Slate Money

This week: Nvidia joined Silicon Valley’s A.I. investment frenzy and bought Hugging Face for $12.93 billion. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss what this deal signals about the astounding amounts of money being thrown around the relatively niche market of A.I. investment. Then, bond yields are on the rise and the hosts discuss why global concern is rising with them. And finally, what do George Santos and Steve Ballmer have in common? Felix will explain.In the Slate Plus episode: The $500 A.I.-powered Mouth CameraWant 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One-hundred-million-year-old bones are so hot right now. In this Money Talks, Felix Salmon is joined by Salomon Aaron, director of an antiquities gallery specializing in fossils, to explain everything you ever wanted to know about dealing in dinosaurs and why the market has exploded in recent years.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Meta settles with the U.S. states suing the company over teen safety concerns. Emily Peck and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by Scarlet Fu of the new Bloomberg Money (while Felix is stuck on a tarmac somewhere in Canada) to discuss if Meta’s $17 billion settlement is as big of a deal as it sounds, and what this outcome really means for the social media guardrails overall. Then, they turn to the disastrous trade talks between the U.S. and Canada and how President Trump’s tactics have managed to piss off our friendliest ally. And finally, they’ll discuss why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s latest market tinkering has everyone chiming in.In the Slate Plus episode: The Big A.I. Writing DebateWant 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: the Slate Money hosts ask all their burning A.I. questions to someone who can actually answer them. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck sit down with A.I. expert Noah Brier and pick his brain about the reality of all our A.I. fears, the arms race with China, and how businesses are using it now.In the Slate Plus episode: What’s Up With Robots?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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: The term “explosive diarrhea” captured the nation's attention, turning all eyes toward the company linked to a major cyclosporiasis outbreak. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss the much-talked about food poisoning story and the PR flubs of Trump-aligned Taylor Farms. Then, the hosts give an update on Trump’s latest attempt to keep his beloved tariffs alive after the Supreme Court ruled his original plan illegal. And finally, they react to the Japanese prime minister’s recent claim of sleeping zero to three hours a night.In the Slate Plus episode: Is Diet Coke embracing “fridge cigarettes"? 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Money Talks: Elizabeth Spiers talks to journalist Beth Gardiner about her expose of the plastic industry, Plastic Inc. They’ll get into the unsettling history behind the now ubiquitous material and how Big Oil has managed to hide in plain sight, shifting the burden of plastic waste onto consumers. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul put a statewide moratorium on building A.I. data centers. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss the decision and how the rush to build data centers is driving up energy costs. Then, the hosts explain how a new law–which removes an existing requirement for mobile-home construction–might help the affordable-housing crisis. And finally:what the hell is going on in the South Korean stock market?In the Slate Plus episode: Banks are making bank.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: The company buying up legacy brands like AOL, Evernote, and Vimeo had a huge IPO with shares immediately surging by 40%. Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and guest host Stacy-Marie Ishmael discuss the Milan-based company’s strategy and unexpected success. Then, the hosts look at how prediction markets are booming during the World Cup. And later: why Bitcoin’s plummeting price is costing Eric Trump hundreds of million of dollars.In the Slate Plus episode: All Berries, All The Time 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Money Talks: Emily Peck sits down with Soumaya Keynes and Chad P. Bown, co-authors of How to Win a Trade War, to discuss how recent conflicts have changed the rules of international trade and which strategy they believe is the key to “winning” a modern trade war.  Podcast production by Jessamine Molli. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.