What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the...
Every Friday and Sunday, Slate’s popular daily news podcast What Next brings you TBD, a clear-eyed look into the future. From fake news to fake meat, algorithms to augmented reality, Lizzie O’Leary is your guide to the tech industry and the world it’s creating for us to live in.
1
Is A.I. Taking Your Job?
For young workers, it might be time to worry.
27 min
2
The Discourse | TikTok Ban: The Final Loop?
4 min
3
A Very Online Shooter
The memes that came before, and the memes that were made after.
32 min
4
Her Daughter Killed Herself. Then She Saw the C...
Should A.I. have warned someone?
31 min
5
You Can't Escape the Charlie Kirk Video
Content moderation is dead, algorithms are designed to serve you horrific videos - is this the future of life online?
32 min
6
End of an Electric Avenue
Are Americans ready and willing to pay full-price for an electric vehicle?
20 min
7
Is the A.I. Bubble Bursting?
An “A.I. hater” makes the case.
31 min
8
A24 Meets A.I.
Risk alienating your “auteurs”—or risk being left behind?
22 min
9
The Great Celebrity Spotify Playlist Hack
What the “Panama Playlists” revealed, other than JD Vance’s taste.
23 min
10
Trump Vs. Cancer Research
Wait, it’s ‘Vs. Cancer,’ right? No? Wow.
26 min
11
The CDC Under Fire
A widespread suspicion of public health—something HHS head RFK Jr. does nothing to tamp down—has metastasized into something much more dangerous.
21 min
12
Down the Text-Scam Rabbit Hole
Ever wondered what happens if you accept one of those SPAM-text job offers?
29 min
13
Trump Dips into NVIDIA’s Chips
Trump takes a page from China’s book of “state capitalism” with a dubiously legal export fee.
23 min
14
Here Comes the A.I. Music Slop
No singer, no songwriter, all slop…but paid equally.
26 min
15
What Happened After Meta Fired Its Fact-Checkers
The truth is, Zuckerberg’s new system isn’t working very well.
25 min
16
The A.I. Data Center Push That Wasn't
The Trump administration touted Stargate as a 500 billion dollar investment in American data centers. So far, it hasn't panned out.
24 min
17
The Death of an Online Whisper Network
Your safety? There isn’t an app for that.
25 min
18
Dupes!
Is your skincare/skirt/vacation island as good as the real thing?
29 min
19
A Colbert Report
How Trump did (and didn't) get Stephen Colbert cancelled.
21 min
20
When Bots Go Nazi
Grok’s antisemitic posting spree was a glimpse of an unregulated AI future.
25 min
21
How The Epstein Files Blew Up MAGAworld
Live by the conspiracy, die by the conspiracy.
25 min
22
When A.I. is Sycophantic
Chatbots want to please - but it’s pushing some into dark places.
19 min
23
Hot Measles Summer
Why the next few months are crucial for containing the outbreak.
23 min
24
How A.I. Lost (and Won) the Big Beautiful Debate
With a little help from country music.
24 min
25
Rerun: Death of the Weather Forecast?
Climate and weather aren’t the same thing, but the Trump administration would have you understand neither one.
23 min