Economists have long analyzed data to predict the next recession. They’ve also turned to more offbeat economic gauges like underwear sales and skirt lengths. But now, the TikTok generation is seeing recession indicators everywhere. WSJ’s Hannah Erin Lang explains what Gen Z’s fascination with harbingers of economic doom might actually mean for the economy. Jessica Mendoza hosts.
You might have seen these texts before. The scam starts innocently enough. Maybe it's a "Long time no see" or "Hello" or "How are you." For investigative reporter Zeke Faux it was – "Hi David, I'm Vicky Ho. Don't you remember me?"
Many people ignore them. But Zeke responded. He wanted to get scammed. This led him on a journey halfway around the world to find out who is sending him random wrong number texts and why. After you hear this story, you'll never look at these messages the same way again.
Search Engine was created by P.J. Vogt and Sruthi Pinnamaneni. This episode was produced by Garrott Graham and Noah John. It was fact-checked by Sean Merchant. Theme, original composition, and mixing by Armin Bazarian. Search Engine's executive producers are Jenna Weiss-Berman and Leah Reis-Dennis.
CrowdScience listener Saoirse is vegan and doesn’t eat honey. But she’s been wondering - might honey actually have environmental benefits, by giving bee populations a boost?
To find out, presenter Anand Jagatia dons a bee suit and opens up some hives with biologist Dave Goulson, who reveals that there are over 20,000 bee species on earth – and not all of them need saving. Honeybee researcher Alison Mcafee talks about the importance of beekeeping for crop pollination, and why honeybee colonies around the world are collapsing. Although, as she explains, in some places beekeeping might actually be bad for endangered wild bees. We travel to Kenya to meet Loise Njeru and Lucy King, who show how the humble honeybee can be a powerful tool for conservation – helping to protect the mighty elephant. And, on a rooftop in London, former beekeeper Alison Benjamin explains how we can support the wild bee species that need our help.
Producer and presenter: Anand Jagatia
Location recording: Sophie Ormiston
Series Producer: Ben Motley
Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Congresswoman Lauren Underwood opts out of Senate race. Lincoln artifacts auctioned off for millions. South suburban Dolton plans to acquire Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home. Reset breaks down these stories and much more with a panel of journalists. This week’s panel includes WTTW News correspondent Nick Blumberg, WBEZ data projects editor Alden Loury and Chicago Sun-Times investigative reporter Bob Herguth.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Throughout the more than three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, drones have been a key tool and weapon used by both sides in the conflict. Because of this, Ukraine is at the cutting edge of drone innovation, churning out some two million unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, last year. These flying drones come in all sizes and they're produced in factories large and high-tech, as well as small and shoestring. In today's episode, NPR's Eleanor Beardsley takes us inside a drone-making operation in Kyiv.
Since the US bombing of Japan in World War II, the world entire has remained terrified of nuclear weapons. Even as scientists and scholars spent decades warning about the existential threat posed by technology that can literally end civilization, countries across the planet raced -- and race still -- to gain this capability for themselves. In tonight's episode, Ben and Matt ask: What actually happens in a large-scale nuclear war? (Spoiler, tune in for our upcoming episode: "What can I do to survive a nuclear war?"
Public corruption used to be a congressman hiding $90,000 in his freezer. Now, we have a president taking "me time" to rake in $40 million from a Chinese crypto billionaire who was facing fraud charges under POTUS 46. And that's just a drop in the bucket of some of Trump's recent haul. Of course, today's FBI will do nothing about it, and his buddies at the top of the bureau are instead focusing on celebrities who are definitely not Team Trump, or a person who posted a benign beach meme about 47. Meanwhile, the FBI has been ordered to redirect resources to deportations, raising serious questions about whether counterterrorism and counterintelligence—the agency's main priorities since 9/11—are being neglected.
Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” cleared the House this week and heads off to the Senate where…actually let’s bring in an expert to explain what happens next.
Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior political writer.
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 —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.
Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.
Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” cleared the House this week and heads off to the Senate where…actually let’s bring in an expert to explain what happens next.
Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior political writer.
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 —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.
Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.
