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
26
Sudan on the Brink
How an isolationist United States leaves more space for conflict, and less humanitarian aid.
26 min
27
Have the Epstein Files Broken MAGA?
Wait—Trump didn’t just wriggle out of this one?!
27 min
28
The National Guard Is Asking Questions
The crackdown is still searching for a crisis.
24 min
29
TBD | How Meta Profits Off Fraud
There’s a big financial incentive for Facebook and Instagram to tolerate scammers.
28 min
30
TBD | Data Centers on the Ballot
A.I. companies are leading the data-center boom. Voters seem less enthused.
21 min
31
Wikipedia Enters the Culture Wars
A user base with a commitment to the truth is what makes Wikipedia work—and what makes it a target.
22 min
32
No, Women Didn't Ruin the Workplace
“Are workplaces too girly?” and other questions asked bravely by the New York Times.
28 min
33
How To Lose a Government Shutdown
Senate Democrats are letting the GOP off the hook in exchange for a promise for a future vote and a resolution that lasts until January?
23 min
34
Is Special Ed Getting Left Behind?
Federal funding that helps schools educate all children has stalled in the government shutdown—and it may never come back.
24 min
35
TBD | Why Tesla Is Paying Elon a Trillion Bucks
Post-DOGE, Musk’s empire is looking a little shaky, if still extremely lucrative for the man himself.
27 min
36
Bonus: SchadenFriday | Muslim, Millennial, Mr. ...
Islamophobia remains popular enough to try, but not enough to win.
5 min
37
TBD | The Nick Fuentes Problem
What’s the difference between being a party with Nazis and being in a Nazi party?
21 min
38
Trump’s Tariffs Have a Constitution Problem
It’s tough to carve out something that looks plausibly legal, even to this Supreme Court.
24 min
39
The Andrew Formerly Known as a Prince
Stripping the problematic royal of his title isn’t justice, but at least it’s something.
22 min
40
She Won the Election. The GOP Won’t Swear Her In.
Election Day only matters if you get to take office.
23 min
41
The Redistricting Arms Race Is On
Trump wants to hold the House, but do state-level GOP operatives have the stomach for unpopular, undemocratic new maps?
25 min
42
TBD | Why Trump Keeps Pardoning Crypto Criminals
There’s nothing cryptic about the president’s motivation.
27 min
43
TBD | Inside the Goonerverse
A very specific (NSFW) online world.
26 min
44
How Will We Feed Our Neighbors?
Why you should consider giving out mac n’ cheese along with candy this Halloween.
28 min
45
The Volunteers Taking on ICE
The Harbor Area Peace Patrol attempts to protect undocumented neighbors in southern California, one parking lot at a time.
24 min
46
Where Sports Betting Got Us
Just when you think it’s all apps, the Mafia pops back into the picture.
26 min
47
Shutting Down and Finding Out
The government shutdown now enters its fourth week. Will Democrats finally play hard ball?
24 min
48
TBD | Did The Trump Administration Censor Speech?
Anti-ICE posts and apps flourished online. The Trump administration had them taken down.
28 min
49
Bonus: The Scariest Halloween Costume
Which kind of chainsaw wielding maniac are YOU going as?
6 min
50
TBD | The AWS Outage is Only the Beginning
Why a mesh of cloud services and undersea cables make for a very delicate web.
28 min