Slate Money

Sharp financial analysis and economic news.

About the Show

A weekly roundup of the most important stories from the worlds of business and finance, hosted by Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers.

Hosts

  • Emily Peck is the co-host of Slate Money and a markets correspondent for Axios.

  • Felix Salmon is a host of the Slate Money podcast.

  • Elizabeth Spiers is Slate’s Pay Dirt columnist. She was the founding editor of Gawker and the former editor in chief of the New York Observer. Prior to Gawker, she was a financial analyst.

Money Talks: The Illusion of ‘America’s Next Top Model’

Bridget Armstrong explains how the iconic reality show exploited the promise of a career to make reality TV gold.

Trade or Treason?

A suspicious spike in oil markets, Meta gets dinged, and OpenAI scraps Sora.

Bonus: Treasury Market Rom-Com

The U.S. market is the boyfriend at the beginning of a Hallmark movie.

Are the Billionaires Smothering HBO?

Oil prices spike globally, HBO’s elite status is slipping, and Reuters reveals Banksy’s identity (again).

Bonus: Claude Is Not an Accountant

Apparently A.I. is not ready to take on the U.S. tax code.

Money Talks: Boilerplate Land Mines

Mitu Gulati explains how the pervasive use of boilerplate contracts is creating a legal crisis.

A.I. Is a Hyperobject

Paul Ford joins to help parse the state of the A.I. boom, how “vibe coding” could change everything, and what else we can expect from this technology.

Bonus: Alex Karp Thinks A.I. Is for the Boys

The Palantir CEO says highly-educated, liberal women will be the losers of the A.I. revolution.

The Burger CEOs Are Beefing

The U.S. started a war in Iran, Pete Hegseth is feuding with Anthropic, and the McDonald’s CEO went viral for his tiny bite of burger.

Bonus: Daylight Saving Forever

British Columbia boldly does away with the biannual clock change.

Money Talks: ‘Industry’ Insanity

Hillary Frey and Anna Szymanski join Emily Peck to unpack the wild ride that was ‘Industry’ season 4.

Permanent Temporary Tariff Regime

Confusion follows the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling, Netflix backs off the WB deal, and Blue Owl sparks private credit panic.

Bonus: A Retirement Solution for Everyone?

Trump mentioned a retirement plan in his State of the Union - how realistic is it?

Planet Money In Book Form!

Alex Mayyasi gives us a peek into the new book from the team at Planet Money and talks Argentinian Blackberries, market design, credit card fees and more.

Bonus: Childcare and Baumol’s Cost Disease

Alex Mayyasi breaks down the economic conundrum of childcare.

Money Talks: The Business of Black Markets

Mariana van Zeller joins Felix Salmon for a look into the hidden economics of black and gray markets.

100 More Years of Google

Alphabet issues century bonds, the majority of Trump’s tariffs were paid by US citizens, and Felix defends fakes.

Bonus: The New Ferrari Looks Like an iPod

The new design is sleek, simple, and looks shockingly like something Apple would make.

Di-SaaS-ter Market

The markets have suddenly turned on SaaS companies, Disney has chosen a new CEO, and Kalshi is fighting for its reputation.

Bonus: Jeffrey Epstein’s Gifting Strategy

Turns out Epstein was early to the stealth wealth trend

Money Talks: What Retirement Crisis?

Andrew Biggs joins Emily Peck to explain what we get wrong about retirement in the US.

Global Carry Trade Chaos

The Yen is disrupting global trade, Trump makes his Fed chair nomination, and CEOs are speaking up for the first time in a while.

Bonus: Can We Defend…Elon Musk?

Felix kinda does! At least for some stuff.

Davos is So Back

Davos has become relevant again, Trump failed to address affordability as promised, and AI hiring screenings are being challenged in court.

Bonus: The Celebrity on Celebrity Interview Epidemic

An overly soft interview at Davos got us thinking if peers and influencers should be interviewing each other instead of actual journalists.

Money Talks: Modern Money Laundering

Joe Salama tells Felix Salmon what money laundering looks like these days and how he fights back.

Gambling on the Globes & Geopolitics

Polymarket was all over the Golden Globes, Jerome Powell is now under federal investigation, and Chinese universities are outranking us in scientific output.

Bonus: Would ICE Accept Your Job Application?

As one woman who wrote for Slate found out…yes!

Trump Is Stuck in the ’80s

Trump says Venezuela strike was about oil, Grok has become a tool for disturbing deepfakes, and Trump is freezing $10 billion in child care in five blue states.

Bonus: What the Greek?

From movies, to the theater, to the Real Housewives, are the Greeks having a moment?

Money Talks: Barbie’s Dirty Laundry

Barbieland author Tarpley Hitt tells us all about the checkered past of the world’s most famous doll.

Schrödinger’s Equities

2025 was an interesting year for US markets, Mexico is winning in Trump’s trade war, and Warren Buffett passes the torch.

Bonus: Food52 & Saks Run Out of Cash

What went wrong at Food52 & Saks?