The group that brought the case that overturned Roe v. Wade is back before the Supreme Court arguing for more restrictions on mifepristone, the “abortion pill.” Who are Alliance Defending Freedom, and what are their goals? Guest: David Kirkpatrick, staff writer for The New Yorker. 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...
Apr 01, 2024•28 min
From science fiction writers to American presidents to Elon Musk, everyone’s eager to send people to Mars. But, even if you could nail the physical aspects, are Earthlings cut out for life on Mars mentally? Guest: Nathaniel Rich, contributing writer for New York Times magazine. Kate Greene, author and poet 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 “...
Mar 31, 2024•25 min
How supply chains, the pandemic, and a steady stream of Wall Street money led to a crisis at Boeing. Guest: Jon Ostrower, editor-in-chief of the website the Air Current. 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 wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad c...
Mar 29, 2024•31 min
A new documentary, “Quiet On Set,” looks back at Nickelodeon’s heyday, and the culture of abuse that many of its child stars were subjected to. Guest: Kate Taylor, reporter for Business Insider and producer of “Quiet on Set.” 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 at slate.com/whatnextplus to...
Mar 28, 2024•29 min
Nominated by Biden for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Adeel Mangi has a Harvard education and years as a prominent corporate litigator under his belt. But during his Senate confirmation hearing, the main thing Republican lawmakers wanted to talk about were Hamas’s October 7th attacks. Now, Democrats are weighing filling a seat in the federal judiciary against giving in to Islamophobia. Guest: Nate Raymond, reporter covering the federal judiciary and litigation for Reuters. Want more What Ne...
Mar 27, 2024•25 min
With four criminal cases against him, including one that was scheduled to begin this week, Donald Trump and his legal team have successfully muddied the waters in all four trials. With solid odds of winning the presidential election in the fall, has Donald Trump managed to once again wriggle his way out of this one? Guest: Jeremy Stahl, Slate’s jurisprudence editor. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite...
Mar 26, 2024•25 min
A concert outside of Moscow was interrupted by gunshot and a fire. Though ISIS claimed responsibility within hours, Putin isn’t letting this crisis go to waste. Guest: Shane Harris, senior national security 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 at slate.com/wh...
Mar 25, 2024•27 min
After organized-labor victories at Amazon, with automakers, and in Hollywood, big corporations are striking back by, among other things, suing the National Labor Relations Board. Guest: Noam Scheiber, reporter for the New York Times covering working and workers. 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 u...
Mar 24, 2024•21 min
Despite the blackouts, moderator revolts, and long string of controversies, Reddit remains an active, healthy website. As the site goes public this week, can it remain that way? Guest: Priya Anand, Bloomberg News 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 clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to ...
Mar 22, 2024•28 min
Experts say domestic violence tends to start or intensify during pregnancy. But since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, terminating a pregnancy—or even advising or helping someone to terminate a pregnancy—has been criminalized in several states which can leave survivors of domestic violence unable to separate from an abusive partner. Guest: Julianne McShane, writer at Mother Jones covering the intersection of gender and inequity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 21, 2024•25 min
When even Israel’s American allies like Biden and Chuck Schumer seem to be growing impatient waiting for a ceasefire in Gaza, what is standing in the way? Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate writer and author of The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War. 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...
Mar 20, 2024•24 min
It’s hard to imagine anyone changing their opinion on Trump based on a new running mate. But there’s more at stake with this pick than just the 2024 election. Guest: Benjy Sarlin, Washington Bureau Chief at Semafor 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 at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access...
Mar 19, 2024•30 min
With gangs controlling much of the capital and the prime minister out of office, what is Haiti’s path to stability? What role should the international community play? Guest: Harold Isaac, independent journalist in Haiti. 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 at slate.com/whatnextplus to get ...
Mar 18, 2024•28 min
Private equity firms have been buying up doctors’ offices and hospitals around the country. But if profits are the primary goal, what happens to the cost and quality of healthcare for patients? Guest: Gretchen Morgenson, senior financial reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit and co-author of “These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs—and Wrecks—America” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite ...
Mar 17, 2024•30 min
TikTok’s connection to the Chinese government has been a Washington talking point since the Trump administration, but earlier this month lawmakers in the House introduced a bill requiring the app’s parent company to either divest the company into American hands—or be banned. Guest: Emily Baker-White, technology reporter and senior writer at 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. Subs...
