Telegram was supposed to be the platform with the freest of free speech, which meant it was also rife with the worst the internet has to offer—"criminal activity” puts it lightly. But are French authorities setting a dangerous precedent with the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov?  Guest: Joseph Menn, tech reporter for the Washington Post covering privacy and security. 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. Public.com+Public Investing: All investing involves risk. Brokerage services for US listed securities, options and bonds in a self-directed brokerage account are offered by Public Investing, member FINRA & SIPC. Not investment advice. Public Investing offers a High-Yield Cash Account where funds from this account are automatically deposited into partner banks where they earn interest and are eligible for FDIC insurance; Public Investing is not a bank.Cryptocurrency trading services are offered by Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC (NMLS ID 1828849), which is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the NYSDFS. Cryptocurrency is highly speculative, involves a high degree of risk, and has the potential for loss of the entire amount of an investment. Cryptocurrency holdings are not protected by the FDIC or SIPC. . See public.com/#disclosures-main for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the pandemic, schools have been reporting that their students are more anxious and having trouble learning. How much does simply removing cell phones from the classroom address these problems? Guests:  Laura Meckler, national education writer for the Washington Post Russell Shaw, head of Georgetown Day School and author of “Why We’re Banning Phones at Our School” for the Atlantic. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrats frustrated by Joe Biden’s policy towards Israel and Gaza voted for “uncommitted” in the primaries, notably in the crucial swing state of Michigan. Does Kamala Harris have an opportunity to reach those voters now? Guest: Yazan “Yaz” Kader, uncommitted DNC delegate from the state of Washington and registered nurse. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spare a thought for the judge in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial. Justice Juan Merchan has gone from holding the former president in contempt of court… to telling Trump’s defense they probably should have objected more during Stormy Daniels’ testimony.  Guest: Jeremy Stahl, Slate’s jurisprudence editor. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India started 2021 with government officials repeatedly declaring victory over COVID-19. But the virus has overrun hospitals and crematoriums, in part due to massive gatherings and a slow vaccination rollout.  Guest: Chahat Rana, health reporting fellow at The Caravan magazine.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The national conversation about gun violence in America almost always focuses on mass shootings -- but these events tend to overshadow the more day-to-day violence that makes up the bulk of gun deaths in the U.S. What would our policy conversation look like if more attention was paid to the kind of gun violence that’s most prevalent?  Guest: Abené Clayton, reporter for Guns and Lies at the Guardian. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech workers from the Bay Area happily left their expensive apartments for Lake Tahoe during the pandemic, hoping to get some fresh air and a change of scenery. Towns around the lake soon became "Zoom-towns" -- areas where remote workers moved in and never left, raising prices and driving out longtime residents. Now, locals are fighting back. Guest: Rachel Levin, San Francisco-based journalist. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Masks are crucial to stopping the spread of COVID-19, especially indoors and during prolonged close contact. But after a year of the pandemic, evidence is growing that it’s time to rethink rules on wearing masks outdoors.  Guest: Shannon Palus, senior editor at Slate. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, a Tesla Model S crashed into a tree in a neighborhood north of Houston. Both men inside the car were killed. But according to police, neither of them was in the driver’s seat.  This is not the first crash in which Tesla’s “autopilot” feature has likely played a role. Should we really be trusting this technology? Guest:  Missy Cummings, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University Host Lizzie O’Leary   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The country remains divided over the January 6th Capitol riot. The division is reflected in voter surveys, news coverage, and millions of social media posts. But the tension is also on display in small, idiosyncratic communities who realized some of their own were at the Capitol attack and may have cheered it on.  Guest: Matthew Rosenberg, reporter for the New York Times.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After just 10 hours of deliberation, jurors found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty in the murder of George Floyd. This is what happened inside the courtroom and out on the streets. Guests: Jon Collins, criminal justice reporter at MPR News. Aymann Ismail, staff writer at Slate. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Biden administration is under no illusions that Russia President Vladimir Putin can be a willing partner of the U.S. But what tools remain to check Putin’s ambitions? Guest: Josh Keating, senior editor at Slate and the author of Invisible Countries.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What makes a police officer shoot when a suspect’s hands are up? To understand this, it helps to examine police training, and the predominant lesson that many young officers receive: Any encounter could be your last.  Guest: Michael Sierra-Arévalo, assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like countless venture-funded start-ups before it, Substack is “disrupting” the media industry. The newsletter service is siphoning off high-profile talent with a promise of independence and bigger paychecks. But the platform’s influence might reach far beyond the media. Will Substack change the way we think about online creators and their audiences? Can it create a new kind of relationship between them? Guest:    Charlie Warzel, writer of Galaxy Brain  Host Lizzie O’Leary   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crossing the Darién Gap, a 66-mile stretch of jungle in Panama, was hard enough before right-wing influencers began showing up with cameras, trying to bait would-be migrants into providing pro-Trump soundbites.  Guest: Ken Bensinger, New York Times political reporter covering right-wing media and national campaigns. