What Next | Daily News and Analysis

The American West is undergoing one of the most extreme fire seasons on record. With megafires creating apocalyptic scenes across large swaths of California, Oregon, and Washington, and a pandemic still in full effect, how are residents and firefighters responding? Are wildfires like the ones seen these past few weeks an anomaly? Or is a burning horizon something people out West will have to learn to live with?Guest: Julie Cart, reports about climate change and environmental issues for CalMatters.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For months after Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, pundits labored over how the polls, and the reports surrounding them, had badly misjudged and mischaracterized the election. Since then, pollsters have made significant changes in hopes of painting a more accurate picture of the 2020 race.How much trust should voters put in the numbers this time? And what does the data say about Joe Biden’s perceived lead in the 2020 presidential race?Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writerSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Nolan worked at the United States Postal Service for a total of 24 years. He retired in 2005. The last couple of months have been a frustrating time for someone with intimate knowledge of the institution. What are we getting wrong about the Postal Service?Guest: John Nolan, former Deputy Postmaster General Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the wake of the killing of Michael Brown in 2014, and the national protests that followed, many believed that video shared on social media, along with footage from body cameras, would reshape the relationship between police and citizens. Six years later, one thing is clear: It didn’t work. Can viral videos really hold power to account?And why do we so often put our faith in technological solutions to solve societal problems?Guests:Bijan Stephen, reporter at the VergeEthan Zuckerman, former director, the Center for Civic Media, MIT Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the wake of the killing of Michael Brown in 2014, and the national protests that followed, many believed that video shared on social media, along with footage from body cameras, would reshape the relationship between police and citizens. Six years later, one thing is clear: It didn’t work. Can viral videos really hold power to account?And why do we so often put our faith in technological solutions to solve societal problems?Guests:Bijan Stephen, reporter at the VergeEthan Zuckerman, former director, the Center for Civic Media, MIT Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Donald Trump’s business dealings have been shrouded in secrecy, but new legal scrutiny on the Trump Organization might turn up some answers about how the president makes and keeps his money.Guest: David Fahrenthold, Washington Post reporter covering the Trump family and its business interests. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nine weeks out from the presidential election, the Trump campaign is trying to make the election about “law and order.” Is that a winning strategy when the violence they’re pointing to is happening under Trump’s watch? Guest: Will Saletan, Slate’s national correspondentSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Democratic primary for a Massachusetts Senate seat is becoming a test of progressive bona fides and the strength of the Kennedy family name. So perhaps it’s not surprising to learn that, when it comes to their voting records, the two candidates are extremely similar. Guest: Victoria McGrane, political correspondent for the Boston Globe. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One week ago, a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times, paralyzing him from the waist down. In the immediate aftermath, citizens of Kenosha took to the streets in protest. Those protests later turned into more tragedy when 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse shot three protestors, killing two. How is the city of Kenosha handling the turmoil?Guest: Gina Barton, investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and host of the Unsolved podcastSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not long ago, the QAnon conspiracy theory seemed to have lost momentum. Social media mentions had decreased. 8chan had gone offline. But since March, fueled by the pandemic and social media giants, the conspiracy has taken on new life.What’s responsible for the rapid uptake of the movement? And now that QAnon has spilled over to the mainstream, how far can it go?Guest:Ali Breland, reporter at Mother Jones HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not long ago, the QAnon conspiracy theory seemed to have lost momentum. Social media mentions had decreased. 8chan had gone offline. But since March, fueled by the pandemic and social media giants, the conspiracy has taken on new life.What’s responsible for the rapid uptake of the movement? And now that QAnon has spilled over to the mainstream, how far can it go?Guest:Ali Breland, reporter at Mother Jones HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, the Trump administration used shaky reasoning to pursue additional sanctions against Iran. The proposal was rejected by nearly the entire U.N. Security Council, including close allies like the U.K and France. It was just the latest example of how “America First,” and the rejection of multilateralism under Trump, has turned the U.S. into a loner state on the world stage.Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s War Stories columnist. Fred is the author of The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the past two weeks, Belarus has been gripped by political protest. The country’s longtime authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, is courting Russian intervention as a worried European Union looks on. Guest: Julia Ioffe, GQ correspondent. Read her latest column on Belarus. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Getting tested for the coronavirus has never been as easy as it should be in the U.S. We’ve seen equipment shortages, long delays for test results, and even mixed messages about who should be getting tested.But there is a way to fix America’s inadequate testing. And experts say it could return some normalcy even before we have a reliable vaccine.Guest: Robinson Meyer, a staff writer at The Atlantic. Read his latest story, The Plan That Could Give Us Our Lives Back.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic hasn’t stopped the flow of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border. But it has prompted an emergency crackdown on asylum seekers, and critics of the Trump administration say the policy is violating U.S. law. Guest: Adolfo Flores, reporter for BuzzFeed News. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early days of the pandemic, countries around the world invested heavily in new technologies that would help track the movement of the virus. Now, six months later, contact tracing apps are all but an afterthought in the fight to contain COVID-19. What happened? The U.K. provides some answers. The country put its faith in technology to contain the virus, and paid the price.Guest:Gus Hosein, executive director at Privacy International HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early days of the pandemic, countries around the world invested heavily in new technologies that would help track the movement of the virus. Now, six months later, contact tracing apps are all but an afterthought in the fight to contain COVID-19. What happened? The U.K. provides some answers. The country put its faith in technology to contain the virus, and paid the price.Guest:Gus Hosein, executive director at Privacy International HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New York Attorney General Letitia James surprised many when she announced plans to dissolve the National Rifle Association. James accused the gun lobby, which is headquartered in New York, of mismanaging their finances – claiming top executives “looted” NRA assets. With the organization’s finances in trouble, and the State AG investigating them for financial misconduct, could this be the end of the National Rifle Association?Guest: Tim Mak, investigative reporter at NPR.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week in Georgia’s 14th congressional district runoff, a Republican candidate who believes in the dangerous and baseless QAnon conspiracy theory came out on top. Marjorie Taylor Greene is now a shoo-in to win a seat in Congress. How did her candidacy get this far? And what does it mean for the Republican party?Guest: Greg Bluestein, political reporter at the Atlanta Journal ConstitutionSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having the Democratic National Convention in Wisconsin was supposed to be a way for the Democrats to atone for 2016. Hillary Clinton was the first presidential candidate from either party to not campaign in the state since Richard Nixon in 1972.Wisconsin flipped from blue to red in the last presidential election as rural voters voiced their disaffection with the Democratic Party and supported Donald Trump for president. Now, four years later, the Democrats are hoping they can use Trump’s record in office to win them back.Guest: Dan Kaufman is Contributing Writer at The New Yorker and author of The Fall of WisconsinSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One day last month, Samuel Chu woke up to the news that the Chinese government wanted him in jail. Chu doesn’t think he’s in danger -- he’s a U.S. citizen, living in Los Angeles. So how did he wind up on the wrong side of Chinese authorities? Simple: He’s lobbying Congress to support democracy in Hong Kong. Guest: Samuel Chu, founder of the Hong Kong Democracy Council. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early days of internet search engines, Google set itself apart by providing a simple service. A list of links, inviting you to explore the websites that best matched your query. It was a portal to the rest of the internet. But over the last two decades, that mission has changed.Does Google search still take you to the best result for your query? Or does it point users back to its own suite of products?Guest:Adrianne Jeffries, investigative journalist at The Markup. HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early days of internet search engines, Google set itself apart by providing a simple service. A list of links, inviting you to explore the websites that best matched your query. It was a portal to the rest of the internet. But over the last two decades, that mission has changed.Does Google search still take you to the best result for your query? Or does it point users back to its own suite of products?Guest:Adrianne Jeffries, investigative journalist at The Markup. HostCeleste Headlee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kamala Harris is having an historic moment. What does it mean?Guest: Jason Johnson, political science professor at Morgan State University. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic moves quickly. The scientific consensus changes slowly. Did we waste time waiting for data when we could have adopted low-cost safety measures? Guest: New York Times reporter Apoorva Mandavilli. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The U.S. Census Bureau has faced setback after setback. And, this year, who makes it into the official population count is going to be a lot more complicated. Guest: Hansi Lo Wang covers the 2020 Census for NPR. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year, the election runs through the Post Office. And we have reasons to be concerned. Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past five months, city blocks have been slipping away. Bars are closed; restaurants are half-empty; retail is shuttered. As the country returns to varying states of lockdown, how long can these blocks hold on? This week: how one commercial strip on Chicago’s South Side is weathering the pandemic. Guests:Nedra Sims Fears, executive director of the Greater Chatham InitiativeBrian d'Antignac, The WoodshopJaidah Wilson-Turnbow, Frances Cocktail LoungeZoie Reams, Brown Sugar Bakery HostHenry Grabar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past five months, city blocks have been slipping away. Bars are closed; restaurants are half-empty; retail is shuttered. As the country returns to varying states of lockdown, how long can these blocks hold on? This week: how one commercial strip on Chicago’s South Side is weathering the pandemic. Guests:Nedra Sims Fears, executive director of the Greater Chatham InitiativeBrian d'Antignac, The WoodshopJaidah Wilson-Turnbow, Frances Cocktail LoungeZoie Reams, Brown Sugar Bakery HostHenry Grabar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even before the pandemic child care was a long, simmering crisis. With the fall approaching and school reopenings in flux, many parents are asking themselves the same question: what am I going to do with my kid? America has solved a child care crisis before, the question is whether the country can muster up the energy (and money) to do so again.Guest: Betsey Stevenson is a Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Michigan.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Schools in Oklahoma are preparing to reopen, but special education teacher Nancy Shively won’t be among the teachers going back to school. Shively, who has pre-existing medical conditions, has been forced to choose between her own health and the education of her students. She says President Trump’s response to the coronavirus has led her to question her support for him and the Republican Party. Guest: Nancy Shively, a teacher from Skiatook, Oklahoma Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tuesday’s Kansas Senate primary has Republican party leadership concerned. Polls show that Barbara Bollier, a former Republican turned Democrat, stands a chance in the general election against one of the leading Republicans in the primary, Kris Kobach. So much so in fact that a pro-Democrat super PAC has been running ads in favor of Kobach, hoping to face off against him in November. How would a Kobach win on Tuesday upend the battle for control of the Senate? And what are Republicans doing to stop him?Guest: Dave Weigel covers politics for the Washington Post.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The past couple of weeks have seen some alarming developments in the U.S.-China relationship. Among them is how the United States plans to deal with the wildly popular Chinese social media app TikTok. The debate over the social giant has reached the White House and discussions of what to do about it have ranged from an outright ban to Microsoft acquiring U.S. operations of the app.What makes TikTok a threat to national security? And what does this whole episode say about where U.S.-China relations are heading?Guest: Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, reporter for Axios and author of the Axios China newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the last four months, federal and state eviction moratoria have kept Americans in their apartments, even if they couldn’t pay rent. Now, with financial relief in question, and moratoria set to expire, the first of the month might look very different for millions of Americans.Guests:Emily, a resident of Chicago’s Northwest SideMark Durakovic, principal at Kass ManagementPeter Hepburn, analyst at Princeton’s Eviction LabHostHenry Grabar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the last four months, federal and state eviction moratoria have kept Americans in their apartments, even if they couldn’t pay rent. Now, with financial relief in question, and moratoria set to expire, the first of the month might look very different for millions of Americans.Guests:Emily, a resident of Chicago’s Northwest SideMark Durakovic, principal at Kass ManagementPeter Hepburn, analyst at Princeton’s Eviction LabHostHenry Grabar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the height of New York City’s “hot-spot” status during the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo made absentee ballots available to a wider array of voters than ever before. But state and federal agencies weren’t remotely ready for the deluge of ballots that would be mailed in. Guest: Washington Post reporter Jada Yuan. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arizona largely avoided the coronavirus when it first reached the U.S., but after a rapid reopening of the state by Governor Doug Ducey, new cases in the state exploded. Arizona now has well over 165,000 COVID cases and more than three thousand deaths. It was briefly the state with the highest coronavirus death rate in the country. Wendy Smith-Reeve left her role as Director of Arizona’s Division for Emergency Management in late March, accusing Governor Ducey of mismanaging the crisis. She says Arizona’s summer surge could have been avoided. Guest: Wendy Smith-Reeve, former Director of Arizona’s Division for Emergency ManagementSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Department of Homeland Security was built to protect the country from terrorists. But its mission was always expansive. After the bizarre detainments in Portland, we’re seeing a reckoning with what this super-agency does. Guest: Jonathan Blitzer, staff writer for the New Yorker. