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On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by internet culture writer Christianna Silva , who recently covered the TikTok Awards while wearing America’s new favorite device: Meta Glasses. Meta Glasses are just one AR wearable, but their revenue tripled in 2025, and 2026 looks even bigger. However, wearing your phone on your face comes with completely new etiquette, and privacy concerns are at...

This week: The Trump administration kidnapped the president of Venezuela. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , Emily Peck , and guest Lizzie O'Leary , host of What Next: TBD , discuss Trump's rationale for the attack and the complex economics around Venezuelan oil that come with it. Then, Lizzie breaks down the unsettling trend of AI-generated nudes of real people, including many children, being crea...

While the U.S. was busy capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, someone online was  busy placing bets on prediction markets on the ouster. And these well-timed bets may have netted a still-anonymous someone more than $400,000. Was this a case of kind-of-legal insider trading? Or is America going all-out on its efforts to make everything a casino? We’re going to be talking to pediatrician Dr...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what the so-called “Donroe Doctrine” means for international order after the US military extracted Maduro from Venezuela amid rumblings over Greenland and Cuba, the background and evolving situation in Minnesota after an ICE agent killed a woman during a raid, and how changes to the federal recommended childhood vaccine schedule dan...

After the Trump administration launched a massive Immigrations and Customs Enforcement operation in Minnesota, protesters gathered to defend immigrant neighbors. Renee Nicole Good, a mother of a six year old, showed up with her wife and dog to film altercations between officers and community members. What happened next changed everything.  Guest: Jon Collins , senior reporter on the Minnesota Publ...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are talking New Years Resolutions. Do they kinda suck? Maybe! But the ‘Rents are sharing their goals and ambitions for 2026 anyway.  But first, they share their latest triumphs and fails. Elizabeth’s involves fire. Zak’s involves free activities. And Lucy’s involves a sisterly text message.  Join us on Facebook and email us...

This week, Julia and Steve welcome guest host Sam Adams to deconstruct the aggravating, yet strangely charming, table tennis phenom on the make that is Marty Supreme . Played with “BDE off-the-charts” (Steve’s words) by Timothée Chalamet, the unceasingly shameless hustler may just be an avatar for our age. Speaking of avatars, we can’t avoid discussing Avatar: Fire and Ash, the latest installment...

How a mixture of real investigations, wild allegations, evidence of actual fraud, and the right-wing echo chamber ended Tim Walz’s governor campaign in Minnesota. Guest: Deena Winter , Minneapolis City Hall reporter for the Star Tribune.  Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe tod...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by meme historian Aidan Walker to discuss “the great meme reset.” Internet users, exhausted by social media brain rot, declared January 1, 2026 as an official “reset.” They want a clean slate, and most importantly, to return to the meme style of the 2010s—back when memes had “substance.” But can we really go back? Or is it time to imagine what a post...

In this Money Talks: Journalist and author Tarpley Hitt joins Emily Peck to discuss her new book Barbieland: The Unauthorized History which reveals the shady history behind the super-star doll. They’ll get into inventor Ruth Handler’s so-called "inspiration" by a popular German doll, Mattel’s industry spies and many, many lawsuits, and how Handler single-handedly prevented Nixon-era maternity leav...

The investigation into the 2021 attack on the Capitol was the largest in FBI history. Then Trump came back into office—and started undoing it.  Guest: Ryan Reilly, reporter covering the Justice Department and federal law enforcement for NBC News, author of Sedition Hunters: How January 6th Broke the Justice System . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the wh...

Anna hosted Selected Shorts, an evening where professional actors read short stories in front of a live studio audience at Symphony Space in New York. The theme for the night? Death, sex, and money. Stories performed: Cat Owner by Alissa Nutting performed by Phoebe Robinson The Model Millionaire by Oscar Wilde performed by Peter Francis James You Again by Seth Fried performed by Amy Ryan Hear more...

