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.


Get more of What Next with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of What Next and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/whatnextplus for access wherever you listen.

Daily News
News Commentary
Politics
201
Trump Sends in the Troops
In response to protests in Los Angeles, the President invoked a legal authority last used by L.B.J. to deploy the National Guard on domestic protesters.
26 min
202
TBD | The Future of the Internet Hinges on Gail...
You may be asking, “Who?”
25 min
203
Main Character: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Slate’s Nadira Goffe visits with reporting from the courthouse.
6 min
204
TBD | Is Palantir Building a Data Big Brother?
Palantir is laying the groundwork for a central government data system - one that sounds an awful lot like a surveillance state.
26 min
205
She Was Tortured. America Shut Her Out.
One of the last avenues of protection at the southern border appears to have closed.
26 min
206
Can Zionism Survive This War?
A self-described Zionist feels the path Israel is on isn’t leading to a safe, peaceful nation for Jews, which he once believed was the goal.
28 min
207
George Floyd Square, Five Years Later
Searching for progress, in Minneapolis and America.
30 min
208
Can the U.S. Learn from the U.K.'s Post-Brexit ...
Even with a US trade deal in hand, British politics still feel lost in the woods, five years after leaving the EU.
24 min
209
TBD | So Long, Elon
He came, he sawed, he conq—well, he left.
25 min
210
TBD | The Drone Wars
Russia and Ukraine are locked in an arms race that will change war forever.
22 min
211
Legally Dead—And Pregnant
Adriana Smith is being kept on life support, at her family’s expense, until her fetus reaches 32 weeks.
25 min
212
Does Gavin Newsom Have It All Figured Out?
Why the California governor seems to be engineering a big pivot to the center.
26 min
213
What Would You Pay to Stay Alive?
A reporter investigates why his lifesaving medication costs nearly $1,000 a day.
25 min
214
The Glaring Problem with Headlights
Why car headlights have gotten so bright—and why they’re likely to stay that way.
40 min
215
TBD | Crypto's Big Win
Even if you've never touched crypto, you could be burned by the GENIUS Act.
26 min
216
Bonus: Main Character: The One Big Beautiful Bill
Slate’s Jim Newell stops by to remind us how reconciliation works.
5 min
217
TBD | Inside OpenAI's Empire
How the company convinced everyone that AGI is inevitable—and that they need to be the ones who control it.
34 min
218
Can A “Morality Coalition” Succeed Against Trump?
He brought “Moral Mondays” to the Capitol—and getting arrested isn’t going to stop him.
22 min
219
If Trump Guts FEMA, Are Tornado Victims On Thei...
It’s tempting to cut something that doesn’t seem essential…until it is.
26 min
220
Here’s How the GOP Cuts Medicaid
They’re getting the old “work requirements” argument down from the attic.
24 min
221
Is Immigration Still Trump’s Strongest Issue?
Voters may be getting what they voted for, but not what they want.
25 min
222
TBD | You’ve Been Deepfaked
How AI generated revenge porn is spreading across the internet.
24 min
223
TBD | The Newarkification of Flying
Can we avoid an air travel future that is nasty, brutish, and severely delayed?
26 min
224
The Qatari Plane Is Just The Start
If you give a mouse a jumbo jet…
22 min
225
Trump’s Middle East Diplomacy
Israel keeps getting surprised by the mercurial American president.
24 min