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in May, when House Democrats were teeing up additional coronavirus relief legislation, the Senate majority made a bet. Republicans waited to see if viral spread would diminish, making additional federal aid unnecessary. Instead, U.S. COVID-19 cases spiked. And economic problems mounted. Now, Senate Republicans are far from a consensus on a relief bill, even as coronavirus-related unemployment benefits run out. Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer. Sign up for his excellent newsletter, The Surge. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More than any other U.S. city, New Orleans banks on its culture. From music to restaurants to parades, the city relies on a steady stream of tourists to support its many artists and institutions. In March, those tourists stopped visiting. And without them, the fragile infrastructure of clubs, venues, and performances is starting to collapse. Can New Orleans survive the coronavirus?Guests:Patrick Williams, harmonica playerJesse Paige, owner of the Blue NileAsali DeVan Ecclesiastes, Executive Director of the Ashé Cultural Arts Center Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More than any other U.S. city, New Orleans banks on its culture. From music to restaurants to parades, the city relies on a steady stream of tourists to support its many artists and institutions. In March, those tourists stopped visiting. And without them, the fragile infrastructure of clubs, venues, and performances is starting to collapse. Can New Orleans survive the coronavirus?Guests:Patrick Williams, harmonica playerJesse Paige, owner of the Blue NileAsali DeVan Ecclesiastes, Executive Director of the Ashé Cultural Arts Center Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty-six-year-old Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by a Louisville Metro Police officer in March. Four months later, and in the wake of mass protests against police brutality, her case is still being investigated. What will justice look like for Breonna Taylor?Guest: Tessa Duvall, reporter for the Courier-JournalSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The NBA has announced an ambitious plan to restart the season more than 4 months after it was abruptly halted due to the coronavirus. 22 teams have entered the COVID-free “bubble” at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida — a state with some of the highest cases of coronavirus in the country. As long as players and staff remain in the bubble, they will undergo regular coronavirus tests and face strict campus rules. So what’s life like inside the NBA bubble? And what does this experiment say about who gets access to coronavirus testing and results?Guest: Ben Golliver covers the NBA for the Washington Post. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIAID and member of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, talks about the surge in cases, reopening schools and the White House’s recent attempts to discredit him. Guest: Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weekend, disturbing video of unmarked federal agents detaining a protestor in Portland circulated on Twitter. Even the state government of Oregon was unable to identify the agents. Now, the state is suing the federal government. Oregon is seeking a restraining order to stop the unlawful detention of its citizens. Why is this happening in Portland?Guest: Jonathan Levinson, producer for Oregon Public BroadcastingSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After months of coronavirus lockdowns, cities are taking stock of their finances. The situation is bleak. With plummeting sales and property tax revenue, American cities of all sizes may be facing a budget crisis. What happens when local governments have to cut their budgets by double-digit percentages? Will the federal government learn from the Great Recession and intervene?Guests:Minh Nguyen, owner of Cafe TH in HoustonChris Brown, Houston City ControllerMildred Warner, professor of urban planning at Cornell. Host: Henry Grabar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After months of coronavirus lockdowns, cities are taking stock of their finances. The situation is bleak. With plummeting sales and property tax revenue, American cities of all sizes may be facing a budget crisis. What happens when local governments have to cut their budgets by double-digit percentages? Will the federal government learn from the Great Recession and intervene?Guests:Minh Nguyen, owner of Cafe TH in HoustonChris Brown, Houston City ControllerMildred Warner, professor of urban planning at Cornell. Host: Henry Grabar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court authorized the federal government to carry out its first execution in 17 years. Daniel Lee was convicted back in the 1990s of murdering an Arkansas family in a white supremacist plot. Attorney General William Barr pushed for his execution to take place starting last year. Why have federal executions resumed under his administration and what does it mean for the future of the death penalty?Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, covers the courts and the law for Slate.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As fall approaches, the Trump administration is calling for a full reopening of schools. Now, districts across the country are scrambling to figure out if it’s even possible to safely bring students back in the classroom at all. Guest: Laura Meckler, national education writer for the Washington PostSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Swedish officials eschewed sweeping shutdowns when the pandemic hit. Some reasoned that Sweden could still power down if COVID-19 cases spiked. But the spike arrived, along with a high death rate, and still there’s been no policy change. Guest: Lena Einhorn, author, filmmaker, and former medical researcher. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.