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
Tech's Mask Off Moment
When conservative writer Richard Hanania’s old posts, originally published under a pseudonym, came to light, people were shocked at just how racist and reactionary they were. Perhaps less shocking we…
00:29:59 |
Sun 13 Aug 2023
Can Smart Guns Save Lives?
A “smart gun” is designed to only work in the hands of the gun’s proper owner. With the first smart gun potentially coming to market later this year, can the tech deliver on its promise?
Guests:
Ch…
00:29:18 |
Fri 11 Aug 2023
Another Summer of COVID
After a quiet spring, COVID is surging back for the fourth consecutive summer. So, is this just life now?
Guest: Katherine Wu, staff writer at the Atlantic
If you enjoy this show, please consider …
00:28:27 |
Sun 06 Aug 2023
Tesla's Big Lie
Tesla sold a vision of how electric vehicles would work: just like gas-powered cars, but cleaner, better. But as a scandal about misrepresented battery life and driving range unfolds, and the price o…
00:29:33 |
Fri 04 Aug 2023
America’s Downtown Ghost Towns
It’s 2023 – and less than half of all Americans have returned to the office full time. That means U.S. downtowns from San Francisco to New York are emptier than they’ve been in decades. Offices are a…
00:32:52 |
Sun 30 Jul 2023
Washington vs. A.I.
At a White House summit late last week, some of the biggest names in tech - including Meta, Google and OpenAI - signed “voluntary” commitments to safeguard artificial intelligence. In Congress, Senat…
00:27:00 |
Fri 28 Jul 2023
Why Tech Lays Women Off First
When the tech industry started rounds of layoffs this year, almost half of the people let go were women—even though they make up a much smaller percentage of the workforce. What does this say about w…
00:30:18 |
Sun 23 Jul 2023
America’s $5 Trillion Grid Problem
To keep places like Phoenix habitable, we need to have air-conditioning. But to have air-conditioning, we need a functional, modern electrical grid. With America’s grid already aging—and more demand …
00:27:05 |
Fri 21 Jul 2023
America’s Killer Car Problem
Pedestrian deaths in America have been rising for the last decade, while dropping in Europe and Japan. What makes the U.S. so dangerous for pedestrians?
Guest: Jessie Singer, author of There Are No …
00:35:15 |
Sun 16 Jul 2023
Will UPS Workers Join "Hot Strike Summer?"
Contract negotiations between the Teamsters and UPS broke down last week and now a strike looms. With time running out, can both sides reach a deal?
Guest: Noam Scheiber, labor reporter for the New…
00:32:53 |
Fri 14 Jul 2023
Is Your Son Watching Andrew Tate?
Andrew Tate’s gross mix of self-help, toxic masculinity and misogyny captured the minds of young boys on the internet. It also led to indictments in Romania on human trafficking and rape charges.
…
00:36:54 |
Sun 09 Jul 2023
Threads vs. Twitter
It seems like with each new Musk innovation, a new Twitter replacement appears in response. But Threads is backed by Meta and available in just a few clicks for an Instagram user. Could it be the one…
00:27:23 |
Fri 07 Jul 2023
Turning Your Face Into Your Ticket
Even if you like the convenience of your phone unlocking after it reads your face, there are reasons to be wary of the TSA bringing facial recognition technology to the airport.
Guest: Geoffrey Fow…
00:23:44 |
Sun 02 Jul 2023
The Never-Ending Cancer Drug Shortage
A shortage of basic chemotherapy drugs to treat cancer is jeopardizing the care of hundreds of thousands of patients. The drugs aren’t expensive, or patented—so where are they?
Guest: Ed Yong, scie…
00:34:26 |
Fri 30 Jun 2023
Can Ozempic Cure Addiction?
Semaglutide, better known by its brand name Ozempic, has been making headlines as a weight loss drug – despite only having FDA approval to treat diabetes. Now, some say it doesn’t just quell cravings…
00:29:50 |
Sun 25 Jun 2023
The U.S. vs Amazon Prime
On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon, accusing the online giant of “tricking and trapping people into recurring subscriptions.” The complaint says Amazon “knowingly duped millions o…
00:25:48 |
Fri 23 Jun 2023
The George Soros Succession
One son was preparing to take over George Soros’s multi-billion-dollar empire. Then, there was a falling out, and a new heir-apparent was chosen.
Who is Alex Soros? And, as he takes over for one of…
00:27:50 |
Sun 18 Jun 2023
Reddit’s Rolling Blackouts
Across Reddit, thousands of forums have gone “private” and effectively disappeared. Users are protesting the site’s plan to capitalize on its data, which has been enjoyed for free by people making th…
00:26:39 |
Fri 16 Jun 2023
Are You Ready For A.I. Generated Actors?
As “deep fakes” have demonstrated, it’s getting easier and easier to swap an actor for a digital likeness—something that contributed to the Screen Actors Guild voting to authorize joining the writers…
00:32:19 |
Sun 11 Jun 2023
Is Crypto Toast?
This week, the SEC sued Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world, and Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US. Is it a sign that the glory days of crypto are gone?
Guest: Stacy-Mari…
00:33:54 |
Fri 09 Jun 2023
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