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.
251
The Hollywood Weight Loss Wonder Drug
Are diabetics competing with celebs for Ozempic?
28 min
252
What Would Convince a Lab Leak Skeptic?
Why one virologist doesn’t find the Department of Energy’s assessment convincing.
29 min
253
Is a 25-Year-Old’s Brain Mature?
How the new science of brain development isn’t just changing policy, but how we live.
21 min
254
Why A.I. Says the Darndest Things
Microsoft is working out the kinks of their chatbot in real time, and we're the guinea pigs.
25 min
255
The Baby-Sleep Industrial Complex
Is the Snoo a life-saving necessity, or $1700 luxury item for bougie babies?
28 min
256
What Made the Balloon Drama Pop Off?
Blown cover or just blown off course?
32 min
257
Contraband Tech Behind Bars
Why prisoners risk the consequences to have a cell phone.
28 min
258
Why Ban TikTok?
If the U.S. wants to protect users, there are better options.
24 min
259
Did a Twentysomething Con America’s Biggest Bank?
How the start-up “Frank” went from a shiny new acquisition to “a huge mistake” for JP Morgan Chase.
29 min
260
How COVID Changes Our Immune Systems
The data doesn't tell the whole story.
25 min
261
Did A.I. Write This Headline?
No, but Silicon Valley thinks it can.
31 min
262
Will Google Get Broken Up?
The tech giant's online ad business has printed money for more than a decade. The Justice Department is coming for it.
24 min
263
Does Meta Even Care When Its Users Get Hacked?
The surest way to get your Instagram account back is to know somebody who works there.
26 min
264
An Antivax Dog Whistle Goes Viral
A data scientist and epidemiologist is just answering questions.
26 min
265
Tesla’s No Good, Very Bad Year
Elon Musk promised an “epic end of year” to Tesla investors in 2022. But the stock crashed instead. What happened?
28 min
266
Why the Feds Want to Kill Noncompetes
How the proliferation of noncompete clauses hurts workers and costs the economy billions.
19 min
267
How War in Taiwan Could Short-Circuit U.S. Tech
Why the Biden administration views microchip manufacturing as an issue of national security.
22 min
268
Will Southwest Be Held Accountable?
Why consumers can’t vote with their feet when it comes to flying.
25 min
269
One Year - 1942: The Most Hated Man in America
In 1942, it was up to Leon Henderson to stop inflation. He became a nationwide villain.
43 min
270
Are You Ready For Lab-Grown Meat?
Many of the issues with lab-grown meat directly contradict what makes enthusiasts excited in the first place.
28 min
271
SBF's Worst Week Yet
Legal action against the former head of FTX and hearings on Capitol Hill expose just how bad things are at the once-dominant crypto exchange.
33 min
272
San Francisco’s Self-Driving Mess
Self-driving cars are here. And there. And on the sidewalk. Oh boy.
25 min
273
Let’s Talk, Chatbots
ChatGPT is better than any chatbot that came before it.
28 min
274
Big Tech’s Boogeymen In Washington
Is the most aggressive antitrust team in decades capable of reining in Silicon Valley?
34 min
275
Twitter's Vulnerabilities, Exposed
Elon's Twitter had its first test against bad actors from a foreign country. It didn't go well.
26 min