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.
276
Seeking Asylum Via App
CBP’s glitchy smartphone app leaves desperate people searching for instructions, wifi and even phones to use it.
33 min
277
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
278
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
279
The Case Against TikTok
After years of negotiations, and a testy hearing, the government seems set to ban it.
32 min
280
When A.I. Steals Your Voice
Your mom hears you calling in distress, but it’s not really you.
22 min
281
Where Is Silicon Valley Going to Bank Now?
The easiest money is gone for the industry.
25 min
282
Would You Let A.I. Date For You?
Would your personal profile benefit from an impersonal touch?
26 min
283
When Meta Tells Law Enforcement About Your Abor...
What does Big Tech need to do to protect users in Post-Roe America?
22 min
284
The Hollywood Weight Loss Wonder Drug
Are diabetics competing with celebs for Ozempic?
28 min
285
What Would Convince a Lab Leak Skeptic?
Why one virologist doesn’t find the Department of Energy’s assessment convincing.
29 min
286
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
287
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
288
The Baby-Sleep Industrial Complex
Is the Snoo a life-saving necessity, or $1700 luxury item for bougie babies?
28 min
289
What Made the Balloon Drama Pop Off?
Blown cover or just blown off course?
32 min
290
Contraband Tech Behind Bars
Why prisoners risk the consequences to have a cell phone.
28 min
291
Why Ban TikTok?
If the U.S. wants to protect users, there are better options.
24 min
292
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
293
How COVID Changes Our Immune Systems
The data doesn't tell the whole story.
25 min
294
Did A.I. Write This Headline?
No, but Silicon Valley thinks it can.
31 min
295
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
296
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
297
An Antivax Dog Whistle Goes Viral
A data scientist and epidemiologist is just answering questions.
26 min
298
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
299
Why the Feds Want to Kill Noncompetes
How the proliferation of noncompete clauses hurts workers and costs the economy billions.
19 min
300
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