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
Can We Make an Alzheimer’s Drug That Works?
Alzheimer’s treatment hasn’t changed much in the past two decades, and the way researchers have been thinking about and approaching the disease may be to blame.
Guest: Damian Garde, reporter for St…
00:33:40 |
Sun 23 Oct 2022
When An Algorithm Raises Your Rent
One company’s software is helping set prices for apartments across the country. But when does an algorithm telling landlords how much to charge—by drawing on property data—cross the line from “handy …
00:33:23 |
Fri 21 Oct 2022
Are You Ready to Be Composted When You Die?
The idea of composting a human body may seem unsettling—or even gross—and it runs counter to the normal American funeral rites of embalming and internment, which preserve the body. But advocates say …
00:31:55 |
Sun 16 Oct 2022
The Next Amazon Union Fight
Following their victory in Staten Island, the Amazon Labor Union is still facing an uphill battle. Both the company and the union are closely watching the organizing vote at a warehouse outside of Al…
00:30:08 |
Fri 14 Oct 2022
When Your Church Surveils Your Phone
Churches are using accountability apps to keep tabs on their members' behavior. But if your pastor wants to monitor your phone, can you truly consent?
Guest: Dhruv Mehrotra
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Learn…
00:23:31 |
Sun 09 Oct 2022
Could the Supreme Court Kill the Internet As We Know It?
Twenty-six words defined the internet as we know it today. What happens if they’re deleted?
Guest: Jeff Kosseff
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet
Learn more about y…
00:29:28 |
Fri 07 Oct 2022
The Philosopher With Silicon Valley's Ear
Longtermism, the idea that positively influencing the future is a key moral priority of our time, is hot in Silicon Valley. But does it miss the bigger picture?
Guests: William MacAskill, Robert Wrig…
00:57:25 |
Sun 02 Oct 2022
When Climate Change Makes You Sell Your House
With disaster relief funds from Hurricane Harvey, Houston's Harris County instituted a mandatory buyout program for residents in flood-prone areas. But some residents didn't want to leave.
Guest: Ama…
00:26:18 |
Fri 30 Sep 2022
Can Nuclear Power Be Green?
Nuclear technology has become more important than ever, thanks to a global energy crisis and climate change. But it also has a complicated history.
Guest: Joshua Keating
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Learn mo…
00:25:33 |
Sun 25 Sep 2022
The Fight Over Online Speech Headed to the Supreme Court
Conservative lawmakers in Florida and Texas are taking aim at content moderation on social media, with implications that go far beyond just the platforms.
Guest: Mark Joseph Stern
Host: Lizzie O'Lear…
00:31:13 |
Fri 23 Sep 2022
The Hidden Abuse Behind Those Spam Texts You're Getting
Victims of a new and high tech kind of human trafficking are forced to scam people all around the world.
Guest: Cezary Podkul
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Human Trafficking’s Newest Abuse: Forcing Victims I…
00:30:03 |
Sun 18 Sep 2022
How Big Internet Keeps Small Communities Disconnected
A small parish in Louisiana tried to get affordable, fast internet. An incumbent ISP stopped them.
Guest: Issie Lapowsky, Wanda Manning
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me…
00:25:46 |
Fri 16 Sep 2022
The Chaos That Made YouTube a Juggernaut
An inside look at the rise of YouTube into a social media behemoth.
Guests: Mark Bergen and Claire Stapleton
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
00:34:08 |
Sun 11 Sep 2022
Can A.I. Make Great Art?
Technology is transforming the creative economy and ideas about what "art" even is.
Guest: Drew Harwell
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
00:28:10 |
Fri 09 Sep 2022
The Summer Vaccine of the Future
LYMErix, the first vaccine against Lyme, was pulled from the market amid poor sales and pressure from the public. Now, over 20 years later, a new vaccine is in late-stage trials.
Guest: Cassandra Wil…
00:18:55 |
Sun 04 Sep 2022
A.I. Made to Fight Child Porn Ensnared an Innocent Dad
A father took a photo of his son for their doctor. He wound up being investigated by the police.
Guest: Kashmir Hill
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice…
00:27:58 |
Fri 02 Sep 2022
The Streaming TV Bloodbath
Shows are disappearing. Staff are getting axed. Is It greed, or necessary for the networks' survival?
Guest: Julia Alexander
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/…
00:27:57 |
Sun 28 Aug 2022
The Hacker Blowing the Whistle on Twitter
Legendary hacker Peiter "Mudge" Zatko’s reputation in the cybersecurity world is unmatched. His allegations against Twitter’s security are all the more damning because of it.
Guest: Joseph Menn
Host:…
00:34:23 |
Fri 26 Aug 2022
We're Expecting the Wrong Things From the CDC
There's no way to remove politics from public health.
Guest: Tim Requarth
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
00:27:55 |
Sun 21 Aug 2022
What All That Money for Green Tech in the Climate Bill Is Buying
The Inflation Reduction Act is spurring progress towards new climate technology that, at times, sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. Will it make a dent in the fight against climate …
00:26:51 |
Fri 19 Aug 2022
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