Author: Slate Podcasts

It’s a record-breaking year for America: we’ve now had the most reported cases of measles since the disease was declared “eradicated” in 2000. 

How did public health backslide so hard that it undid decades of progress—and is there any hope we can get back on track? 

Guest: Dylan Scott, senior health correspondent at Vox.

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In the wake of #MeToo, Hollywood productions began hiring “intimacy coordinators,” people who work to ensure sex scenes are safe and comfortable for performers. How are they working out so far? 

Guest: Jennifer Wilson, staff writer at the New Yorker.

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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After one of the deadliest floods in American history in central Texas, people are looking at cuts to the National Weather Service and FEMA’s absence contributing to the devastation. But one looming problem is much, much bigger.

Guest:  Jeff Goodell, writer covering climate change, author of The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet and The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World.

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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A federal force—often defying local governance—coming to take people away without due process has happened before. What lessons can be drawn from parallels between a law that led to the Civil War and what’s happening today with Trump’s hardline immigration enforcement?

Guest: Jamelle Bouie, columnist at the New York Times

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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Built in just eight days, Donald Trump and Kristi Noem toured “Alligator Alcatraz,” a migrant detention facility built on a disused airstrip in the Florida Everglades. Even before Trump touched down in South Florida, branded merchandise was being sold. Soon after he headed back to Washington, the first detainees were brought in.

Guest:  Sommer Brugal, Miami reporter for Axios.

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Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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As the One Big Beautiful Bill bounced around Congress, one provision—the 10-year moratorium on states making laws to regulate artificial intelligence—fell out. But AI-fans don’t need to worry, there’s still plenty of industry support in the bill. 

Guest: Will Oremus, technology news analysis writer for the Washington Post.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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Is anyone having fun on the internet anymore? Let’s all go touch grass.

Guest: Scaachi Koul, Slate senior writer and author of “It’s Time to Log Off.”

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.

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