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.
401
Will Booster Shots Make a Difference?
Globally, what’s the best use of the next available dose?
18 min
402
What's Taking the FDA So Long?
Full approval of the vaccines could move the needle on U.S. vaccination rates. So what’s the holdup?
23 min
403
Can America Fix Its Trains?
To make a real difference, we first need to learn how to spend the money well.
16 min
404
I Bought It. Why Can't I Fix It?
Manufacturers don’t let customers repair their own stuff. That may be about to change.
16 min
405
How Spyware Mercenaries Hack Your Phone
A new spyware technology has the cybersecurity world scrambling to catch up.
27 min
406
It's Hot. It's Flooding. Is This the New Normal?
A climate scientist on why it’s not too late to turn things around.
19 min
407
So, What Happens to WFH Now?
White-collar workers are heading back to the office. Will anything be different after a year and a half away?
25 min
408
Sponsored: The Race to Vaccinate a Nation with ...
30 min
409
It’s Time to Talk About UFOs
A new report shows that the government is changing its tune on unidentified aerial phenomena.
21 min
410
Welcome to Bitcoin Beach
Can El Salvador’s seaside crypto experiment really work as a national policy?
19 min
411
What Cops Are Doing With Your DNA
Police have solved hundreds of cold cases using open-source DNA platforms. But at what cost?
20 min
412
What Space Billionaires Cost Us
Jeff Bezos’ quick trip into outer space is about more than just publicity.
19 min
413
The App That Sparked a Manhunt
Two weeks ago, Citizen made its first foray into real-world crime solving. It didn’t go well.
23 min
414
Apple and Epic’s Battle Royale
After three weeks of testimony, the future of mobile gaming is caught in limbo.
16 min
415
The Hackers Who Took Down the Colonial Pipeline
A voyage into the weird world of the ransomware industry.
22 min
416
How the World’s Great Vaccination Hope Crashed
The Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest vaccine producer. Somehow, its home country is running out of doses.
20 min
417
Oversight Board to Facebook: Nice Try
The social network hoped its “Supreme Court” would decide Trump’s fate on the platform. It didn’t take the bait.
18 min
418
Tim Apple vs. Mark Facebook
Two of the most powerful tech companies in the world have very different ideas about how the internet should work.
18 min
419
What's Causing the Tesla Crashes?
Two men died after their car plowed into a tree. Police say no one was at the wheel.
19 min
420
Seduced by Substack
Is leaving a stable job to peddle a newsletter based on your personal brand crazy, or the future?
21 min
421
The Rise of the Therapy Apps
The pandemic opened up a window to transform mental health care as we know it. Is that a good thing?
22 min
422
Introducing: ICYMI
We’re online so you don’t have to be.
28 min
423
The Fight Over Vaccine Passports
Standardizing vaccine credentials won’t be an easy task.
22 min
424
The AstraZeneca Saga
By all accounts, Oxford and AstraZeneca made a good vaccine. So why has the path to approval been so painful?
22 min
425
Hate, Lies, and AI
Artificial Intelligence transformed technology across Facebook. But it’s not being employed to fix the company’s biggest problem.
23 min