What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Perimenopause’s journey from little-understood phase before menopause to the subject of every ad on social media for women of a certain age was quick—and impossible to imagine without the internet. Guest: Kate Knibbs , senior writer for WIRED. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subs...

Our current fascists are obsessed with the apocalypse—it drives everything they do, from stoking anti-immigration fervor around the world to wanting to colonize Mars. But why run from our beautiful planet when we can still fight? Guest: Naomi Klein , co-author of End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the...

Democrats are excited about the prospect of a blue wave, with their Senate candidates leading races in Texas and Georgia. But beyond the races, there’s a separate issue in those states—how your vote gets counted. Guest: Greg Bluestein , Chief Political Reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jessica Huseman , Editorial Director at Votebeat Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to acces...

Up against #Resistance superstar Alexander Vindman, Angie Nixon overcame a huge spending gap to win the Democratic primary to run for a US Senate seat in Florida. As she now runs in a state-wide election in ruby-red Florida, her message remains the same: addressing people’s needs. Guest: Angie Nixon, Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives and DSA-affiliated candidate for U.S. Se...

While the What Next team recovers over the holiday, enjoy this episode from our friends over at Platypus Economics . Mary will be back to her usual feed tomorrow. Americans feel almost exactly as gloomy today as they did in 1980 — when inflation was near 14% and unemployment was close to 8%. Today those numbers are a fraction of that, yet consumer sentiment hit an all-time low. Justin Wolfers trea...

How the Cornell University rape allegations show we’re not really “post-MeToo.” 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 favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . Or,...

An exchange of insults on X was all that director Alex Gibney got directly from the main character of his new documentary, “Musk.” But by interviewing his business partners, father, wives and girlfriends—and using a bit of movie magic—Gibney takes viewers inside Elon Musk’s head. Spoiler alert: it’s not pretty. Guest: Alex Gibney , filmmaker and director of the documentary “ Musk .” Want more What...

Voters are angry and it looks like they’re eager to express themselves in the midterm elections. But even if Democrats take both chambers of Congress, they won’t have the power to change much—but they will have enough power to be blamed if things continue to get worse. Guest: Jonathan V. Last , editor at The Bulwark Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the wh...

How Steve Ballmer, the richest owner in sports, was caught dead to rights by a humble podcaster, and what lessons the media and public can take from courtside seats to the halls of power. Guest: Pablo Torre, investigative reporter and host of “ Pablo Torre Finds Out .” Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorit...

From Michigan to Florida to Texas, there are new Democrats in town and on the ballot. But other than novelty, what do these candidates have in common? Guests: Hasan Piker , political commentator and streamer. Adam Mockler , political commentator and YouTuber 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 pod...

Democrat Justin Pearson made national headlines in 2023 when he expelled from Tennessee’s general assembly while trying to talk about gun reform after a school shooting. That same spirit has driven him to run for Congress, despite the newly redrawn electoral map that erased the state’s only majority Black district. Guest: Justin Pearson , state representative for Tennessee’s District 86, running f...

Move over, New Deal; Donald Trump is in his public works era, using tax dollars to give the American people a…chatbot and also what looks like a campaign ad for the president, even though he isn’t running for anything, can’t run again, and also can’t use tax dollars to buy ads for himself. Uh, masterful stroke, sir? This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. B...

A.I. large language models are prompt, attentive, positive and frictionless—in short, much easier to deal with than humans with their own needs, wants, and moods. But, as long as humans aren’t social creatures by nature, this should be fine, right? Guest: Sherry Turkle , licensed clinical psychologist and the founding director of MIT's Initiative on Technology and Self. Want more What Next TBD...

Why the NAACP spoke out against the “Protect College Sports Act,” which was just passed by the US Senate—and why the bill is unlikely to get a vote in the House anytime soon. Guest: Alex Kirshner , Slate contributing writer and co-host of the college football podcast Split Zone Duo . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across a...

In the face of a tariff shock, an energy shock and a fiscal shock, the Fed is opting to raise interest rates. Donald Trump may not like it, but he has only himself to blame. Guest: Justin Wolfers , Professor of Public Policy and Economics at University of Michigan, host of Platypus Economics . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family an...

The party that holds the White House always braces for backlash in the midterm elections. But with Donald Trump’s approval rating hitting historic lows and voters furious at his handling of the economy, inflation, and the war in Iran, races that were once considered safe Republican wins are up for grabs. Guest: David Faris , associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University. He’s al...

Former labor organizer and iron worker Brian Poindexter embodies the emerging blue-collar, practical-minded Democrat type in the upcoming midterms. While he leads his race for an Ohio district Trump won handily, is that the power of his pitch or the mounting allegations against his opponent? Guest: Brian Poindexter , Democratic congressional candidate running for Ohio’s 7th district. Want more Wha...

Artificial intelligence is pitched as a potential economic powerhouse—and also a potential bringer of the apocalypse. Can two economic and military rivals cooperate enough to fulfill the former (and former only)? Guest: Scott Singer , fellow and co-director of the China AI Initiative at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-fr...

Donald Trump announced that he was banning CNN, Politico and MS NOW at kind of a weird time—it’s not like he thought they were doing a great job last year or in his first term or...ever. But with the announcement of something called “Trump TV,” suddenly it all makes sense: it could just be a First Amendment-violating exercise in branding. Guest: Oliver Darcy , founder and lead author of Status New...

Donald Trump’s in-roads with Latino voters was one of the surprises of his 2024 victory, carrying places like southern Texas’s 15th district by 18 points. But singer-turned-congressional candidate Bobby Pulido thinks those gains are temporary, and that Democrats have a chance, with sensible policies, to take the district and Congress. Guest: Bobby Pulido , congressional candidate for Texas’s 15th...

Trans rights have become something that’s argued about in the abstract—are Democrats too far out on a limb defending them? Did they cost the Democrats 2024? Should they be more moderate in 2026? But the real-world effects of changing laws are anything but abstract, affecting the basics of public life like your ID and whether you can use the bathroom. Guest: M Gessen , opinion columnist for the New...

Donald Trump owes his political career to saying what no other politician would. But now that he’s standing alone in full-throated support of data centers and artificial intelligence, he looks less like a populist, and more like a liability for Republicans trying to win elections. Guests:  Jim Newell , Slate senior politics writer and author of The Surge . Patrick Reis , Slate politics editor...

What it means that Macklemore decided he’d rather keep speaking out for Palestine than continue opening for Ed Sheeran. Guest: Soraya Nadia McDonald , cultural critic and writer.  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...

Don Trump Jr.’s wedding had everything: a private island, fireworks, a Funfetti cake airlifted in from Florida—everything but the groom’s dad. But that’s the advantage of being rich, you can pay for the wedding of your drea—oh wait, one of Putin’s buddies was footing the bill. Ah well, nevertheless… This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not on...

Why did the “Hugging Face Incident” scare A.I. researchers so much? And if they are so confident artificial intelligence needs to be slowed down, why aren’t they slowing it down? Guest: Nate Soares, President of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, co-author of “ If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies ” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole W...