What Next | Daily News and Analysis

It’s city vs. state vs. the feds at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, where prisoners have gone on a hunger strike to protest the conditions inside—while outside, protestors clash with authorities. 

Guest: Aymann Ismail, senior writer at Slate.

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It’s the war that’s been won since it started; the ceasefire with ongoing strikes, and the peace deals that are done except for the points of disagreement. Does the public have any reason to believe what Trump says about the Iran war? Does Iran?

Guest: David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic

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Are the Dems in…array? Or at least, in less of a disarray than their opponents? 

Guest: Jonathan V. Last, editor at the Bulwark.

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How the Trump administration has tried to put pressure on Disney for opinions expressed by Jimmy Kimmel and the hosts of The View—and how the Mouse is fighting back.

Guest: Anna M. Gomez, commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission since September 2023.

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Minnesota’s state restrictions on predictions markets like Kalshi and Polymarket has gotten pushback from an unexpected source: the federal government.

Guest: Rep. Emma Greenman, a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who authored legislation to restrict prediction markets in the state. 

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Well, it wasn’t exactly “standing up to the president” but it’s telling that Congress decided to leave town rather than try to defend Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund and immunity for any past present or future IRS inquiries.

Guest: Liz Oyer, former Pardon Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Public Defender, author of the Lawyer Oyer substack.

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Vacations to a Disney park were never cheap but now, in a reflection of American culture writ large, there are ever more-expensive tiers to pay to get into.

Guest: Dan Curell, management consultant who wrote “Disney and the Decline of America’s Middle Class” for the New York Times.

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Thanks for joining us during the holidays. While our team is taking a break, we want to share a podcast with you that we think you’ll love. It’s called The Bethlehem Project. It’s a special series from the Financial Times that looks at big political and economic issues through the lens of one city … Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Democrats are looking for a bit of a rebrand after losing the White House and both houses of Congress in 2...

The promise of an “internet for niche communities” and “the empowered independent creator” has been taking a beating as the web has become less open and increasingly dominated by a few platforms and players. But does it have to be that way?

Guest: Jack Conte, CEO and cofounder of Patreon.

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When Cameron Hamilton testified to Congress that he did not believe “it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” he was fired from his job as FEMA’s acting administrator. 

But now, a year later, Hamilton has been nominated to lead FEMA permanently. Does this mean the agency’s future is more secure?

Guest: Micah Loewinger, co-host of WNYC’s On the Media whose la...

The late-night show is a staple of network television—maybe even one that has held on past its era. Still, that doesn’t mean The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had to end like this. 

Guest: Adam Conover, comedian and host of the Factually! podcast. 

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With his approval rating dropping to its lowest point yet this term, why are politicians still giving in to Donald Trump? As Senator Bill Cassidy found out, Trump still has enough juice to sink a Republican in a primary.

Guest: Molly Jong Fast, host of the podcast Fast Politics. 

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On her way to a doctor’s appointment in January, a Minneapolis woman was surrounded by ICE agents who smashed her car’s window, cut her seat belt and dragged her out, while she tried to explain that she was disabled. Now, she’s planning to sue.

Guest: Aliya Rahman, Minneapolis resident detained by ICE in January.

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Under fire for what critics say is inadequate protection of its young user base, Roblox nevertheless remains incredibly popular. Are the company’s new ballyhooed protections up for the task of keeping kids safe? Or is that asking the wrong question entirely?

Guests:

Cecilia D'Anastasio, video game reporter for Bloomberg. 

Mary Harris, host of the other What Next

Stella Harris, daughter of Mary.

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Once a rising star of the New Right via New Media, Ben Shapiro and his Daily Wire have spent the second Trump administration in precipitous decline. Is it simply a case of bad business decisions running into their beloved capitalistic scythe or did their audience outpace them on a race to…let’s say “the right”?

Guest: Will Sommer, senior reporter at The Bulwark.

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Between artificial intelligence, the Iran War, and the future of Taiwan, there’s a lot for the United States and China to hash out—not least of which being the pecking order.

Guest: Josh Chin, senior global correspondent for the Wall Street Journal.

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As wealth disparity continues to grow, politicians in New York and California have suggested raising revenue through taxes that are aimed at their wealthiest residents. But the rich didn’t get that way by just letting themselves get taxed, now did they?

Guest:  Stephanie Ruhle, anchor of MS NOW’s The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle.

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A redrawn Virginia electoral map looked like it could offset at least some red state gerrymandering—until the Virginia Supreme Court stepped in. But if Democrats—in the commonwealth or elsewhere—have a way to keep Republicans from redistricting themselves into permanent power, now’s the time.

Guest: Jamelle Bouie, New York Times opinion columnist. 

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The world is watching with a wary eye, as passengers leave the hantavirus-infected MV Hondius cruise ship and head to medical facilities or home. Is this the start of the next pandemic—or is our collective response still informed by the last one?

Guest:  Katherine J. Wu is a staff writer covering science at The Atlantic.

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