The Olympics are touted as a moment for the world to come together and celebrate sport and achievement and check their politics at the door—yeah right. Guest: Justin Peters , Slate correspondent currently covering the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics and author of The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet . 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 ...
Feb 15, 2026•25 min
There was a moment, when the tech CEOs and media moguls were lining up to kiss Trump’s ring, when it looked like almost all the demographic arrows were pointing right, where it looked like Trumpism was, if not widely embraced, at least too big to be written off. After a year of Trump back in office, the culture cries out for Woke 2.0. Guest: Brian Beutler, founder of Off-Message . This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unloc...
Feb 13, 2026•5 min
Data centers are a hot issue - tech companies say they need them, but communities don’t want to be anywhere near them. Senator Van Hollen stops by the show to share his plan to address the rising costs of energy for consumers that data centers create, as well as his thoughts on ICE and the future of the Democratic Party. Guest: Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slat...
Feb 13, 2026•25 min
Democrats have a list of demands and reforms they want implemented before continuing to fund the Department of Homeland Security. But DHS doesn’t really need their approval to keep going. Guest: Garrett Graff , journalist, historian, author of Doomsday Scenario . 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. Si...
Feb 12, 2026•29 min
Although sexual assault and rape by rideshare drivers has been widely reported, Uber itself largely avoided legal liability until last week, when a jury decided the company had to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said she was raped by her Uber driver. Guest: Sarah London , co-Lead and liaison counsel in the multidistrict litigation against Uber. 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. Subsc...
Feb 11, 2026•25 min
Markiplier has been entertaining millions of fans on YouTube for over a decade. But his new movie Iron Lung - which he self-financed, directed, wrote and acted in - was a smash at the box office, not on his YouTube channel. Is it proof that he’s more than a YouTuber? Or is it proof that Hollywood is thinking about the platform and its creators all wrong? Guest: Mark Fischbach aka Markiplier, YouTuber , filmmaker and director of “Iron Lung.” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to acc...
Feb 10, 2026•29 min
Trump has called for elections to be “nationalized,” something neither the president, nor the federal government, has the authority to do. But as he’s already sent the FBI to raid Fulton County, Georgia’s election offices with director of intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and with the midterms on their way, it’s time to ask how much damage a vindictive president could do. Guest: Ari Berman , voting rights reporter at Mother Jones. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listenin...
Feb 09, 2026•28 min
Scamming attempts might seem to just come out of nowhere to suddenly appear in your WhatsApp, but a special economic zone in Laos has emerged as a hotbed of cryptocurrency schemes—where victims of human trafficking are trapped and forced to attempt more crime. Guest: Andy Greenberg , senior writer for WIRED. 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...
Feb 08, 2026•31 min
He’s discontinuing Tesla’s signature models, taking SpaceX public, and putting more chips on A.I. and robotics. As Elon Musk prepares for his next phase, will he rein in any of his excesses? And in this week’s Plus segment: Elon in Epstein files. Guest: Faiz Siddiqui , technology reporter for the Washington Post’s Business Desk, author of “ Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk .” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and...
Feb 06, 2026•25 min
What Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show means for Puerto Rico, Latin Americans in the U.S., and his haters. Guest: Dr. Vanessa Díaz, associate professor of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies at Loyola Marymount University and co-author of P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance . 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 cl...
Feb 05, 2026•27 min
Another 3 million pages of the Epstein files were released last Friday, with more big names named, more redactions, and more information that should have been redacted left unredacted. Guest: David Enrich , deputy investigations editor at the New York Times. 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...
Feb 04, 2026•27 min
Melania , the documentary about the First Lady, is a lot like its subject: extremely expensive and fundamentally inscrutable. Guest: Heather Schwedel , staff writer at Slate, author of “ Unfortunately, I Have to Recommend You See Melania ”. 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/...
Feb 03, 2026•22 min
Congress is supposed to have a legal right to tour ICE detention centers and provide oversight on these facilities, where 32 people died in 2025. But this representative’s attempt to tour a facility in her New Jersey district led to her being charged with assaulting a federal officer and facing a 17-year prison sentence. Guest: LaMonica McIver is the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 10th congressional district. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the w...
Feb 02, 2026•26 min
The Iranian government cut off nearly all internet access on January 8 as part of a crackdown on protestors, an example of why authoritarians attempt internet blackouts—and why they don’t always work the way authoritarians want them to. Guest: Steve Feldstein, political scientist and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next...
Feb 01, 2026•27 min
In the wake of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during Trump’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, the closest thing to “accountability” we’ve seen is Border Patrol’s Gregory Bovino being sent back to California. It’s not enough but it’s something. Guest: Rob Gunther, What Next senior producer. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listenin...