Hosts Alex Kirshner , Lindsay Gibbs , and Ben Lindbergh are joined J.C. Bradbury ,  professor and author of the forthcoming book This One Will Be Different: False Promises and Fiscal Realities of Publicly Funded Stadiums , for a frank discussion of Kansas’ plan to spend nearly $2 billion on a new Chiefs stadium, and how taxpayers are often left footing the bill for largely private gain. The hosts...

The Trump administration has a handful of answers to the question “Why did the United States pluck Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela?”—it was for narcoterrorism, or payback, or just oil. They’re even less clear about what’s going to happen with the country now. Guest: Shane Harris , staff writer covering national security and intelligence for the Atlantic.  Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus...

On this episode: Lucy Lopez , Elizabeth Newcamp , and Zak Rosen are going into the vault. In a very special episode, we’re sharing some of our favorite Slate Plus bonus episodes for freeeee!!! We bring you episodes on Halloween costumes, the best lullabies, and more. If you like what you hear, you should absolutely consider subscribing to Slate Plus! This is just a little taste of the fun we have...

The Trump administration wants NASA to land astronauts on the moon by 2027. They also want them to do it with their budget slashed, a leadership carousel and competing views that Mars is more important.  Guest: Joel Achenbach, freelance journalist and author of Moondoggle If you want to support more of this reporting, in 2026 and beyond, consider signing up for Slate Plus. You’ll enjoy ad-free lis...

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by The Atlantic staff writer and host of the Galaxy Brain podcast , Charlie Warzel. Charlie has been following the demise of Twitter, now called X, since Elon Musk took over in 2022. While many of Musk’s decisions have prompted people to declare the end of the app, the introduction of a new location feature undermines almost all of what was left of i...

In a special new year retrospective, Amicus host Dahlia Lithwick revisits an important episode from early 2025. Back at the beginning of February, Kim Lane Scheppele, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International affairs at Princeton University, pointed to  the speed and viciousness of the very opening legal gambits in Trump 2.0 as evidence that America had already switched...

This week: 2025 ended on high for the US stock market but no one seems too pleased with its performance. Felix Salmon , Elizabeth Spiers , and Emily Peck , unpack the story of the US markets in 2025, why it was outperformed internationally, and the role AI has  played. Then, the hosts discuss how, amid the uncertainty and chaos of Trump’s trade war, Mexico has found a way to come out on top. And f...

Host Mary Harris appeared on stage a few weeks back to speak in response to a night of “Resistance Theater,” considering how she, as a journalist, is preparing to meet this political moment.  This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favo...

Artificial intelligence boosters spent the year wedging the tech into our lives – whether we wanted it or not. But one new product brought A.I. from every app and website into the meatspace, forcing you to face it eye-to-eye. Guest: Nitish Pahwa, staff writer at Slate covering business and technology Want more What Next: TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Ne...

2025 might not have been a great year —but the music sure was stellar. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by...

The hosts are on vacation this week! So we're taking you back in time with one of our favorite episodes of the year. Elizabeth and Zak talk with Ash Brandin,  author of  Power On , about managing screen time without guilt or panic. They discuss realistic strategies and why screen time doesn’t define parenting quality. Then, a listener’s question about school tech mandates gets some thoughtful answ...

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz revisit several favorite segments from Gabfests past to celebrate their 20th anniversary: the consequential and eye-opening “don’t call the police” debate, the segment in which John shows Bill Clinton how to apologize with his characteristic eloquence and grace, and that time a data scientist definitively answered the important question: wh...

We can’t make this show without you, our listeners. Today, you can help support Decoder Ring – and get a really good deal. To join Slate Plus for just $59/year, visit slate.com/decoderplus on December 31st and type in the promo code DECODER50 at checkout. Slate Plus members get to listen to episodes of Decoder Ring (and all your favorite Slate podcasts!) with no ads, and get access to exclusive bo...