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
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
252
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
253
Is Your Uber Drivers' Pay Rigged?
Same ride. Same route. Different pay.
21 min
254
Stephen King Is Just as Confused About Blue Che...
A meltdown over its subscription service reveals Twitter’s wheels coming off.
30 min
255
"Crap Apps": Why Weather Apps Suck
Why our smartphone forecasts are so mercurial.
21 min
256
Will A.I. Close Off the Internet?
As A.I. companies are sucking up as much data as they can to train their systems, social platforms are starting to put their most valuable resource behind a paywall.
22 min
257
Will Banning Social Media Help Kids?
What the science says about Utah’s social media ban for teens.
29 min
258
How Gamers Leaked Classified Pentagon Docs
How highly classified documents from the Pentagon ended up in a small Discord server.
30 min
259
Why Flying Is So Bad Now
A series of near misses, antiquated tech and a shortage of airline employees are exposing the cracks in our air travel system.
28 min
260
Wait, TikTok Has a Sister App?
While TikTok is in Washington’s crosshairs, Bytedance has been quietly pushing out Lemon8, a new social media app that promises to marry Instagram and Pinterest. Will it stick?
24 min
261
Seeking Asylum Via App
CBP’s glitchy smartphone app leaves desperate people searching for instructions, wifi and even phones to use it.
33 min
262
When A.I. Denies Your Health Care
A predictive algorithm tucked into Medicare Advantage plans is routinely denying coverage for patients, leaving them with little recourse.
26 min
263
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Woes
Cost cutting, regulators, and Elon’s obsession with Twitter have cast doubt on Tesla’s promise of a fully autonomous vehicle.
29 min
264
The Case Against TikTok
After years of negotiations, and a testy hearing, the government seems set to ban it.
32 min
265
When A.I. Steals Your Voice
Your mom hears you calling in distress, but it’s not really you.
22 min
266
Where Is Silicon Valley Going to Bank Now?
The easiest money is gone for the industry.
25 min
267
Would You Let A.I. Date For You?
Would your personal profile benefit from an impersonal touch?
26 min
268
When Meta Tells Law Enforcement About Your Abor...
What does Big Tech need to do to protect users in Post-Roe America?
22 min
269
The Hollywood Weight Loss Wonder Drug
Are diabetics competing with celebs for Ozempic?
28 min
270
What Would Convince a Lab Leak Skeptic?
Why one virologist doesn’t find the Department of Energy’s assessment convincing.
29 min
271
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
272
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
273
The Baby-Sleep Industrial Complex
Is the Snoo a life-saving necessity, or $1700 luxury item for bougie babies?
28 min
274
What Made the Balloon Drama Pop Off?
Blown cover or just blown off course?
32 min
275
Contraband Tech Behind Bars
Why prisoners risk the consequences to have a cell phone.
28 min