What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | A Very Online Shooter

As the Charlie Kirk murder demonstrated, law enforcement, the government, and media all need more internet fluency. But their reactions in the wake of the murder don’t seem to be moving towards a better understanding. 


Guest:  Ryan Broderick, reporter on online culture, author of the newsletter Garbage Day.


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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Trump’s Getting His Economy. Yikes.

Donald Trump has been calling for the Fed to cut rates to bolster the economy, and yesterday, they announced they would. The bad news is that’s because the economy is going to need a lot more bolstering.

Guest:  Justin Wolfers, economist and professor at the University of Michigan

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


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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Can Kash Patel Survive This?

What happens to an organization when it purges much of its leadership and ranks irrespective of ability, and hires for sycophantic loyalty instead? The FBI is finding out. 

Guests:  

Michael Feinberg, former assistant special agent in charge at the FBI’s field office in Norfolk, VA, now a fellow at Lawfare.

Quinta Jurecic, staff writer at The Atlantic.

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

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Slate Books - Death, Sex & Money | Private Equity Blew Up My Life

When Megan Greenwell was 34 she landed a coveted job in journalism as the editor-in-chief of the sports and culture blog, Deadspin. Just over a year later a post about why she was resigning went viral – a private equity firm had bought Deadspin’s parent company, and was seeking "a quick cash-out rather than the growth that comes from a well-run business."

Her experience led her to spend six years investigating the industry for her book Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream which follows four Americans whose lives were upended by private equity takeovers in retail, healthcare, housing, and media.

Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus.

And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is deathsexmoney@slate.com.

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Who’s Winning the War on Higher Education?

Conservatives have decried higher education as a center of liberal indoctrination for decades, and under the second Trump administration, colleges and universities are watching their federal funding be withheld or frozen, their presidents step down, and professors lose their jobs.

What can be done to wrest back academic freedom and independence from a vindictive administration?

Guest:  Sarah Brown, senior editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

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

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Hasan Piker Knew Charlie Kirk

Hasan Piker was scheduled to debate Charlie Kirk at Dartmouth University later this month, a left-vs-right, Vidal-vs-Buckley for the streaming age. In the wake of Kirk’s shocking death, Piker wants to continue to be clear about who Kirk was, what he stood for, and the reactionary political project he was working to advance.

Guest: Hasan Piker, Twitch streamer and left-wing political commentator. 

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


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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Her Daughter Killed Herself. Then She Saw the ChatGPT logs.

After their daughter committed suicide, they found her ChatGPT log—and where artificial intelligence helped her write her suicide note.


Guest:  Laura Reiley, writer for the Cornell Chronicle. 


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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Dear Justice Kavanaugh, “I’m American, Bro”

In this week’s episode of Amicus, we delve into the recent Supreme Court shadow docket order in Noem v. Vasquez-Perdomo, which in essence legalized racial profiling by roving ICE patrols, and in practice may have ushered in America’s “show your papers” era for Americans with brown skin, who speak Spanish, and/or go to Home Depot in work clothes. Join Dahlia Lithwick and Ahilan Arulanantham, a longstanding human rights lawyer and law professor, as they unpack what this unargued, unreasoned, unsigned and (in Kavanaugh’s case) uncited decision means for both immigrants and U.S. citizens, for 4th amendment doctrine, and for the lower courts expected to parse SCOTUS’ tea leaves. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Bonus: “We Got Him”

On Friday, authorities announced they had a suspect – and they sure seemed confident they “got him” (to quote Utah Governor Spencer Cox). Mary and Slatester Luke Winkie discuss the press conference – and what happens now.

Guest: Luke Winkie, Slate staff 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, and Rob Gunther.


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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | You Can’t Escape the Charlie Kirk Video

Graphic, violent videos like the shooting of right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk circulate across social media moments after they happen, finding an audience even among people who have made no effort to seek them out.


Guest: Craig Silverman, journalist and cofounder of Indicator


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