Jan 30, 2026•6 min
In the immediate aftermath of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, federal authorities presented very different accounts of what happened from what videos from witnesses showed. Did having footage from multiple angles of each shooting make the truth clear? Guests: Jake Godin , researcher for Bellingcat. Julia Angwin , investigative journalist, founder of Proof News and contributing opinion writer for New York Times . Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ...
Jan 30, 2026•26 min
Just as public sentiment is turning on ICE and Border Patrol’s action in Minnesota, another spending bill is due in the U.S. Senate. Can the Democrats use the opportunity to put some restraints on Trump’s DHS? Guest: David Dayen , executive editor of The American Prospect. 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...
Jan 29, 2026•25 min
When the US won a bid to co-host the World Cup, Trump was midway through his first term. Eight years later, he’s back in office, and giving soccer fans eager to watch the tournament this summer good reasons to squirm. Guest: Jon Arnold , sports journalist and author of the Getting CONCACAFed substack. 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...
Jan 28, 2026•24 min
How ICE and Border Patrol’s mission became harassing the president’s personal enemies. Guest: Radley Balko, journalist and the author of Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces and a Substack called The Watch . 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...
Jan 27, 2026•26 min
Once again, federal agents have shot and killed a legal observer in Minneapolis. Once again, the shooting is on video. And once again, the Trump Administration has closed ranks around the officers. But could the fallout from Alex Pretti’s death be different? And Minnesotans want to know – when will the feds finally leave? Guest: Will Stancil , lawyer and observer in Minneapolis Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all y...
Jan 26, 2026•28 min
Having already taken over Paramount, David Ellison was vying to add Warner Bros. Discovery to his portfolio. Are his dad’s politics behind his drive to run Hollywood or is there something else going on? Guest: Reeves Widemann , features writer at New York Magazine. 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. Sig...
Jan 25, 2026•30 min
The administration’s justification for their actions in Minneapolis owe a lot to the right-wing influencers—and they seem happy to keep this vicious cycle rolling onto California next. Guest: Will Sommer, journalist for the Bulwark . 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/whatnextpl...
Jan 23, 2026•25 min
Donald Trump isn’t one for clear policy objectives, but one of his top priorities, apparently, is making Greenland part of the United States–even at the expense of alienating our allies. Guest: Joshua Keating, senior correspondent at Vox covering foreign policy. 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. Sig...
Jan 22, 2026•26 min
The Supreme Court heard arguments over state-level bans on trans athletes competing in public schools last week. Though it’s hard to imagine the conservative-majority court calling the bans “discriminatory,” trans athletes and allies have reason to hope for a narrow ruling, rather than an expansion of the existing laws. Guest: Kate Sosin, LGBTQ+ reporter for The 19th. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favori...
Jan 21, 2026•27 min
While the What Next team takes the holiday, enjoy this episode from our colleagues at Care and Feeding, featuring a familiar voice. What Next will be back with a new episode tomorrow. On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen have been trying to stay on top of the news…but they’re getting bogged down and worried about it impacting their kids. Luckily What Next host Mary Harris’s literal job is keeping up on the news, and she’s got kids of her own. So, they all sit down to tal...
Jan 20, 2026•31 min
Attorney General Keith Ellison is one of the few top Minnesota officials not being investigated by the DOJ… yet. We ask him why, talk about charges for Jonathan Ross, and ask what it’ll take to get ICE out of Minneapolis. Guest: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison 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 pa...
Jan 19, 2026•29 min
Doctors are already using artificial intelligence to take notes while with patients—but are large language models ready to consult? Guest: Brittany Trang , health tech reporter for Stat News. 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. Podc...
Jan 18, 2026•23 min
She just wanted to report on an ICE recruiting session. She didn’t expect to get a job offer. Guest: Laura Jedeed , journalist who wrote “ You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof ” for Slate. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Wha...
Jan 16, 2026•6 min
Where do you turn for vaccination advice for your kids—or yourself—when the government’s own recommendations can’t be trusted anymore? Guest: Dr. Lauren Hughes, board-certified pediatrician, science communicator, and author of “ The Public Hughesletter .” 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 a...
Jan 16, 2026•35 min
The Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire went viral for telling clergy to have their affairs in order as they prepare to defend the most vulnerable, at a prayer vigil for Renee Good. He says, “I’ve said nothing new that I have not said in 35 years of ordained ministry.” Guest: Bishop A. Robert Hirschfeld ,10th Bishop in the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire serving since August 2012. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across al...
Jan 15, 2026•27 min
