What A Day - Politicians Are Fighting Weather Conspiracies

People in Florida are assessing the damage caused by Hurricane Milton. The storm made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm just south of Tampa, dropping up to 18 inches of rain overnight. As of late Thursday, around 3 million people in the state were still without power. At least 12 people died, though that number is expected to increase as rescue efforts continue. Hurricane recovery — both from Milton and Helene — is happening right alongside the 2024 election, conspiracy theories and all. Longtime D.C. reporter and friend of the pod Todd Zwillich joins us to talk about how the disinformation from the MAGA-verse is an operating feature of the movement. 

Later, Shaniqua McClendon, head of Crooked’s partner organization Vote Save America, talks about important down-ballot and state legislature races.

And in headlines: Former President Barack Obama campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh, Harris committed to a CNN town hall event with undecided Pennsylvania voters, and a federal judge set a date for the sex trafficking trial against rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

Show Notes:

What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Trump’s Crypto Gurus

The crypto project “World Liberty Financial,” which was announced on X by Donald Trump, isn’t a cryptocurrency, nor a crypto-exchange, nor is it actually run by any Trumps. The truth is even stranger. 


Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times reporter


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What Next - What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future – Trump’s Crypto Gurus

The crypto project “World Liberty Financial,” which was announced on X by Donald Trump, isn’t a cryptocurrency, nor a crypto-exchange, nor is it actually run by any Trumps. The truth is even stranger. 


Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times reporter


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.


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What Next - What Next | Daily News and Analysis – TBD | Trump’s Crypto Gurus

The crypto project “World Liberty Financial,” which was announced on X by Donald Trump, isn’t a cryptocurrency, nor a crypto-exchange, nor is it actually run by any Trumps. The truth is even stranger. 


Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times reporter


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.


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

What A Day - Dispatches From Hurricane Milton Evacuees

Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night along Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm. It’s expected to be one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the U.S. in more than 100 years, with sustained winds of over 120 miles an hour. As Milton moved closer to shore Wednesday, strong inland winds triggered tornado warnings across parts of Florida, and at least one tornado was reported near Fort Myers. WAD’s own Josie Duffy Rice got in contact with two friends who evacuated from western Florida ahead of the storm. 

Later in the show, Abrahm Lustgarten, climate reporter for ProPublica and author of the book ‘On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America,’ talks about the ways climate change is reshaping how — and where — we live.

And in headlines: Vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and J.D. Vance rallied supporters in Arizona, X is relaunching in Brazil, and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the theme for the 2025 Met Gala exhibition.

Show Notes:

What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Getting Out Of Lebanon

How the State Department is evacuating Americans from Beirut—and how the war is influencing Lebanese-American voters living in a swing state.


Guest:

Amy Fallas, PhD candidate studying history in Beirut for the last year.


Alabas Farhat, Michigan State Representative. 



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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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Should the government target persnuffle?

Are childhood obesity rates going down? Do 35 million birds die every year in the UK after hitting windows? How much money could the Chancellor find by changing the debt rule? And Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter contemplates the probability of his own conception.

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news, and in life.

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Charlotte MacDonald Producers: Bethan Ashmead Latham, Natasha Fernandes and Nathan Gower Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Sound mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

What A Day - Hurricane Milton Set To Make Landfall

In Texas, Democratic Congressman Colin Allred is making Republican Ted Cruz work hard to keep his Senate seat, with polls showing the race within three percentage points. Cruz’s campaign seems to think the best strategy for winning re-election is to lean into anti-trans messaging. Semafor politics reporter Dave Weigel joins us from the campaign trail in Texas to talk about how Cruz and other Republicans are leaning into anti-trans fearmongering this election cycle. 

Later, Grace Panetta, political reporter for The 19th, talks about how voter ID laws make it more difficult for trans people to vote.

And in headlines: Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall as soon as tonight, former President Donald Trump has reportedly spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘as many as seven’ times since leaving office, and the Supreme Court flirts with putting restrictions on one specific type of gun.

Show Notes: