What Next: TBD

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

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About the Show

Every Friday, 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.

How Spyware Mercenaries Hack Your Phone

A new spyware technology has the cybersecurity world scrambling to catch up.

It’s Hot. It’s Flooding. Is This the New Normal?

A climate scientist on why it’s not too late to turn things around.

So, What Happens to WFH Now?

White-collar workers are heading back to the office. Will anything be different after a year and a half away?

It’s Time to Talk About UFOs

A new report shows that the government is changing its tune on unidentified aerial phenomena.

Welcome to Bitcoin Beach

Can El Salvador’s seaside crypto experiment really work as a national policy?

What Cops Are Doing With Your DNA

Police have solved hundreds of cold cases using open-source DNA platforms. But at what cost?

What Space Billionaires Cost Us

Jeff Bezos’ quick trip into outer space is about more than just publicity.

The App That Sparked a Manhunt

Two weeks ago, Citizen made its first foray into real-world crime solving. It didn’t go well.

Apple and Epic’s Battle Royal

After three weeks of testimony, the future of mobile gaming is caught in limbo.

The Hackers Who Took Down the Colonial Pipeline

A voyage into the weird world of the ransomware industry.

How the World’s Great Vaccination Hope Crashed

The Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest vaccine producer. Somehow, its home country is running out of doses.

Oversight Board to Facebook: Nice Try

The social network hoped its “Supreme Court” would decide Trump’s fate on the platform. The Oversight Board didn’t take the bait.

Tim Apple vs. Mark Facebook

Two of the most powerful tech companies in the world have very different ideas about how the internet should work.

What’s Causing the Tesla Crashes?

Two men died after their car plowed into a tree. Police say no one was at the wheel.

Seduced by Substack

Is leaving a stable job to peddle a newsletter based on your personal brand crazy or the future?

The Rise of the Therapy Apps

The pandemic opened up a window to transform mental health care as we know it. Is that a good thing?

The Fight Over Vaccine Passports

Standardizing vaccine credentials won’t be an easy task.

The AstraZeneca Saga

By all accounts, Oxford and AstraZeneca made a good vaccine. So why has the path to approval been so painful?

Hate, Lies, and AI

Artificial Intelligence transformed technology across Facebook. But it’s not being employed to fix the company’s biggest problem.

Does Google Actually Want to Hire Black Engineers?

The tech giant’s partnerships with HBCUs are still coming up short.