What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

The (once) third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, collapsed in stunning fashion this week, highlighting why consumers really do want regulation, and why old financial institutions remain wary of crypto.   Guest: Felix Salmon , host of Slate Money, chief financial correspondent for Axios. Host: Lizzie O’Leary   If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus membe...

The second largest investor in Twitter, after Elon Musk, is the Saudis, which raises questions about what kinds of “free speech” Musk is really committed to. But it also raises questions around national security in the U.S.  Guest: Chris Murphy , U.S. Senator from Connecticut Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits lik...

It’s been a rough autumn for parents of little kids, as non-COVID respiratory diseases are taking advantage of the first fall since 2019 where schools and daycares are full again, and America’s strained pediatric health care system is once again put to the test.  Guest: Katherine Wu , science writer for The Atlantic . Host: Lizzie O’Leary. Podcast production by Madeline Ducharme. If you enjoy this...

One week in as head honcho of Twitter and Elon Musk is in a tight spot: how do you balance the desires of advertisers with your ostensible zeal for free speech? How do you make something for which you’ve already overpaid turn a profit? How do you convince Stephen King to pony up for a blue check? Guest: Alex Kirshner , contributing writer at Slate.  Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, ple...

There are some 400 million surveillance cameras installed in China, one for every three to four civilians. Built with the help of American tech companies, the surveillance state was pitched to the public as a way to make society safer and more efficient. But after severe lockdowns during COVID, the public has been objecting out of the eye of the camera lens. Protests are being written on bathroom...

Twitter has been a lot of things—where you posted your lunch, where you met your people, where you were subjected to a harassment campaign. Now, as Elon Musk prepares to take the reins, where is it headed? Guest: Will Oremus , technology reporter for the Washington Post . Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like ze...

Alzheimer’s treatment hasn’t changed much in the past two decades, and the way researchers have been thinking about and approaching the disease may be to blame.  Guest: Damian Garde , reporter for Stat covering the biotech industry . Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus epis...

One company’s software is helping set prices for apartments across the country. But when does an algorithm telling landlords how much to charge—by drawing on property data—cross the line from “handy tool” to “illegal price-fixing”?  Guest: Heather Vogell , reporter with ProPublica Host: Lizzie O'Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefit...

The idea of composting a human body may seem unsettling—or even gross—and it runs counter to the normal American funeral rites of embalming and internment, which preserve the body. But advocates say it’s a greener and more peaceful way to return our bodies to the Earth.  Guest: Eleanor Cummins , science journalist Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Pl...

Following their victory in Staten Island, the Amazon Labor Union is still facing an uphill battle. Both the company and the union are closely watching the organizing vote at a warehouse outside of Albany, NY. Guest: Noam Scheiber , labor reporter for the New York Times. Host: Lizzie O'Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero...

Churches are using accountability apps to keep tabs on their members' behavior. But if your pastor wants to monitor your phone, can you truly consent? Guest: Dhruv Mehrotra Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setu...

Twenty-six words defined the internet as we know it today. What happens if they’re deleted? Guest: Jeff Kosseff Host: Lizzie O'Leary The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Ho...

Longtermism, the idea that positively influencing the future is a key moral priority of our time, is hot in Silicon Valley. But does it miss the bigger picture? Guests: William MacAskill , Robert Wright Host: Lizzie O'Leary Thanks  Avast.com ! Learn more about Avast One at  Avast.com Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaq...

With disaster relief funds from Hurricane Harvey, Houston's Harris County instituted a mandatory buyout program for residents in flood-prone areas. But some residents didn't want to leave. Guest: Amal Ahmed , Dolores Mendoza Host: Mary C. Curtis Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscr...

Nuclear technology has become more important than ever, thanks to a global energy crisis and climate change. But it also has a complicated history. Guest: Joshua Keating Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup r...

Conservative lawmakers in Florida and Texas are taking aim at content moderation on social media, with implications that go far beyond just the platforms. Guest: Mark Joseph Stern Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—...

Victims of a new and high tech kind of human trafficking are forced to scam people all around the world. Guest: Cezary Podkul Host: Lizzie O'Leary Human Trafficking’s Newest Abuse: Forcing Victims Into Cyberscamming Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get au...

A small parish in Louisiana tried to get affordable, fast internet. An incumbent ISP stopped them. Guest: Issie Lapowsky , Wanda Manning Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See aca...

An inside look at the rise of YouTube into a social media behemoth. Guests: Mark Bergen and Claire Stapleton Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Technology is transforming the creative economy and ideas about what "art" even is. Guest: Drew Harwell Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

LYMErix, the first vaccine against Lyme, was pulled from the market amid poor sales and pressure from the public. Now, over 20 years later, a new vaccine is in late-stage trials. Guest: Cassandra Willyard Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podca...

A father took a photo of his son for their doctor. He wound up being investigated by the police. Guest: Kashmir Hill Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...

Shows are disappearing. Staff are getting axed. Is It greed, or necessary for the networks' survival? Guest: Julia Alexander Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

Legendary hacker Peiter "Mudge" Zatko’s reputation in the cybersecurity world is unmatched. His allegations against Twitter’s security are all the more damning because of it. Guest: Joseph Menn Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get aut...

There's no way to remove politics from public health. Guest: Tim Requarth Host: Lizzie O'Leary Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.