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.
26
Who Owns TikTok Now?
25 min
27
Trapped in a Tesla
Teslas are trapping passengers inside after crashes. Regulators are starting to notice.
24 min
28
How Trump Got Obsessed with Autism
Thanks to RFK Jr., Trump can capitalize on an issue he’s cared about for decades.
28 min
29
Is A.I. Taking Your Job?
For young workers, it might be time to worry.
27 min
30
The Discourse | TikTok Ban: The Final Loop?
4 min
31
A Very Online Shooter
The memes that came before, and the memes that were made after.
32 min
32
Her Daughter Killed Herself. Then She Saw the C...
Should A.I. have warned someone?
31 min
33
You Can't Escape the Charlie Kirk Video
Content moderation is dead, algorithms are designed to serve you horrific videos - is this the future of life online?
32 min
34
End of an Electric Avenue
Are Americans ready and willing to pay full-price for an electric vehicle?
20 min
35
Is the A.I. Bubble Bursting?
An “A.I. hater” makes the case.
31 min
36
A24 Meets A.I.
Risk alienating your “auteurs”—or risk being left behind?
22 min
37
The Great Celebrity Spotify Playlist Hack
What the “Panama Playlists” revealed, other than JD Vance’s taste.
23 min
38
Trump Vs. Cancer Research
Wait, it’s ‘Vs. Cancer,’ right? No? Wow.
26 min
39
The CDC Under Fire
A widespread suspicion of public health—something HHS head RFK Jr. does nothing to tamp down—has metastasized into something much more dangerous.
21 min
40
Down the Text-Scam Rabbit Hole
Ever wondered what happens if you accept one of those SPAM-text job offers?
29 min
41
Trump Dips into NVIDIA’s Chips
Trump takes a page from China’s book of “state capitalism” with a dubiously legal export fee.
23 min
42
Here Comes the A.I. Music Slop
No singer, no songwriter, all slop…but paid equally.
26 min
43
What Happened After Meta Fired Its Fact-Checkers
The truth is, Zuckerberg’s new system isn’t working very well.
25 min
44
The A.I. Data Center Push That Wasn't
The Trump administration touted Stargate as a 500 billion dollar investment in American data centers. So far, it hasn't panned out.
24 min
45
The Death of an Online Whisper Network
Your safety? There isn’t an app for that.
25 min
46
Dupes!
Is your skincare/skirt/vacation island as good as the real thing?
29 min
47
A Colbert Report
How Trump did (and didn't) get Stephen Colbert cancelled.
21 min
48
When Bots Go Nazi
Grok’s antisemitic posting spree was a glimpse of an unregulated AI future.
25 min
49
How The Epstein Files Blew Up MAGAworld
Live by the conspiracy, die by the conspiracy.
25 min
50
When A.I. is Sycophantic
Chatbots want to please - but it’s pushing some into dark places.
19 min