When immigration raids began in the Los Angeles area last weekend, so did spontaneous protests. On Sunday, Trump federalized 2,000 California national guardsmen in response. While Trump stopped short of invoking the Insurrection Act, he claimed authority to send troops wherever ICE operations might be contested by mass demonstrations.

Guest: Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice.

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.

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Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater inherited the government’s antitrust case against Google and is eager to follow it through—but likely not for the same reasons as her predecessors. 

Guest:  Nancy Scola, reporter and contributing writer at POLITICO. 

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Sean Diddy Combs’s trial in New York started about a month ago and was expected to take about two months, so here at the halfway mark, we check in with a Slate correspondent who has been on the scene at the courthouse.

Guest: Nadira Goffe, staff writer of culture at Slate.

This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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One of the goals of DOGE was to get rid of the “silos” that keep government agencies from sharing freely amongst themselves efficiently and instead organize data using tools offered by companies like Palantir. The thing is, a lot of those silos are there by design, and removing them could be a nightmare for privacy advocates. 

Guest: Sheera Frenkel, tech reporter for the New York Times.

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Since January, the Trump administration has suspended the right to claim asylum at the southern border. One narrower form of protection—for those who had been tortured by their governments—was supposed to remain. But lawyers have realized that even that appears to be gone.

Guest:  Mark Betancourt, freelance reporter covering immigration from DC, who wrote “This Ethiopian Woman Was Tortured by Her Government. The US is Sending Her Home Anyway” for KQED.

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.

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After 20 months of war, with violence erupting far from the Middle East, where is the future of Zionism headed?

Guest:  Isaac Saul, Tangle executive editor and author of “I think I’m leaving Zionism, or Zionism is leaving me.”

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.

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Five years after George Floyd’s murder sparked nationwide protests, the legacy of that movement is still being written in Minneapolis and America writ large—even as some attempt to erase it.

Guest:  

Marcia Howard, president of the teacher chapter of Minneapolis Federation of Teachers

Brandt Williams, senior editor covering race, class and communities for MPR News.  

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: voter discontentment at the two major parties is creating an opening for a far-right populist with an anti-immigration, protectionist agenda that economic experts warn would be devastating. 

With a Trump trade deal in hand, can Keir Starmer and Labour give British voters something to vote for, rather than just against?

Guest: Anand Menon, professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at Kings College London. 

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther.

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His time in Washington was brief, but we’ll be picking up the pieces for a long time. What Elon’s exit signals for the future of DOGE, and Musk’s political career. 

Guest: Kate Conger, reporter for the New York Times covering X and other technology companies.

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The war between Ukraine and Russia is being fought increasingly via drone —and NATO and US military leadership is training troops for future conflicts that will pit man against machine.

Guest: Jake Epstein, senior defense reporter for Business Insider.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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