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. 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.
Episodes
Even as anxiety rises over the price of gas, Americans still have the capacity to worry about their health care costs. This is one issue the Democrats have the public’s trust on—and it’s an area where they could make a big difference from Congress.
Guests:
Jonathan Cohn, senior national correspondent at The Bulwark
Julie Rovner, Chief Washington Correspondent for Kaiser Health News
Arizona’s 6th congressional district has been one of the most hotly contested races for several election cycles. JoAnna Mendoza, a former marine, is running as a Ddemocrat and could be part of the blue wave polls are predicting.
Guest: JoAnna Mendoza, Democrat running for congress in Arizona’s 6th district.
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Live from Virginia Public Media in Richmond, Mary Harris sat down with Reveal's Al Letson and On the Media's Micah Loewinger to discuss contentious interviews, Pentagon influencers, sifting through the Trump news cycle, and the journalism cliches they love to hate.
Guests: Al Letson, host of Reveal
Micah Loewinger, co-host of On the Media
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Everyone wants A.I. to be regulated—including the major A.I. companies like Anthropic and OpenAI. There’s just one problem… they want to have a say in what regulation looks like for their industry. Doesn’t that defeat the whole point?
Guests: Cal Newport, Full Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University
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The sexual assault allegations against seven Cornell fraternity members has sparked a debate about the role of Greek life on college campuses. But maybe the solution is to get rid of it, full stop?
Guests: Susan Matthews, executive editor at Slate.
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Trump has long harbored resentment towards Ukraine. But his latest olive branch to Putin marks a turning point in how he views the region—and how Ukrainians view us.
Guests: Romeo Kokriatski, managing editor of New Voice of Ukraine
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One thing that’s clear about this midterm cycle? Voters are mad about Trump. The war in Iran and an affordability crisis back home are paving the way for a blue wave. And yet, despite his universally loathed policies, Trump’s core base still loves him… which puts the GOP in a tight spot if the Democrats retake congress and beyond.
Guests:
Isaac Saul, founder of Tangle News
Jamelle Bouie, columnist at the Ne...
The last time Nebraska sent a non-Republican to the US Senate, George W. Bush joked that his nickname was “Dino”—for Democrat-in-name-only. But this year, independent Dan Osborn has a narrow lead on the GOP incumbent. But don’t call Osborn a Democrat-in-all-but-name.
Guest: Dan Osborn, independent running for US Senate in Nebraska
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Perimenopause’s journey from little-understood phase before menopause to the subject of every ad on social media for women of a certain age was quick—and impossible to imagine without the internet.
Guest: Kate Knibbs, senior writer for WIRED.
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Our current fascists are obsessed with the apocalypse—it drives everything they do, from stoking anti-immigration fervor around the world to wanting to colonize Mars. But why run from our beautiful planet when we can still fight?
Guest: Naomi Klein, co-author of End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World.
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Democrats are excited about the prospect of a blue wave, with their Senate candidates leading races in Texas and Georgia. But beyond the races, there’s a separate issue in those states—how your vote gets counted.
Guest:
Greg Bluestein, Chief Political Reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jessica Huseman, Editorial Director at Votebeat
Up against #Resistance superstar Alexander Vindman, Angie Nixon overcame a huge spending gap to win the Democratic primary to run for a US Senate seat in Florida. As she now runs in a state-wide election in ruby-red Florida, her message remains the same: addressing people’s needs.
Guest: Angie Nixon, Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives and DSA-affiliated candidate for U.S. Senate.
While the What Next team recovers over the holiday, enjoy this episode from our friends over at Platypus Economics. Mary will be back to her usual feed tomorrow.
Americans feel almost exactly as gloomy today as they did in 1980 — when inflation was near 14% and unemployment was close to 8%. Today those numbers are a fraction of that, yet consumer sentiment hit an all-time low. Justin Wolfers treats this like a detective ca...
How the Cornell University rape allegations show we’re not really “post-MeToo.”
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An exchange of insults on X was all that director Alex Gibney got directly from the main character of his new documentary, “Musk.” But by interviewing his business partners, father, wives and girlfriends—and using a bit of movie magic—Gibney takes viewers inside Elon Musk’s head. Spoiler alert: it’s not pretty.
Guest: Alex Gibney, filmmaker and director of the documentary “Musk...
Voters are angry and it looks like they’re eager to express themselves in the midterm elections. But even if Democrats take both chambers of Congress, they won’t have the power to change much—but they will have enough power to be blamed if things continue to get worse.
Guest: Jonathan V. Last, editor at The Bulwark
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How Steve Ballmer, the richest owner in sports, was caught dead to rights by a humble podcaster, and what lessons the media and public can take from courtside seats to the halls of power.
Guest: Pablo Torre, investigative reporter and host of “Pablo Torre Finds Out.”
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From Michigan to Florida to Texas, there are new Democrats in town and on the ballot. But other than novelty, what do these candidates have in common?
Guests:
Hasan Piker, political commentator and streamer.
Adam Mockler, political commentator and YouTuber
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Democrat Justin Pearson made national headlines in 2023 when he expelled from Tennessee’s general assembly while trying to talk about gun reform after a school shooting. That same spirit has driven him to run for Congress, despite the newly redrawn electoral map that erased the state’s only majority Black district.
Guest: Justin Pearson, state representative for Tennessee’s District 86, running for Co...
Move over, New Deal; Donald Trump is in his public works era, using tax dollars to give the American people a…chatbot and also what looks like a campaign ad for the president, even though he isn’t running for anything, can’t run again, and also can’t use tax dollars to buy ads for himself. Uh, masterful stroke, sir?
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