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
Everybody Sues Facebook
This isn’t the first antitrust suit against a big tech company, but it is the most ambitious.
20 min
402
How Hackers Hold Schools for Ransom
When classes move online, hackers see an opportunity.
20 min
403
Inside Biden’s COVID Team
One of the president-elect’s coronavirus advisers says Trump’s refusal to concede is costing lives.
20 min
404
How Tough Will Biden Really Be on Big Tech?
His presidency may be the last chance to constrain the far-reaching power of the tech giants.
18 min
405
How the Gig Economy Won in California
An unprecedented ballot measure could shape the gig economy for years to come.
18 min
406
The Fight Against Election Day Falsehoods
Researchers are expecting a deluge misinformation on Election Day.
21 min
407
A Historic Case Against Google
For the first time in two decades, the federal government is trying to loosen Google’s grip on search.
18 min
408
Facebook Flips on Holocaust Denial
The social network’s reversal on its most controversial policy signals a shift to a new way of thinking about speech.
19 min
409
What Landlords Have on You
Automated background checks help landlords decide who gets to rent their properties. They’re deeply flawed.
18 min
410
The Attack on Florida’s Latino Voters
A flood of Spanish-language misinformation could tip the scales in Florida.
15 min
411
A Vaccine Won’t Be the End
Many of us are hoping that an effective vaccine will end mask-wearing and social distancing. That would be a mistake.
19 min
412
Did the Internet Doom a Pregnancy?
The real-life cost of online misinformation
20 min
413
The Great Climate Migration Begins
The largest mass movement of humans in history is starting. It could change everything.
18 min
414
The Limits of Filming Police Brutality
Smartphone ubiquity and body cameras were supposed to change policing for the better. What went wrong?
20 min
415
QAnon Goes Mainstream
How the conspiracy moved from the fringes of the internet to the White House press room.
16 min
416
What Went Wrong With Contact Tracing Apps
They were supposed to help us keep the virus in check. Why don’t any of them seem to actually work?
19 min
417
How Google Search Sold Out
The search engine used to be a gateway to the rest of the internet. Now, it’s something else entirely
18 min
418
How One Block Got Through It
Chicago’s 75th Street seems like exactly the type of place that would have struggled to survive the pandemic. Instead, it’s thriving.
20 min
419
When America Can’t Pay the Rent
Is an eviction crisis around the corner?
23 min
420
New Orleans Without Music
The city’s music scene can’t work without visitors. What will become of its venues, musicians, and economy?
19 min
421
Cities Are Running Out of Money
Will the U.S. learn lessons from the Great Recession or just repeat the same mistakes?
21 min
422
Is “Covid Flight” a Thing?
There are countless reasons why Americans move out of cities. Is the coronavirus really one of them?
19 min
423
What's a City Without the Office?
The future of the corporate office and the future of the American city aren’t easily separated.
18 min
424
A Hidden Side of Police Abuse
You can’t reform the police if you don’t know what surveillance technology they’re using.
15 min
425
Why Remote Learning Failed
After three months of school closures, data about the impact of the coronavirus on learning is starting to trickle in. It’s far from reassuring.
20 min