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.

News
401
Why Democrats Will Save Mike Johnson’s Job
The bipartisan effort to ignore Marjorie Taylor Greene.
23 min
402
TBD | Can California Save Journalism?
The Sunshine State considers making Google and Meta pony up—and making news outlets spend that revenue on their staff.
20 min
403
TBD | Bird Flu—It’s in Milk?
Scientists are observing, for the first time, the virus spreading cow-to-cow—is human-to-human next?
21 min
404
Columbia Cracks Down
"Every single thing about this is completely maddening. And none of it had to happen.”
24 min
405
Biden’s Climate Report Card
We're doing more than ever, and still not nearly enough.
22 min
406
The Man Who Wrote the Trump Playbook—30 Years Ago.
Republicans these days are ceding popular elections but holding on to power. That strategy is older than you think.
23 min
407
The Jewish Case for Protest
How views of Israel have changed—and how some Jewish Americans are grappling with the dissonance.
28 min
408
TBD | The Failures of ‘Organic’ Farming
Organic farms try to make their products better for people, but that doesn’t mean better animal welfare.
24 min
409
TBD | So ... Is TikTok Banned?
Or has the long journey to banning the short-video app just begun?
19 min
410
How Trump Found His Lawyer
An ex-prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, Todd Blanche left one of the oldest Wall Street law firms to represent the former president.
24 min
411
Columbia Calls the Cops
How student protests have intensified and spread.
26 min
412
Your Right to Protest? Not the Supreme Court’s ...
Looks like the highest court will let the wildly conservative Fifth Circuit judges violate the Constitution a bit, as a treat.
19 min
413
What the WNBA Salary Debate Misses
Caitlin Clark’s $76,000 pay is shocking—but the story is bigger than her.
24 min
414
TBD | The Internet Archive Endangered
A non-profit site just digitized Aruba’s history. They could be sued out of existence.
19 min
415
TBD | What’s Driving Tesla’s Layoffs?
The EV maker may be demonstrating why other car makers don’t do it this way.
19 min
416
Is It Too Late to Escape “Forever Chemicals”?
The EPA has known PFAS are dangerous for a long time—why are they finally ratcheting up regulations now?
25 min
417
Will Abortion in Florida and Arizona Decide the...
The ghost of Roe v. Wade haunts our voting booths.
24 min
418
What Israel Does Now
And how to interpret Iran’s checked-swing retaliation?
22 min
419
Trump In (Criminal) Court
What to expect when a former president facing jail time appears before a jury of his peers.
22 min
420
TBD | Is America Ready for Legal Psychedelics?
How the push for legal ‘shrooms can avoid the problems plaguing legal cannabis.
23 min
421
TBD | Does Google Suck Now?
Wither our once-best search engine?
23 min
422
The Judge Protecting Trump
Why the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case is going nowhere.
22 min
423
How the Government Botched Financial Aid
Congress, the Department of Education, and two presidential administrations, all trying to find who did this.
24 min
424
No Labels Is Out. But RFK Jr. Remains.
The spectre of a third-party spoiler still haunts the Democrats.
21 min
425
How Young Is Too Young to Work?
Child labor laws are changing—in different directions, in different states.
22 min