What Next: TBD

A twice weekly podcast about tech, power, and the future.

Advertisement

About the Show

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.

Host

  • Lizzie O’Leary is the host of What Next: TBD, Slate’s show about technology, power, and the future. Previously, she created and hosted Marketplace Weekend. She has reported for CNN, Bloomberg News, and the New York Times Magazine, among others. She is also a contributing writer at the Atlantic.

Tech’s Newest Trillion Dollar Company

Nvidia’s valuation has ballooned off the back of A.I. hype, putting it in league with companies like Apple and Alphabet. Are they here to stay?

When Your Childhood Was Their Content

The first generation to grow up with their entire childhood documented on social media is coming of age—and wondering how to get some privacy.

The Trouble With TikTok Songs

Sped-up versions of songs are siphoning off already-paltry streaming revenues.

Tweetering on the Glass Cliff

Is Elon Musk’s CEO pick set up to fail?

A Tipping Point for Digital Tipping

Why exactly are self-service checkouts asking us to pay more?

Why Sports Are All in on Betting

The tech that turned sports gambling from an illegal vice to an inescapable cash cow.

Space After NASA

The passionate weirdos and hedge funds that want to boldly go where only governments have gone before.

Who’s Afraid of A.I.?

Real harm from A.I. doesn’t have to look like Skynet—it’s already happening.

What’s Going on at Meta?

Market instability, bad bets and low morale are putting Silicon Valley’s poster child in uncharted territory. Can it claw its way back?

What the Writers’ Strike Is Really About

The WGA is fighting to get ahead of A.I.—and finally catch up with the streaming era.

Is Your Uber Drivers’ Pay Rigged?

Same Ride. Same Route. Different Pay.

Stephen King Is Just as Confused About Blue Checks as You Are

A meltdown over its subscription service reveals Twitter’s wheels coming off.

“Crap Apps”: Why Weather Apps Suck

Why our smartphone forecasts are so mercurial.

Will A.I. Close Off the Internet?

As A.I. companies are sucking up as much data as they can to train their systems, social platforms are starting to put their most valuable resource behind a paywall.

Will Banning Social Media Help Kids?

What the science says about Utah’s social media ban for teens.

How Gamers Leaked Classified Pentagon Docs

How highly classified documents from the Pentagon ended up in a small Discord server.

Why Flying Is So Bad Now

A series of near misses, antiquated tech and a shortage of airline employees are exposing the cracks in our air travel system.

Wait, TikTok Has a Sister App?

While TikTok is in Washington’s crosshairs, Bytedance has been quietly pushing out Lemon8, a new social media app that promises to marry Instagram and Pinterest. Will it stick?

Seeking Asylum Via App

CBP’s glitchy smartphone app leaves desperate people searching for instructions, wifi and even phones to use it.

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Woes

Cost cutting, regulators, and Elon’s obsession with Twitter have cast doubt on Tesla’s promise of a fully autonomous vehicle.