After his character, Kang the Conqueror, was set up to be the big villain of the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jonathan Majors was dismissed from the franchise after being found guilty of reckless assault and harassment.  
 Guest: Michael Schulman, staff writer for the New Yorker. 
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 Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Madeline Ducharme, Anna Phillips, Paige Osburn, and Rob Gunther.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marvel’s Disastrous Year

The problem with the news right now? It’s everywhere. And each day, it can feel like we’re all just mindlessly scrolling. It’s why we created What Next. This short daily show is here to help you make sense of things. When the news feels overwhelming, we’re here to help you answer: What next? Look for new episodes every weekday morning.

News

Politics

News Commentary

Daily News

Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, the Christian right seems to be setting its sights on banning in-vitro fertilization. But even though the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution against IVF, it’s a very popular and widely accepted procedure, which is why Senate Republicans signed a statement in favor of access to IVF, the same day almost all voted against protecting it by law. 
 Guest: Megan Messerly, health policy reporter at Politico. 
 Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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. 
 Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How IVF Became the GOP's Next Battle

The American economy has gotten more consolidated and more reliant on algorithms—while also, according to most people, getting more expensive, slower, and worse. Is there some causality in this correlation?  
 Guest: Matt Stoller, Research Director for the American Economic Liberties Project and author of Goliath: The Hundred Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy. 
 
 Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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. 
 Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's Eating the Economy?

In 2021, one of the largest global law enforcement operations took place. It was all thanks to an encrypted phone service known as Anom, which was secretly run by the FBI.  
 The program was a wild success. But did the agency take it too far?  
 Guest: Joseph Cox, investigative reporter for 404 media and author of “Dark Wire, the Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever” 
 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TBD | The FBI Made a Phone Network. It Was A Trap.

On Monday, Tim Cook announced Apple was getting into artificial intelligence. Is Apple about to do for A.I. what it did for personal computers and smartphones? 
 Guest: Gerrit De Vynck, tech reporter for the Washington Post. 
 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. 
 Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TBD | Apple Goes Intelligent

Furtively recorded conversations with Justices John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and Alito’s wife Martha-Ann provided a window into what these powerful figures are saying behind closed doors. But do the means of getting these recordings undermine their ultimate goal?  
 Guest: Lauren Windsor, journalist and executive producer for “The Undercurrent” and documentary filmmaker of “Gonzo for Democracy.” 
 Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across 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. 
 Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marvel’s Disastrous Year

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