What Next | Daily News and Analysis

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What's What Next | Daily News and Analysis about?

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.

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The Case For Harm Reduction...

09.21.2023

Following “The Call,” our series on the opioid epidemic continues in Seattle. Harm reduction focuses on meeting people where they are, including enabling them to use drugs safely when experiencing addiction. But some advocates are asking, what happens when you ...

What Next | Daily News and Analysis episodes:

09.21.2023 The Case For Harm Reduction—And Beyond Following “The Call,” our series on the opioid epidemic continues in Seattle. Harm reduction focuses on meeting people where they are, including enabling them to use drugs safely when experiencing addiction. But some advocates are asking, what happens when you ...
09.20.2023 How Wisconsin is a “Laboratory for Destroying Democracy” Wisconsin has been something of a model for Republicans looking to entrench themselves in the state legislature, and one key move has always been to draw the electoral map as favorably as possible. But now, the state Supreme Court has ...
09.19.2023 The UAW Enters the Ring Thousands of members of the United Auto Workers walked off the line at Midwestern auto plants Friday, putting an exclamation mark on a summer where labor—from screenwriters to UPS drivers—flexed its muscles. But is this a true resurgence of the ...
09.18.2023 McCarthy’s Impeaching Biden to Keep His Job House speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the opening of an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, but members of the Freedom Caucus—a group of right-wing Republicans with a taste for dramatic, extreme actions—had already moved on to fighting the next spending bill, ...
09.16.2023 TBD \| Can Politicians Keep Kids Safe Online? The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act has noble-sounding intentions, but has been called one of the most dangerous bills in years by the digital rights group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Guest: Richard Blumenthal, senior United States senator from Connecticut. If ...
09.15.2023 TBD \| Google Makes Its Case A trial a decade in the making has started, as the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google and its unrivaled position as the top search engine begins. Is this the beginning of the government “taking on Big Tech” and ...
09.14.2023 The Case Against Harm Reduction Following “The Call,” our series on the opioid epidemic continues in Harlem. Inside a safe-consumption site, addiction is destigmatized—outside, however, the neighbors feel differently. Guest: Syderia Asberry-Chresfield, co-founder of the Greater Harlem Coalition and a former Vice President for JP ...
09.13.2023 Fighting “Disaster Fatigue” It feels like we live in a world of near constant environmental disasters. Whether it’s living through an emergency, or consuming coverage in the media, collective trauma takes a mental toll. What steps can we take to be ready—for ourselves, ...
09.12.2023 How DeSantis Turned New College into a Circus Back in January, Ron DeSantis appointed six new trustees to the board of Florida’s New College, who swiftly set about remaking the school according to a much more conservative vision of what college should be. Now, as the new school ...
09.11.2023 Prison for the Proud Boys. Now What? Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio was just sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the January 6th insurrection. With much of their leadership, and that of the Oath Keepers, now behind bars, has their movement hit ...
09.11.2023 This American Life: The Call As the opioid overdose crisis continues, a group of volunteers started a hotline with one mission—not to encourage people to go to rehab, not even to discourage them from using—just to keep them alive for one more day. A collaboration ...
09.09.2023 TBD \| Bad Air, Worse Vibes COVID’s still here but the public’s appetite for masking, social distancing, or remote learning is long gone. One palatable way to stop the spread: improving air circulation indoors. Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, science and global health reporter for the New York ...
09.08.2023 TBD \| Tech Disrupts the School Bus When Howard County signed a $27 million contract with the start-up Zum, the company promised to modernize the way schools provide transportation. But when the school year started, that’s not what happened. Guest: Daniel Zawodny, covering transportation for the Baltimore ...
09.07.2023 Can Kids Catch Up After the Pandemic? Math and reading scores plummeted during the year of virtual learning. Kids are now back in the classroom—but they aren’t back on track. What will it take to catch up a generation —and do schools have the will and resources ...
09.06.2023 Our Aging Congress Is a Problem The problem with a Congress that is statistically so much older than the country it represents is systemic and—like almost everything in Washington—much of the issue can be traced back to money in politics. Guest: Walt Hickey, Deputy editor for ...
