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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126
TBD | 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
127
The Award for Messiest Oscar Contender Goes To…
How the wheels fell off Emilia Pérez's Oscar frontrunning campaign.
23 min
128
Trump’s South Africa Fixation
White South Africans are high in his administration—and on his list of priorities.
23 min
129
The GOP Can't Quit "Stop the Steal"
North Carolina conservatives have revamped and recharged 2020 election denial in an attempt to undo a close vote that they conclusively lost.
22 min
130
Lessons From Hungary
So your right-wing authoritarian populist just got back into office? They’ve been there.
22 min
131
TBD | Why Trump’s Data Purge is a Digital Book ...
Erasing wokeness, one dataset and line of code at a time.
23 min
132
TBD Bonus: The Discourse | Why is Elon Musk Che...
Not to game shame anyone, but doesn’t he have better things to do?
6 min
133
TBD | Is Elon Musk Unstoppable?
Inside the DOGE assault on the federal government.
23 min
134
Guantanamo Bay’s Comeback Is a Warning
The government keeps finding uses for a difficult-to-scrutinize detention camp offshore.
23 min
135
DOGE V. USAID
Is the shuttering of USAID—a small department in the context of the federal budget—just a practice run for something bigger from this administration?
26 min
136
Are Airplane Crashes Inevitable?
The safety systems are there, but is the political will to keep them healthy?
24 min
137
Trump’s Anti-Trans Agenda
Can a wave of the president’s pen undo what years of activism have built?
28 min
138
TBD | The DeepSeek Panic
How one app brought the US-China A.I. war out into the open.
22 min
139
Bonus | Main Character Syndrome: Deepseek
What Next and What Next TBD meet for a Slate Plus exclusive to ask: “Who disrupts the disrupters?”
3 min
140
TBD | RFK Jr. Is a Feature, Not a Bug
The vaccine skeptic’s nomination reveals the Trump 2.0 approach to public health.
23 min
141
Was Tulsi Gabbard Always Like This?
Of all of Trump’s cabinet nominees, the betting lines say she has the worst odds of being confirmed.
25 min
142
Trump’s DIY Government Shutdown
How Donald Trump’s freeze on federal funding flies in the face of the constitutional separation of powers.
24 min
143
Who Will Mourn DEI?
An imperfect system for creating a fairer society became a boogeyman—and Trump’s attacks on it are turning government employees against each other.
26 min
144
Trump’s Gift to Militias
For a brief moment, militias were pariahs to both parties. Then the GOP called J6ers “patriots.”
24 min
145
TBD | 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
146
TBD Bonus: The Discourse | The Bro-ligarchs Tak...
Slate’s Nitish Pahwa joins us for a Slate Plus exclusive.
6 min
147
TBD | Department of Government Elon
To trim government, first you must add to government, apparently.
19 min
148
How Closed Is the Border?
Trump’s executive orders will narrow the legal paths to America. So does that mean more illegal immigration?
23 min
149
Can Trump Actually Do All That?
Sorting through how much of that was legal—and how little was legally binding.
25 min
150
Did Democracy Die in Darkness?
Is the media ready for Trump 2.0—especially with billionaires like Bezos at the helm?
21 min