Slate Magazine - Politics, Business, Technology, and the Arts

“This Is Going to Change the World”

In 2001, a mysterious invention became a viral sensation—then went down in flames. I’ve always wondered: Was it all my fault?

The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

Rebecca Schuman

Fauci Has a Warning on COVID-19 Surge: “Things Are Going to Get Worse”

Daniel Politi

McCarthy Jokes “It Will Be Hard Not to Hit” Pelosi With Gavel if He Becomes Speaker

Daniel Politi

Tokyo

An Ode to the Best Olympic Event

Justin Peters

How Jerky Is the “Unconventional” Swimmer Who Won’t Get the Vaccine or Wear a Mask?

Justin Peters

The Best Photo We Didn’t Use This Week: Give This Mullet a Gold Medal

Sofie Werthan

Digital Life

I Will Defend Microsoft Word to the Death

Torie Bosch

COVID-19

Florida Sets Daily Record for Entire Pandemic With 21,683 New Cases

Daniel Politi

Less Than 0.001 Percent of Fully Vaccinated Americans Died From an Infection

Daniel Politi

Screen Time

The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, and Hulu in August

Sam Adams, Lowen Liu, Marissa Martinelli, and Amanda Yeh

I’ve Made a Truly Terrible Mistake With a Condom and a Vacuum Cleaner

How to Do It

A Chasm Is Growing Between My Teen and Me. What Can I Do to Close It?

Care and Feeding

Weekend Reads

Turns Out Mo Brooks Was Wearing Body Armor to Trump’s Very Peaceful Jan. 6 Rally

Jim Newell

The Mathematician Who Won a Gold Medal Had Some Brilliant Pandemic Advice

Jordan Ellenberg

Trump Won’t Let the GOP Move On

William Saletan

The flies are atrocious!

Help! I Didn’t Get a Job Because I Look Too Much Like a Dead Man.

Help! My Body-Positive Friends Attack Me for Exercising.

Dear Prudence Uncensored: “Trusting Other Parents”

Help! My Wife Is Reneging on Our Agreement About Having Kids.

How to Do It

My Wife and I Had Sex With Our Friend One Night. No One Told Me What Would Happen After.

3h ago

Tower Subway, in This Week’s Open Thread

8h ago

Dan Kois

In 2001, a Mysterious Invention Became a Viral Sensation—Then Went Down in Flames. I’ve Always Wondered: Was It All My Fault?

8h ago

Rich Juzwiak

I’ve Made a Truly Terrible Mistake With a Condom and a Vacuum Cleaner

8h ago

Daniel Politi

Fauci Has a Warning on COVID-19 Surge: “Things Are Going to Get Worse”

10h ago

Daniel Politi

McCarthy Jokes “It Will Be Hard Not to Hit” Pelosi With Gavel if He Becomes Speaker

10h ago

Rebecca Schuman

The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

The Chicago Cubs Are a Baseball Travesty

Alex Kirshner

How Jerky Is the “Unconventional” Swimmer Who Won’t Get the Vaccine or Wear a Mask?

Justin Peters

“This Is Going to Change the World”

As the new millennium dawned, a mysterious invention from a charismatic millionaire became a viral sensation—then went down in flames. Ever since, I’ve wondered: Was it all my fault?

Dan Kois

The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

The FIG needs to allow a touch warmup before someone “entertainingly” breaks their neck on live TV.

Rebecca Schuman

Culture

What’s worth your time

View all Culture

The Green Knight Is the Ultimate Arthurian Trip

Dana Stevens

It swept me up, carried me away on its noble steed, and left me feeling kind of stoned.

The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

Rebecca Schuman

Take Everything, but Leave Me the 100-Meter Dash

Justin Peters

The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, and Hulu in August

Sam Adams, Lowen Liu, Marissa Martinelli, and Amanda Yeh

The Chicago Cubs Are a Baseball Travesty

Alex Kirshner

How Jerky Is the “Unconventional” Swimmer Who Won’t Get the Vaccine or Wear a Mask?

Justin Peters

Kerri Strug Shouldn’t Have Been Forced to Do That Vault

Rebecca Schuman

Tech & Business

Where we’re headed

View all Tech & Business

The Fable of the Sick Anti-Vaxxer

Rebecca Onion

In the early 20th century, a famous anti-vaxxer exposed himself to smallpox. What happened next offers a COVID cautionary tale.

I Will Defend Microsoft Word to the Death

Torie Bosch

Will Members of the Military Ever Be Willing to Fight Alongside Autonomous Robots?

Andrew Liptak

Human Interest

An honest guide to modern life

View all Human Interest

Who Actually Buys a Gold Toilet?

Yana Pashaeva

In 2001, a Mysterious Invention Became a Viral Sensation—Then Went Down in Flames. I’ve Always Wondered: Was It All My Fault?

Dan Kois

I’ve Made a Truly Terrible Mistake With a Condom and a Vacuum Cleaner

Rich Juzwiak

Help! I Didn’t Get a Job Because I Look Too Much Like a Dead Man.

Slate Staff

Dear Care and Feeding: A Chasm Is Growing Between My Teen and Me. What Can I Do to Close It?

Michelle Herman

Help! My Neighbor Has Let a Year’s Worth of Dog Poop Pile Up on His Lawn.

Jenée Desmond-Harris

“Compartmentalizing” is Crucial to Olympic Success. It’s Also Dangerous.