09.05.2023 To Impeach a Republican In Texas The impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is slated to begin in the state Senate today. Though Paxton’s history of scandals is long and storied, this could be the first time he’s faced accountability—and all it took was ...
09.04.2023 One Year: The Team Nobody Would Play In honor Labor Day, What Next proudly presents the opening salvo from our colleagues at One Year: 1955. We'll be back in your feed tomorrow. The Cannon Street All-Stars dreamed of playing in the 1955 Little League World Series. Their ...
09.03.2023 TBD \| Social Media’s Pivot from News It wasn’t long ago when social media was a place to go for up-to-the-minute updates in an emergency. But even as internet access is more widespread than ever—and natural disasters more frequent—Twitter and Facebook are less useful than ever. As ...
09.01.2023 TBD \| Is LinkedIn...Cool Now? As Twitt—sorry, X—continues to go through tumult, an unlikely, long-time player is emerging as the last acceptable place to post. Guest: Sarah Frier, tech editor at Bloomberg Businessweek. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. ...
08.31.2023 Best of 2023 \| Fighting for the Right to Die As the What Next team catches its breath at the end of summer, we’re revisiting some of the biggest stories of the year. This story originally ran on April 27. What Next will resume regular programming next week. A self-described ...
08.30.2023 Best of 2023 \| What Texas' Attacks on Trans Healthcare Did to One Family As the What Next team catches its breath at the end of summer, we’re revisiting some of the biggest stories of the year. This story originally ran on Nov. 9, 2022. What Next will resume regular programming next week. As ...
08.29.2023 Best of 2023 \| He Couldn’t Teach ‘Slavery Was Wrong.’ So He Quit. As the What Next team catches its breath at the end of summer, we’re revisiting some of the biggest stories of the year. This story originally ran on April 17. What Next will resume regular programming next week. Iowa was ...
08.28.2023 Best of 2023 \| The Diagnosis Was Fatal. She Couldn't Get an Abortion. As the What Next team catches its breath at the end of summer, we’re revisiting some of the biggest stories of the year. This story originally ran on March 30. What Next will resume regular programming next week. Two weeks ...
08.27.2023 TBD \| The Cost of "Sustainable" Pet Food Most pet food is made from the byproducts of the meat that we, humans, eat. Recently, there’s been a rise in high-end pet food products - including things like lab-grown meat - that are touted as sustainable options for your ...
08.25.2023 TBD \| TikTok's Shady Deal with the U.S. In the spring, it looked like TikTok was on the verge of being banned in America. Since then, it’s continued operating business as usual. But this week, it was revealed that ByteDance and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the ...
08.24.2023 From a Texas Bus to the New York Subway Over the past year, a growing number of women and children started appearing on New York City subway platforms and trains, selling candy. Their stories illuminate a country in turmoil a continent away—and an ongoing migrant crisis at home. Guest: ...
08.23.2023 What’s Vivek Ramaswamy’s Deal? Polls show Vivek Ramaswamy pulling even with Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary, trailing only Donald Trump (albeit substantially). How did Ramaswamy go from anonymous multimillionaire to a potential Trump alternative in just six months? And what would a ...
08.22.2023 Why The Blind Side's Narrative Fell Apart Last week, retired NFL lineman Michael Oher sued the Tuohy family and revealed a gulf between real life and how he and the family were portrayed in 2009’s The Blind Side. Guest: Santul Nerkar, reporter on sports and business for ...
08.21.2023 Why Tuition’s So Damn High Over the last 20 years, the average college student at a public university has seen prices go up 64 percent, as schools spend more and more on amenities to attract students and raise their own rankings. Guest: Melissa Korn, higher ...
08.20.2023 TBD \| Digital Life After Death Sorting through a loved one’s things after they’ve died can be an emotional, difficult chore. But now, added to that, people have to sort through the deceased’s password-protected online presence. Guests: Kate Lindsay, author of the internet culture newsletter Embedded ...
08.18.2023 TBD \| How Crypto Fails Sex Workers At first, cryptocurrency seemed like the solution to the problems sex workers have had with traditional banks. But as the US moves to regulate the crypto industry, many are finding it hasn’t worked out like they hoped. Guests: Joel Khalili, ...
08.17.2023 Who Failed Hawaii? Hawaii is in flames, with the death toll from fires on Maui exceeding 100. Now, the search for where the failure—or multiple failures—occurred begins. Guest: Brianna Sacks, reporter covering climate change and extreme weather for the Washington Post. If you ...
