What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Misinformation, disinformation, politics—Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is not going to shield users from those anymore. What’s behind the abrupt change in direction? Guest: Sheera Frenkel, New York Times tech reporter Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clickin...

After being “close to a deal” for so long, Israel and Gaza have officially reached a second ceasefire agreement. Is this the end of the war? And what does it say about Gaza’s future? Guest: Graeme Wood , staff writer at The Atlantic and lecturer in political science at Yale . Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts...

How did an investigation into an effort to violently overturn a US presidential election end up coming out as a whimper, well after it could have carried any weight or legal repercussions?  Guest: Jay Willis , editor-in-chief at Balls and Strikes .  Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directl...

How could Donald Trump make good on his vow to end birthright citizenship, currently a constitutional right? It starts with a willing judiciary. Guest: Isabela Dias , immigration reporter for Mother Jones. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on  Apple Pod...

The fires in Los Angeles may end up being one of—if not the most—expensive natural disasters in American history. Everyone is trying to find the party responsible. It isn’t that simple. Guest: Gabrielle Canon , climate reporter and extreme weather correspondent for The Guardian US. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate po...

How the FCC and its incoming head, Brenden Carr, could enact Trump’s top policy goal: punishing anyone who says mean stuff about Trump. Guest: Drew FitzGerald, telecom reporter for the Wall Street Journal . Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “T...

Will a First Amendment defense keep TikTok running in America?  Guest: Emily Baker White, tech reporter for Forbes.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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...

With Republicans holding the House, the Senate, and the presidency, cabinet confirmation hearings may be the most prominent place for Democrats to make a stand. Guest: Chris Murphy , US senator for Connecticut.  Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on  App...

After a summer on the receiving end of the internet’s ire, Blake Lively is back in the news, as her relationship with her former director and co-star Justin Baldoni has taken a turn for the litigious.  Guest: Heather Schwedel , staff writer at Slate. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe direct...

After nine years as Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau has resigned. Has Canada joined much of the rest of the world by jettisoning its progressive leadership, or does Trudeau’s career tell a different story? Guest: Jesse Brown , editor and publisher of Canadaland . Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You...

Though their physical caliphate has been gone for more than five years, the terrorist organization ISIS has survived—through propaganda, in chatrooms, and as an inspiration and cheerleader for actions like the New Years’ Eve attack in New Orleans. Guest: Colin P. Clarke , Director of Research at The Soufan Group, a nonprofit research group focusing on global security, author of “ After the Calipha...

Cryptocurrency spent generously on this last election cycle, and now they’ve got their top pick in the White House, and wins across Congress. Where is the industry looking to go with these favorable, regulatory winds?  Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany , tech reporter covering the crypto industry for the New York Times. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the w...

On Christmas Eve a fracas erupted on X, when Elon Musk posted in favor of H1-B visas for specialized and high-skill workers and was met with anger from the MAGA base who view the visas as a way for immigrants to take American jobs. Guest: Ryan Mac, tech reporter for The New York Times and the coauthor of the book “ Character Limit How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter .” Want more What Next TBD? Subscri...

Dispensing aid in the Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly difficult. No one knows this better than Hani. On a professional level, his employer, UNRWA—the main supplier of food, water, and shelter to Gazans over the last year—is banned from operating come 2025. On a personal note, his brother Mahmoud was killed in what Hani believes to have been a targeted strike while operating a soup kitchen for...

Happy New Year! What Next resumes regularly scheduled programming tomorrow, but for the holiday, check out this episode of How To! from December: How To Exorcise Your Fitness Demons. Sandy is a former college athlete who knows how to exercise—at least, she used to. These days, she’s feeling lost without a coach, a workout plan, or much free time. On this episode of How To!, Carvell Wallace brings...

The year is wrapping up and so is The Biden Era—oh who are we kidding? This was, and is, the Age of Trump…and now, apparently, Elon Musk. Brace yourselves.  Guest: Jim Newell, Slate senior politics reporter . Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on  Apple...

Former president Jimmy Carter died on Sunday at age 100. Carter was a born-again evangelical Christian as well as a Democrat. Those two identities existed in harmony for him—but they would diverge in American politics in the wake of his presidency. Guest: Jim Wallis , chair in Faith and Justice and the founding director of the Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice. Want more What Next?...

Between a third and half of American schoolchildren have a form of “mental health monitoring” software on their school devices, which scans for and flags certain keywords.  While intuitively appealing, is it worth the false positives, privacy issues, and compromised trust?  Guest: Ellen Barry , mental health reporter for the New York Times. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to acces...

“Fecal microbial transplants” treat someone’s unhealthy gut with poop from someone else’s healthy gut, and proponents of FMT claim it can help treat everything from IBS to autism. But if your doctor isn’t ready to fill you up with someone else’s poop, the internet will happily oblige.  Guest:  Luke Winkie , Slate staff writer who published “ The Poop Broker .” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to...

“Fecal microbial transplants” treat someone’s unhealthy gut with poop from someone else’s healthy gut, and proponents of FMT claim it can help treat everything from IBS to autism. But if your doctor isn’t ready to fill you up with someone else’s poop, the internet will happily oblige.  Guest:  Luke Winkie , Slate staff writer who published “ The Poop Broker .” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to...

While the What Next team takes some rest, enjoy this episode, originally aired on April 22. With all eyes on the WNBA as Caitlin Clark was drafted, many were surprised at the star player’s new salary, and how it paled in comparison to that of an NBA rookie. What would it take to address this disparity?  Guest: Lindsay Gibbs , author and founder of Power Plays , “a no-BS newsletter about women’s sp...

While the What Next team takes some rest, enjoy this episode, originally aired on May 16. When Miss USA abdicated her throne, people noticed that the first letters of each sentence of her resignation letter spell out “I am silenced.” Shortly thereafter, Miss Teen USA stepped down with a letter that opens with a quote from Nietzsche.  What’s going on at the Miss USA organization? Has the idea of a...

While the What Next team takes some rest, enjoy this episode, originally aired on June 12. Two years ago, the FDA announced it was banning JUUL nicotine vapes from sale in the U.S.—and then quickly announced it was holding off on the ban to allow for review. How did regulating ecigarettes end up playing catch-up? Guest: Jamie Ducharme , health correspondent at Time , author of Big Vape: The Incend...

While the What Next team enjoys some rest, enjoy this episode, originally aired on August 15. MrBeast is known for videos that blend stunts and philanthropy, but his new team-up with Amazon and MGM is bringing some of his less savory aspects to light. Guest: Madison Malone Kircher , reporter covering internet culture for The New York Times Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-...

One influencer working for Amazon sued another influencer who works for Amazon for creating content that looks too similar to theirs. But with how the algorithms work and reward, was this an inevitability? What does this mean for the economics of the influencer position? Guest: Mia Sato , reporter covering platforms and communities for The Verge. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to...