What Next | Daily News and Analysis

In 2013, Anna Wiener moved from New York to San Francisco to join the city’s booming tech scene. Over the course of four years, she worked at three companies: an e-book startup, a data analytics company, and an open-source software platform. Then, her infatuation with the tech industry took a turn.On this week’s show, an insider’s perspective on the intoxicating promise and disappointment of Silicon Valley during the mid-decade boom.Guest: Anna Wiener: author of Uncanny Valley and contributing writer for the New Yorker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2013, Anna Wiener moved from New York to San Francisco to join the city’s booming tech scene. Over the course of four years, she worked at three companies: an e-book startup, a data analytics company, and an open-source software platform. Then, her infatuation with the tech industry took a turn.On this week’s show, an insider’s perspective on the intoxicating promise and disappointment of Silicon Valley during the mid-decade boom.Guest: Anna Wiener: author of Uncanny Valley and contributing writer for the New Yorker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Tuesday’s Democratic debate, the beef between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders spilled over onto national television. Derecka Purnell has been following the primary — she says the way this fight ends depends on how we think about identity politics. Guest: Derecka Purnell, lawyer and writer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australia and the United States have a lot in common: politicians who still deny climate change, a supremely powerful energy industry, and a growing sense of dread about climate catastrophes. Guest: Journalist Emily Atkin. Check out her newsletter, HEATED. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has had some serious staying power in the Trump administration. Now with the impeachment trial on the horizon, he’s become even closer to the president. How has he managed to keep his position in President Donald Trump’s inner circle for so long? Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before President Donald Trump took office, Lindsey Graham was willing to reach across the aisle to work on big issues like immigration reform and climate change. Now, his total loyalty to the Trump administration is baffling close friends and political observers alike. Look a little deeper, and you'll see that this is just one more step in Graham's fight for relevance.Guest: Mark Binelli writes for Rolling Stone and New York Times Magazine. 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 2019, for the first time, more advertising money went toward targeted digital ads in the U.S. than on radio, television, cable, magazine, and newspaper ads combined. The moment was the culmination of a decadeslong journey that has completely transformed media, politics, and privacy.How did the targeted ad come to hold so much power? And what did we lose along the way?Guest: Siva Vaidhyanathan, professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2019, for the first time, more advertising money went toward targeted digital ads in the U.S. than on radio, television, cable, magazine, and newspaper ads combined. The moment was the culmination of a decadeslong journey that has completely transformed media, politics, and privacy.How did the targeted ad come to hold so much power? And what did we lose along the way?Guest: Siva Vaidhyanathan, professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over a year ago, Florida residents approved the restoration of voting rights for approximately 1.4 million ex-felons in the state. But in the months since, lawmakers have tried to implement new hurdles for former convicts trying to access the ballot box. Now, advocates in some counties are trying to find a solution to register voters anyway. Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, Justice reporter for SlateSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Presidents have always skirted the rules when it comes to gaining authorization from Congress to use military force. President Donald Trump’s direction to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani takes it to a whole new level and exposes just how weak the War Powers Act has become.Guest: Oona Hathaway, Author of The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Right now, when it comes to fundraising, it certainly looks like Bernie Sanders is winning. In the last three months, his campaign has raised more money than any other Democrat in the field. And with just a few weeks left before the Iowa caucuses, Sanders is in a three-way tie for the lead alongside Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg. How is he pulling this off?Guest: Ryan Grim, D.C. bureau chief at the Intercept. Read his latest story is about the Sanders campaign.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a little over a week, tensions in the Middle East have gone from high to fever pitch. What started with one American civilian contractor in Iraq being killed escalated to airstrikes on militia-controlled sites in Iraq and Syria, killing 24 people and wounding dozens more. Then, a siege at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by pro-Iranian militia and a response by the Trump administration that killed Iran’s top military commander.What went into the decision to assassinate Gen. Qassem Soleimani? And is the United States prepared for what comes next?Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s War Stories correspondent and author of The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War, out later this month.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Donald Trump was impeached in the House of Representatives just over two weeks ago. There’s just one hitch: The articles of impeachment that were passed haven’t made it to the Senate … yet. It’s part of a tactical hold by the Democrats seeking to ensure that the majority-Republican Senate holds a fair trial. What does that mean? And is Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ready to do that?Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics writer 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.

