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
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
402
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
403
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
404
Seduced by Substack
Is leaving a stable job to peddle a newsletter based on your personal brand crazy, or the future?
21 min
405
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
406
Introducing: ICYMI
We’re online so you don’t have to be.
28 min
407
The Fight Over Vaccine Passports
Standardizing vaccine credentials won’t be an easy task.
22 min
408
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
409
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
410
Does Google Actually Want to Hire Black Engineers?
The tech giant’s partnerships with HBCUs are still coming up short.
21 min
411
The Failing Lifeline for Low-Income Americans
A Reagan-era program designed to provide phone access for the poor has hardly changed in 40 years.
20 min
412
Australia’s Kinda-Sorta Win Over Big Tech
A new type of legislation could change the way governments and big tech do business.
19 min
413
Why Texas Went Dark
The state is no stranger to extreme weather. But not like this.
20 min
414
How Clubhouse Cracked China’s Firewall
Two weeks of extraordinary conversations led to an inevitable result.
21 min
415
India Turns Off the Internet
India ranks second in the world in mobile internet subscribers. It ranks first in shutdowns.
17 min
416
Inside the Subreddit That Blew Up GameStop
How an irreverent band of Reddit investors cost Wall Street millions.
20 min
417
Why the Vaccine Websites Suck
The states’ struggles with digital delivery started long before 2020.
26 min
418
Where the Far Right Is Meeting Now
Extreme groups have been banned from mainstream social media platforms. Is that a good thing?
16 min
419
Deplatforming the President
With just 12 days left in his term, the social media giants have relieved the president of his megaphone.
17 min
420
Was This Google Ethicist Fired for Doing Her Job?
A leader in the field of ethical AI was abruptly let go by the search giant.
20 min
421
Everybody Sues Facebook
This isn’t the first antitrust suit against a big tech company, but it is the most ambitious.
20 min
422
How Hackers Hold Schools for Ransom
When classes move online, hackers see an opportunity.
20 min
423
Inside Biden’s COVID Team
One of the president-elect’s coronavirus advisers says Trump’s refusal to concede is costing lives.
20 min
424
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
425
How the Gig Economy Won in California
An unprecedented ballot measure could shape the gig economy for years to come.
18 min