Anderson for NPR: Murders are down nationwide. Researchers point to a key reason [https://www.npr.org/2025/06/30/nx-s1-5448852/murders-down-nationwide-covid] David: Kyla Scanlon on Substack: Kyla’s Newsletter [https://kyla.substack.com/]; Clan of the Cave Bear [https://www.amazon.com/Clan-Cave-Bear-Earths-Children/dp/0553250426/tag=slatmaga-20] (1980) by Jean M. Auel; Leah Dearborn for LitReactor: What Is ‘The Clan of the Cave Bear,’ and Should You Read It? [https://litreactor.com/columns/what-is-the-clan-of-the-cave-bear-and-should-you-read-it] Listener chatter from Alan Spatrick in Newton, Massachusetts: Podcast by Andrew Hickey: A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs [https://500songs.com/podcast/] For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, David and guest hosts Mike Pesca [https://www.mikepesca.com/] and Susan Glasser [https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/susan-b-glasser] discuss whether ICE agents should be allowed to do their jobs in masks. In the latest Gabfest Reads [https://slate.com/podcasts/gabfestreads], David talks with author Alison Bechdel [https://dykestowatchoutfor.com/about/] about her new book, Spent [https://www.amazon.com/Spent-Comic-Novel-Alison-Bechdel/dp/0063278928/tag=slatmaga-20]. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Kevin Bendis Research by Emily Ditto 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 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-gabfest/id158004641]and Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/2oXS9kkKiXdkkCYB3YfqYZ]. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus [http://slate.com/gabfestplus] to get access wherever you listen. Hosts David Plotz, Mike Pesca [https://www.mikepesca.com/], and Susan Glasser [https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/susan-b-glasser] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

On this episode: Zak Rosen, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Lucy Lopez dive into a letter from a parent with three kids spanning college to preschool — and two of them are acting like they run the nursery. What do you do when your teens become self-appointed disciplinarians for your four-year-old? And how do you re-establish the line between “big sibling” and “co-parent” without sparking a family feud? After that, of course, we’ll circle up for a round of triumphs and fails. Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus [https://slate.com/careplus] – or try it out on Apple Podcasts. Podcast produced by Palace Shaw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

In the wake of #MeToo, Hollywood productions began hiring “intimacy coordinators,” people who work to ensure sex scenes are safe and comfortable for performers. How are they working out so far?  Guest: Jennifer Wilson [https://x.com/JenLouiseWilson], staff writer at the New Yorker. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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 Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

After one of the deadliest floods in American history in central Texas, people are looking at cuts to the National Weather Service and FEMA’s absence contributing to the devastation. But one looming problem is much, much bigger. Guest:  Jeff Goodell, [https://bsky.app/profile/jeffgoodell.bsky.social] writer covering climate change, author of The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLNFBH1K/?tag=slatmaga-20] and The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0316260207/?tag=slatmaga-20]. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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 Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]