In the so-called world of strategic alliances, things often are not what they seem to be. It is that way with the Islamic State or ISIS, which supposedly is a deadly enemy of Israel. However, Israel has a symbiotic relationship with Jihadist groups that we cannot ignore.
Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week:
How far away is Greenland from the United States? We check a number From Our Own Correspondent.
Does converting our entire energy system to be carbon neutral come with a £7.6 trillion price tag?
Is the inevitable rise of house prices in the UK not so inevitable after all?
Can the great mathematicians of history answer the question of the hour: how to play The Traitors?
If you’ve seen a number in the news you want the team on More or Less to have a look at, email moreorless@bbc.co.uk
Contributors:
Jay Foreman, one half of YouTube duo the Map Men
Mike Thompson, chief economist of the National Energy System Operator
David Turver, author of The Cost of Net Zero, a report from the Institute of Economic Affairs
Neal Hudson, housing market analyst and founder housing research website BuiltPlace
Dr Kat Phillips, mathematician and Innovation research associate at the University of Warwick, Traitors aficionado
Credits:
Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporter: Tom Colls
Producers: Nathan Gower and Lizzy McNeill
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: James Beard
Editor: Richard Vadon
President Donald Trump’s obsession with Greenland isn’t new. Back in 2019, he made an offer to buy the island, but was told by Denmark and Greenland that it was not for sale. It still isn’t – as Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, and the good people of Greenland itself keep making incredibly clear. But Trump is not the first U.S. President to express interest in the island. So how did we get here? For more on our long, weird relationship with Greenland, we spoke to Ronald Doel. He’s a professor at Florida State University and co-editor of “Exploring Greenland: Cold War Science and Technology on Ice.”
And in headlines, Congress releases the text of a new funding package to keep the government open, President Trump gives a very weird press briefing, and the measles is having a record resurgence in the U.S.
The Supreme Court heard arguments over state-level bans on trans athletes competing in public schools last week. Though it’s hard to imagine the conservative-majority court calling the bans “discriminatory,” trans athletes and allies have reason to hope for a narrow ruling, rather than an expansion of the existing laws.
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
President Donald Trump is dead set on acquiring Greenland, and while national security is the stated reason, the country’s untapped mineral wealth could offer another explanation.
Today on the show: is Greenland really an untapped land of riches? We talk to one Australian geologist who discovered the great costs and potential rewards of extracting these minerals himself.
Although some scholars have labeled the early Ming Dynasty as a proto-liberal state, they are mistaken. The Ming governance at that time was weak, not limited by law and ideology.
Today marks a year since President Donald Trump took office for a second time, and a lot has happened. Amidst all the threats to take over Greenland, the Liberation Day tariffs, and the crackdown on education, artificial intelligence development has continued to accelerate — and it's only getting faster. Over the last few months, you may have heard about Claude Code – a product of Anthropic – that makes coding incredibly easy. But the thing about Claude Code that's really cool is that it might be learning how to improve itself. So to talk more about Claude Code, what it does, and what it could do in the future, we spoke to Lila Shroff. She's an assistant editor at The Atlantic, with a focus on AI.
And in headlines, President Donald Trump exchanges some heated texts with the Prime Minister of Norway, new research finds Americans are footing the bill for Trump's tariffs, and Americans in all 50 states are staging a walkout to protest the Trump administration's "escalating fascist threat."
While the What Next team takes the holiday, enjoy this episode from our colleagues at Care and Feeding, featuring a familiar voice. What Next will be back with a new episode tomorrow.
On this episode: Lucy Lopez, Elizabeth Newcamp, and Zak Rosen have been trying to stay on top of the news…but they’re getting bogged down and worried about it impacting their kids. Luckily What Next host Mary Harris’s literal job is keeping up on the news, and she’s got kids of her own. So, they all sit down to talk about how much to share with the kids, how to stay informed but still show up for the kids, ways to moderate your own anxiety, and so much more.
But first, they share their latest triumphs and fails. Mary comes in with a win during the college admission process; Lucy almost crashes a birthday party (but she DOESN’T…so it’s a win); Zak takes his daughter to roller derby; and Elizabeth says yes to a choral concert.
Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Video production by Micah Phillips.
Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.
If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get to hang out with us on the Plus Playground every week for a whole additional grab-bag of content — and you’ll get an ad-free experience across the network. And you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus – or try it out on Apple Podcasts.
In early January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening bans on defense contractors paying dividends or buying their stock back.
Today on the show, we learn about the Trump Administration’s frustrations with the weapons supply chain, find out what a defense industry investor makes of the move, and ask whether this reflects the state tightening its grip on the industry that arms the U.S. military.
The original 13 British colonies that made up the early United States had very different populations with decidedly different political and social outlooks.