SCOTUS Might Actually Let Trans Kids on the Field

Host Mary Harris appeared on stage a few weeks back to speak in response to a night of “Resistance Theater,” considering how she, as a journalist, is preparing to meet this political moment. This epis...

2 Jan 5min

Artificial intelligence boosters spent the year wedging the tech into our lives – whether we wanted it or not. But one new product brought A.I. from every app and website into the meatspace, forcing y...

2 Jan 24min

2025 might not have been a great year —but the music sure was stellar.Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorit...

1 Jan 41min

With rising authoritarianism, terrifying speech crackdowns, and violence in the streets, this year we found ourselves turning to our friends over at How To for advice on  finding peace and excitement ...

31 Dec 202528min

If you were to sum up 2025 in a film, which would you pick? The question that nearly wrecked the brain of Slate’s chief movie critic.Guest: Dana Stevens, Slate’s movie critic.Dana’s ten best movies of...

30 Dec 202531min

Canada and the United States usually have a pretty good-natured sports rivalry—but from hockey to baseball, that was not the case in 2025. Guest:  Alex Kirshner, contributing writer at Slate, co-host ...

29 Dec 202525min

With so much online content, it can be hard for a meme to stay in the collective consciousness for more than a few days. But one meme this year managed to capture seemingly everyone’s attention - and ...

28 Dec 202522min

All this week, What Next and What Next: TBD are re-airing some of our favorite conversations from throughout the year and checking back with the people in those conversations to see how things have – ...

26 Dec 202534min