What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Down the Text-Scam Rabbit Hole

The scam du jour arrives via a text message, offering you a job. What happens when you accept?


Guest: Alex Sammon, Slate features writer. 


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What Next - What Next | Daily News and Analysis – TBD | Down the Text-Scam Rabbit Hole

The scam du jour arrives via a text message, offering you a job. What happens when you accept?


Guest: Alex Sammon, Slate features writer. 


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: TBD | Tech, power, and the future – Down the Text-Scam Rabbit Hole

The scam du jour arrives via a text message, offering you a job. What happens when you accept?


Guest: Alex Sammon, Slate features writer. 


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.

More or Less: Behind the Stats - How weird was the Med Sea heatwave?

In early July, the Mediterranean Sea experienced a marine heatwave. The surface of the water reached temperatures of 30 degrees in some places. A social media post at the time claimed that some of these sea temperatures were so different to the normal sea temperature at this time of year, that the sea was experiencing a “1-in-216,000,000,000-year sea temperature anomaly”. This would suggest that the likelihood of the event was on a timescale far longer than the amount of time the entire universe has existed. Is the claim true? Dr Jules Kajtar, a physical oceanographer from the National Oceanography Centre, takes a look at the statistics. We heard about this story because a listener spotted it and emailed the team. Get in touch if you’ve seen a number you think we should look at. moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge Sound mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Bonus: Kill Tony, Alive and Thriving

A patron and perhaps foremost practitioner of “anti-woke comedy,” Tony Hinchcliffe sits atop his own thriving comedy kingdom in Austin. And when you’re on top, you’ve got nowhere to punch but down.

Guest: Luke Winkie, staff writer at Slate, author of “The Cult of Kill Tony

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, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.


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What Next - What Next | Daily News and Analysis – Bonus: Kill Tony, Alive and Thriving

A patron and perhaps foremost practitioner of “anti-woke comedy,” Tony Hinchcliffe sits atop his own thriving comedy kingdom in Austin. And when you’re on top, you’ve got nowhere to punch but down.

Guest: Luke Winkie, staff writer at Slate, author of “The Cult of Kill Tony

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, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.



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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Trump Dips into NVIDIA’s Chips

Jensen Huang, cofounder of NVIDIA, finds himself president of a $4 trillion company, at the forefront of A.I. technology, and, consequently, something of an international diplomat, as he charms President Trump and negotiates to sell his powerful chips to China. 

Guest: Amrith Ramkumar, reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Washington covering tech and crypto policy.

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, Ethan Oberman, Patrick Fort, and Elena Schwartz.


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What A Day - The White House’s Mob Boss Approach To AI Chips

Nvidia, a U.S.-based chip manufacturer that's now the richest company on earth, has agreed to pay the federal government 15 percent of its profits from selling its chips to China, in a deal that became public this week. Basically, the United States government is now a partner in not one, but two private companies that are selling AI technology to the country that is supposed to be our biggest competitor. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the model could "expand in the future to other companies." But for critics, the deal is giving serious mob vibes, while also posing a national security risk. Ashley Gold, senior tech and policy reporter at Axios, explains what the deal does and why so many people — including some Republicans — are concerned about it.

And in headlines: President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska today, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a redistricting plan to go head-to-head against Texas Republicans, and the Trump Administration got more bad news from the Labor Department.

Show Notes: