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 Baby Monitor Trap
If setting up a baby monitor in the room with your sleeping kids doesn’t allow you to pop out and enjoy the cruise ship, what are they actually good for?
Guest: Stephanie Murray, writer for The Atla…
00:28:47 |
Sun 20 Apr 2025
The U.S. vs Meta
This week, the FTC and Meta began a trial to determine if—by adding Instagram and WhatsApp to its portfolio with Facebook over a decade ago—the company became a monopoly in social media. If Meta lose…
00:24:25 |
Fri 18 Apr 2025
TikTok: Somehow Also Affected by the Tariffs
TikTok was on the verge of being sold to a non-Chinese company when Trump rolled out his new tariff plans. Now everything is thrown into uncertainty and the company has until mid-June to find another…
00:22:19 |
Sun 13 Apr 2025
Trump Tariffs Hit Mushroom Kingdom
The same day Nintendo was officially introducing its latest console, Donald Trump was announcing his new global tariff plan. As a result, gamers were treated to an early preview of what a world boun…
00:24:06 |
Fri 11 Apr 2025
Why Wall Street Can’t Quit Elon
Elon Musk’s polarizing persona and antics have created a toxic cloud around his companies, particularly Tesla. But despite that, Wall Street can’t seem to quit him. Why?
Guest: Felix Salmon, host o…
00:33:19 |
Sun 06 Apr 2025
Where DOGE Is Taking Us
This week, DOGE set its sights and scythe on the Department of Health and Human Services, with a goal of cutting 10,000 federal workers, once again raising the question: what’s their endgame here?
…
00:28:04 |
Fri 04 Apr 2025
This Is Your Brain On Ketamine
Ketamine has gone from a recreational psychedelic to an approved treatment, and it has caught on in Silicon Valley in a big way. Are the long-term effects of using ketamine—recreationally or therapeu…
00:25:35 |
Sun 30 Mar 2025
We Made a Memecoin
Memecoins are a niche type of cryptocurrency with no intrinsic value. But they remain a popular form of crypto, as seen earlier this year with President Trump’s own memecoin. And if it worked for him…
00:30:53 |
Fri 28 Mar 2025
Bezos 2.0
During his first term, President Trump and Jeff Bezos openly sparred with each other. During this second administration, though, it seems like Bezos is trying to endear himself - and his companies - …
00:29:21 |
Sun 23 Mar 2025
Trump's War on Scientific Research
The National Institutes of Health is the primary engine of biomedical research around the world, which makes the Trump administration's dramatic cuts to its grant program both confusing and potential…
00:29:58 |
Fri 21 Mar 2025
How Trump Is Trying to Kill Press Freedom
With a Trump-friendly Supreme Court and a contentious relationship with the press, could Donald Trump follow through on his 2016 campaign goal of making it easier to sue media companies for libel—and…
00:29:50 |
Sun 16 Mar 2025
Will Tesla Survive Elon Musk?
The public’s anger towards Elon Musk and DOGE has found an outlet in the form of Musk’s car company Tesla. How long can the company put up with a sinking reputation and stock price?
Guest: Pranshu …
00:26:54 |
Fri 14 Mar 2025
Zuckerberg and the Post-Factcheck Era
After the election, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was doing away with Facebook’s fact-checking apparatus in the US. With content creators getting paid based on reach, and content spreading wider …
00:30:11 |
Sun 09 Mar 2025
From 4Chan to Charlottesville to DOGE
To understand the second Trump administration, you have to understand the internet culture that gave birth to it.
Guest: Elle Reeve, CNN correspondent who reported on the 2017 Unite the Right rally …
00:31:19 |
Fri 07 Mar 2025
Cracking the Egg Crisis
Everyone’s talking about the price of eggs—so why are they so expensive? And when can we expect—if ever—the price to come back down?
Guests:
Dr. Jada Thompson, associate professor at the University…
00:22:24 |
Sun 02 Mar 2025
The DOGE Resistance
Federal workers in the U.S. Digital Service resigned in protest over what they viewed as indiscriminate, irresponsible firings coming from the DOGE office. While lawsuits are entering the courts and …
00:27:34 |
Fri 28 Feb 2025
$Trump
The crypto industry threw its weight and money behind Donald Trump, in hopes of legitimizing the industry. Before his Inauguration Day was over, Donald Trump was already enriching himself via a memec…
00:25:28 |
Sun 23 Feb 2025
Elon's Endgame
As someone whose companies receive billions of dollars from the government, it’s worth asking why Elon Musk is so zealous about cutting government spending.
Guest: Max Chafkin, features editor and t…
00:33:31 |
Fri 21 Feb 2025
Can You Pay Attention, Please?
The infinite scroll has no purpose other than keeping your attention. But that doesn’t mean it’s value-neutral.
Guest: Chris Hayes, MSNBC news anchor and author of “The Siren's Call: How Attention B…
00:27:07 |
Sun 16 Feb 2025
Is Elon Actually Trying to Buy OpenAI?
Is Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion offer to buy OpenAI genuine—or an irresistible opportunity to troll Sam Altman?
Guest: David A. Fahrenthold, investigative reporter for the New York Times
Want more Wha…
00:24:09 |
Fri 14 Feb 2025
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