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
The Cost of Going Off-Grid
Going off-grid can seem appealing in lots of ways. But are there consequences if everyone unplugs from the system? Are there costs we haven’t considered?
Guest: Ivan Penn, renewable energy correspon…
00:21:24 |
Sun 27 Mar 2022
Why the Zelensky Deepfake Failed
The FBI warned that Russia would use deepfakes to support its invasion of Ukraine. Are they missing the real threat?
Guest: Noah Giansiracusa, professor of math and data science at Bentley Universit…
00:22:11 |
Fri 25 Mar 2022
The Startup Delivering Adderall
In just two years, the mental-health startup Cerebral has grown to operate in 50 states, registered more than 200,000 patients, and reached a $4.8 billion valuation. Has it prioritized growth over pa…
00:18:41 |
Sun 20 Mar 2022
Hong Kong’s Covid Crisis
Hong Kong's zero-COVID policy got enviable results, but inadvertently set the stage for disaster. What will it take to change course?
Guest: Dr. Karen Grépin, Associate Professor at the School of Pu…
00:22:25 |
Fri 18 Mar 2022
How Minnesota Spied On Protesters
When Minnesota's Operation Safety Net, a coordinated effort among nine Minnesota law enforcement agencies, was announced in February 2021, its mission was to ensure the trial of Derek Chauvin would p…
00:20:40 |
Sun 13 Mar 2022
Putin's Internet Crackdown
Vladimir Putin has always regarded the internet with suspicion. Now, with western tech companies pulling out of Russia and control of the war narrative slipping, he sees an opening. Will Putin wall o…
00:30:49 |
Fri 11 Mar 2022
When Your Retina Needs a Software Update
Second Sight restored partial vision to hundreds of patients around the world through retinal implants. Then, on the verge of bankruptcy, they abandoned the project. Now, over 300 patients with Secon…
00:22:55 |
Sun 06 Mar 2022
Ukraine’s Information War
Up against one of the world's most effective propaganda operations, Ukraine has taken control of the online narrative. With Russian troops closing in, how important is winning the information war?
G…
00:22:03 |
Fri 04 Mar 2022
Peter Thiel, Patron of the Populist Right
Peter Thiel spent the better part of two decades molding the tech industry in his image. Now, he's leaving Facebook behind and turning his attention to politics. Is Thiel the next kingmaker for the p…
00:23:35 |
Sun 27 Feb 2022
Russia's Other Battlefront
For seven years, Ukraine has served as a virtual testing ground for a generation of cyber weaponry capable of taking down power grids, networks, and supply chains. With an invasion of Ukraine underwa…
00:24:27 |
Fri 25 Feb 2022
The COVAX Fantasy
Over two years into the pandemic, much of the world remains either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or lacking access to mRNA vaccines entirely. How did the leading effort to vaccinate the world g…
00:28:15 |
Sun 20 Feb 2022
"Rampant Racism" at Tesla
Last week, California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Tesla. It accuses the electric vehicle maker of fostering a workplace rife with racism and discrimination.
What's happening ins…
00:22:04 |
Fri 18 Feb 2022
The Rise of a Fast Fashion Juggernaut
In just a few short years, the Chinese fast fashion company Shein upended the way countless young women shop online. It’s approach could soon shape the way everyone else shops, too.
Guest: Louise M…
00:18:56 |
Sun 13 Feb 2022
How Safe is the Metaverse?
Facebook’s first crack at the metaverse has a problem: kids. Underage users seem to be flooding Horizon Worlds, potentially putting themselves at risk.
Is Meta doomed to repeat Facebook’s mistakes?…
00:25:21 |
Fri 11 Feb 2022
The Code That Runs Your Life
Banks, healthcare providers, and retailers around the world still rely on COBOL, a programming language originally developed in the 1960s. By all accounts the code is powerful, practical, and very ra…
00:20:47 |
Sun 06 Feb 2022
Spotify’s Joe Rogan Mess
For Spotify, the last month has seen a cascade of controversies around its exclusive podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Is it time for the streaming service to rethink its role as a podcast publisher…
00:23:33 |
Fri 04 Feb 2022
The Downfall of One of the World's Biggest Brains
Ten years ago, IBM made a gamble. Through a monumental advertising and PR campaign, it promised that its AI technology–Watson–would transform the health care industry as we know it. A decade and bill…
00:24:19 |
Fri 28 Jan 2022
Why Does Matt Damon Want Me to Buy Crypto?
A recent advertisement for crypto.com, featuring Matt Damon, was met with widespread mockery online. But Damon’s ad is only the most visible example of a much broader—and more insidious—trend of cele…
00:18:24 |
Fri 21 Jan 2022
Where Are The Little Kids' Vaccines?
Today on What Next TBD: What is going on with little kids' vaccines? Why don’t they seem to be a priority for the government or the pharmaceutical companies, while parents are stressed to a breaking …
00:22:56 |
Fri 14 Jan 2022
The Aftermath of Elizabeth Holmes
Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors this week in federal court. The former CEO, wunderkind, and blood mogul has been the subject of intense legal interest and public fascination…
00:25:55 |
Fri 07 Jan 2022
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