What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Mick Mulvaney is not here to rein in the president. How Trump’s new acting chief of staff has the White House pursuing a Freedom Caucus agenda. Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent. Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com . Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show. Podcast production by Mar...

Officials in New York’s Rockland County declared a state of emergency after yet another measles outbreak. In Brooklyn, more cases of measles have cropped up over the last several months as well. Both places are home to a tight-knit Orthodox Jewish population that has become increasingly skeptical of vaccinations. Why is this particular community so susceptible to the disease? And how are they gett...

After the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10—and the Indonesian Airlines crash before that, in October—country after country began grounding the deadly Boeing 737 Air Max fleet, and the U.S. belatedly followed suit. This week, Congress held hearings with Boeing and the FAA, questioning them about how the planes were certified and what went wrong. There were a lot of public apologies and a lot of...

This week, the Supreme Court returned to the subject of partisan gerrymandering. After kicking the can down the road last time, will the court finally decide on the constitutionality of drawing election maps to rig elections? And who’s the most interesting justice to watch? Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, who covers the courts and the law for Slate. Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Po...

Aprill Glaser and Will Oremus kick off the episode by talking about Apple’s plan to be the ultimate middleman--with new offerings announced this week of streaming video, games, and more. Then April offers an update on efforts in Congress to restore net neutrality.  After that Veena Dubal, a law professor at UC Hastings, talks about worker strikes at Uber and Lyft and then sheds light on a Californ...

The president’s week was off to a great start. The Attorney General’s letter regarding Mueller’s Russia investigation largely exonerated him of any crimes. So why did Trump start talking about health care again? It’s anybody’s guess, but Democrats are ecstatic. Guest: Dan Diamond, Health Care Reporter at Politico Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to w...

New York City’s top public high school has a diversity problem. How did the crown jewel of the city’s public education system come to look so unlike the public? Guest: Mara Gay, writer for the New York Times Editorial Board. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Anna Martin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What we know about the Mueller report. Spoiler: not a whole lot. Guest: Dahlia Lithwick, Slate’s legal correspondent and host of the Amicus podcast.  Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Anna Martin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

California has a new moratorium on executions, despite the fact that voters upheld capital punishment twice in recent statewide elections. Could this mark the beginning of a lasting policy change? Guest: Jordan Steiker , director of the Capital Punishment Center at the University of Texas School of Law. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Anna Martin. Hosted on Acast. See acast....

This week, we’re following the enormous flooding in the Midwest. Climate change is magnifying the shortcomings of our river policies. We build in the flood plains, and we bracket our rivers with dams and reservoirs. But is it folly to think that we can control where the rivers run? Guest: Tony Messenger , metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De...

On today’s show, April Glaser and Will Oremus first talk to two researchers who’ve uncovered new information about the way the U.S. government trains its facial recognition software. According to their findings, the government uses photos of immigrants, children, and even deceased prisoners to train their programs.  Then NBC News reporter Ben Collins talks about the role of online extremism in las...

Some of your favorite presidents have tried to pack the Supreme Court. So why does it sound like such an extreme tactic? And why are top Democrats finally embracing it as a way out of the wilderness? Guest: Mark Joseph Stern , Slate’s legal correspondent. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Anna Martin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Christchurch shooter lurked in corners of the internet that most people don’t understand. But there are ways to fight extremists who are radicalized online -- and the U.S. has done it quite recently. Guest: Robert Evans , writer for Bellingcat and host of the podcast Behind the Bastards . Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Anna Martin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

After weeks and weeks of mulling a decision, Beto O’Rourke finally entered the 2020 presidential race. What is he bringing to the table? Anything? Guest: Josh Voorhees, Senior Writer at Slate. Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com . Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and...

This week, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced to a total of 7½ years in prison. Here’s how his case is one of the best examples of a special counsel making sure that those who did wrong serve the time. Guest: Jed Shugerman, a professor at Fordham Law. Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com . Follow us on Instag...

The FBI submitted indictments this week into the largest college admissions scam they’ve ever prosecuted. Celebrities, millionaire parents, and college sports coaches are among the dozens charged in a scheme that sought to get wealthy kids through a “side-door” of college admissions. One that guaranteed them entry to top-tier universities. The admissions system has always favored the wealthy. Can...

On today’s show, April Glaser kicks things off by talking about Facebook’s long-overdue crackdown on anti-vaccination groups. The social media platform announced it will stop allowing advertisements that peddle misinformation about vaccines, and they’ll make anti-vaxxer groups and pages harder to find. What took them so long?    Then Will Oremus talks to Olivia Solon, Editor of Tech Investigations...

If you made your way up to 1185 Park Ave. on the Upper East Side of New York, you’d find an apartment building that looks like a castle. It’s the apartment of Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase. Back in February protesters stood on the sidewalk and chanted up at him hoping to end JP Morgan Chase’s business with the private prison industry. It worked. Who are the protesters looking at next? Guests...

There's really never been a national political conversation about Joe Biden's record. Partly because much of the focus today is about the time he spent as Vice President under Barack Obama. If he decides to run, what other ugly skeletons will the public find? Guest: Jamelle Bouie, New York Times Columnist Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@...

Facebook is reshuffling its priorities and making moves that could help it evade antitrust regulators. Will it affect users that much? No. Is it solving a problem users have been talking about? Not really. So what is Mark Zuckerberg’s latest blog post all about? Guest: Will Oremus , Slate’s senior tech writer and co-host of the podcast If/Then . Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple...

A scandal involving Justin Trudeau’s cabinet is putting Canada’s warts on display. Guest: Jesse Brown , publisher of the Canadaland news site and podcast network. Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com . Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Anna Martin. Hosted on Acast....

House Democrats have scuttled a plan to chide Rep. Ilhan Omar over remarks she made about the U.S.-Israel relationship. Why were her words so triggering? Is she making a fair point? And what should she do now? Guest: Slate economics and policy writer Jordan Weissmann. Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com . Follow us on Instagram for...

On today’s show, hosts April Glaser and Will Oremus take a look at an increasingly popular online privacy tool--that has some serious trust issues of its own. We’re talking about VPNs, or virtual private networks, and why the average user might have a very hard time figuring out which one to trust. The hosts will also look at privacy blunder number one billion from our friends at Facebook. This on...

The Momo challenge doesn’t appear to be much of a threat, but the fact that parents are worried about it reveals a real anxiety about the videos that YouTube pushes toward kids.  Guest: Taylor Lorenz , writer for the Atlantic. Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com . Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show. Podcast production b...

President Trump’s national emergency declaration is headed for a showdown. More and more Senate Republicans are peeling away from their caucus to reject it. Sen. Rand Paul says his “political soul” hangs in the balance. But Sen. Mitch McConnell is keeping his opinions to himself. and waiting for Trump’s veto to send the issue to the courts. Why are Republicans leaders supporting what their colleag...