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What Next | Daily News and Analysis


What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Hasan Piker and Adam Mockler Are Ready for Something New

Tue, 06 Oct 2026

From Michigan to Florida to Texas, there are new Democrats in town and on the ballot. But other than novelty, what do these candidates have in common?


Guests:

Hasan Piker, political commentator and streamer.

Adam Mockler, political commentator and YouTuber


Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.


Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.


Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The GOP Killed His District. He’s Not Giving Up.

Mon, 05 Oct 2026

Democrat Justin Pearson made national headlines in 2023 when he expelled from Tennessee’s general assembly while trying to talk about gun reform after a school shooting. That same spirit has driven him to run for Congress, despite the newly redrawn electoral map that erased the state’s only majority Black district.


Guest: Justin Pearson, state representative for Tennessee’s District 86, running for Congress.


Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.


Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.


Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Off the Record: This Bot Was Made for You and Me

Fri, 02 Oct 2026

Move over, New Deal; Donald Trump is in his public works era, using tax dollars to give the American people a…chatbot and also what looks like a campaign ad for the president, even though he isn’t running for anything, can’t run again, and also can’t use tax dollars to buy ads for himself. Uh, masterful stroke, sir?


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 Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.


Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ChatGPT Doesn't Love You

Fri, 02 Oct 2026

A.I. large language models are prompt, attentive, positive and frictionless—in short, much easier to deal with than humans with their own needs, wants, and moods.

But, as long as humans aren’t social creatures by nature, this should be fine, right?


Guest: Sherry Turkle, licensed clinical psychologist and the founding director of MIT's Initiative on Technology and Self.


Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.


Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme, Patrick Fort and Micah Phillips.


Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who the "Protect College Sports Act" Actually Protects

Thu, 01 Oct 2026

Why the NAACP spoke out against the “Protect College Sports Act,” which was just passed by the US Senate—and why the bill is unlikely to get a vote in the House anytime soon.


Guest: Alex Kirshner, Slate contributing writer and co-host of the college football podcast Split Zone Duo.


Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.


Podcast production by Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.


Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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