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
Is Free Speech Online Just a Myth?
The framework we create now will define speech online for decades to come.
22 min
352
Can the Internet Rescue Abortion Access?
A conversation with a doctor providing abortion access via telemedicine.
15 min
353
The Fantasy of Internet for All
Starlink was supposed to revolutionize the global internet. Can it still meet its goal?
15 min
354
What Elon Wants With Twitter
The purchase of Twitter is almost across the line. Now what?
18 min
355
A New High-Tech Weapon in Ukraine
How is facial recognition technology is being deployed on the front lines in Ukraine?
18 min
356
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
357
How TurboTax Tricks Taxpayers
The popular software is the product of a 20-year fight to make free tax filing nearly impossible.
18 min
358
Elonnnnnnnnnnnnn!
What does Elon Musk really want with Twitter?
16 min
359
Uber Makes Nice With Cabs
New York City taxis are headed to the Uber app.
18 min
360
Elon Trolls the SEC
The Tesla billionaire is now Twitter's largest shareholder. Will he remake the platform in his image?
19 min
361
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
362
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
363
The Cost of Going Off-Grid
Is there a downside to being entirely energy self-sufficient?
18 min
364
Why the Zelensky Deepfake Failed
Even low-quality deepfakes can have an enormous impact.
19 min
365
The Startup Delivering Adderall
What happens when you pair the Silicon Valley playbook with prescription drugs?
15 min
366
Hong Kong’s Covid Crisis
Why did the city fail to vaccinate its elderly population?
18 min
367
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
368
Putin's Internet Crackdown
The Kremlin is resorting to extreme measures to control the information landscape in Russia.
27 min
369
When Your Retina Needs a Software Update
What do you do when your bionic eye becomes obsolete?
19 min
370
Ukraine’s Information War
How the embattled country took control of the social media narrative.
18 min
371
Peter Thiel, Patron of the Populist Right
Why the enigmatic founder and investor is turning his attention to politics full-time.
20 min
372
Russia's Other Battlefront
Vladimir Putin has spent years testing an arsenal of cyber weapons against Ukraine.
21 min
373
The COVAX Fantasy
How a plan to vaccinate the world came undone.
25 min
374
"Rampant Racism" at Tesla
What's happening inside Elon Musk's Fremont plant?
18 min
375
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