Slate Podcasts · History

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. Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Slow Burn and your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe from the Slow Burn show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/slowburnplus to get access wherever you listen. Season 11: Becoming Justice Gorsuch How Neil Gorsuch laid the foundation for a SCOTUS supermajority and then became its most unexpected wild card. Season 10: The Rise of Fox News How a cable news channel became a cultural and political force—and how a whole bunch of people rose up to try and stop it. Season 9: Gays Against Briggs A nationwide moral panic, a California legislator who rode the anti-gay wave, and the LGBTQ+ people who stepped up and came out to try and stop him. Season 8: Becoming Justice Thomas Where Clarence Thomas came from, how he rose to power, and how he’s brought the rest of us along with him, whether we like it or not. Winner of the Podcast of the Year at the 2024 Ambies Awards. Season 7: Roe v. Wade The women who fought for legal abortion, the activists who pushed back, and the justices who thought they could solve the issue for good. Winner of Apple Podcasts Show of the Year in 2022. Season 6: The L.A. Riots How decades of police brutality, a broken justice system, and a video tape set off six days of unrest in Los Angeles. Season 5: The Road to the Iraq War Eighteen months after 9/11, the United States invaded a country that had nothing to do with the attacks. Who’s to blame? And was there any way to stop it? Season 4: David Duke America’s most famous white supremacist came within a runoff of controlling Louisiana. How did David Duke rise to power? And what did it take to stop him? Season 3: Biggie and Tupac How is it that two of the most famous performers in the world were murdered within a year of each other—and their killings were never solved? Season 2: The Clinton Impeachment A reexamination of the scandals that nearly destroyed the 42nd president and forever changed the life of a former White House intern. Season 1: Watergate What did it feel like to live through the scandal that brought down President Nixon? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

By 2004, Fox News had solidified its position as the dominant cable news force by weaponizing ratings, spying on reporters, and deploying online trolling operations to silence dissent. The network fundamentally reshaped the political landscape by amplifying the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth allegations against John Ker...

The Rise of Fox News | 5. Ludacris Has Been Fired

16 Oct 2024

58m

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The rise of Fox News as a dominant media force in the early 2000s spurred a desperate, often disorganized, pushback from the American left. Al Franken’s aggressive media criticism and his legal clash with Bill O’Reilly highlighted the deep ideological divide, yet attempts to replicate the conservative talk radio model ...

The Rise of Fox News | 4. Beacon of Truth

09 Oct 2024

59m

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The emergence of The Daily Show as a critical media force provided a necessary counter-narrative to the ideological dominance of Fox News during the early 2000s. By utilizing satire and investigative techniques to expose media hypocrisy—particularly regarding the Iraq War—the show offered viewers a skeptical perspectiv...

The Rise of Fox News | 3. The Other Guy’s Hamburger

02 Oct 2024

51m

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The rise of Fox News fundamentally transformed the American media landscape, shifting the industry from CNN’s reporting-heavy, "news-is-the-star" model to a personality-driven, partisan approach. CNN initially dominated as the sole 24-hour cable news network, but its reliance on objective reporting struggled against Fo...

The Rise of Fox News | 2. A Network for Normal People

25 Sep 2024

54m

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Roger Ailes’ transformation from a political operative into a media mogul began with the creation of "America's Talking," a short-lived cable network designed to appeal to "normal people" through populist showmanship. This venture established the blueprint for Fox News, prioritizing emotional connection and tribal iden...

The Rise of Fox News | 1. We Report. You Can Suck It.

18 Sep 2024

51m

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The episode investigates Fox News' rise to prominence, focusing on its coverage of the 2000 presidential election. It highlights the network's early struggles and its controversial decision to project George W. Bush as the winner in Florida before other networks. The episode explores the role of John Ellis, Bush's cous...

Decoder Ring: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… Will He Want a Welfare Check?

11 Sep 2024

44m

Season 10 Trailer: The Rise of Fox News

10 Sep 2024

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The rise of Fox News from a scrappy 1996 startup to a dominant political and cultural force serves as a case study in how media can reshape national discourse. Between the 2000 and 2004 elections, the network pivoted away from traditional journalistic neutrality, opting instead to cultivate a devoted fanbase through pr...