Shows / Slow Burn
Slow Burn
Slow Burn illuminates America’s most consequential moments, making sense of the past to better understand the present. Through archival tape and first-person interviews, the series uncovers the surprising events and little-known characters lurking within the biggest stories of our time.
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Episodes
Slow BurnBecoming Justice Thomas | 1. America’s Blackest Child
Growing up in Georgia, Clarence Thomas wanted to make his mark. His goal was to become his hometown’s first Black Catholic priest. But in the 1960s, he…
Slow BurnSeason 8 Trailer: Becoming Justice Thomas
Clarence Thomas is one of the most powerful figures in America today. Nearly every issue of national consequence has his fingerprints all over it, from voting…
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Decoder Ring: Who Owns the Tooth Fairy?
We pride ourselves on being grounded, rational beings, but flitting amongst us is a mystery: the Tooth Fairy. This flying piece of folklore is alive and well…
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Decoder Ring: Why You Can’t Find a Damn Parking Spot
Parking is one of the great paradoxes of American life. On the one hand, we have paved an ungodly amount of land to park our cars. On the other, it seems like…
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Decoder Ring: The Artist Who Was Both Loved and Disdained
We bring you a special episode from Sidedoor, a podcast about the treasures that fill the vaults of the Smithsonian. This story is inspired by “Big Band,” a…
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Decoder Ring: The Curious Case of Columbo's Message to Romania Part 2
Last week, we put on the proverbial raincoat and made like Columbo to investigate Peter Falk’s claim that he recorded a special Cold War message telling…
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Decoder Ring: The Curious Case of Columbo's Message to Romania Part 1
Not too long ago an old clip surfaced of Peter Falk on David Letterman, in which he told an intriguing tale about recording a special Cold War message for…
Slow BurnAnnouncing Slow Burn Season 8
Hosted by Joel Anderson. Coming in May 2023. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at…
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Decoder Ring: The Mailbag Episode
We’re really lucky to get a lot of listener emails, suggesting topics for the show. In this episode, we’re going to dig into a handful of the most fascinating…
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Decoder Ring: ‘You’ve Got Mail’ Got It Wrong
(This episode originally aired in March 2020.) The 1998 romantic comedy You’ve Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, is about the brutal fight between a…
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Decoder Ring: Cellino & Barnes, Injury Attorneys, 800-888-8888
Ross Cellino and Steve Barnes were two Buffalo-based lawyers who became the literal poster-men for personal injury advertising. They poured millions of dollars…
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Decoder Ring: How Preppy Became Streetwear
We bring you a special episode from the Articles of Interest podcast hosted by Avery Trufelman about the incredible reach and adaptability of preppy clothes…
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Decoder Ring: The New Age Hit Machine
For this episode, a story from Slate senior producer Evan Chung about how Yanni, John Tesh and a number of other surprising acts made it big in the 1990s. It’s…
Slow BurnSlow Burn: Roe v. Wade special announcement
Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade has been named Apple Podcasts Show of the Year! We’re so honored by this award and want to thank everyone who has listened and supported…
Slow BurnRoe v. Wade | Creating a Winning Show
This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive Slow Burn episodes, but you’ll…
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One Year: 1942 | 6. The Black-Japanese Axis
In 1942, federal officials targeted a group of Black Americans who were allegedly hoping for a Japanese invasion. They uncovered a plot that included…
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Decoder Ring: The Butt and the Bustle
For about two decades towards the end of the Victorian era, in the 1870s and 1880s, a large bustle-enhanced bottom was the height of fashion. In this episode…
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One Year: 1942 | 5. When Internment Came to Alaska
Six months after Pearl Harbor, Japan launched another attack on the United States. This time, Axis forces actually invaded, turning the Aleutian Islands into a…
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Decoder Ring: The Truth About #TheDress
In the history of viral images, #TheDress has got to be in the top 10. This unassuming photo of a party dress kicked off a global debate when people realized…
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One Year: 1942 | 4. The Info Wars of World War II
In March 1942, a new nightly radio show hit the American airwaves. The stated goal of Station Debunk was to correct all the lies getting tossed around about…
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One Year: 1942 | 3. The Day the Music Stopped
On Aug. 1, 1942, the nation’s recording studios went silent. Musicians were fed up with the new technologies threatening their livelihoods, so they refused to…
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One Year: 1942 | 2. The Year Everyone Got Married
There were 1.8 million weddings in 1942, the most that had ever been recorded in a single year in American history. But how many of them would last?…
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One Year: 1942 | 1. The Most Hated Man in America
At the beginning of World War II, the greatest threat to the American war effort wasn’t the Nazis or the Japanese—it was runaway inflation. The man in charge…
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Decoder Ring: McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime Pt. 2
McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug PSAs was inundating the youth of America. These messages…
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Decoder Ring: McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime Pt. 1
McGruff the Crime Dog arrived on the scene at the dawn of the 1980s, just as a firehose of anti-drug PSAs was inundating the youth of America. These messages…
Slow BurnOne Year: 1986 | 7. The Man From Fifth Avenue
After Joe Mauri gets evicted from his New York apartment, he becomes a star in the USSR, the subject of a documentary about the injustices of capitalism. But…
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One Year: 1986 | 6. The Miracle of Cokeville
On May 16, 1986, a man with a bomb held an entire elementary school hostage in the tiny town of Cokeville, Wyoming. Yet instead of becoming victims of…
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One Year: 1986 | 5. Herschel vs. the Blubber Busters
In Seattle, a pack of voracious sea lions decimates the local fish population. When fireworks and an underwater air horn don’t scare away the whisker-y…
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One Year: 1986 | 4. A Boycott in Mississippi
Black residents of Indianola, Mississippi, were fed up with decades of separate-and-unequal classrooms. When a white outsider got hired as school…
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One Year: 1986 | 3. The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults
Rumors about the legendary gangster Al Capone’s buried treasure transform an abandoned Chicago hotel into the center of the entertainment universe. Will…
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One Year: 1986 | 2. The Ultimate Field Trip
This week, Evan Chung tells the story of the American teachers who competed for an unprecedented prize: a spot on the January 1986 launch of the Space Shuttle…
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Slow Burn presents... One Year: 1986 | 1. No Crime Day
Basketball star Isiah Thomas had an audacious plan to transform Detroit: asking criminals to stay on the good side of the law for 24 hours. Would “No Crime…
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Decoder Ring: The “Sex” Scandal That Made Mae West
In the early 1930s, Mae West’s dirty talk and hip swiveling walk made her one of the biggest movie stars in America. But before West hit the big-screen, she…
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Decoder Ring: The First Alien Abductees
When you think of an alien abduction, what do you picture? Humanoid creatures, medical experiments, lost memories retrieved through hypnosis? That narrative…
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Decoder Ring: The Most Famous Poet No One Remembers
Rod McKuen sold multiple millions of poetry books in the 60s and 70s. He released dozens of albums, was a regular on late night, and was even nominated for an…
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Slow Burn presents: Decoder Ring - The Mall is Dead (Long Live the Mall)
(While we work on the next season of Slow Burn we're showcasing Slate's other narrative podcasts, starting with a new season of Decoder Ring.) What do we lose…
Slow BurnRoe v. Wade | 4. Roe Against Wade
This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive Slow Burn episodes, but you’ll…
Slow BurnRoe v. Wade | 3. Women vs. Connecticut
This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive Slow Burn episodes, but you’ll…
Slow BurnRoe v. Wade | 2. Life or Death
This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive Slow Burn episodes, but you’ll…
Slow BurnRoe v. Wade | 1. Get Married or Go Home
In 1970, 22-year-old Shirley Wheeler got an illegal abortion in Florida. When she refused to tell the police who performed the procedure, she was arrested and…
Slow BurnThe L.A. Riots | 8. Damages
After the largest civil disturbance in American history, Los Angeles faced a daunting task. Dozens of people had been killed and thousands injured. The city…
Slow BurnThe L.A. Riots | 7. Into Ashes
On April 29, 1992, Los Angeles had erupted into chaos. Over the following days, thousands of people took to the streets. Some were unleashing their anger at…
Slow BurnThe L.A. Riots | 6. No Peace
In March 1991, Black people in Los Angeles had seen the videotape of Rodney King being beaten. In November, they’d seen Soon Ja Du sentenced to probation for…
Slow BurnThe L.A. Riots | 5. The System
A year after they were caught on tape beating Rodney King, four LAPD officers went on trial. None were convicted. How did the prosecution make its case against…
Slow BurnThe L.A. Riots | Extra: Leading Up to the Riots
This week, we're highlighting a few excerpts from this season's Slate Plus episodes—interviews with George Holliday, professor Edward Chang, L.A. Times…
Slow BurnThe L.A. Riots | 4. Glen
Rodney King never asked to be famous. The video that captured his beating at the hands of four LAPD officers plunged an ordinary man into an extraordinary…
Slow BurnThe L.A. Riots | 3. The Chief
In 1991, Daryl Gates was the face of the LAPD. Over the course of his 13-year tenure as chief, he had built his police department into a paramilitary-style…
Slow BurnThe L.A. Riots | 2. No Justice
In March 1991, the video of the Rodney King beating was national news. The LAPD was under intense scrutiny and many white Americans were seeing a side of…
Slow BurnThe L.A. Riots | 1. The Tape
On the night of March 2nd, 1991, at a remote intersection just outside of L.A., four police officers surrounded an unarmed Black man. They struck him 56 times…
Slow BurnSeason 6 Trailer: The L.A. Riots
In 1992, a jury failed to convict the four Los Angeles police officers who'd been captured on videotape beating Rodney King. The city erupted into fire and…
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One Year: Jesus on a Tortilla
After Maria Rubio saw Jesus on a tortilla, her family got besieged by believers and gawkers and the national press. But for the Rubios, the tortilla wasn’t…
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One Year: Roots: The Saga of Alex Haley
Alex Haley’s Roots displayed the brutal realities of slavery to more than 100 million Americans. The book and mini-series also made a bold claim: that Haley…
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One Year: Mr. Marijuana and the Drug Czar
America’s top weed evangelist and the nation’s drug czar shared the same goal: to loosen up the country’s marijuana laws. In 1977, everything was trending…
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One Year: Elvis, the Pledge, and Extraterrestrials
Three stories from one day in August 1977. Elvis Presley dies, and the National Enquirer goes after the ultimate tabloid scoop: a photo of the King in his…
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One Year: The Miracle Cure
Medical authorities said that Laetrile was dangerous quackery. It became a sensation anyway. Diana Green saw this drug made from apricot pits as her son Chad’s…
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One Year: Mary Shane's Rookie Season
Mary Shane made history with the Chicago White Sox, becoming the first woman hired as a legitimate major-league baseball announcer. But in 1977, she had to…
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Decoder Ring: The Sign Painter
Decoder Ring is Slate's show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit, examines its…
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One Year: Anita Bryant's War on Gay Rights
Slate's new podcast One Year and will introduce you to people and ideas that changed American history--one year at a time. The show is hosted by Josh Levin…
Slow BurnThe Road to the Iraq War | 8. Shock and Awe
This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive Slow Burn episodes, but you’ll…
Slow BurnThe Road to the Iraq War | 7. Judy
This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive Slow Burn episodes, but you’ll…