What Next | Daily News and Analysis

What Next | Daily News and Analysis

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.

Episodes

TBD | New DOGE, New Tricks

June 13, 2025 • 24 mins
Elon Musk has ridden off into the sunset acrimoniously (maybe), but the Department of Government Efficiency is just getting started. Will DOGE continue wildly cutting or is something even more chaotic coming next?  Guest: Makena Kelly, 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 Po...
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Trump’s Brittle Authoritarianism

June 12, 2025 • 31 mins
Donald Trump is sending the troops to California, while also getting ready for a big birthday parade—for himself and the US Army—in DC. Does grasping for symbols of military strength smack a bit of desperation?  Guests: Jamelle Bouie, columnist at the New York Times Jeremy Lindenfeld, reporter and Capital and Main local news fellow. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next f...
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Will Israel Starve Gaza Into Submission?

June 11, 2025 • 33 mins
In Gaza, two million people are at risk of starvation, as Israeli-controlled aid has been repeatedly interrupted and marked by violence towards aid workers and chaos at distribution sites.  Guests:   Mohammed Mhawish, journalist and writer from Gaza City. Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, author of the 2017 book, Mass Starvation: The History and F...
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Corporate America Retreats From Pride

June 10, 2025 • 32 mins
After years of bigger floats and bigger rainbow-ified logos, corporate sponsorship for Pride Month celebrations is dropping off this year. But, given that Pride is the commemoration of an uprising against police harassment, maybe that’s a good thing. Guests:   Christina Cauterucci, Slate senior writer and the host of Outward, Slate’s podcast about LGBTQ+ life, and Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs. Tessa Skara, comedian, musician, ...
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Trump Sends in the Troops

June 9, 2025 • 32 mins
When immigration raids began in the Los Angeles area last weekend, so did spontaneous protests. On Sunday, Trump federalized 2,000 California national guardsmen in response. While Trump stopped short of invoking the Insurrection Act, he claimed authority to send troops wherever ICE operations might be contested by mass demonstrations. Guest: Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan...
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TBD | The Future of the Internet Hinges on Gail Slater

June 8, 2025 • 31 mins
Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater inherited the government’s antitrust case against Google and is eager to follow it through—but likely not for the same reasons as her predecessors.  Guest:  Nancy Scola, reporter and contributing writer at POLITICO.  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 Podcast...
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Main Character: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

June 6, 2025 • 6 mins
Sean Diddy Combs’s trial in New York started about a month ago and was expected to take about two months, so here at the halfway mark, we check in with a Slate correspondent who has been on the scene at the courthouse. Guest: Nadira Goffe, staff writer of culture at 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 a...
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TBD | Is Palantir Building a Data Big Brother?

June 6, 2025 • 32 mins
One of the goals of DOGE was to get rid of the “silos” that keep government agencies from sharing freely amongst themselves efficiently and instead organize data using tools offered by companies like Palantir. The thing is, a lot of those silos are there by design, and removing them could be a nightmare for privacy advocates.  Guest: Sheera Frenkel, tech reporter for the New York Times. Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Sla...
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She Was Tortured. America Shut Her Out.

June 5, 2025 • 32 mins
Since January, the Trump administration has suspended the right to claim asylum at the southern border. One narrower form of protection—for those who had been tortured by their governments—was supposed to remain. But lawyers have realized that even that appears to be gone. Guest:  Mark Betancourt, freelance reporter covering immigration from DC, who wrote “This Ethiopian Woman Was Tortured by Her Government. The US is Sending Her ...
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Can Zionism Survive This War?

June 4, 2025 • 35 mins
After 20 months of war, with violence erupting far from the Middle East, where is the future of Zionism headed? Guest:  Isaac Saul, Tangle executive editor and author of “I think I’m leaving Zionism, or Zionism is leaving me.” 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” a...
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George Floyd Square, Five Years Later

June 3, 2025 • 36 mins
Five years after George Floyd’s murder sparked nationwide protests, the legacy of that movement is still being written in Minneapolis and America writ large—even as some attempt to erase it. Guest:   Marcia Howard, president of the teacher chapter of Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Brandt Williams, senior editor covering race, class and communities for MPR News.   Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-fre...
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Can the U.S. Learn from the U.K.'s Post-Brexit Mess?

June 2, 2025 • 31 mins
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: voter discontentment at the two major parties is creating an opening for a far-right populist with an anti-immigration, protectionist agenda that economic experts warn would be devastating.  With a Trump trade deal in hand, can Keir Starmer and Labour give British voters something to vote for, rather than just against? Guest: Anand Menon, professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs ...
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TBD | So Long, Elon

June 1, 2025 • 32 mins
His time in Washington was brief, but we’ll be picking up the pieces for a long time. What Elon’s exit signals for the future of DOGE, and Musk’s political career.  Guest: Kate Conger, reporter for the New York Times covering X and other technology companies. 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 P...
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TBD | The Drone Wars

May 30, 2025 • 28 mins
The war between Ukraine and Russia is being fought increasingly via drone —and NATO and US military leadership is training troops for future conflicts that will pit man against machine. Guest: Jake Epstein, senior defense reporter for Business Insider. 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...
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Legally Dead—And Pregnant

May 29, 2025 • 31 mins
Adriana Smith was nine weeks pregnant when she was declared brain dead in February—far enough along that her fetus showed cardiac activity.  The hospital then refused to let her family decide whether or not they want to keep Smith on life support long enough for the fetus to be delivered. Guests:   Imani Gandy, Editor-at-Large for Rewire News Group, covering law and courts and co-host of the podcast “Boom! Lawyered.” Mary Ziegle...
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Does Gavin Newsom Have It All Figured Out?

May 28, 2025 • 32 mins
Everyone assumes the reason Gavin Newsom has had right-wingers like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon on his podcast is to burnish his credentials for an imminent presidential run. But no podcast episode is going to make Republican voters forget that he’s a California Democrat. Guest: Marisa Lagos, political correspondent for KQED and co-host of the Political Breakdown podcast. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access a...
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What Would You Pay to Stay Alive?

May 27, 2025 • 31 mins
A Revlimid pill costs about 25 cents to make, and about a thousand dollars to buy—but it’s keeping him alive, so what choice does he have? Guest: David Armstrong, investigates healthcare at ProPublica, author of “The Price of Remission.” 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 “...
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The Glaring Problem with Headlights

May 26, 2025 • 46 mins
As What Next celebrates Memorial Day, please enjoy this episode ⁠from our colleagues at Decoder Ring⁠. What Next will be back in your feed tomorrow. Something seems to have happened to car headlights. In the last few years, many people have become convinced that they are much brighter than they used to be—and it’s driving them to the point of rage. Headlight glare is now Americans’ number one complaint on the road. The story of ho...
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TBD | Crypto's Big Win

May 25, 2025 • 32 mins
The crypto industry poured tons of money into the last election cycle. Is the GENIUS Act, which has bipartisan support, their big payoff? Guest: Hilary Allen, professor at American University’s Washington College of 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 t...
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Bonus: Main Character: The One Big Beautiful Bill

May 23, 2025 • 5 mins
Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” cleared the House this week and heads off to the Senate where…actually let’s bring in an expert to explain what happens next. Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior political writer. 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 pod...
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