What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Best of 2021 | How Should We Remember Colin Powell?

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in October 2021.


Colin Powell, known as a “trailblazer” and “pathbreaker” in his military career, leaves behind a complicated legacy. The four-star general became a household name during the first Gulf War as the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and later the first Black secretary of state. 


Thirty years after his rise to national prominence, Powell’s death has prompted reflections on the Iraq War and his role in using false intelligence to justify the U.S. invasion.


Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s War Stories columnist. 


If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.


Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz, Davis Land, and Carmel Delshad.

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What Next - What Next | Daily News and Analysis – Best of 2021 | How Should We Remember Colin Powell?

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in October 2021.


Colin Powell, known as a “trailblazer” and “pathbreaker” in his military career, leaves behind a complicated legacy. The four-star general became a household name during the first Gulf War as the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and later the first Black secretary of state. 


Thirty years after his rise to national prominence, Powell’s death has prompted reflections on the Iraq War and his role in using false intelligence to justify the U.S. invasion.


Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s War Stories columnist. 


If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.


Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz, Davis Land, and Carmel Delshad.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Best of 2021 | God Doesn’t Want Me Vaccinated

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in September 2021.


Who are the people seeking a religious exemption to the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate? What are their religious claims? And how do workplaces decide who has a real claim to belief versus a convenient letter from a pastor-for-hire? 


Guest: Ruth Graham, reporter for The New York Times.  


If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.


Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz, Davis Land, and Carmel Delshad.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Next - What Next | Daily News and Analysis – Best of 2021 | God Doesn’t Want Me Vaccinated

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in September 2021.


Who are the people seeking a religious exemption to the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate? What are their religious claims? And how do workplaces decide who has a real claim to belief versus a convenient letter from a pastor-for-hire? 


Guest: Ruth Graham, reporter for The New York Times.  


If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.


Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz, Davis Land, and Carmel Delshad.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Best of 2021: Are We Getting COVID Testing All Wrong?

This episode originally aired in September.


In the U.S., the PCR test is the gold standard for COVID testing. Common knowledge would have it that the test is more accurate—and therefore more effective at containing the spread of the disease—than the rapid antigen test. 


What if that isn’t quite true? 


Guest: Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 


Host: Lizzie O’Leary

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Next - What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future – Best of 2021: Are We Getting COVID Testing All Wrong?

This episode originally aired in September.


In the U.S., the PCR test is the gold standard for COVID testing. Common knowledge would have it that the test is more accurate—and therefore more effective at containing the spread of the disease—than the rapid antigen test. 


What if that isn’t quite true? 


Guest: Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 


Host: Lizzie O’Leary


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Next - What Next | Daily News and Analysis – TBD | Best of 2021: Are We Getting COVID Testing All Wrong?

This episode originally aired in September.


In the U.S., the PCR test is the gold standard for COVID testing. Common knowledge would have it that the test is more accurate—and therefore more effective at containing the spread of the disease—than the rapid antigen test. 


What if that isn’t quite true? 


Guest: Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 


Host: Lizzie O’Leary


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Best of 2021 | When the Culture War Comes For Your Job

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in July 2021.


Brittany Hogan worked in diversity and inclusion for the Rockwood School District for eight years. As public debate intensified over the way race is discussed in schools and threats were made against her, Hogan eventually was pushed to resign.


Guest: Brittany Hogan, former director of educational equity and diversity for the Rockwood School District in St. Louis County.


If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.


Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz, Davis Land, and Carmel Delshad.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Next - What Next | Daily News and Analysis – Best of 2021 | When the Culture War Comes For Your Job

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in July 2021.


Brittany Hogan worked in diversity and inclusion for the Rockwood School District for eight years. As public debate intensified over the way race is discussed in schools and threats were made against her, Hogan eventually was pushed to resign.


Guest: Brittany Hogan, former director of educational equity and diversity for the Rockwood School District in St. Louis County.


If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.


Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz, Davis Land, and Carmel Delshad.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Best of 2021 | One Woman’s Year Protecting George Floyd Square

We’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the past year. This episode originally aired in May 2021.


A year after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, residents near the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue—now dubbed George Floyd Square—continue to keep the area closed off. The city wants to reopen the intersection, but activists say they aren’t giving in until the community’s demands for justice are met.


Guest: Marcia Howard, security volunteer and organizer in George Floyd Square.



If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.


Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz, Davis Land, and Carmel Delshad.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices