What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - What Keeps Facebook Up at Night

On today’s show, hosts April Glaser and Will Oremus discuss news that PG&E, California’s main power provider, plans to file for bankruptcy due to the billions in liability it faces stemming from the deadly wildfires last year. Allegations have been made that PG&E’s power lines and equipment aided in the fires and the company did not adequately address the hazards beforehand. As the home to some of the world most powerful tech companies, California’s economy last year surpassed the UK, but it’s clear that this wealth has not trickled down to help Californian suffering the effects of prolonged drought and longer fire seasons hitting more populated areas. They’ll also talk about a letter sent this week to Microsoft, Amazon and Google from more than 85 civil rights and racial justice groups, including the ACLU. The letter demands that these companies stop building face recognition technology that could be used by the government. We’ve seen employees of these companies voice their concern, but what might we expect from outside pressure?The hosts touch on one of the least discussed themes from last week’s CES conference in Las Vegas: privacy.Then they welcome back Taylor Lorenz, journalist for the Atlantic. Glaser and Oremus talk to her about what social media might look like in 2019. Forget Facebook for a second. Forget Twitter, Snapchat, even YouTube, which was the focus of our conversation with Lorenz last year. They talk to her about what the kids are up to now, like making dance videos on Tik Tok, making Instagram eggs go viral, and making friends in the comments sections of social apps. 21:14 - Interview with Taylor Lorenz.39:30 - Don’t Close My TabsPodcast production by Max JacobsIf Then plugs: You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on Twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment, you can email us at ifthen@slate.com.If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Listen to If Then via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Jan 201948min

UCLA’s Katelyn Ohashi wowed the internet this week with a viral video of her college gymnastics floor routine. As Ohashi’s star rises, the U.S. women’s gymnastics program is imploding. Fans of the sport wonder: What is the price of being world-class?Guest: Slate contributor Rebecca Schumann.Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com. Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show.Podcast production by Mary Wilson and Jayson De Leon, with help from Danielle Hewitt.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Jan 201919min

More than 25 years after serving as Attorney General under George HW Bush, Barr is set to return to the role this week. What should we expect? And what should the senators at the confirmation hearing be asking?Guest: Noah Feldman, professor of constitutional law at Harvard University and columnist at Bloomberg.Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com. Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show.Podcast production by Mary Wilson and Jayson De Leon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Jan 201924min

Slate’s Fred Kaplan explains how two different Trump advisers, Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, are trying to carry out U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com. Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show.Podcast production by Mary Wilson and Jayson De Leon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Jan 201915min

What would a national emergency look like, and why hasn't Trump declared one yet? Dahlia Lithwick has answers. Plus: Was it weird that Ruth Bader Ginsburg wasn't at work this week?Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com. Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show.Podcast production by Mary Wilson and Jayson De Leon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Jan 201918min

How could congressional leaders end the current government shutdown? Come to think of it, how could they put an end to shutdowns altogether?Guests: Tom Davis, former Republican congressman from Virginia, and Slate’s Jim Newell.Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com. Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show.Podcast production by Mary Wilson and Jayson De Leon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Jan 201918min

On today’s show, hosts April Glaser and Will Oremus discuss startling new revelations about some of the major phone carriers. The story broke this week in Motherboard titled “I Gave a Bounty Hunter $300. Then He Located Our Phone.” It details how T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T  are selling access to customers location data to shady characters like landlords and collection agencies. And speaking of phones, could we finally be witnessing an end to the iPhone’s dominance of the technology industry? Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook warned about a shortfall in global iPhone revenue. We’ll talk about why that is and what it might mean for Apple’s future.And if you work even remotely adjacent to the tech industry, then you know...this week is the Consumer Electronics Show, or CES—the biggest annual tech expo in the world held in Las Vegas. We’ll be joined by Dieter Bohn, the executive editor of The Verge, from the floor of the show. 17:05 - Interview with Dieter Bohn.35:13 - Don’t Close My TabsDon’t Close My Tabs:Slate: Tunnel VisionNew Statesman America: London's Victorian Hyperloop: the forgotten pneumatic railway beneath the capital's streetsPodcast production by Max JacobsIf Then plugs: You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on Twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment, you can email us at ifthen@slate.com.If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Listen to If Then via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Jan 201940min

Advocate Mariame Kaba explains why the Cyntoia Brown story is compelling, complicated, and deeply frustrating -- why it's wrong to portray Cyntoia Brown as a child, why Brown’s story is deeply familiar to black women in America, and why Kaba considers Brown’s crime a radical act of “self-love.”Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com. Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show.Podcast production by Mary Wilson and Jayson De Leon.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Jan 201915min