An outbreak of eastern equine encephalitis in the northeast made headlines, but as far as mosquito-borne illnesses go, EEE is serious but still rare. What’s getting way too common is the mosquito itself. Guest: Amesh Adalja, doctor and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security 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”...
Sep 08, 2024•21 min
A month after a federal judge declared that Google was operating as a monopoly because of its search engine, the Justice Department has alleged that Google’s ad business was breaking antitrust law as well. What if Google loses again? Guest: Leah Nylen, Bloomberg antitrust 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 o...
Sep 06, 2024•20 min
Telegram was supposed to be the platform with the freest of free speech, which meant it was also rife with the worst the internet has to offer—"criminal activity” puts it lightly. But are French authorities setting a dangerous precedent with the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov? Guest: Joseph Menn, tech reporter for the Washington Post covering privacy and security. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite ...
Sep 01, 2024•25 min
Since the pandemic, schools have been reporting that their students are more anxious and having trouble learning. How much does simply removing cell phones from the classroom address these problems? Guests: Laura Meckler , national education writer for the Washington Post Russell Shaw, head of Georgetown Day School and author of “ Why We’re Banning Phones at Our School ” for the Atlantic. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family a...
Aug 30, 2024•27 min
Why are national politicians like Nancy Pelosi lining up alongside artificial intelligence companies to oppose safety regulations on this new industry proposed in California’s state legislature? Guest: Rachael Myrow , senior editor on KQED’s Silicon Valley news desk. 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. S...
Aug 25, 2024•19 min
The last crypto boom left the industry cash-rich and reputation-poor, so they’re doing what any beleaguered industry does—donating to politicians. Guest: Zeke Faux, investigative reporter for Bloomberg and author of Number Go Up . 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 ...
Aug 23, 2024•23 min
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are in high demand and short supply. The internet makes it easy for you to have a compounding pharmacy whip you up a batch—but should you? Guest: Kate Knibbs, senior writer at 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 “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get acces...
Aug 18, 2024•19 min
Since Elon Musk took over Twitter - now X - in 2022, he’s increasingly used it to push his conservative views. A suit against a non-profit brand safety group of advertisers and an exclusive interview with former President Trump show that Elon was never interested in keeping Twitter as a town square, but rather, a soapbox for him to push his political agenda. Guest: Nitish Pahwa, associate writer for business and tech at Slate Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free lis...
Aug 16, 2024•22 min
The hype has slowed but electric vehicles aren’t going away—once the infrastructure is in place, they’ll go everywhere. Guests: Nitish Pahwa, associate writer for business and tech at Slate. Paula Gardner, business reporter for Bridge Michigan 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/...
Aug 11, 2024•23 min
Should the other Silicon Valley giants be worried following the Department of Justice’s decisive win against Google? Guest: Leah Nylen, antitrust reporter at Bloomberg 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. Podcast production by Evan C...
Aug 09, 2024•20 min
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. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next fam...
Aug 04, 2024•23 min
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 family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free”...
Aug 02, 2024•23 min
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 listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Appl...
Jul 28, 2024•26 min
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 access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe t...
Jul 26, 2024•21 min
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-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on ...
Jul 21, 2024•21 min
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 Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. S...
Jul 19, 2024•30 min
“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. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slat...
Jul 14, 2024•19 min
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. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at sl...
Jul 12, 2024•22 min
The downsides of the streaming era are coming into focus for movie fans—uncontrollable, changing libraries; lower fidelity; lack of extras and features. Can all of these be solved with a return to physical media? Guest: Ash Nelson , journalist and author of “ The Lost Art of the DVD Extra ” for Slate. 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 F...
Jul 07, 2024•19 min
The world’s population has never been bigger, and it’s still growing. but there’s a movement of “pronatalists” who see the slowing birth rate in wealthy, educated populations as a doomsday scenario in the making—and they’ve found their spokesman in one Elon Musk. Guest: Sophie Alexander, reporter for Bloomberg 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 clicki...
Jul 05, 2024•20 min
The story of IUDs is a story of technology, reproductive rights, shortcomings in communication about women’s health, and politics. Guest: Mia Armstrong-Lopez, managing editor at ASU Media Enterprise and author of a recent piece on IUDs for Slate . 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....
Jun 30, 2024•22 min
Saying any one storm or heat wave or weather in general was “caused by climate change” is tricky—summer is, after all, usually pretty hot, and storms happen. But researchers are working on a model that brings “climate change” from abstract into the particular. Guest: Daniel Swain , climate scientist at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, studying how extreme events are changing on a warming Earth. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening ...
Jun 28, 2024•27 min
As cars get smarter, automakers - with the help of third-party apps - are leveraging the new data they’re able to collect on people's driving habits to influence drivers’ insurance prices. The problem? Most people aren’t aware their driving is being monitored. Guest: Kashmir Hill, tech reporter for 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 all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts b...
Jun 23, 2024•22 min
Amazon has installed digital palm readers at Whole Foods. The reader scans your palm , collecting biometric data, and links it to your credit card to pay for your groceries. What does exchanging vein mapping for eggs and butter mean for the future of data security and in-person shopping. Guest: Emily Moore , freelance tech and food journalist 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 ...
Jun 21, 2024•20 min
In 2021, one of the largest global law enforcement operations took place. It was all thanks to an encrypted phone service known as Anom, which was secretly run by the FBI. The program was a wild success. But did the agency take it too far? Guest: Joseph Cox, investigative reporter for 404 media and author of “Dark Wire, the Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all ...
Jun 16, 2024•30 min
On Monday, Tim Cook announced Apple was getting into artificial intelligence. Is Apple about to do for A.I. what it did for personal computers and smartphones? Guest: Gerrit De Vynck , tech 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. 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 ...
Jun 14, 2024•21 min
It’s hard to imagine music fans mourning a break-up of Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, as a Department of Justice lawsuit requests. But even with this monopolistic middleman out of the way, touring musicians still seem destined to struggle financially. Guest: Laura Jane Grace , musician 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...
Jun 09, 2024•20 min
How well is the Biden administration coaxing semiconductor companies to build their chips in the United States? Compared to Taiwan, South Korea, Japan…or even mainland China, things are just okay. Guest: Asa Fitch , reporter for the Wall Street Journal, covering the semiconductor industry. 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 ...
Jun 07, 2024•20 min
“Fecal microbial transplants” treat someone’s unhealthy gut with poop from someone else’s healthy gut, and proponents of FMT claim it can help treat everything from IBS to autism. But if your doctor isn’t ready to fill you up with someone else’s poop, the internet will happily oblige. Guest: Luke Winkie , Slate staff writer who published “ The Poop Broker .” 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 podc...
Jun 02, 2024•20 min
His law firm won a $73 million dollar settlement against Remington on behalf of nine Sandy Hook families. Now he’s filing a lawsuit against the gunmaker Daniel Defense, the video game company Activision, and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, on behalf of families in Uvalde. Guest: Josh Koskoff , attorney 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 “Tr...
May 31, 2024•23 min