Around the country, states are employing algorithms to help reduce prison populations and predict recidivism. This week, we hear from a Wisconsin judge with serious reservations about the algorithm used in his state. Also: a deep dive into Virginia's risk-assessment algorithm and the surprising results of its implementation.Guests: Nicholas McNamara, judge on the circuit court of Dane County, Wisconsin.Jennifer Doleac, associate professor of economics at Texas A&M and director of the Justice Tech Lab. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Around the country, states are employing algorithms to help reduce prison populations and predict recidivism. This week, we hear from a Wisconsin judge with serious reservations about the algorithm used in his state. Also: a deep dive into Virginia's risk-assessment algorithm and the surprising results of its implementation.Guests: Nicholas McNamara, judge on the circuit court of Dane County, Wisconsin.Jennifer Doleac, associate professor of economics at Texas A&M and director of the Justice Tech Lab. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When President Trump passed his tax overhaul in 2017, Democrats and Republicans were excited about the prospect of one specific provision. ‘Opportunity zones’ were meant to spur investment in low-income communities. Two years later, it’s unclear if that has actually happened. Billionaires, on the other hand, are benefitting from the program left and right.Guest: Justin Elliott, reporter at ProPublica. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As 2019 comes to a close, What Next is checking back in on three stories we did this year. From a power struggle in Venezuela to a border wall dispute in Arizona and back to Washington for an impeachment update. Here’s what happened…next!Guests: Ana Vanessa Herrero, reporter for the New York Times, Mayor of Nogales Arturo Garino, and Noah Feldman Harvard Law School professor and host of Deep Background, available on Luminary.Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On January 1st, a new law will grant Californians the right to see, delete, and stop the sale of personal information collected by tech companies. But the impact of the bill may reach far beyond California. How does this landmark law affect the rest of the country? And will it set the stage for national privacy legislation? Guest: Hayley Tsukayama, Legislative Activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On January 1st, a new law will grant Californians the right to see, delete, and stop the sale of personal information collected by tech companies. But the impact of the bill may reach far beyond California. How does this landmark law affect the rest of the country? And will it set the stage for national privacy legislation? Guest: Hayley Tsukayama, Legislative Activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 2013, an entrepreneur named Jamie Siminoff appeared on Shark Tank. He was seeking an investment in a new product he was calling Doorbot, a smart doorbell that would make answering the door more convenient and users’ lives “more connected.”Six years later, Doorbot is now Ring, an Amazon-owned home-security system that partners with more than 600 police departments around the country. How did Doorbot become Ring? And what are the consequences of placing surveillance cameras on front doors around the country?Guest: Caroline Haskins, technology reporter at Buzzfeed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 2013, an entrepreneur named Jamie Siminoff appeared on Shark Tank. He was seeking an investment in a new product he was calling Doorbot, a smart doorbell that would make answering the door more convenient and users’ lives “more connected.”Six years later, Doorbot is now Ring, an Amazon-owned home-security system that partners with more than 600 police departments around the country. How did Doorbot become Ring? And what are the consequences of placing surveillance cameras on front doors around the country?Guest: Caroline Haskins, technology reporter at Buzzfeed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The “Remain in Mexico” policy was sold as a humane way to throttle the flow of migrant families seeking asylum in the U.S. But the immigration courts remain overwhelmed, and migrants who do make the trip to the southern border have been left to wait for months -- sometimes upwards of a year -- in squalid, makeshift refugee camps in Mexico. Guest: Adolfo Flores, immigration reporter for BuzzFeed. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Preparing for an active shooter is becoming a disturbingly normal part of the school experience. And while companies are developing new methods for how to keep students and teachers safe, it’s unclear if they’re becoming more effective. Guest: Tali Woodward, deputy editor at The Trace. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt and Mara Silvers.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s hard to keep track of all the things that have happened in Georgia to tweak voter rights and poll access over the past several years. But a new investigation highlighted two overarching themes to recent changes: diminishing federal oversight and structural racism. Guest: Mark Niesse, reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Read his story, co-reported with Nick Thieme. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Public sector consulting is under a new kind of scrutiny. Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign has thrust his former employer, McKinsey, into the spotlight. What’s been brought to the surface has challenged their stated values of “doing the most good”. Guest: Ian McDougall, Reporter for ProPublicaSlate 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 decade, the world of influencers has grown from a fringe marketing movement to a multibillion-dollar industry. Now, tactics and strategies originally developed by influencers can be found across industries, from health care to politics to higher ed. What’s behind this meteoric rise? And why do we misunderstand a movement that Taylor Lorenz calls “a fundamental shift in society”? Guest: Taylor Lorenz, internet culture reporter for the New York Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past decade, the world of influencers has grown from a fringe marketing movement to a multibillion-dollar industry. Now, tactics and strategies originally developed by influencers can be found across industries, from health care to politics to higher ed. What’s behind this meteoric rise? And why do we misunderstand a movement that Taylor Lorenz calls “a fundamental shift in society”? Guest: Taylor Lorenz, internet culture reporter for the New York Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Monday, the Washington Post published a damning account of America’s war in Afghanistan. Titled “The Afghanistan Papers,” the report features dozens of interviews with people directly involved in the war, detailing the lies, deception, and misleading of the public that kept the war going. At once shocking and completely unsurprising, the papers are a secret history of America’s longest war.Guest: Fred Kaplan writes for Slate and is the author of the forthcoming book The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War, due out in January 2020.