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.
351
The Fantasy of Internet for All
Starlink was supposed to revolutionize the global internet. Can it still meet its goal?
15 min
352
What Elon Wants With Twitter
The purchase of Twitter is almost across the line. Now what?
18 min
353
A New High-Tech Weapon in Ukraine
How is facial recognition technology is being deployed on the front lines in Ukraine?
18 min
354
The COVID Data Disaster
The CDC moved the goalposts on COVID-19. Can we still fight the pandemic without a clear picture of the data?
21 min
355
How TurboTax Tricks Taxpayers
The popular software is the product of a 20-year fight to make free tax filing nearly impossible.
18 min
356
Elonnnnnnnnnnnnn!
What does Elon Musk really want with Twitter?
16 min
357
Uber Makes Nice With Cabs
New York City taxis are headed to the Uber app.
18 min
358
Elon Trolls the SEC
The Tesla billionaire is now Twitter's largest shareholder. Will he remake the platform in his image?
19 min
359
A Conversation With Europe's Top Tech Cop
Margrethe Vestager just wants big tech companies to play by the same rules as everyone else.
17 min
360
The White House's Favorite Tech Billionaire
Google's Ex-CEO built considerable influence in Biden's Office of Science and Technology Policy. Did he cross the line?
19 min
361
The Cost of Going Off-Grid
Is there a downside to being entirely energy self-sufficient?
18 min
362
Why the Zelensky Deepfake Failed
Even low-quality deepfakes can have an enormous impact.
19 min
363
The Startup Delivering Adderall
What happens when you pair the Silicon Valley playbook with prescription drugs?
15 min
364
Hong Kong’s Covid Crisis
Why did the city fail to vaccinate its elderly population?
18 min
365
How Minnesota Spied On Protesters
Operation Safety Net was supposed to keep the peace during the Chauvin trial. Did it abuse its power?
17 min
366
Putin's Internet Crackdown
The Kremlin is resorting to extreme measures to control the information landscape in Russia.
27 min
367
When Your Retina Needs a Software Update
What do you do when your bionic eye becomes obsolete?
19 min
368
Ukraine’s Information War
How the embattled country took control of the social media narrative.
18 min
369
Peter Thiel, Patron of the Populist Right
Why the enigmatic founder and investor is turning his attention to politics full-time.
20 min
370
Russia's Other Battlefront
Vladimir Putin has spent years testing an arsenal of cyber weapons against Ukraine.
21 min
371
The COVAX Fantasy
How a plan to vaccinate the world came undone.
25 min
372
"Rampant Racism" at Tesla
What's happening inside Elon Musk's Fremont plant?
18 min
373
The Rise of a Fast Fashion Juggernaut
Shein isn’t just changing the fast fashion industry. It’s changing the way Americans shop.
15 min
374
How Safe is the Metaverse?
For early adopters, there’s a dark underbelly to Meta’s new world.
22 min
375
The Code That Runs Your Life
COBOL is 60 years old and still propping up the world’s financial and healthcare institutions.
17 min