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.

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Spring is in the air, and the Outward hosts are gay like tulips and queer like allergies! First, they discuss a new animated version of the beloved Frog and Toad series of children’s books, which premieres on Apple TV+ on April 28. Then they welcome Daniel M. Lavery to the pod. Danny was Slate’s own Dear Prudence for many years, and now a Dear Prudence book is here to grace our bookshelves. Danny shares his philosophy of advice-giving, talks about what it was like to transition in the public eye, and offers his take on a reader question current Prudie Jenée Desmond-Harris answered a few weeks ago.

Items discussed in the show:

Jules and the Framing Agnes team at the GLAAD Awards

Outward’s December 2022 discussion of Framing Agnes with actress Jen Richards

LMN’s schedule

Somerville, Massachusetts, extends protections to polyamorous families

“Frog and Toad: An Amphibious Celebration of Same-Sex Love,” by Colin Stokes in the New Yorker

“frog-and-toad-author-arnold-lobel-explored-gay-intimacy-in-his-work.html">How Frog and Toad Author Arnold Lobel Explored Gay Intimacy in His Work,” by J. Bryan Lowder in Slate

“and-ernie-on-new-yorker-cover-for-gay-marriage-a-terrible-way-to-commemorate-doma-repeal-photo.html">This Is a Terrible Way to Commemorate a Major Civil Rights Victory,” by June Thomas in Slate

Dear Prudence: Liberating Lessons From Slate.com’s Beloved Advice Column, by Daniel M. Lavery

Jenée Desmond-Harris answered the question we put to Danny at the end of prudence-mistress-discovered.html">this Dear Prudence column

The Big Mood, Little Mood With Daniel M. Lavery podcast

The Dear Prudence podcast

Gay Agenda

Christina: Mae Martin’s new Netflix special, SAP

Jules: “Conservatives Are Turing to a 150-Year-Old Obscenity Law to Outlaw Abortion,” by Melissa Gira Grant in the New Republic

Bryan: Erick Adame’s Daily Weather Report (adame-ny-weatherman-fired-scandal.html">more background from the New York Times)

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

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Kate stopped reading in 2016. Since then, she’s tried to find her way back to it but something’s not clicking, and it’s left a book-shaped hole in her heart. Reading used to be something she really enjoyed, took pride in, and loved connecting with people over. On this episode of How To!, co-host Carvell Wallace brings in Maryanne Wolf, director of UCLA’s Center For Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice and author of the book, Reader, Come Home. Maryanne explains the science behind the reading brain as well as how to deeply engage with books and make reading a habit again. 

If you liked this episode, check out: “How To Put Down Your Phone”

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.

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This week, host Isaac Butler talks to writer John Cotter, whose new memoir Losing Music tells the story of a mysterious illness that degraded John’s hearing and caused periods of vertigo. In the interview, John explains how writing became a necessary tool that helped him make sense of his illness and his changing world. 

After the interview, Isaac and co-host June Thomas discuss how creative practices can change drastically as people get older and their lives change. They also expand on a writing tip that Isaac mentions in his interview with John. 

In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, John talks about how his teaching informs his writing and vice versa. 

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. 

__

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Folklorist and Harlem Renaissance author Zora Neale Hurston made her hometown of Eatonville, Florida famous in her writing, including her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. But her fame hasn’t saved the town from the pressures that many African American communities have endured: a population fighting poverty, government indifference, and developers that want to scoop up the land to build housing that current residents can’t afford. On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Aallyah Wright, a reporter with Black news non-profit Capital B, who has written about the town’s recent success in resisting developers, and its hopes for the future.

Guest: Capital B reporter Aallyah Wright

Podcast production by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola

You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $15 a month for your first three months.

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On this week’s episode of The Waves, Slate supervising producer Daisy Rosario is joined by Texas Tribune reporter Roxanna Asgarian to discuss her book We Were Once A Family: A Story of Love, Death and Child Removal in America and its findings on the foster care system. The book covers the tragic hart-and-siblings-death-shows-racial-disparity-in-child-abuse-investigations.html">Hart family murders in 2018 where two mothers drove their six adopted children off a cliff. 

In Slate Plus: How Roxanna navigated writing about a tragic family story in a pandemic while being a first-time mom. 

Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Tori Dominguez with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery.

Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com.

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On this month’s episode of Future Tense Fiction, host Maddie Stone talks to Annalee Newitz about “newitz-short-story-when-robot-and-crow-saved-east-st-louis.html">When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis.” Annalee’s short story follows a disease-fighting robot—and its companions, both human and crow—on a quest to track an outbreak and develop a vaccine before it's too late. The story was published in December 2018, but now, three years after the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, it offers a look at how public health responses could better reflect the needs of the communities they serve. Plus, Annalee shares how they learned to speak crow language. 

Guest: Annalee Newitz, author of the Terraformers, the Future of Another Timeline, and Autonomous.

Story read by Gin Hammond

Podcast production by Tiara Darnell

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John Dickerson talks with author Chris Miller about his new book, Chip War: The Fight for The World’s Most Critical Technology. They discuss how semiconductor chips became so important, why everyone is so dependent on Taiwan for chips, and what lessons China can glean from what’s happening in Ukraine.

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.

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When you imagine how science and technology will reshape our future, does it excite you, or scare you, or both? Each month, the Future Tense Fiction podcast will introduce you to a short work of science fiction, one that will challenge, surprise and intrigue you. Then host Maddie Stone will talk with the author to explore how their own experiences with technology—from smart weapons, to electronic pets, to virtual reality—informed their writing and their vision.

That’s every month on Future Tense Fiction, a podcast from Slate, Arizona State University, and New America. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. See you in the future.

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For decades, there has been a stigma attached to remaining unmarried and childless in the Black community, particularly for women. But a growing part of the Black middle class is single, childfree adults. Does the trend threaten the future of the Black family, or is it time to recognize a different model for family life? On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by sociologist Kris Marsh, author of “The Love Jones Cohort: Single and Living Alone in the Black Middle Class.”

Guest: Kris Marsh, University of Maryland Sociology Professor and author of “The Love Jones Cohort: Single and Living Alone in the Black Middle Class.”

Podcast production by Ahiyana Angel

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