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two maps can help tell the story of a looming public health problem in rural America. One, published by the CDC, shows 220 of the most vulnerable counties in America either experiencing or at risk of an HIV outbreak. The other, published by the Washington Post, shows where pharmaceutical companies sent most of their pain pills at the height of the opioid crisis. These maps almost perfectly matchup. And in Cabell County, West Virginia, a place acutely affected by the opioid crisis, 80 new cases of HIV have been diagnosed since last year. Today on the show, what’s going on in West Virginia and what can be done to help?Guests: A. Toni Young, AIDS activist and founder of the Community Education Group. Dr. Steven W. Thrasher, professor of journalism and LGBTQ health at Northwestern University. He recently wrote an op-ed in the New York Times.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Underneath the Oval Office there’s this room. It’s a windowless place with terrible cell phone reception but, right now, it’s home to a team crafting President Donald Trump’s impeachment defense strategy. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Treasury aide Tony Sayegh started the effort to protect the president only in the past few weeks, but they’re already seeing results. How has this team circled the wagons for the president? And why is one senator in particular pleased to see the White House mount a proper defense?Guest: Sarah Ellison, reporter covering media and 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.

Former U.S. Senator Harry Reid thinks the expected impeachment trial in the Senate will fail to convict. And Reid should know -- he was in the Senate during the last impeachment trial.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Tuesday, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page announced that they are stepping down from their respective roles as president and CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. The move will leave Sundar Pichai in charge of both Google and Alphabet. With pressure mounting from unhappy employees, antitrust regulators in Europe, and the Trump administration, Pichai takes the helm at a crucial moment in the company’s history. Will he be up to the task? Guest: Mark Bergen, technology reporter at Bloomberg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Tuesday, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page announced that they are stepping down from their respective roles as president and CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. The move will leave Sundar Pichai in charge of both Google and Alphabet. With pressure mounting from unhappy employees, antitrust regulators in Europe, and the Trump administration, Pichai takes the helm at a crucial moment in the company’s history. Will he be up to the task? Guest: Mark Bergen, technology reporter at Bloomberg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Residents of Opportunity, Montana have a problem: their town is infected with a century’s worth of toxins from copper mining. The responsible company, Arco, and the E.P.A. have come up with a plan to fix that, but the community members say it’s woefully inadequate and doesn’t guarantee “a clean and healthful environment.” Now, the case has escalated all the way to the Supreme Court.Guest: Kathleen McLaughlin, reporter based in MontanaSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt and Mara Silvers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The next impeachment hearing will be in the House Judiciary Committee, where Corey Lewandowski made a mockery of Democrats in September. So perhaps it’s by design that the testimony planned for Wednesday seems rather low-stakes: Four professors will speak about the constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment. Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Senator Cory Booker still hasn’t made the cut for the next Democratic debate, despite having all the moderate bona fides that a suburban voter could want. Why has Booker failed to pop up in the polls? Guest: Slate’s Jordan Weissmann. Read his piece, “Dear Moderates: Please Give Cory Booker a Chance.”Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When she was a staff writer at Breitbart News, Katie McHugh exchanged hundreds of emails with Stephen Miller, who is currently one of President Trump’s senior advisors. Then, McHugh was a champion of the alt-right and a supporter of white nationalist ideology. Now, she wants the world to know that those same ideas are what motivate Miller to craft hard-line anti-immigration policies. And she has the receipts to prove it. Guest: Katie McHugh, former Breitbart staff writerPodcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers.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, White House lawyers have argued that many of the president’s aides can sidestep congressional subpoenas because of their proximity to Trump. This week, a judge rejected that claim, setting the stage for another installment in the House of Representatives’s impeachment inquiry. Guest: Jeremy Stahl, Slate senior editorPodcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, Danielle Hewitt, and Mara Silvers.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 summer, the explosion of vaping-related illnesses sent medical researchers on an urgent quest to figure out why teenagers were showing up at the hospital unable to breathe. Years before this became a public health crisis, federal regulators had the power to crack down on e-cigarettes. Why didn’t they do it?Guest: Desmond Jenson, an attorney with the Public Health Law Center at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law.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 India, Muslims are watching the secular democratic principles of their country crumble. What is it like when your country rejects your family and shakes your faith in multiculturalism? Guest: Rana Ayyub, a contributor to the Washington Post Opinion section and author of Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With two weeks of public impeachment hearings in the books, how will the next phase of the inquiry take shape?Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics writer at Slate. Dahlia Lithwick, writes about 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.

