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If you haven’t heard of ChatGPT, chances are you will soon. Maybe you’ve tried casually playing with the artificial intelligent chatbot. Maybe you’ve tried avoiding it. Or maybe ChatGPT is the new host of this podcast and you haven’t realized it yet. Either way, we’re on the precipice of a new, powerful technology. On this episode of How To!, co-hosts Carvell Wallace and Amanda Ripley join forces to talk through all things artificial intelligence. They bring on Kevin Roose, tech columnist for the New York Times and co-host of the Times’ podcast, Hard Fork. He will explain how AI chatbots work, how to use them for good, how they may be used for, well, not so good, and what you should do if it starts hitting on you.  If you liked this episode, check out: “How To Beat Hackers at Their Own Game.” Do you wonder how best to use your time? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus.

“Stand Your Ground” laws have expanded across the country over the past 20 years, allowing people to use deadly force even when they could safely retreat from a perceived threat. But when someone shoots a person standing on their porch, or as they turn around in a driveway, or in a crowd, the claim that these laws exist for self-defense doesn’t seem to wash. Guest: Tamara Lave, professor of criminal law at the University of Miami and a former public defender. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore the lives of people who are in love with their AI chatbots. Replika is a chatbot designed to adapt to the emotional needs of its users. It is a good enough surrogate for human interaction that many people have decided that it can fulfill their romantic needs. The question is whether these kinds of romantic attachments are real, illusory, or good for the people involved. Apps like Replika represent the future of love and sex for a subpopulation of people, so we discuss the ethics of the practice.  Host Barry Lam talks to philosophers Ellie Anderson and David Pena-Guzman of the Overthink podcast about what theories of love would say about these kinds of relationships. AI lovers include Alex Stokes and Rosanna Ramos. Original scoring by Aaron Morgan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stefan Fatsis and Josh Levin are joined by Slate’s Jack Hamilton to talk about Draymond Green, Dillon Brooks, and NBA villainy. Chicago White Sox announcer Jason Benetti also joins to discuss how to call a baseball game in the pitch-clock era. Finally, Talia Barrington comes on for a conversation about same-sex pairs in figure skating.   NBA villains (3:01): The basketball playoffs need bad guys.   Jason Benetti (24:39): “We are covering a different sport now.”   Same-sex pairs (47:10): Is figure skating ready for a monumental change?   Afterball (1:05:24): Stefan on the Athletics’ long history of threatening to move. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Evan Gershkovich is the first foreign journalist arrested in Russia as a spy since the Cold War. When the war in Ukraine began, Evan - like most journalists - left the country. But then, he went back. Why?   Guest: Drew Hinshaw, senior reporter at the Wall Street Journal If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode: Zak, Jamilah, and Elizabeth advise a listener who is fed up with her partner’s picky eating. His preferences have made it nearly impossible to meal prep, which he doesn’t help with. On top of that, he’s taken to complaining about the food in front of their kid.  Recommendations:  Jamilah: Cheetos’ Flamin’ Hot with Limón Elizabeth: Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids  Zak: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Mom and Dad are Fighting. Sign up now at slate.com/momanddadplus to help support our work. Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@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!  Podcast produced by Rose

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by Peter Kafka of Vox. They discuss episode five of the final season of HBO’s Succession, including a drug-fueled party, a very normal trip to Norway, and why the baguette may in fact be mightier than the bagel. Also, bags of blood. Really.  Check out how the Succession timeline (kind of) works.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Slate Money. Sign up now at slate.com/moneyplus to help support our work. Podcast production by Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weather apps can be frustrating. And with how much we rely on them to know if we should wear pants or shorts, they'll still leave you in the rain. But as the climate gets wilder, the questions of how to tell people what they need to know—and quickly—can be an issue of life or death. Guest: Charlie Warzel, staff writer at the Atlantic Daniel Swain, UCLA climate scientist   Host: Lizzie O'Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, host Karen Han talks to stand-up comedian and writer Josh Gondelman, whose hour-long special People Pleaser is now available on multiple streaming platforms. In the interview, Josh explains how he compiled material for the special and created a logical flow of jokes. He also talks about his stage presence and what it was like to find his authentic voice as a comedian.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Karen and producer Cameron Drews discuss the ideas of “persona” and “voice” in creative work.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Josh shares what it’s like to write for shows like Last Week Tonight, Desus & Mero, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675.   Podcast production by Cameron Drews.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting t

