Slow Burn is a narrative podcast produced by Slate Plus, a division of Slate. The first two seasons of the podcast are hosted by Leon Neyfakh; the third and sixth seasons of the show are hosted by Joel D. Anderson; and the fourth and fifth seasons are hosted by Josh Levin and Noreen Malone, respectively.
The first season is about the Watergate scandal featuring interviews with people involved in the story. The second is about the Impeachment of Bill Clinton featuring an interview with Linda Tripp, among others. The third season covers the growing tension between rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. in the 1990s. The fourth season covers the rise and fall of David Duke as a political figure in Louisiana in the 1980s and 1990s. Its fifth season explored the road to the Iraq war and debuted on April 21, 2021. The sixth season, beginning on November 3, 2021, covered the police beating of Rodney King and the subsequent L.A. riots. The seventh season was about Roe v. Wade and the politics of abortion in the 1970s. Its eighth season, which premiered on May 31, 2023, is about the nomination and confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. The ninth season covered the 1978 Briggs Initiative which called for the banning of gays and lesbians from working in public schools. This Californian legislation fueled a growing backlash against LGBTQ+ people in all corners of American life.
The podcast premiered on November 28, 2017, and became "one of the top shows on Apple Podcasts."
Slow Burn received a positive review from Vulture. USA Today named Slow Burn as a "hot" recommended podcast. The New York Times praised Slow Burn and credited Malcolm Gladwell with leading the way by making historic podcasts that focused on neglected aspects of well-known events, like Slow Burn, possible.
The show won Podcast of the Year at the 2019 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards.
It was announced in February 2019 that Epix was producing a six-part television series based on the first season Watergate investigation. It premiered on February 16, 2020.