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This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what the U.S. is getting and what it is giving up with the deal to end Trump's Iran war, how Trump's UFC fight at the White House intentionally used the symbols of the presidency to divide rather than unite Americans, and the intensifying conflict between the government and powerful AI companies.

For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss today's narrow Supreme Court ruling in the case of United States v. Hemani. The hosts talk about the court's decision on guns and marijuana use, but also, thanks to Justice Gorsuch's focus on the Founding Fathers as "habitual drunkards," veer in a surprisingly philosophical discussion about history and its role in modern legal reasoning.

In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson talks with Bloomberg columnist Adrian Wooldridge about his new book The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism. In a moment when American democracy is under assault from authoritarian populists and dogmatic progressives, Wooldridge argues that liberalism itself offers the most resilient framework for pluralistic, self-correcting societies.

Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Nina Porzucki

Research by Emily Ditto

You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here.

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Find out more about David Plotz's monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.

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On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen are talkin’ periods! They are joined by Chloe Potter, co-founder of The Menstruality Academy, who walks them through preparing your kid for their first period, harnessing the power of the cycle, and breaking free from societal shame. (Chloe’s endometriosis podcast recommendation.)
This week on the Plus Playground: planning the perfect roadtrip!
Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Rosemary Belson. Video production by Micah Phillips.

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Oil prices fell when Trump announced a deal had been struck with Iran, but don’t mistake that for things going back to “normal.” We left “normal” a long time ago.

Guest: Justin Wolfers, economist and professor at the University of Michigan, and author and host of Platypus Economics.

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 to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Madeline Ducharme, Patrick Fort, Rob Gunther and Paige Osburn.
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In Australia, no wedding or school dance is complete without the Nutbush, Australia’s unofficial national dance. The Nutbush – a simple line dance to the song “Nutbush City Limits,” by Ike and Tina Turner – has become as stereotypically Australian as kangaroos, boomerangs, and Vegemite.
And yet, hardly anyone outside of Australia even knows the Nutbush exists. Here at Decoder Ring, we certainly didn’t – until we started getting emails from Australians asking us to investigate its origins. How did an American song become the soundtrack for an Australian national tradition? Who invented the iconic steps, and why does every Australian know them?
Our producer Max Freedman put on his dancing shoes to get some answers. The global, century-spanning story of the Nutbush involves Australia, Tennessee, Denmark, primary schools, gay discos, and demonstrates that even the goofiest cultural touchstones can go surprisingly deep.
In this episode you’ll hear from culture journalists David Mack and Angus Kidman; Nutbush researchers Panizza Allmark and Jon Stratton; dance historians Erica Okamura and Richard Powers; Dr. Fiona Chatteur, Jeremy Santolin, and Brian Kerr.
This episode was written and produced by Max Freedman and edited by Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.
If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.
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Steve, Dana, and Julia gather once more—for almost the last time—to unpack the week’s culture. This week, conversation has to include the cultural, cinematic juggernaut Steven Spielberg and his new film Disclosure Day. Starring Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt, it’s a sci-fi, action thriller about the longheld Spielbergian obsession: extraterrestrial life. Does it deliver that trademark Spielberg sense of wonder or tired cliches… or both?

Next, they welcome longtime friend of the program Isaac Butler to discuss his new book The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars and threats to free expression past, present, and future.

Finally, and for the final time, beloved chartologist Chris Molanphy joins the show to remember Summer Struts past and curate the ultimate shortlist of shortlists. The panel shares their most adored songs from previous years and the tracks that never made the list but should have.

Listen to the final, ultimate, best of Summer Strut shortlist here. And for even more struttin’, you can listen to ten years of Summer Strut shortlists in one playlist here.

For Slate Plus subscribers, our bonus episode includes even more propulsive, groovy tracks and reflective conversation about what was Summer Strut.

Endorsements

Dana: Slate’s Spielberg Week and the 2023 conversation between the three philosophers John Vervaeke, Iain McGilchrist, and Daniel Schmachtenberger on "The Psychological Drivers of the Metacrisis."

Chris: The 2025 music video, directed by Mike Mills and starring Saoirse Ronan, of the Talking Heads classic Psycho Killer.

Julia: L.A. Material's upcoming Culinary Cup, a tournament of Los Angeles restaurants from the national diasporas represented in World Cup teams.

Steve: Sports. (Latecomers and bandwagon fans welcome! Go Knicks!)

And don’t forget to preorder Isaac Butler’s book The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars.

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Email us your thoughts at culturefest@slate.com.

Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch. Production assistance by Daniel Hirsch.
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