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.
376
How Safe is the Metaverse?
For early adopters, there’s a dark underbelly to Meta’s new world.
22 min
377
The Code That Runs Your Life
COBOL is 60 years old and still propping up the world’s financial and healthcare institutions.
17 min
378
Spotify’s Joe Rogan Mess
For the Swedish streaming service, the Experience has been a wakeup call.
20 min
379
The Downfall of One of the World's Biggest Brains
IBM’s Watson was supposed to transform health care. Last week, it was sold off for scrap.
21 min
380
Why Does Matt Damon Want Me to Buy Crypto?
A former teen star unpacks the hottest Hollywood hustle.
14 min
381
Where Are The Little Kids' Vaccines?
Why don’t they seem to be a priority for the government or the pharmaceutical companies, while parents are stressed to a breaking point?
20 min
382
The Aftermath of Elizabeth Holmes
Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors this week in federal court.
23 min
383
Best of 2021: It’s Time to Talk About U.F.O.s
A new report shows that the government is changing its tune on unidentified aerial phenomena.
21 min
384
Best of 2021: Are We Getting COVID Testing All...
It may be time to reimagine how we use tests in the U.S.
26 min
385
The Carbon Capture Fantasy
The IPCC says we may need to pull carbon out of the atmosphere to keep the planet from overheating. That won’t be easy.
23 min
386
Who Online Justice Leaves Behind
The courts’ arrival in the modern era came with some unexpected tradeoffs.
15 min
387
Did @jack Ruin Twitter?
In the post-Dorsey era, Twitter will try to grow as large as its competitors. Is that a good thing?
14 min
388
Best of 2021: Inside the Subreddit That Blew Up...
How an irreverent band of Reddit investors cost Wall Street millions.
20 min
389
Space Junk! (And Space Wars?)
Is space a battlefront, a garbage dump, or both?
19 min
390
The Kid-Vaccine Holdouts
Many vaccinated parents aren’t ready to take their younger children in for a COVID shot. What’s holding them back?
21 min
391
How Schools Surveil Your Kids
A startup named GoGuardian is changing the way teachers monitor their students online.
18 min
392
Why Are Bots Buying Sneakers?
When algorithms start buying up products, there’s something wrong with the system.
22 min
393
Honey, I Sold the House to Zillow
Why are tech companies flipping houses?
16 min
394
The Return of Hacktivism
Massive data dumps from inside Twitch and Epik may signal a new era in the world of moralistic hacking.
19 min
395
Will the Facebook Whistleblower Make a Difference?
Frances Haugen thinks we’re talking about Facebook all wrong.
21 min
396
What Instagram Does to Teens
A leaked internal report concludes, “we make body issues worse for one in three teen girls.”
19 min
397
Are We Getting COVID Testing All Wrong?
It may be time to reimagine how we use tests in the U.S.
25 min
398
Sponsored: Tech Solutions that Serve L.A. Citiz...
30 min
399
China vs. Video Games
Why is Beijing restricting young people’s gaming to three hours a week?
14 min
400
Can This River Be Saved?
The 40 million people who rely on water from the Colorado River are running out of time.
17 min