What Next

Daily news and analysis from Slate.

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About the Show

The problem with the news right now? It’s everywhere. And each day, it can feel like we’re all just mindlessly scrolling. It’s why we created What Next. This short daily show is here to help you make sense of things. When the news feels overwhelming, we’re here to help you answer: What next? Look for new episodes every weekday morning.

Host

  • Mary Harris is the host and managing editor of What Next, Slate's new daily news podcast. She has reported throughout the public radio system, for NPR, Marketplace, and WNYC.

The End of Ending the Pandemic

How treatments for addiction and HIV prevention can inform this moment—and the next—in the fight against COVID.

New York State’s Redistricting Mess

The ongoing battle over New York State’s political map has national implications.

Biden’s Student Loan Ambivalence

If only looking at debt made it disappear.

China’s Zero-COVID Policy

How did a virus prevention strategy turn into punishment?

No Lone Wolves

Why the mass shooting in Buffalo is part of a bigger movement.

How Corporations Are Taking Advantage of Inflation

Consumers are paying the price as some companies use inflation as a cover for price hikes.

The Evolution of Pro-Choice Messaging

How should supporters of reproductive rights talk about abortion now?

The Future of IVF Post-Roe

Abortion access isn’t the only thing hanging in the balance if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Russia’s Next Target?

Why Putin might be setting his sights on Moldova, a tiny country on Ukraine’s western border.

Ukrainian War, American Intelligence

The U.S. government is walking a fine line when it comes to lending its intelligence data to the Ukrainian military.

How Connecticut Became an Abortion Safe Haven

Its new law will extend protection beyond just the state’s residents.

Depp v. Heard

Free speech and family law collide in a celebrity defamation trial.

The Supreme Court Tips Its Hand

Abortion rights in America are on borrowed time.

The Michigan Democrat Who Said “Enough”

One freshman state senator shows Democrats how to parry Republican attacks designed to stoke fear and anger.

Mexico’s Disappearing Women

Despite all the outrage and protests, the abductions and femicides haven’t stopped.

L.A.’s Alarming Latino Mortality Rate

And why one doctor sees it as a call to action for his community.

The Crisis in Special Education

States are mandated to provide quality education for students with disabilities. What’s getting in the way?

Florida’s Most Powerful Flack

How Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary fired up right-wing Twitter and further distorted a debate over education.

The Librarians Fighting Book Bans

“The whole point [of a library] is to provide a wide variety of viewpoints and let the reader decide.”

Putin’s Hunger for Money

Why Bill Browder, formerly one of Russia’s biggest investors, thinks the war in Ukraine is all about money.