The Discourse | TikTok Ban: The Final Loop?

The 4th of July was the hottest day yet—not just of the summer but of recorded human history. Between waves of Canadian wildfire smoke, malaria reappearing in the United States, and deaths from heat, this might be the year that we’re forced to reckon with what life will be like on our newly hotter planet.Guest: Jeff Goodell, contributing writer at Rolling Stone and the author of the upcoming book The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Jul 202326min

Moms for Liberty call themselves a “parent’s rights group,” but the Southern Poverty Law Center calls them an “anti-government extremist” group. Even if they don’t all have kids, these “moms” do have goals for the future of education in America—and quite a bit of clout.Guest: Kiera Butler, senior editor at Mother Jones reporting on how purveyors of disinformation target online communities of women. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Madeline Ducharme, Anna Phillips, Paige Osburn, and Rob Gunther. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Jul 202322min

Andrew Tate’s gross mix of self-help, toxic masculinity and misogyny captured the minds of young boys on the internet. It also led to indictments in Romania on human trafficking and rape charges.  Guest: Lisa Miller, contributing editor at New York magazine.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Jul 202333min

It seems like with each new Musk innovation, a new Twitter replacement appears in response. But Threads is backed by Meta and available in just a few clicks for an Instagram user. Could it be the one?Guest: Mike Isaac, technology reporter for the New York Times.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Jul 202324min

The Biden administration’s plan to forgive federal student loan debt has been stalled, perhaps indefinitely, by the Supreme Court’s decision in Biden v. Nebraska. Was their plan to help borrowers always doomed, or was there another way? And after the Roberts court delivered such a broad-sweeping decision, what options does Biden have left?Guest: Jed Shugerman, professor at Boston University School of Law.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Jul 202324min

America’s winner-take-all electoral system casts third-party candidates as spoilers—but what would it take to open the door to not just a third party, but a fourth or more? Guest: Lee Drutman, senior fellow in the Political Reform program at New America, author of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Jul 202324min

In honor of the holiday, enjoy this episode from our colleagues at Slow Burn. What Next resumes regular programming tomorrow.Anita Hill’s accusations launched urgent and heated conversations about racism and sexual harassment. They also stoked an anger in Clarence Thomas that’s never stopped raging.Season 8 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, and Sofie Kodner.Josh Levin is the editorial director of Slow Burn.Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts.Susan Matthews is Slate’s executive editor.This episode was edited by Josh Levin, Derek John, Sophie Summergrad, and Joel Meyer.Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director.Our theme music is composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Artwork by Ivylise Simones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Jul 20231h 3min

Unpopular decisions and multiple scandals involving lavish, undisclosed gifts from conservative megadonors have the Supreme Court handing down decisions under a cloud of public outcry and controversy—but that hasn’t stopped the conservative majority from acting just as hardline as its critics feared. Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, court watcher and senior writer at Slate.If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Jul 202324min