David Plotz talks with author Alexandra Petri about her new book, Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents. They discuss how to transform staid history documents into rollicking parodies, how Petri found her “voice” multiple times, and her grander ambitions for the book. Plus, Petri reads some choice selections. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, Rachelle is joined by Alex Sujong Laughlin, a supervising producer and co-owner of Defector Media where she makes the podcast, Normal Gossip. Alex and Rachelle dive deep into the age-old debate over concert spoilers, a debate that’s been turbo-charged by TikTok where over 80 million people watched the first two nights of Taylor Swift's "Eras" The ease of finding a livestream of some of the most expensive concerts in the world raises the question: why go to a concert when you can go on TikTok? This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Rachelle Hampton and Daisy Rosario. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As laughter ricocheted around the Supreme Court chamber Wednesday, Professor Mary Anne Franks wondered if she could quite believe her ears. The matter of some hilarity, it seems, were messages sent by a convicted stalker to his victim. Individual messages that were among what one detective estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands - possibly as many as one million messages - sent by Billy Raymond Counterman to singer Coles Whalen. Counterman’s campaign of harassment drove Whalen away from performing, indeed drove her away from her home state. She moved across the country to get away. On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Professor Mary Anne Franks to discuss Counterman v Colorado and how the details of a cyber-stalking case were lost to free speech concerns about trigger warnings and "sensitivity". You can read Prof. Franks’ powerful piece on this here.  In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern to discuss the big fat settlement Dominion got in its

Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the biggest business, tech and finance stories of the week. This week, Fox News settles with Dominion, Elon’s rocketship blows up, and Apple has a savings account now.  In the plus: Quantifying the value of domestic labor.  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and an additional segment of our show every week. You’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Slate Money. Sign up now at slate.com/moneyplus to help support our work. Podcast production by Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Lane Moore (bestselling author of How To Be Alone and the upcoming You Will Find Your People) joins Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) to answer your letters about friends: how to make them, how to help them when they’re spiraling, and whether to tell them when they’re making bad relationship choices. Also, since this is Pet Advice Week at Slate, we’ll have a question or two about pet dilemmas. If you want more Dear Prudence, you should join Slate Plus, Slate’s membership program. Jenée answers an extra question every week, just for members. Go to Slate.com/prudieplus to sign up. It’s just $15 for your first three months.  Podcast production by Se’era Spragley Ricks and Daisy Rosario, with help from Brandon Nix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the African American community has a complicated relationship with corporal punishment of kids. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Stacey Patton, a writer, child abuse survivor, and the author of Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won’t Save Black America. She debunks myths about spanking, including the idea that physical discipline of children has roots in Africa. They also discuss the emotional and psychological damage caused by spanking, and by the new phenomenon of parents sharing videos of punishing their children on social media.   Guest: Stacey Patton, author of Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won’t Save Black America  Podcast production by Ahyiana Angel You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for $15 for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reddit announced it will start charging companies to use its huge, ever-growing trove of text to train A.I. chatbots. It’s another expense for the fledgling tech and another knock against the “open internet” ideals that Reddit once embodied.  Guest: Mike Isaac, tech reporter for the New York Times. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss the $787.5 million settlement of the Dominion Voting v. Fox News defamation lawsuit; the political game being played with raising the U.S. debt ceiling; and the Russian detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich.  Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Jim Rutenberg and Katie Robertson for the New York Times: “A $787.5 Million Settlement and Embarrassing Disclosures: The Costs of Airing a Lie” Matthew Iglesias for Slow Boring: “Medicaid work requirements are cruel and pointless” Paul Krugman for the New York Times: “A Few Ways Out of the Debt Ceiling Mess” Freedom House Report: “Freedom in the World 2023: Marking 50 Years in the Struggle for Democracy” John Dickerson for CBS News Prime Time: “U.S. ambassador says she visited detained Wall Street Journal reporter” Drew Hinshaw, Joe Parkinson, and Brett Forrest for the Wall Street Journal: “’You Are Completely Alone’: Inside the Infamous Russian Prison Holding Evan Gersh

On this episode: Zak, Jamilah, and Elizabeth answer a question from an exhausted parent of two little kids. She is tired and ‘touched out.’ It has left her wanting to scale back physical intimacy on multiple levels but especially sex. Honestly, she says she’d love a pass to be celibate for a few years until they want to try for a third child.  Then on Slate Plus, what public places should babies be banned from?  If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Mom and Dad are Fighting. Sign up now at slate.com/momanddadplus to help support our work. Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@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!  Podcast produced by Rosemary Belson and Maura Currie.

Just as the defamation trial was set to begin, Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems at a cost of $787.5 million. While not nearly as expensive as a Rupert Murdoch divorce, surely the settlement and the airing of their texts and emails has taught them something valuable—right?  Guest: Justin Peters, Slate correspondent. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Waves, a special episode from Slate's podcast How To! When Leslie landed her dream engineering job right out of college, she was elated but also worried she was a tad unqualified—even though she has the skills and expertise. Since then imposter syndrome has reared its ugly head on a regular basis. Besides being the youngest in her department, she’s one of the only women and the only person of color, which has made things even more isolating. On this episode of How To!, host Amanda Ripley brings on Dr. Jessica Esquivel, physicist, advocate for marginalized communities in STEAM, and author of Our Queer Universe. Dr. Esquivel has some wise, hard-earned advice for shifting the burden of being enough, learning to fail, and making systemic changes so people don’t feel imposter syndrome so acutely.  If you liked this episode, check out: “I’m Great at My Job. So Why Do I Feel Like a Fraud?” Podcast production by Derek John, Rosemary Belson, Kevin Bendis, and Jabari Butler.   Learn more about your