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
476
TBD | Tweetering on the Glass Cliff
Is Elon Musk’s CEO pick set up to fail?
20 min
477
DeSantis Makes It Official
He’s got a proven track record winning both elections and battles in the culture war. He just isn’t Donald Trump.
23 min
478
Republicans' Stealth Plan to Ban Abortions
How a 150-year-old law could give anti-abortion activists the win they’re still chasing.
18 min
479
The Navajo Fight for Water
As states struggle to divvy up the Colorado River, the federal government has another obligation to fulfill.
19 min
480
How the Next Pandemic Starts
If we keep encroaching on wild animals’ habitats, we’ll catch what they’re catching.
23 min
481
TBD | A Tipping Point for Digital Tipping
Why exactly are self-service checkouts asking us to pay more?
28 min
482
TBD: Why Sports Are All in on Betting
The tech that turned sports gambling from an illegal vice to an inescapable cash cow.
24 min
483
North Carolina’s Rush to Restrict Abortion
Its time as a regional outlier in reproductive freedom ends with an overridden veto.
23 min
484
The Roots of Latino White Supremacy
When race cuts across ethnicity.
21 min
485
How Erdogan Stays in Power
What the Turkish president’s history tells us about the upcoming run-off election.
22 min
486
Trump Is Back. Is the Media Ready?
Making the right choice when it comes to good TV vs. good journalism.
23 min
487
TBD | Space After NASA
The passionate weirdos and hedge funds that want to boldly go where only governments have gone before.
30 min
488
TBD | Who’s Afraid of A.I.?
Real harm from A.I. doesn’t have to look like Skynet—it’s already happening.
29 min
489
Debt Ceiling Dinner Theater
Why does America have to keep having this fight?
21 min
490
The Border's New Normal
Can the Biden administration live up to the campaign’s rhetoric when Title 42 lifts?
23 min
491
Why Richard Glossip Has Escaped Execution Nine ...
Inside nearly a decade of delays, stays, and last meals.
24 min
492
Can DeSantis Beat Disney?
What may have started as bluster and rhetoric is now a matter for the courts.
24 min
493
TBD | What's Going on at Meta?
Market instability, bad bets and low morale are putting Silicon Valley's poster child in uncharted territory. Can it claw its way back?
29 min
494
TBD | What the Writers' Strike Is Really About
The WGA is fighting to get ahead of A.I.—and finally catch up with the streaming era.
27 min
495
Charles In Charge
A coronation is a good time to ask of the monarchy “Do we have to?”
21 min
496
America’s Rich History of Gun Control
How “originalist” arguments against gun control distort actual history.
21 min
497
What E. Jean Carroll Is Fighting For
And how Donald Trump’s defense team is trying to sway the jury.
24 min
498
War in Ukraine: The View Behind Closed Doors
The country is bracing for a spring counteroffensive, with still no end to the conflict in sight.
23 min
499
TBD | Is Your Uber Drivers' Pay Rigged?
Same ride. Same route. Different pay.
21 min
500
TBD | Stephen King Is Just as Confused About Bl...
A meltdown over its subscription service reveals Twitter’s wheels coming off.
30 min