What Next | Daily News and Analysis

How Minnesota Governor Tim Walz slipped past VP-favorite Josh Shapiro and joined Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket. Guest: Guest: David Faris , associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and author of The Kids Are All Left and It’s Time to Fight Dirty . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all y...

Once one of the most politically confrontational artists in music, Ice Cube has become a surprising asset to Donald Trump. Guest: Joel Anderson , staff writer for Slate and the host of Seasons 3 , 6, and 8 of Slow Burn. 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 Podcast...

The Trump campaign washed its hands of Project 2025. A second Trump term would almost certainly be guided by it. Guest: Sam Adler-Bell , host of the Know Your Enemy podcast. 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 sho...

Earlier this month, AT&T was hit by the largest telecom hack ever. Not long after, Sydney Sweeney’s phone number was stolen by criminals, who used it to hack her social media and promote a memecoin. With how much sensitive data telecom companies have on us, why is their security so bad? And how can we protect ourselves?  Guests: Joseph Cox, investigative reporter and cofounder of 404 media. Wa...

Courtesy of our colleagues at A Word, enjoy this a special interview with America's first Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff. Many political spouses spend decades preparing for a White House run with their partners. But attorney Doug Emhoff had been married to then-Senator Kamala Harris for just five years when she first ran for the White House. Now, as the first Second Gentleman in history, he’s stepp...

The age when you need to start being screened for cancers may need to be updated, as rates among younger people are on the rise. New testing methods could make the process a lot easier than, say, a colonoscopy - but they’re not perfect.  Guest: Dylan Scott, senior correspondent and editor for Vox . Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next...

As the rumored ceasefire slips further out of headlines, the Gaza war is threatening to boil over into a multiple-front war for Israel—while internal conflicts escalate inside the country. Guest: Joshua Keating , senior correspondent covering foreign policy at Vox. His piece, "A very dangerous 24 hours in the Middle East," was published on Vox on July 31 . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate P...

American consumption of avocados has exploded in the last two decades but keeping up with demand is exacting a toll on the local environment—and on local communities—in the Mexican state where most of the avocados are grown. Guest: Alex Sammon, politics writer at Slate. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favori...

How physical and emotional abuse from coaches still persists in American gymnastics. Guest: Molly Henseley Clancy, sports writer for the Washington Post. 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...

Calling Kamala Harris a “DEI hire” is both sexist and racist, and despite the GOP leadership’s pleading, it has quickly emerged as a favored line of attack from the right.  Guest: Dr. Brittney Cooper, professor of gender studies and Africana studies at Rutgers University Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favor...

How France changed its own laws to have the safest, most pervasively surveilled Olympics ever—and why some are worried the new security system will stay in place long after the games end. Guests:  Anne Toomey McKenna , professor, author, and expert in electronic surveillance. Henry Grabar, covering the Olympics in Paris for Slate. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free...

For years, Silicon Valley has felt like a liberal enclave.. This election, a handful of powerful voices like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel are expressing support for the Trump-Vance ticket. Is this a shift in ideologies in Silicon Valley, or just a few of the loudest voices?  Guest:  Nitish Pahwa , associate writer for business and tech at Slate . Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to ac...

Before announcing his exit, Joe Biden expressed interest in reforming the Supreme Court. But, in the spirit of re-balancing the three branches of government, isn’t that a job for Congress? Guest: Stephen Vladeck , professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and an expert on the federal courts and constitutional law. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to...

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned after the catastrophic security breakdown during a Trump rally in Butler, Penn. But the assassination attempt was only the latest Secret Service disaster, and the agency’s problems won’t be solved by a simple change in leadership. Guest: Abdallah Fayyad , policy correspondent at Vox . Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free l...

And just like that, it’s (almost definitely) Kamala. Her rise has fueled a whole species of internet memes—but the questions about her platform are serious. Guest: Scaachi Koul, Slate senior 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 Fre...

Just over three weeks ago, Joe Biden was heading to the stage to debate Donald Trump. Now, he’s out.  Guest: David Faris, Slate contributor , associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and author of  It’s Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics .  Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole...

In the hours after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, conspiracy theories started circulating all over social media, often amplified by powerful voices on both sides of the aisle. It shows a complete breakdown of trust in institutions during a critical election.  Guest: Drew Harwell, technology reporter at the Washington Post.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-...

The biggest companies in the world are now tech companies, which is why the biggest antitrust, anti-monopoly fights in recent memory are centered around Silicon Valley.  Guest:  Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite S...

With the presidential ticket set and the platform announced, the GOP of 2024 isn’t defined by fiscal conservatism and fighting to end abortion—although those issues are holding on, further down on the list.  So what are Republicans fighting for now?  Guest: Paul Farrow, county executive for Waukesha County, delegate at the RNC, former chair of the Wisconsin GOP. Want more What Next? Subscribe to S...

A perennial presidential battleground state, Wisconsin became a warning—or blueprint—for how one party can subvert democracy and keep power without winning more votes.  Does the Badger State hold any lessons about how to walk back a gerrymandered, minority rule?  Guest: Ari Berman, Mother Jones’ national voting rights correspondent and author of “ Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will o...

J.D. Vance, the Yale Law School graduate once hailed by the media as a white working class-whisperer, has been selected as Donald Trump’s running mate. But not too long ago, he was one of the former president’s critics. The former-Marine and San Francisco venture capitalist won over Trump with the hardline, America-first policies he championed in the Senate—and some serious groveling.  Guest: Jim...

Former president Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt Saturday during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. While the gunman has been identified, law enforcement have not offered a potential motivation for the attack. The incident comes at a time of heightened political violence, when more Americans think such acts are justifiable. Guests: Isaac Arnsdorf , national political reporter for The...

“Home diagnostics” are a $5 billion industry—and growing. Spurred by social media, people are buying into at-home health tests, without input from their doctors, and often, not even the FDA.   Guest:  Elizabeth Dwoskin, reporter for the Washington Post 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. Su...

Boeing just pled guilty to felony charges of defrauding the federal government, leading to millions of dollars in fines, and new, external oversight. Is this how the company finally turns it around? Guest:  Oriana Pawlyk , POLITICO’s aviation 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. Su...

Air-conditioning can feel like the only way to get through increasingly hot summers, but it’s an expensive, power-hungry way to keep cool.  How necessary is it? And how necessary is it to raise our thermostats up from 72 degrees? Guest: Adam Clark Estes , senior technology correspondent at Vox. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family a...