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.
1
Did The Trump Administration Censor Speech?
Anti-ICE posts and apps flourished online. The Trump administration had them taken down.
28 min
2
The AWS Outage is Only the Beginning
Why a mesh of cloud services and undersea cables make for a very delicate web.
28 min
3
Why Bands Are Leaving Spotify
Xiu Xiu explains their decision to leave the streaming platform following Daniel Ek's investments in defense tech.
17 min
4
Inside the MAGA Content Mill
How to make a city full of inflatable frog suits look like it needs the National Guard.
23 min
5
A.I. for Cops
Silicon Valley wants your police department to use artificial intelligence. Do you?
24 min
6
The People Suing ICE
21 min
7
Saudi Arabia Gets into EA’s Games
What state investment in the video game company means for the industry.
20 min
8
Who Owns TikTok Now?
25 min
9
Trapped in a Tesla
Teslas are trapping passengers inside after crashes. Regulators are starting to notice.
24 min
10
How Trump Got Obsessed with Autism
Thanks to RFK Jr., Trump can capitalize on an issue he’s cared about for decades.
28 min
11
Is A.I. Taking Your Job?
For young workers, it might be time to worry.
27 min
12
The Discourse | TikTok Ban: The Final Loop?
4 min
13
A Very Online Shooter
The memes that came before, and the memes that were made after.
32 min
14
Her Daughter Killed Herself. Then She Saw the C...
Should A.I. have warned someone?
31 min
15
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
16
End of an Electric Avenue
Are Americans ready and willing to pay full-price for an electric vehicle?
20 min
17
Is the A.I. Bubble Bursting?
An “A.I. hater” makes the case.
31 min
18
A24 Meets A.I.
Risk alienating your “auteurs”—or risk being left behind?
22 min
19
The Great Celebrity Spotify Playlist Hack
What the “Panama Playlists” revealed, other than JD Vance’s taste.
23 min
20
Trump Vs. Cancer Research
Wait, it’s ‘Vs. Cancer,’ right? No? Wow.
26 min
21
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
22
Down the Text-Scam Rabbit Hole
Ever wondered what happens if you accept one of those SPAM-text job offers?
29 min
23
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
24
Here Comes the A.I. Music Slop
No singer, no songwriter, all slop…but paid equally.
26 min
25
What Happened After Meta Fired Its Fact-Checkers
The truth is, Zuckerberg’s new system isn’t working very well.
25 min