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
Is Elon Actually Trying to Buy OpenAI?
Elon Musk's bid to purchase OpenAI is both an attempt to control the future of A.I. and a massive troll.
20 min
27
Why Trump’s Data Purge is a Digital Book Burning
Erasing wokeness, one dataset and line of code at a time.
23 min
28
Bonus: The Discourse | Why is Elon Musk Cheatin...
Not to game shame anyone, but doesn’t he have better things to do?
6 min
29
Is Elon Musk Unstoppable?
Inside the DOGE assault on the federal government.
23 min
30
The DeepSeek Panic
How one app brought the US-China A.I. war out into the open.
22 min
31
RFK Jr. Is a Feature, Not a Bug
The vaccine skeptic’s nomination reveals the Trump 2.0 approach to public health.
23 min
32
The A.I. Will See You Now
Doctors are increasingly using artificial intelligence to help with appointments. But do the risks outweigh the benefits?
20 min
33
Bonus: The Discourse | The Bro-ligarchs Take Wa...
Slate’s Nitish Pahwa joins us for a Slate Plus exclusive.
6 min
34
Department of Government Elon
To trim government, first you must add to government, apparently.
19 min
35
As Fires Approached LA, Angelenos Turned to Wat...
A conversation with the app’s cofounder.
19 min
36
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta-Morphosis
Is this a pivot? Or was the Meta CEO always this way?
23 min
37
Why Tech Is Bending the Knee
Meet the man running Trump's FCC.
22 min
38
Will the Supreme Court Save TikTok?
The ban has now reached the highest court in the land.
25 min
39
Bitcoin Takes the White House
Cryptocurrency folks see the future, and with Trump returning to office, it looks like a giant pool of money.
20 min
40
Musk vs. MAGA
Elon Musk and the base discovered their opinions on immigration are actually pretty far apart.
22 min
41
The Cost of Suicide Prevention Software
Is this the best way to address an urgent mental health crisis? The data isn’t there yet.
24 min
42
2024 In Review: Would You Buy Poop On the Inter...
The wild world of peer-to-peer Fecal Microbial Transplants.
20 min
43
Influencer vs. Influencer
When everyone’s aiming for the same target, some convergence seems inevitable.
27 min
44
Drones!??!!!?!!!
Everyone please calm down.
19 min
45
The Surveillance State Trump Is Inheriting
Expanding surveillance under the guise of security is a bipartisan issue. Who will defend our rights?
21 min
46
Elon Musk and Trump’s Shadow Transition Team
Rich tech guys are finally having a say in how the world works.
23 min
47
Spotify Trapped
How to unwrap your musical taste from the algorithm.
23 min
48
The Influencer Administration
Trump is packing his administration with social media stars who are selling products, promoting brands and communicating with the public in unprecedented ways.
25 min
49
When Your Flight’s GPS Gets Spoofed
Drone warfare is commonplace. Commercial planes are collateral damage.
22 min
50
The Post-Election Social Media Wars
Is this the end of having one, shared “digital public square”?
24 min