What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future
Channel Details
What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future
Every Friday and Sunday, Slate’s popular daily news podcast What Next brings you TBD, a clear-eyed look into the future. From fake news to fake meat, algorithms to augmented reality, Lizzie O’Leary is your guide to the tech industry and the world it’s creating for us to live in. Hosted on Acast. See...
Recent Episodes
471 episodes
ChatGPT, MD
Doctors are already using artificial intelligence to take notes while with patients—but are large language models ready to consult?
Guest: Brit...
Betting on Venezuela
While the U.S. was busy capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, someone online was busy placing bets on prediction markets on the ouster. And...
Why Trump Keeps Pardoning Crypto Criminals
President Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance who had been convicted for violating anti-money laundering laws, after months of Zh...
The Discourse | TikTok Ban: The Final Loop?
TikTok—which was supposed to be banned again on Wednesday but, again, isn’t—may be legal once more. The Trump administration says it’s meeting with Xi...
End of an Electric Avenue
An Inflation Reduction Act subsidy for electric vehicles is being shut down by the Trump administration at the end of September, and automakers are pr...
You’ve Been Deepfaked
What do you do when your likeness has been turned into A.I.-generated pornography?—it’s a problem people are already facing. But legislation moving th...
You’ve Been Deepfaked
What do you do when your likeness has been turned into A.I.-generated pornography?—it’s a problem people are already facing. But legislation moving th...
This Is Your Brain On Ketamine
Ketamine has gone from a recreational psychedelic to an approved treatment, and it has caught on in Silicon Valley in a big way. Are the long-term eff...
This Is Your Brain On Ketamine
Ketamine has gone from a recreational psychedelic to an approved treatment, and it has caught on in Silicon Valley in a big way. Are the long-term eff...
Bonus: The Discourse | Why is Elon Musk Cheating at Video Games?
Elon Musk is supposed to be running several companies and a new government department—so why is he also spending money to pretend to be good at video...
Bonus: The Discourse | Why is Elon Musk Cheating at Video Games?
Elon Musk is supposed to be running several companies and a new government department—so why is he also spending money to pretend to be good at video...
Bonus: The Discourse | The Bro-ligarchs Take Washington
Choice seats for Donald Trump’s second inauguration were filled with tech founders and CEOs, signaling their importance to this presidential term. The...
Bonus: The Discourse | The Bro-ligarchs Take Washington
Choice seats for Donald Trump’s second inauguration were filled with tech founders and CEOs, signaling their importance to this presidential term. The...
2024 In Review: Would You Buy Poop On the Internet?
“Fecal microbial transplants” treat someone’s unhealthy gut with poop from someone else’s healthy gut, and proponents of FMT claim it can help treat e...
2024 In Review: Would You Buy Poop On the Internet?
“Fecal microbial transplants” treat someone’s unhealthy gut with poop from someone else’s healthy gut, and proponents of FMT claim it can help treat e...
Influencer vs. Influencer
One influencer working for Amazon sued another influencer who works for Amazon for creating content that looks too similar to theirs. But with how the...
Influencer vs. Influencer
One influencer working for Amazon sued another influencer who works for Amazon for creating content that looks too similar to theirs. But with how the...
What's Google Without Chrome?
The Department of Justice has released its recommendations for how Google’s monopoly on web search should be broken up. Top of their wishlist? Spinnin...
What's Google Without Chrome?
The Department of Justice has released its recommendations for how Google’s monopoly on web search should be broken up. Top of their wishlist? Spinnin...
The X-odus
Since Elon Musk took over, Twitter—er, sorry “X”—has been slowly deflating. But given that soon you’ll be getting yelled at by right-wing trolls direc...
The X-odus
Since Elon Musk took over, Twitter—er, sorry “X”—has been slowly deflating. But given that soon you’ll be getting yelled at by right-wing trolls direc...
The Polls Weren’t Wrong
Many folks were surprised at how soundly Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the election, especially since they thought the polls made it seem lik...
Elon Wins
As Elon Musk channeled his considerable resources towards Donald Trump’s campaign, there was talk about what his role in the new Trump administration...
Trump’s Crypto Gurus
The crypto project “World Liberty Financial,” which was announced on X by Donald Trump, isn’t a cryptocurrency, nor a crypto-exchange, nor is it actua...
Trump’s Crypto Gurus
The crypto project “World Liberty Financial,” which was announced on X by Donald Trump, isn’t a cryptocurrency, nor a crypto-exchange, nor is it actua...
The Failures of ‘Organic’ Farming
There are regulations regarding how farm animals are transported, how they’re auctioned, how they’re slaughtered—but when they’re living on the farm?...
Tweetering on the Glass Cliff
How Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino finds herself on the edge of “the glass cliff”: when a woman is sent in to fix a big mess.
Guest: Vittori...
Tweetering on the Glass Cliff
How Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino finds herself on the edge of “the glass cliff”: when a woman is sent in to fix a big mess.
Guest: Vittori...
Can We Make an Alzheimer’s Drug That Works?
Alzheimer’s treatment hasn’t changed much in the past two decades, and the way researchers have been thinking about and approaching the disease may be...
Does Crypto Investment Need to Be Regulated?
Fidelity made headlines when they announced you could invest your retirement savings in Bitcoin. Then the crypto market crashed.
Guest: Anthony...
Does Crypto Investment Need to Be Regulated?
Fidelity made headlines when they announced you could invest your retirement savings in Bitcoin. Then the crypto market crashed.
Guest: Anthony...
Will Bitcoin Ruin El Salvador?
Is El Salvador heading for default after going all in on crypto?
Guest: Anna-Cat Brigida
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Hosted on Aca...
Will Bitcoin Ruin El Salvador?
Is El Salvador heading for default after going all in on crypto?
Guest: Anna-Cat Brigida
Host: Lizzie O'Leary
Learn mo...
North Korea's Hacking Army
They’ve stolen billions of dollars. Is the U.S. ready to crack down?
Guest: Jason Bartlett, research associate in the Energy, Economics, and Sec...
North Korea's Hacking Army
They’ve stolen billions of dollars. Is the U.S. ready to crack down?
Guest: Jason Bartlett, research associate in the Energy, Economics,...
How Buffalo Could Transform Social Media
The shooting in Buffalo raises questions about the effectiveness of content moderation. Is the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism the answer t...
How Buffalo Could Transform Social Media
The shooting in Buffalo raises questions about the effectiveness of content moderation. Is the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism the answer t...
Uber Makes Nice With Cabs
The rideshare company's founder once called taxis “evil.” Now, Uber might need them to survive.
Guest: Preetika Rana
Host: Lizzie O'Leary<...
Uber Makes Nice With Cabs
The rideshare company's founder once called taxis “evil.” Now, Uber might need them to survive.
Guest: Preetika Rana
Host: Lizzie O...
The COVAX Fantasy
Over two years into the pandemic, much of the world remains either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or lacking access to mRNA vaccines entirely. Ho...