While the What Next: TBD team spends some time with their families during the holidays, we revisit some of 2023’s biggest, strangest, and best stories. Regularly scheduled programming resumes in January.

Twitter’s “blue check” verification went from something you applied for, to something you could pay for, to something you had to pay for…to something that many celebrities wouldn’t even accept for free. Master of horror Stephen King told us he wouldn’t pay for a blue check, but he’s not going to fight it either—he just doesn’t really understand what’s going on. Does anyone at Twitter understand?

Guests: 

Alex Heath, deputy editor of The Verge

Jon Favreau, co-founder of Crooked Media, speechwriter for President Barack Obama

Stephen King, author

Originally aired April 28th, 2023.

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Without infrastructure to support all-electric vehicles, consumers have increasingly embraced the hybrid. The lower emissions are good—but are they slowing down our transition into an electric future? 

Guest: Patrick George, editor-in-chief of InsideEVs.com, contributor to The Atlantic and The Verge.

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Going through airport security is a legal requirement. Is it fair for a private company to interject itself in that process—and cut to the front of the line?

Guest: David Zipper, visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, focused on mobility, cities and technology.

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Fast-fashion titan Shein is preparing for its initial public offering, even as questions of sustainability and labor practices linger. 

Guest: Jordyn Holman, business reporter covering the retail industry and consumerism for The New York Times

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Elon Musk is suing Media Matters for reporting that advertisers’ content was showing up right next to posts from newly reinstated Nazis on X, something X’s CEO said was impossible. Media Matters is based in D.C, and X is headquartered in California - so why did Musk choose to file the suit in Texas?

Guest: Liz Dye, columnist at Above the Law, Substacks as Law and Chaos Pod, co-hosts the podcast Opening Arguments.

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Is Spotify’s 2023—ending with layoffs and cancelling critically acclaimed original podcasts—a sign of trouble at the streaming giant, or an adjustment to expectations that’s setting them up for a brighter future?

Guest: Ashley Carman, Bloomberg reporter who covers Spotfiy  

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Though navigating the internet involves spraying your data pretty indiscriminately, you actually have more control over it than you think—it’s just a pain to rein it in. 

Guest: Geoffrey Fowler, Washington Post tech columnist.

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Artificial intelligence seems predestined to become a bigger part of our lives. To what extent is the A.I. push being led by Sam Altman and the OpenAI team a cause for concern? 

Guest: Karen Hao, journalist, data scientist and contributing writer for the Atlantic.

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The first steps on the moon were in the name of “all mankind.” But with more countries—and the private sector—competing to not only return, but to tap into the moon’s resources, we’re going to need some ground rules.

Guest: Chris Davenport reports on NASA and the space industry at the Washington Post.

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An app for open money laundering, a corridor of massive casinos in the middle of nowhere, and the global scamdemic. 

Guest: Cezary Podkul, reporter for Propublica

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