Mar 15, 2024•26 min
How Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit against American gun manufacturers and distributors could pave the way for new gun control tactics in the U.S. and abroad. Guest: Champe Barton, reporter for The Trace. 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 episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support ...
Mar 14, 2024•26 min
Kate Middleton’s on-going absence has the internet tied in knots, and the heavily edited photo that the royal family released—and then rescinded—only made things worse. What do we know about the Princess of Wales’s whereabouts? Guest: Imogen West-Knights, contributing writer for Slate based in London. 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 “Tr...
Mar 13, 2024•27 min
Extra charges and fees for everything from booking a hotel to buying concert tickets have become an insidious part of daily life. President Biden is hoping that by outlawing so-called “junk fees,” he can win some goodwill with voters before the election. Will it work? Guest: David Dayen, Executive Editor of The American Prospect, author of Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ...
Mar 12, 2024•28 min
On Super Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson secured the Republican nomination for governor in North Carolina. His history of anti-semitic, misogynistic, and outright absurd comments wasn’t a problem for MAGA supporters in the state—and it certainly wasn’t a problem for the national Grand Old Party either. Guest: Jeffrey Billman, politics and law reporter at The Assembly. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all ...
Mar 11, 2024•26 min
As the debate around child safety online rages on, an investigation by The New York Times found a seedy world of pedophiles interacting with child influencer accounts, often run by their parents, on Instagram. Guest: Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, investigative reporter at the New York Times. 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. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” ...
Mar 10, 2024•34 min
Thousands of songs have disappeared from TikTok in recent months as music giant Universal Music Group, or UMG, has pulled its catalog from the app. UMG claims that TikTok is a music platform, and that TikTok needs to pay more to license its music. TikTok claims they're a marketing platform that helps labels promote their artists. But while the two sides argue over contract negotiations for licensing music on the video platform, many artists are left scrambling. Guest: Ethan Millman, staff writer...
Mar 08, 2024•23 min
With Biden trailing Trump in the polls and thousands of Democrats casting votes for “uncommitted” in the primaries, can the president make his case for a second term to frustrated progressives at the State of the Union? Guest: Pramila Jayapal, U.S. representative from Washington's 7th congressional district and the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slat...
Mar 07, 2024•26 min
Airdropping aid, food, and supplies is expensive, inexact, and inefficient and usually only a last resort when your enemies have left you no other options. So why is the United States airdropping aid into Gaza, when the borders are controlled by America’s ally, Israel? Guest: Jane Arraf, reporter for NPR based in the Middle East. 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 A...
Mar 06, 2024•27 min
Nancy Pelosi is no longer in charge of the House Democrats, and Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat is now up for grabs. Will a new generation of progressives step up in deep blue California? It’s not so simple… Guest: Alexander Sammon, Slate politics 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 of our show page. Sign up now...
Mar 05, 2024•27 min
Measles happens, but this outbreak in Florida is unfolding in a post-pandemic world where mistrust in public health officials and vaccinations is practically the party line. Guest: Lauren Weber, Washington Post accountability reporter focused on scientific and medical disinformation. 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...
Mar 04, 2024•27 min
Why scam obituaries are edging out earnest ones, with the help of artificial intelligence and an adept Google game. Guest: Mia Sato, reporter for The Verge. 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. 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 wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices...
Mar 03, 2024•29 min
Is it censorship for social media platforms to moderate their content, or is censorship when the state tells social media platforms how to moderate their content? Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, Slate writer on courts and the law. 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...
Mar 01, 2024•29 min
With Biden losing thousands of votes to “uncommitted” and Trump unable to pull incumbent numbers, the Michigan primaries seemed to show that the electorate isn’t exactly enthusiastic about either candidate. What options remain for two known quantities to win votes? Guest: David Faris, political science professor and Slate politics 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 t...
Feb 29, 2024•27 min
Sixteen-year-old Nex Benedict died one day after being beaten in an Oklahoma high school bathroom. His death has drawn attention to the more-than 50 bills that have been introduced in the state legislature targeting queer and trans people. Guest: Jo Yurcaba, reporter for NBC Out. 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 ...
Feb 28, 2024•28 min
The situation for Ukraine is slipping from a stalemate to again losing territory to the Russian invasion. After two years of combat, will American and EU allies support the Ukrainian cause for as long as it takes? Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s war stories correspondent. 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 pag...
Feb 27, 2024•22 min