TikTok now has over 1.5 billion downloads, putting it in the company of social media giants like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. While all of these companies have faced scrutiny from lawmakers in one form or another, TikTok is getting attention for its Chinese ownership as some fear that Beijing could use data uploaded to the platform for counterintelligence purposes. Is there a real reason to be concerned? Or is this just fearmongering about a geopolitical rival? Guest: Drew Harwell, technology reporter for the Washington Post. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TikTok now has over 1.5 billion downloads, putting it in the company of social media giants like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. While all of these companies have faced scrutiny from lawmakers in one form or another, TikTok is getting attention for its Chinese ownership as some fear that Beijing could use data uploaded to the platform for counterintelligence purposes. Is there a real reason to be concerned? Or is this just fearmongering about a geopolitical rival? Guest: Drew Harwell, technology reporter for the Washington Post. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Federal Election Commission was designed to prevent the parties from going rogue with overly punitive campaign finance regulations. But what’s paralyzed FEC is something less partisan, and more principled: Democrats think the government should enforce campaign spending laws. Republicans don’t.Guest: Ellen Weintraub, Federal Election Commission chair.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.This episode originally aired in October 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pete Buttigieg will take the stage at the fifth presidential democratic debate as the front-runner in the Iowa polls. His rise, while surprising for some, can’t simply be explained as luck. So, how did Buttigieg go from being the mayor of South Bend with a name nobody could pronounce to the Democratic front-runner for president in Iowa? Plus, how might competitors try to knock Mayor Pete off his game at the debate?Guest: Adam Wren, contributing editor at Politico Magazine and Indianapolis Monthly.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales, was pushed out of office this month after attempting to secure an unprecedented fourth term. Now, the country is consumed by a power vacuum and the economy is facing challenges. How did Bolivia get here, and how can it rebound?Guest: Brian Winter, editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rep. Devin Nunes has been in Congress for over a decade. In those years he built up a lot of political capital in the Republican party–Nunes is currently a member of the Gang of Eight, a bi-partisan set of eight leaders in Congress who are briefed on classified intelligence matters by the executive branch. How has the congressman from California and former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee changed over the years? And, why has Nunes’ approach to defend the president in the impeachment inquiry irked those in his own party?Guest: Shane Harris, covers intelligence and national security 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.

Testimony of a phone call between President Donald Trump and EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland has set the stage for a dramatic Week 2 in the inquiry. What does the revelation of that call tell us about how House Republicans are mounting a defense of the president? Plus, what should you be looking for in Gordon Sondland’s testimony next week?Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics writer at 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.

Recently, Facebook filed a lawsuit against a little-known Israeli spyware firm called NSO Group. Facebook is accusing NSO of supplying technology that enabled a hack of 1,400 WhatsApp accounts. But NSO’s reach goes far beyond a few thousand phones. Governments around the world purchase its powerful technology. Some use it to “lawfully hack” the devices of criminals and terrorists. But others use it more broadly, tracking the communications of activists, journalists, lawyers, and dissidents. What does the WhatsApp lawsuit mean for the spyware industry? And why are governments lining up to buy these products? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently, Facebook filed a lawsuit against a little-known Israeli spyware firm called NSO Group. Facebook is accusing NSO of supplying technology that enabled a hack of 1,400 WhatsApp accounts. But NSO’s reach goes far beyond a few thousand phones. Governments around the world purchase its powerful technology. Some use it to “lawfully hack” the devices of criminals and terrorists. But others use it more broadly, tracking the communications of activists, journalists, lawyers, and dissidents. What does the WhatsApp lawsuit mean for the spyware industry? And why are governments lining up to buy these products? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.