Episode notes: Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by meme historian and researcher Aidan Walker, whose Substack travels into the depths of meme lore. 2025 is off to a rocky start for several reasons, but the panel wonders if memes may provide a solution for getting through the year. Memes are a coping mechanism, especially for those who like dark humor in difficult times. And some memes help us make sense of the world at its most chaotic. From Distracted Boyfriend to Math Lady to Doge, ICYMI is walking through the history, layers, and positives of meme culture in our daily lives.
This podcast is produced by Alexandra Botti, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay.
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49:54
Slate Money | Money Talks: Capitalism Extremists In the Trump 2.0 Era
In this Money Talks: Historian Quinn Slobodian’s 2023 book Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy explored the dark reality that many extremists seek a purely capitalist society free of democracy. Now, with the Silicon Valley elite playing such a large role in Trump’s second term, Quinn's work is more relevant than ever. In this episode, Quinn joins Felix Salmon to discuss the relationship between radical tech billionaires and the Trump administration, and its potential consequences for our democracy.
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 and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Jessamine Molli.
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45:29
What Next TBD | The DeepSeek Panic
The artificial intelligence industry was thrown for a loop when the Chinese start-up DeepSeek rolled out a product that was more energy efficient, cheaper to produce, and open source. Where did DeepSeek come from, and are Silicon Valley and Washington right to be panicking?
Guest: Zeyi Yang, senior writer at WIRED.
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 to get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.
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28:57
Slate Money | The Federal Employee ‘Buyout’ Makes No Sense
This week: The Trump administration offered a resignation deal to millions of federal employees. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss why this plan seems like a bad idea – for everyone. Then, Invidia’s stock dropped this week when Deepseek proved AI can be done cheaper. But is this just steam engines and Jevons paradox all over again? Finally, the bookstore is back. The hosts discuss the recent success of Barnes & Noble and why they, and other bookstores, are the unexpected winners of the digital media age.
In the Slate Plus episode: CVS has a new way of locking up their stuff.
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 and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Jessamine Molli.
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53:57
ICYMI: So You’ve Fallen For A Smear Campaign
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay, still recovering from Justin Baldoni’s leaked voice memo to Blake Lively, dive into the online war being waged between the two It Ends With Us actors. They explore how this is the latest scheme in what seems to be a playbook for PR teams to tear down women online, and ask how we can avoid falling victim to the trap.
This podcast is produced by Alexandra Botti, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay, with production assistance from A.C. Valdez.
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