What Next | Daily News and Analysis

The problem with the news right now? It’s everywhere. And each day, it can feel like we’re all just mindlessly scrolling. It’s why we created What Next. This short daily show is here to help you make sense of things. When the news feels overwhelming, we’re here to help you answer: What next? Look for new episodes every weekday morning.


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Daily News
News Commentary
Politics
251
Trump’s Weaponized IRS
It's likely counter to the law and almost definitely going to cost us tax revenue.
25 min
252
Project 2025’s Plan for Your Family
24 min
253
TBD | TikTok: Somehow Also Affected by the Tariffs
Like everything else, TikTok finds itself subject to changing winds of one President Trump.
18 min
254
TBD | Trump Tariffs Hit Mushroom Kingdom
How Nintendo tried to save their console princess.
20 min
255
Impeachment From the Bottom Up
"Hands Off" isn't specific enough. Tell them what you want.
23 min
256
A Cancelled Actor Scripts His Comeback
What to make of Jonathan Majors’ return to the press circuit.
22 min
257
The Mass Grave in Gaza
In the days since the ceasefire fell apart, Gazans have faced bombardment, malnutrition, and a dire political plan for their future.
26 min
258
The Upside Of Tariffs
Make no mistake: this is gonna hurt.
26 min
259
TBD | Why Wall Street Can’t Quit Elon
Your 401k loves him too.
29 min
260
TBD | Where DOGE Is Taking Us
What happens when you run the government like how Elon Musk runs a business?
24 min
261
The Lives Ruined by Trump's Deportation Machine
The pretexts are flimsy; due process is absent, and mistakes have already been made.
28 min
262
How the Supreme Court Could Gut Planned Parenthood
25 min
263
Free Speech? Not If You’re A Foreign Student.
The administration is sending a message by detaining Rumeysa Ozturk and Mahmoud Khalil.
23 min
264
Will Elon Musk Buy Another Election?
All eyes are on a State Supreme Court race in Wisconsin.
26 min
265
TBD | This Is Your Brain On Ketamine
And Silicon Valley's too.
22 min
266
TBD | We Made a Memecoin
Because—how hard could it be?
27 min
267
The Group Chat Heard ‘Round the World
Former GOP congressman and Air Force vet Adam Kinzinger shares just how bad this Signal leak was.
25 min
268
What Happens To My Student Loans Now?
If your debt outlasts the Department of Education, alas, you’re not out of the woods yet.
24 min
269
A Tea Party for the Democrats?
Bernie and AOC have crowds, but what’s their pitch?
23 min
270
How Colleges Can Fight Back
Taking it from the quads to courts.
25 min
271
TBD | Bezos 2.0
How the Amazon founder went from Trump critic to Trump donor.
25 min
272
TBD | Trump's War on Scientific Research
Cutting NIH grants–even temporarily–could have repercussions for years to come.
26 min
273
Trump’s Animal-Spirit Economy
Trying to make sense of Trumponomics.
25 min
274
A "Made for TV" Deportation Policy
Over the weekend, the Trump administration invoked an arcane law which was last used to justify Japanese internment. A judge tried to stop him—but he didn’t listen.
27 min
275
Is this the End of Sesame Street?
How the struggles of a once universally beloved children’s show are emblematic of a larger cultural shift.
25 min