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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

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Slate Podcasts

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.

#637

Betting on Venezuela

While the U.S. was busy capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, someone online was ... more

11 hrs Ago

27 MINS

27:50

11 hrs Ago

#636

Are We Over the Moon?

The Trump administration wants NASA to land astronauts on the moon by 2027. They also want... more

04 Jan 2026

36 MINS

36:41

04 Jan 2026

#635

2025: Dystopian Tech of the Year

Artificial intelligence boosters spent the year wedging the tech into our lives – whether ... more

02 Jan 2026

27 MINS

27:37

02 Jan 2026

#634

2025: The Meme of the Year

With so much online content, it can be hard for a meme to stay in the collective conscious... more

28 Dec 2025

26 MINS

26:07

28 Dec 2025

#633

Is the A.I. Bubble Bursting? | 2025 in Review

All this week, What Next and What Next: TBD are re-airing some of our favorite conversatio... more

26 Dec 2025

38 MINS

38:28

26 Dec 2025

#632

We Made a Memecoin | 2025 in Review

All this week, What Next and What Next: TBD are re-airing some of our favorite conversatio... more

21 Dec 2025

34 MINS

34:58

21 Dec 2025

#631

Data Center Space Race

While the A.I. boom has created a data center boom, rich guys are turning their computing ... more

19 Dec 2025

26 MINS

26:17

19 Dec 2025

#630

Whole Shopping List

Whole Foods based its brand on a certain standard of quality—but there are some things tha... more

14 Dec 2025

24 MINS

24:28

14 Dec 2025

#629

Ready for Chatbot Canvassers?

The good news is voters are more persuaded by factual claims than emotional appeals or app... more

12 Dec 2025

30 MINS

30:08

12 Dec 2025

#628

ChatGOP?

Donald Trump—or at least the tech guys who have his ear—is ready to clear the regulatory r... more

07 Dec 2025

23 MINS

23:22

07 Dec 2025

#627

The AI & Crypto Czar’s Conflicts

A tech mogul who made bank from Paypal with his Stanford buddies and has endeared himself ... more

05 Dec 2025

25 MINS

25:46

05 Dec 2025

#626

If You Give A.I. a Nuke

As the U.S. upgrades and updates its defense and military systems, the question isn’t whet... more

30 Nov 2025

28 MINS

28:21

30 Nov 2025

#625

Rebroadcast: Dupes!

Note: This episode was originally published on July 27, 2025. There’s an entire economy d... more

28 Nov 2025

34 MINS

34:01

28 Nov 2025

#624

The Surveillance Interstate

Tracking a license plate across the country has never been easier, which is good news if y... more

23 Nov 2025

31 MINS

31:00

23 Nov 2025

#623

Crypto Keeps Criming

Trump promised to stop the “persecution” of the cryptocurrency industry. He did call off t... more

21 Nov 2025

24 MINS

24:57

21 Nov 2025

#622

How Meta Profits Off Fraud

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, doesn’t (just) have a scam problem—wit... more

16 Nov 2025

32 MINS

32:09

16 Nov 2025

#621

Data Centers on the Ballot

They don’t cut cleanly along party lines, but data centers, and where they get built, beca... more

14 Nov 2025