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116 episodes
What Next | Daily News and Analysis, page 3
by Slate Podcasts · English
The problem with the news right now? It’s everywhere. And each day, it can feel like we’re all just mindlessly scrolling. It’s why we created What Next. This short daily show is here to help you make sense of things. When the news feels overwhelming, we’re here to help you answer: What next? Look for new episodes every weekday morning. Get more of What Next with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of What Next and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/whatnextplus for access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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But HOW Might A.I. Kill Us All?
Nate Soares (Machine Intelligence Research Institute president) argues frontier AI poses existential risk not because it “hates” humans, but because advanced systems are tendency learners that can…
18 Sep 2026 · 30m · 8 chapters
Who's Interfering in the Election Now
The episode argues that the Trump administration and allied actors are trying to interfere with the upcoming midterms through election-rule changes, intimidation, and legal/administrative…
17 Sep 2026 · 36m · 16 chapters
JD Vance Enters the Mommy Wars
The episode critiques a proposed Trump administration change to federal child-care funding that would let some married couples receive subsidies so one spouse can stay home, arguing it would redirect…
16 Sep 2026 · 26m · 12 chapters
Is Trump Losing His Touch?
Whether Donald Trump has “lost his political touch,” focusing on AI/data-center politics, tariffs, the Iran war, and signs Republicans may be drifting away from Trumpism ahead of upcoming elections.
15 Sep 2026 · 30m · 7 chapters
How Ivanka Trump Sparked a Revolution in Albania
Albania’s “Flamingo revolution” protests against Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s planned luxury development on protected coastal land near Vlorë, including a lagoon where flamingos nest.
14 Sep 2026 · 34m · 11 chapters
A.I-pocalypse Now?
AI agents/swarms hacking incidents (OpenAI, Hugging Face), whether this signals an “AI-pocalypse,” and how to think about near-term risks vs defensive uses and governance.
11 Sep 2026 · 28m · 9 chapters
The 9/11 Panopticon
The episode argues that 9/11 created a “surveillance state” and a “structure of impunity,” where national-security claims block court accountability and enable ongoing rights violations…
10 Sep 2026 · 33m · 11 chapters
Did ICE Drive Him to His Death?
A discussion of Pierre DeMoss Bell, a 20-year-old Haitian college student in Springfield, Ohio, whom his family says died by suicide after being humiliated and restricted by an ICE-required ankle…
9 Sep 2026 · 31m · 10 chapters
Dems Can Beat MAGA. Here’s How.
How Democrats can defeat MAGA after Trump by using fact-based messaging, emphasizing voters’ material well-being, and disrupting the right-wing “triangle of doom” (Trump → right infotainment →…
8 Sep 2026 · 35m · 16 chapters
Question Everything: The Sunscreen Paradox
The “sunscreen paradox” and how a misleading claim that sunscreen causes skin cancer spread online, tracing it to specific misinformation actors and cherry-picked interpretation of a 2023 UK study.
7 Sep 2026 · 21m · 10 chapters
Meta Settled. Is it a "Reckoning?"
Meta’s $17B (about $16.7–$18B) settlement with 47 U.S. states over alleged harms from Instagram/Facebook use by teens, framed as whether it’s a “reckoning.” The deal requires new teen-safety features…
4 Sep 2026 · 28m · 6 chapters
ICE Allegedly Shot Someone. Texas Let Him Go
The episode discusses the January shooting by ICE agent Christian Castro in Minnesota and Texas’s refusal to extradite him to face Minnesota charges.
3 Sep 2026 · 30m · 6 chapters
Is Scott Bessent in Over His Head?
The episode examines rising bond yields and what they signal about U.S.
2 Sep 2026 · 28m · 5 chapters
The WNBA's Caught in the Culture Wars
How the WNBA’s sudden mainstream popularity—driven by Caitlin Clark and new TV deals—has turned it into a culture-war battleground, especially around trans athletes, despite the WNBA’s CBA limiting…
1 Sep 2026 · 28m · 12 chapters
Can I Still Vote By Mail?
Whether the U.S. can still vote by mail in the face of a Trump-era USPS rule requiring states to meet “hoops” (including using specific envelopes/barcoding and providing eligible-voter lists for USPS…
31 Aug 2026 · 27m · 5 chapters
Off-the-Record: Friends Don’t Let Friends Ruin Vacation
“Off-the-Record” vacation advice from Slate’s What Next?—the “parallel play vacation,” where friends travel together but only coordinate a few shared touchpoints (e.g., a group dinner time) and…
28 Aug 2026 · 7m · 3 chapters
A.I. Enshittifies Everything (Still)
Cory Doctorow discusses “inshittification” and argues the current AI boom is a profit-driven bubble that degrades work and accountability, not a straightforward path to labor replacement or public…
28 Aug 2026 · 33m · 12 chapters
How to Lose Wars and Tank the Economy
The episode argues that Trump’s economic strategy is undermining allies and destabilizing the post–World War II order.
27 Aug 2026 · 26m · 6 chapters
The A.I. Populist
Congressman Greg Kassar argues Democrats must take a hard, “AI populist” stance against AI billionaires, warning AI will drive mass unemployment, mass surveillance, and major safety/national-security…
26 Aug 2026 · 27m · 7 chapters
What Lindsay Clancy Truthers Are Missing
The episode discusses the Lindsay Clancy trial and what it reveals about postpartum psychosis and maternal mental health care.
25 Aug 2026 · 25m · 8 chapters
The Progressive Case for Midterms Optimism
Midterm election strategy and why Democrats should be optimistic, emphasizing problem-focused messaging, organic breakthrough, and big-tent coalition-building despite money disadvantages and polling…
24 Aug 2026 · 25m · 14 chapters
Off the Record: We Don’t Talk About Natalie
Off the Record discusses Trump aide Natalie Harp, spotlighted after Georgia Sen.
21 Aug 2026 · 6m · 2 chapters
Can the Midterms Withstand Prediction Markets?
Whether U.S. midterm prediction markets (Kalshi, Polymarket) can withstand risks like misunderstanding, insider trading, disinformation, and threats to election workers.
21 Aug 2026 · 34m · 12 chapters
How Islamophobia Got Even Worse
Islamophobia’s “creeping, corrosive” rise in the U.S., argued to be driven by election cycles and PR strategies tied to Israel/Gaza rather than terrorism alone.
20 Aug 2026 · 29m · 6 chapters