What Next Plus
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.
226
TBD | The Cost of Suicide Prevention Software
Is this the best way to address an urgent mental health crisis? The data isn’t there yet.
24 min
227
TBD | 2024 In Review: Would You Buy Poop On the...
The wild world of peer-to-peer Fecal Microbial Transplants.
20 min
228
2024 in Review: What the WNBA Salary Debate Misses
Caitlin Clark’s $76,000 pay is shocking—but the story is bigger than her.
26 min
229
2024 in Review: Why Miss USA is Imploding
Miss USA’s resignation letter is vague. But the first letter of each sentence spells out “I am silenced.”
25 min
230
2024 in Review: Wait, Is JUUL Banned or Not?
Through the haze of FDA review, bans that didn’t remove JUUL from the marketplace, and its provisional green light.
23 min
231
2024 in Review: Would You Die For MrBeast?
Contestants on his new show got more than they bargained for—it sounds like MrBeast did too.
24 min
232
TBD | Influencer vs. Influencer
When everyone’s aiming for the same target, some convergence seems inevitable.
27 min
233
Plus | A Karaoke Holiday With What Next
For Slate Plus subscribers, Mary Harris and Death, Sex & Money host Anna Sale chat about the catharsis of grabbing the mic during a time of great uncertainty.
29 min
234
TBD | Drones!??!!!?!!!
Everyone please calm down.
19 min
235
Can More Grocery Stores Fix Food Deserts?
If you build it, they still might not come.
22 min
236
How Trump Got ABC to Pay Up
With Disney’s backing they could’ve fought this—so why didn’t they?
26 min
237
How Shaboozey Broke the Mold
His hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is both trap-country and an old-fashioned radio hit.
25 min
238
Make Hollywood Great Again
The Daily Wire isn’t content to just fester on YouTube anymore—and major movie studios are watching their success.
25 min
239
TBD | The Surveillance State Trump Is Inheriting
Expanding surveillance under the guise of security is a bipartisan issue. Who will defend our rights?
21 min
240
TBD | Elon Musk and Trump’s Shadow Transition Team
Rich tech guys are finally having a say in how the world works.
23 min
241
Who Can Save the Democrats?
The race to become DNC chair is heating up after a brutal loss.
23 min
242
How Daniel Penny Walked Free
What a “non-guilty” verdict reveals about New York, the law, and the idea of public safety.
26 min
243
Why United Healthcare Is Easy to Hate
Many Americans responded with scorn, not sympathy, to CEO Brian Thompson’s death.
23 min
244
The End of Assad in Syria
Rebel forces have taken Damascus, and the country’s dictator has fled to Moscow. Now what?
26 min
245
TBD | Spotify Trapped
How to unwrap your musical taste from the algorithm
23 min
246
TBD | The Influencer Administration
Trump is packing his administration with social media stars who are selling products, promoting brands and communicating with the public in unprecedented ways.
25 min
247
Even Trump Loyalists Are Scared Of Kash Patel
Members of the last Trump administration cringed at the idea of Patel helping to lead the FBI or the CIA—but there’s no one to say no this time.
24 min
248
Martial Law (Briefly) in South Korea
The declaration barely lasted a few hours, but could have lasting effects on the nation’s democracy.
21 min
249
Did Biden Break the Presidential Pardon?
If he wasn’t Hunter Biden, he wouldn’t be pardoned. But if he wasn’t Hunter Biden, would he have been tried in the first place?
20 min
250
The House’s Gift to Trump
Under an unimpeachable name, the “Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act” hides something pernicious.
23 min