What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Bonus: The Scariest Halloween Costume

The streets are full of ghouls, masked horrors, and terrifying make-up—also it will be Halloween soon. 

Guest: Luke Winkie, Slate staff writer.

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


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What A Day - FBI Takes Down NBA-Mafia Gambling Ring

On Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced over 30 indictments as part of a massive investigation into a criminal gambling ring. Those indicted included prominent NBA players and coaches. Oh, and also the Mafia. The announcement comes just as the NBA begins its season and at a time when sports betting has never been more prominent. Bookmakers have deals with major sporting leagues and celebrity athletes, and advertise aggressively during broadcasts. 

And in 2024 the US sports betting industry brought in a record $13.7 BILLION. Mike Vorkunov, national NBA business reporter for The Athletic, joins the show to explain the FBI investigation and what makes the NBA so vulnerable to betting scandals.And in headlines, Vice President JD Vance wraps up his visit to Israel, the Senate kills a bill to get federal workers and military members paid during the shutdown, and the US national debt surpasses $38 TRILLION.

Show Notes:


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The Indicator from Planet Money - Amazon’s outage, anxious retirees, and LA brings the Heat, too

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today’s episode: the Amazon global internet outage, Americans plan to siphon their Social Security checks early, and Mann, we love some Heat 2. 

Related episodes:


 What does the next era of Social Security look like?

 Why aren't filmmakers shooting in LA? 

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | The AWS Outage is Only the Beginning

This week’s AWS outage illustrates just how fragile and vulnerable our interconnected world really is—and how far we’ve fallen from the vision of a decentralized internet. 

Guest: Samanth Subramanian, author of “The Web Beneath the Waves: The Fragile Cables That Connect Our World.

Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.


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Audio Mises Wire - America Hurts Farmers and Discounts China’s Soy Imports while Providing a Crutch for Argentina

Once again, the Trump administration’s “dealmaking” on international trade has blown up, this time pulling the rug from under US soybean farmers. This isn’t the first trade policy fiasco, nor will it be the last.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/america-hurts-farmers-and-discounts-chinas-soy-imports-while-providing-crutch-argentina

Audio Mises Wire - The Myth of Planned Obsolescence

The concept of “planned obsolescence” makes no economic sense and is often an excuse for governments to harass and shake down innovative entrepreneurs. Much of so-called planned obsolescence is really entrepreneurship at work improving products for users and consumers.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/myth-planned-obsolescence

What A Day - The Key to Unlocking the Epstein Files

With the government shutdown in its third week, the House of Representatives is still out of session – and votes aren’t getting scheduled. That includes a vote on legislation that would force the Department of Justice to release files centered on financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. At the same time, House Speaker Mike Johnson has delayed the swearing in of Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in a September special election. If and when Grijalva is sworn in, she would be the final signature on a petition forcing the Epstein legislation to the House floor for a vote. We spoke with California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna about co-sponsoring the legislation to release the Epstein files, the shutdown, and his willingness to cross the aisle to work with Republicans.

And in headlines, President Donald Trump demolishes the East Wing of the White House to build a roughly $300 million ballroom, the new Pentagon press corps is made up of fringe right-wing outlets, and the Trump administration announces new sanctions on Russia.
 

Show Notes:


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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Is the Peanut Allergy Dead?

Thousands of children may be avoiding peanut allergies thanks to research indicating that early exposure to—rather than avoidance of—the legume is key. Now there’s reason to believe this is true for tons of allergens – and that the great “pandemic” of kid food allergies never needed to happen.

Guest:  Dr. David Hill, attending physician with the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and The Hill Lab.

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at 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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The Indicator from Planet Money - Are concert tickets UNDER priced?

Ticketmaster's CEO says that concert tickets are underpriced. But from inflation to bots to unscrupulous resellers, the market for tickets feels out of control to many fans. Can anything be done?

Today on the show: Ticket resellers, a new law in Maine, and a T-shirt cannon. 

Related episodes: Ticket scalpers: The real ticket masters Ticketmaster's dominance, Caitlin Clark's paycheck, and other indicators

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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