I am confessing upfront that I'm a fan and a member of Slate Plus. I admire Slate's journalism and its stable of podcasts. I also commend Slate's commitment to podcast purity in its shows. Its podcasts offer listeners a consistent theme and level of intellectual tonnage with few excursions into audience pandering and least-common-denominator programming.
Massive podcast networks like iHeart and SiriusXM always have those weird, baffling and disturbing contradictions, which the companies dismiss as balanced reporting.
For example, we get iHeart's Las Culturistas, a superb LGBTQ podcast in the same sandbox as The Ben Shapiro Show with his denigration of the LGBTQ lifestyle, stating that homosexuality should be listed as a mental illness and declaring it a sin.
Slate also offers my two favorite podcasts -- Hang Up And Listen, the best sports podcast in the industry, and the Political Gabfest, with its triad of outstanding political commentators, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz. In TV, print, and podcasting, John Dickerson, in my estimation, is the best political analyst in the business.
Like many other podcast networks, Slate offers a “Plus” service that can eliminate ads for some of its most popular podcasts, notably Slate’s Hit Parade podcast for music chart nerds, of which there is a large number, thanks to the redoubtable Chris Molanphy.
What sets Slate apart from other podcast producers is that the company blends a vibrant podcast network with a wealth of outstanding digital journalism, with well-written articles that espouse a largely progressive cultural and political agenda.
In many ways, Slate’s business strategy is more akin to Vox and The New York Times. Vox successfully manages its digital fingerprint via The Verge, SB Nation, Eater, Polygon for gamers, Intelligencer, Vulture, and more brands, while cultivating its print legacy brand with New York magazine and pushing carefully into video with its YouTube channel, and Explained on Netflix, among other video projects.
The New York Times has constructed a strong podcast network with an impressive following, yet it appears the company is implementing a paywall strategy and that's a shame.
Here are a few Slate podcasts with their recent episodes:
Death, Sex & Money hosted by Anna Sale, who explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.  *NEW EPISODE*: Will He Still Love Me When I’m Off Ozempic? In 2021, we released an episode called The Weight of Love, where listeners shared stories about weight, body size, and how those factors affect their romantic relationships. Fast-forward to 2024, and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have complicated these issues even further. This week, listeners share stories and questions about dating, romance, sex, and self-love in the Ozempic era, and we’ve assembled a panel of experts to respond. ******************************************** Amicus hosted by Dahlia Lithwick -- A show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America. *NEW EPISODE*: Trump’s Back, This Time Without Guardrails.  We are, most of us, still very much in the post-election fog. It’s early days and while the fog persists, some of the shape of the future is very clear: despite his felonies, his lies, his promised mass deportations and threats of vengeance, President Donald J Trump will re-enter the White House in 2025 better organized, with a clearer mandate, and with the seal of approval of the popular vote. On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Protect Democracy’s Ian Bassin to discuss navigating the challenges that lie ahead for American democracy, as we collectively struggle to make sense of this pivotal moment and to emerge from the fog with a flicker of hope. NOTE: Lithwick may be the best Supreme Court tea-leaf reader in the media business after Linda Greenhouse. ************************************************* How To! hosted by Carvell Wallace and Courtney E. Martin Slate’s practical advice podcast. *NEW EPISODE*: How To Man Up About Male Birth Control  Contraception
is a huge burden for women and people with uteruses to bear. What would
it look like—on a personal, cultural, and medical level—if more men
took on that responsibility? Today on How To!, a conversation about
gender equity for reproductive care, from changes in sexual education to
more accessible vasectomies to the development of new contraception
methods. Carvell Wallace welcomes two guests: Dr. Sarah Miller, a
board-certified family physician and family planning specialist at
Northeast Vasectomy and Family Planning, where she provides many
vasectomies. And: Dr. Brian Nguyen, associate professor of clinical
obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Southern California,
sub-investigator for a network of male-contraceptive clinical trials,
and director of The EMERGE Lab. What Next: TBD hosted by Lizzie O’Leary --A twice-weekly podcast about tech, power, and the future. *NEW EPISODE*: The Manosphere That Delivered Trump Back to Power  Going on Joe Rogan’s podcast didn’t fit into Kamala Harris’s last month of campaigning, which consisted of a careful diet of traditional media and specifically selected appearances. It came up short against Donald Trump’s “get on mic with that guy and his big following” strategy
https://slate.com/podcasts/what-next/2024/11/how-to-prepare-for-trumps-second-term NOTE: Lizzie O'Leary is in contention for the most overlooked host in podcasting. She's a five-tool host -- smart, incisive, terrific interviewer, superb narrator, and funny. ************************************************** Slow Burn: The Rise of Fox News hosted by Josh Levin 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. *BINGE THE FULL SEASON NOW!*  The full season of Slow Burn: The Rise of Fox News is now available! The finale, What Hath We Wrought?, covers the 2004 presidential race, the first fully Fox News election—a contest that was framed by Fox, and fought on its terms. But the fight over Fox News was about more than just partisan politics. It also launched covert ops against reporters and let loose a secret army of online trolls. And when a Fox producer made serious allegations against Bill O’Reilly, the network showed just how far it would go to defend its biggest star—no matter the cost.
Listen to the whole season here: slate.com/slowburn Outward hosted by Jules Gill-Peterson, Bryan Lowder, and Christina Cauterucci -- A whip-smart monthly salon in which hosts and guests deepen the audience’s understanding of queer culture and politics. *NEW EPISODE*: Now What Do We Do? Mark Joseph Stern Answers Our Post-Election Questions  This week, Christina Cauterucci sits down with Slate’s own Mark Joseph Stern to tackle the mounting concerns facing the LGBTQ+ community as the Trump administration takes shape. In a candid conversation, they delve into the ripple effects this shift could have on issues like abortion rights, trans healthcare, and marriage equality, reflecting on the potential setbacks that may lie ahead- and what we can do to prepare ourselves and our community.
Ben Shapiro will hate this show. You will love it. ************************************************** Check out Slate podcasts. Their roster of podcasts is impressive and its connective tissue is sagacity and sharp-witted insight. |
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