08.16.2023 Fani Willis Takes on Trump The fourth shoe dropped this week, when Fulton County DA Fani Willis announced Donald Trump’s latest indictment, charging the former president, along with 18 others, for engaging in a sprawling criminal conspiracy to disenfranchise Georgia voters. Trump has been responding ...
08.15.2023 The Trials of Hunter Biden Earlier this summer, it looked like Hunter Biden’s legal team had reached a plea deal. But last week, the Justice Department announced a special counsel was being appointed to his case. What happened in between? Is the president's son getting ...
08.14.2023 Trump’s Spiraling Legal Fees With every indictment, Donald Trump’s legal fees grow—but so do his campaign donations. Money is leaving faster than its arriving—how long can he keep this up? Guest: Ben Kamisar, deputy political editor for the NBC political unit. If you enjoy ...
08.13.2023 TBD \| Tech's Mask Off Moment When conservative writer Richard Hanania’s old posts, originally published under a pseudonym, came to light, people were shocked at just how racist and reactionary they were. Perhaps less shocking were the tech moguls who were revealed to be supporting him. ...
08.11.2023 TBD \| Can Smart Guns Save Lives? A “smart gun” is designed to only work in the hands of the gun’s proper owner. With the first smart gun potentially coming to market later this year, can the tech deliver on its promise? Guests: Champe Barton, reporter at ...
08.10.2023 Justice for the Gilgo Beach Murder Victims In December of 2010, four bodies were discovered in Gilgo Beach, Long Island. Nearly 13 years later, police now say they’ve identified the killer. Though the victims’ family members are relieved, they’re also left wondering what took so long. Guest: ...
08.09.2023 Haiti’s Kidnapping Crisis What’s behind a recent uptick in kidnappings and gang violence in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, and how did Kenya end up being the country stepping up to help? Guest: Jacqueline Charles, Caribbean correspondent at The Miami Herald. If you enjoy this show, ...
08.08.2023 Judges on the Trump Trials Who are the judges presiding over Donald Trump’s trials and what can the prosecution—and defense—expect, based on what’s happened already? Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer covering courts and the law for Slate Magazine If you enjoy this show, please ...
08.07.2023 Florida Public Schools' New Anti-Woke Partner In July, Florida approved the use of Prager U materials in its classrooms. The organization claims its videos offer an alternative to the prevailing left-wing ideology in the classroom. Its founder told a sympathetic audience that what they offer is ...
08.06.2023 TBD \| Another Summer of COVID After a quiet spring, COVID is surging back for the fourth consecutive summer. So, is this just life now? Guest: Katherine Wu, staff writer at the Atlantic If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate ...
08.04.2023 TBD \| Tesla's Big Lie Tesla sold a vision of how electric vehicles would work: just like gas-powered cars, but cleaner, better. But as a scandal about misrepresented battery life and driving range unfolds, and the price of their cars remains high, it increasingly looks ...
08.03.2023 It’s Hot as Hell. Why Are Pools Closed? The temperature is going up, but the number of open, public pools isn’t. It’s not just a summer bummer; it’s turning into a public health crisis. Guest: Mara Gay, member of the New York Times editorial board, focused on New ...
08.02.2023 U.S. vs Trump We’re eight months into the year—and former president Donald Trump has now been indicted three times. On Tuesday, a federal grand jury charged Trump with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction. But what exactly does that mean? ...
08.01.2023 After the Strike In December, University of California graduate students went on strike for six weeks. It was the largest higher education strike in U.S. history. But even after the new contract was signed and the strikers were back at work, they found ...
07.31.2023 Congress Wants to Know: Do Aliens Exist? In a recent public hearing, three government officials told Congress that not only are “unidentified anomalous phenomena” real, they’re a major national security concern. But one witness took his testimony even further, claiming the government possesses materials of “non-human origin.” ...
07.30.2023 TBD \| America’s Downtown Ghost Towns It’s 2023 – and less than half of all Americans have returned to the office full time. That means U.S. downtowns from San Francisco to New York are emptier than they’ve been in decades. Offices are actually trending away from ...
07.28.2023 TBD \| Washington vs. A.I. At a White House summit late last week, some of the biggest names in tech - including Meta, Google and OpenAI - signed “voluntary” commitments to safeguard artificial intelligence. In Congress, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer recently introduced a “legislative framework” ...
07.27.2023 Jason Aldean’s “Dog-Whistle Anthem” Country music’s Jason Aldean has been around for years. But he didn’t crack the Billboard Top 5 until he released “Try That in a Small Town” – a controversial hit that portrays American city living as a gauntlet of violence ...

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