In 1714, British parliament offered a huge cash prize to anyone who could find a way to determine longitude at sea. And it worked, sort of ... several decades later. Are modern contests (DARPA challenges, the X Prize) offering riches and glory an effective way to spur technological innovation? Guests include: Dava Sobel, author of Longitude.
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S1E7: A Clock in the Sky

Technology coverage from across the Slate Podcast network

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Technology

Tech News

Podcasting

Gadgets

Software How-To

On today’s episode, Steffi Cao explains Roblox to Rachelle. Cao, a culture writer with bylines at The Atlantic, Fast Company, Forbes, BuzzFeed and more, recently wrote about Roblox’s new attempt to venture outside of kids’ gaming.
This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.
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ICYMI: Is Roblox Coming for TikTok?

From the Wayback Machine to the mass-digitization of the history of Aruba, the Internet Archive is a non-profit doing valuable work. But some of its other projects—a pandemic-era lending library and the ongoing digitalization of 78 rpm records—have led to lawsuits now threatening the future of this repository of the past. 

Guest: Kate Knibbs, senior writer at Wired.

Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.
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What Next TBD: The Internet Archive Endangered

This week: Elon Musk wants his colossal, court-blocked pay package, and Tesla’s board wants to give it to him. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers also chat with Alicia Montgomery, current Slate audio VP and veteran of NPR, to discuss what is — and isn’t — behind NPR’s troubles. Also: inflation is high, but does the Fed really need to cut rates? In the Plus segment: Why Biden is going after Chinese steel.
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Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth.
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Slate Money: Tesla’s Toxic Relationship With Musk

On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice answer listener questions about the rapid rise of Donghua Jinlong, a Chinese company that manufactures glycine. Over the past few weeks, paradoxically deadpan and impassioned videos about the high quality of Donghua Jinlong’s products have taken over TikTok. Are teens actually consuming industrial grade chemicals? Or is something even weirder happening?
This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.
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ICYMI: How a Chinese Glycine Manufacturer Took Over TikTok

Tesla’s market cap has dropped. The company had its biggest round of layoffs ever. The Cybertruck doesn’t seem to be taking off. And Elon’s posting through it. Is Tesla in serious trouble?

Guest: Dana Hull, Bloomberg reporter and contributor to the podcast Elon, Inc.  

Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.
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S1E7: A Clock in the Sky

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