What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future
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.
- Update frequency
- every 3 days
- Average duration
- 28 minutes
- Episodes
- 601
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
Stephen King Is Just as Confused About Blue Checks as You Are | 2023 In Review
While the What Next: TBD team spends some time with their families during the holidays, we revisit some of 2023’s biggest, strangest, and best stories. Regularly scheduled programming resumes in Janu…
00:34:13 |
Sun 24 Dec 2023
Can Hybrid Cars Save Us?
Without infrastructure to support all-electric vehicles, consumers have increasingly embraced the hybrid. The lower emissions are good—but are they slowing down our transition into an electric future…
00:27:07 |
Fri 22 Dec 2023
The Case Against CLEAR
Going through airport security is a legal requirement. Is it fair for a private company to interject itself in that process—and cut to the front of the line?
Guest: David Zipper, visiting Fellow at …
00:25:26 |
Sun 17 Dec 2023
Shein’s Newest Offering? An IPO
Fast-fashion titan Shein is preparing for its initial public offering, even as questions of sustainability and labor practices linger.
Guest: Jordyn Holman, business reporter covering the retail in…
00:27:38 |
Fri 15 Dec 2023
Musk's War on Free Speech
Elon Musk is suing Media Matters for reporting that advertisers’ content was showing up right next to posts from newly reinstated Nazis on X, something X’s CEO said was impossible. Media Matters is b…
00:31:40 |
Sun 10 Dec 2023
Spotify Unwrapped
Is Spotify’s 2023—ending with layoffs and cancelling critically acclaimed original podcasts—a sign of trouble at the streaming giant, or an adjustment to expectations that’s setting them up for a bri…
00:27:07 |
Fri 08 Dec 2023
They See You When You’re Shopping
Though navigating the internet involves spraying your data pretty indiscriminately, you actually have more control over it than you think—it’s just a pain to rein it in.
Guest: Geoffrey Fowler, Was…
00:31:33 |
Sun 03 Dec 2023
A Moral War for A.I.
Artificial intelligence seems predestined to become a bigger part of our lives. To what extent is the A.I. push being led by Sam Altman and the OpenAI team a cause for concern?
Guest: Karen Hao, jo…
00:34:29 |
Fri 01 Dec 2023
The Race (Back) to the Moon
The first steps on the moon were in the name of “all mankind.” But with more countries—and the private sector—competing to not only return, but to tap into the moon’s resources, we’re going to need s…
00:24:25 |
Sun 26 Nov 2023
Where Scams Are Born
An app for open money laundering, a corridor of massive casinos in the middle of nowhere, and the global scamdemic.
Guest: Cezary Podkul, reporter for Propublica
If you enjoy this show, please con…
00:29:27 |
Fri 24 Nov 2023
Inside OpenAI's Implosion
OpenAI was the hottest startup in Silicon Valley off the success of ChatGPT. Then, the board fired Sam Altman.
Guest: Mike Isaac, technology reporter at the New York Times.
If you enjoy this show,…
00:31:06 |
Tue 21 Nov 2023
Bedbugs Are Back, Baby!
The bedbug break-out during Paris fashion week this fall was obviously horrifying, but the bad news doesn’t stop there. Bedbugs are on the rise—and on the move.
Guest: Benji Jones, senior environmen…
00:25:59 |
Sun 19 Nov 2023
How Deepfake Porn Infected a School
Girls at a New Jersey high school were early victims of a novel and growing problem: their images were taken from social media without consent to create “deep-fake pornography.”
Guest: Julie Jargon…
00:24:12 |
Fri 17 Nov 2023
Will A.I. Take My Job?
A review website became suddenly flush with new bylines, right as the newsroom was negotiating with management. But information on their new contributors was hard to find—were they people at all, or …
00:21:24 |
Sun 12 Nov 2023
Tesla vs. the Swedes
In late October, Tesla mechanics in Sweden began to strike after the company refused to sign a collective agreement. This week, the country's other major unions joined in the fight as well.
Can Swe…
00:26:09 |
Fri 10 Nov 2023
Sam Bankman-Fraud
Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven charges of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering and is facing a 110-year sentence.
Cryptocurrency, itself, has lost an ambassador, a lot of value,…
00:30:40 |
Sat 04 Nov 2023
Biden Goes After AI
Biden’s executive order on A.I. indicates his administration is taking it seriously. Does it go far enough?
Guest: Cecilia Kang, covering technology and policy for the New York Times.
If you enjoy…
00:31:53 |
Fri 03 Nov 2023
SBF Takes the Stand
The man at the center of it all takes the stand in his own defense—but what’s left to say?
Guest: Nitish Pahwa, associate business and tech writer covering the trial for Slate.
If you enjoy this sh…
00:25:19 |
Sat 28 Oct 2023
Self-Driving Cars Crash Into Reality
In August, California regulators voted to allow self-driving car companies like Cruise and Waymo to expand their operations and start offering robotaxi services. 2 months later, after a litany of mis…
00:29:21 |
Fri 27 Oct 2023
Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Takeover
Since Microsoft announced its bid to buy Activision Blizzard last year, regulators around the world sounded the alarm that the merger would suppress competition in the industry.
Now that the deal h…
00:27:28 |
Sat 21 Oct 2023
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are the property of Slate Podcasts. This content is not affiliated with or endorsed by eachpod.com.