David Epstein

News & Politics

What really matters

View all News & Politics

Trump Won’t Let the GOP Move On

William Saletan

He’s making his lies about 2020 a major issue in 2022. And that’s dangerous for the Republican Party.

McCarthy Jokes “It Will Be Hard Not to Hit” Pelosi With Gavel if He Becomes Speaker

Daniel Politi

Less Than 0.001 Percent of Fully Vaccinated Americans Died From a COVID-19 Infection

Daniel Politi

Trump’s Political Organizations Rack Up $102 Million War Chest

Daniel Politi

Florida Sets Daily Record for Entire Pandemic With 21,683 New COVID-19 Cases

Daniel Politi

Trump Pressured Justice Department to Declare Election Was “Corrupt”

Daniel Politi

Millions of Tenants Could Lose Homes as Eviction Moratorium Expires

Daniel Politi

Fauci Has a Warning on COVID-19 Surge: “Things Are Going to Get Worse”

Daniel Politi

“This Is Going to Change the World”

­­The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

Fauci Has a Warning on COVID-19 Surge: “Things Are Going to Get Worse”

McCarthy Jokes “It Will Be Hard Not to Hit” Pelosi With Gavel if He Becomes Speaker

Tokyo

An Ode to the Best Olympic Event

How Jerky Is the “Unconventional” Swimmer Who Won’t Get the Vaccine or Wear a Mask?

The Best Photo We Didn’t Use This Week: Give This Mullet a Gold Medal

Digital Life

I Will Defend Microsoft Word to the Death

COVID-19

Florida Sets Daily Record for Entire Pandemic With 21,683 New Cases

Less Than 0.001 Percent of Fully Vaccinated Americans Died From an Infection

Screen Time

The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, and Hulu in August

I’ve Made a Truly Terrible Mistake With a Condom and a Vacuum Cleaner

A Chasm Is Growing Between My Teen and Me. What Can I Do to Close It?

Weekend Reads

Turns Out Mo Brooks Was Wearing Body Armor to Trump’s Very Peaceful Jan. 6 Rally

The Mathematician Who Won a Gold Medal Had Some Brilliant Pandemic Advice

Trump Won’t Let the GOP Move On

The flies are atrocious!

Help! I Didn’t Get a Job Because I Look Too Much Like a Dead Man.

Help! My Body-Positive Friends Attack Me for Exercising.

Dear Prudence Uncensored: “Trusting Other Parents”

Help! My Wife Is Reneging on Our Agreement About Having Kids.

My Wife and I Had Sex With Our Friend One Night. No One Told Me What Would Happen After.

Tower Subway, in This Week’s Open Thread

In 2001, a Mysterious Invention Became a Viral Sensation—Then Went Down in Flames. I’ve Always Wondered: Was It All My Fault?

I’ve Made a Truly Terrible Mistake With a Condom and a Vacuum Cleaner

Fauci Has a Warning on COVID-19 Surge: “Things Are Going to Get Worse”

McCarthy Jokes “It Will Be Hard Not to Hit” Pelosi With Gavel if He Becomes Speaker

­­The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

The Chicago Cubs Are a Baseball Travesty

How Jerky Is the “Unconventional” Swimmer Who Won’t Get the Vaccine or Wear a Mask?

“This Is Going to Change the World”

­­The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

The Green Knight Is the Ultimate Arthurian Trip

­­The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

Take Everything, but Leave Me the 100-Meter Dash

The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, and Hulu in August

The Chicago Cubs Are a Baseball Travesty

How Jerky Is the “Unconventional” Swimmer Who Won’t Get the Vaccine or Wear a Mask?

Kerri Strug Shouldn’t Have Been Forced to Do That Vault

The Fable of the Sick Anti-Vaxxer

I Will Defend Microsoft Word to the Death

Will Members of the Military Ever Be Willing to Fight Alongside Autonomous Robots?

Read a New Short Story About a Robot Going to War

How Worried Should You Be About the “Concerning” New CDC Study?

A Genius Plan to Improve Amtrak

The Architect of Japan’s Olympic Stadium Thinks It Looks Just as Good Empty

Your Plastic Recycling Is Probably Getting Shipped to … Canada?

Who Actually Buys a Gold Toilet?

In 2001, a Mysterious Invention Became a Viral Sensation—Then Went Down in Flames. I’ve Always Wondered: Was It All My Fault?

I’ve Made a Truly Terrible Mistake With a Condom and a Vacuum Cleaner

Help! I Didn’t Get a Job Because I Look Too Much Like a Dead Man.

Dear Care and Feeding: A Chasm Is Growing Between My Teen and Me. What Can I Do to Close It?

Help! My Neighbor Has Let a Year’s Worth of Dog Poop Pile Up on His Lawn.

“Compartmentalizing” is Crucial to Olympic Success. It’s Also Dangerous.

Trump Won’t Let the GOP Move On

McCarthy Jokes “It Will Be Hard Not to Hit” Pelosi With Gavel if He Becomes Speaker

Less Than 0.001 Percent of Fully Vaccinated Americans Died From a COVID-19 Infection

Trump’s Political Organizations Rack Up $102 Million War Chest

Florida Sets Daily Record for Entire Pandemic With 21,683 New COVID-19 Cases

Trump Pressured Justice Department to Declare Election Was “Corrupt”

Millions of Tenants Could Lose Homes as Eviction Moratorium Expires

Fauci Has a Warning on COVID-19 Surge: “Things Are Going to Get Worse”

The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe

The Olympic Gymnastics Event Finals Are Unsatisfying and Unsafe