What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - You Can't Escape the Charlie Kirk Video

Choice seats for Donald Trump’s second inauguration were filled with tech founders and CEOs, signaling their importance to this presidential term. Then Elon Musk sent another signal of his own…Guest: Nitish Pahwa, staff writer for business and tech at Slate.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 TBD —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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Jan 20256min

The Department of Government Efficiency was made to Elon Musk’s specifications, right down to its meme-indebted name. Now that DOGE is shaping up to be an actual part of the government, what can it actually accomplish? And isn’t this all a huge conflict of interest for Elon Musk and his many government contracts?Guest: Teddy Schleifer, New York Times reporter on billionaires.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Jan 202519min

Donald Trump talked a lot about immigration while on the campaign trail and as his second term begins, he’s getting to work: declaring a national emergency on the border, designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations, and partially suspending asylum and refugee programs.Guests:Jose Olivares, investigative journalist and immigration reporter.Arelis Hernandez, immigration reporter at the Washington Post, based in Texas.Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other 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 Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Jan 202523min

On the day he was inaugurated, Donald Trump set about signing executive orders on birthright citizenship, the TikTok ban, and withdrawing from various international bodies, treaties and accords. Has he shown up to test out the awesome powers of the executive branch—or was he just showing off for his fans?Guest: Deborah Pearlstein, Director, Program in Law and Public Policy and Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor in Law and Public Affairs at Princeton.Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other 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 Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Jan 202525min

Last October, Amazon CEO and billionaire owner of the Washington Post Jeff Bezos swooped in to halt the publication of a Kamala Harris endorsement from the editorial board. Yesterday, he appeared in the front row at Trump’s second inauguration. The paper’s hemorrhaging subscribers—and laying off dozens of staff members—but it seems like the internal unrest has just begun.Guest: Maxwell Tani, journalist covering media for Semafor.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 Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Jan 202521min

As Donald Trump and his coterie return to the White House, everyone seems confident they know what levers to pull to get Trump to do what they want. The only issue, then, is what other members of Trumpworld want. Guest: Ben Mathis-Lilly, senior writer at SlateWant more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other 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 Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Jan 202523min

Looking for up-to-the-minute updates on where the fires are, LA residents have been turning to the app Watch Duty, rather than getting updates directly from the local or state government, or even local media.Guests:David Merritt, cofounder and CTO of Watch DutyAlyssa Jeong Perry, LA-based producer for Slate.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Jan 202519min

Misinformation, disinformation, politics—Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is not going to shield users from those anymore. What’s behind the abrupt change in direction?Guest: Sheera Frenkel, New York Times tech reporterWant more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and 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, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Jan 202523min