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal officials have recommended halting distribution of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, citing rare but potentially severe blood clots. Now, health officials are trying to find out whether or not the clots are connected to the vaccine, creating confusion and sometimes panic for recipients. While the process may seem backwards for some, others say it’s science working the way it’s supposed to.   Guest: Tara Haelle, science journalist and author. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Davis Land, Danielle Hewitt, Elena Schwartz and Carmel Delshad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans are smart to lean in on “cancel culture” as a campaign issue to unite voters. Dan Pfeiffer of Pod Save America says Democrats have the power to make that a losing strategy for the GOP. Guest: Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of Pod Save America. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How one theory about COVID-19’s origins went from the fringes to the mainstream -- and why it just might be plausible. Guest: Alina Chan, postdoctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Derek Chauvin stands trial for the murder of George Floyd, prosecutors are determined to show the justice system is going to work in this case. Beyond the courtroom, the future of Minneapolis’s relationship with its police department is an open question. Guest: Jon Collins, class and criminal justice reporter at Minnesota Public Radio. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the start of the pandemic, usage of apps like BetterHelp and Talkspace has skyrocketed. These apps might make mental health care more accessible, but are the products they sell really the same as therapy? Guest:    Molly Fischer, features writer for the Cut at New York Magazine Host Lizzie O’Leary   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February 2020, Karlin Chan began a group called the Chinatown Block Watch to patrol his New York City neighborhood and act as a “visual deterrent” to anti-Asian attacks. One year and one pandemic later, Chan’s Block Watch is still patrolling the streets, and taking an expansive view of what it means to keep the community safe. Guest: Karlin Chan, founder of the Chinatown Block Watch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michigan is currently home to 13 of the worst performing metro areas when it comes to the coronavirus. They recently surpassed 10,000 new cases and their curve has “gone vertical”. With vaccine distribution ramping up across the country, is the Michigan surge a warning for the rest of the country?  Guest: Abdul El-Sayed, host of America Dissected Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, President Biden rolled out an ambitious infrastructure plan that relies on increased taxes on corporations to fund big changes to America’s infrastructure. His plan goes beyond putting pavement on the ground, and lays out a different vision for what "infrastructure" really means. Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, The New York Times reported that Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz was under investigation by the Justice Department over his relationships with women recruited online for sex, and whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. Gaetz gained national attention for his trollish, Trumpian antics and fiery loyalty to the then-president. What happens if the Trump playbook doesn’t work for the 38-year-old congressman?  Guest: Jeff Weiner, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Editor for the Orlando Sentinel  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are at least 17 different “vaccine passport” initiatives underway in the United States. And leaked documents reveal that the Biden administration fears that “a chaotic and ineffective vaccine credential approach could hamper our pandemic response by undercutting health safety measures, slowing economic recovery, and undermining public trust and confidence.”  Without coordination, a chaotic and ineffective approach seems likely. So, what can, and what should, the Biden administration do to avoid this outcome? And what are the risks and rewards of coordinating an effort that divides Americans along the lines of vaccination status? Guest:    Dan Diamond, health policy and politics reporter for the Washington Post Host Lizzie O’Leary   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a last minute twist, Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire with Israel. But targeted airstrikes are already underway in Rafah. With its infrastructure in shambles, Gaza is facing famine – and worse. What’s next for Gaza’s people?  Guest: Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent for the Economist. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles’s Echo Park Lake is home to swan boats, running trails and space for members of it’s rapidly gentrifying community to gather during the pandemic. Up until last week, it was also home to over 100 people living in tents on the west side of the park. The encampment became the focal point of LA’s housing affordability crisis when the housed members of the Echo Park neighborhood called for it to be cleared.  Guest: Benjamin Oreskes, metro report for the Los Angeles Times.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most kids in the country aren’t back to school in any way we’d recognize as normal. Republicans have noticed. Now, they’re launching a few trial balloons this year to see if “reopen the schools” can become their next winning campaign slogan. Guest: Edward-Isaac Dovere, staff writer at the Atlantic. Read his story, “Democrats Are Failing the Schools Test.” Dovere is the author of the forthcoming book, Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Trump.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Houston residents and elected officials are trying to stop the largest urban highway project of their lifetimes -- one that would clear out more than 1,000 homes in primarily Black and Latin neighborhoods and, they say, introduce additional flooding and health risks. Now, residents have a powerful new ally in Washington: the Biden administration. The fate of I-45 may tell us something about what 21st-century infrastructure will look like.  Guests: Tomaro Bell, Houston resident and community leader, and Oni Blair, executive director of LINK Houston.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has become a Republican celebrity for his notably lax coronavirus policies, keeping the state mostly open during the pandemic. But in Miami Beach, tourists are using the lack of restrictions to their advantage, exposing the difficulty of managing a world that isn’t quite done with COVID-19, but desperately wants to be.   Guest: Verónica Zaragovia, healthcare reporter at WLRN.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in April 2020, AstraZeneca was hailed as a frontrunner in the race to get an effective vaccine to market. A year later, after a series of trial pauses, communication blunders, and PR problems, the vaccine is on the cusp of FDA approval.  By all accounts, the company succeeded in making a safe, effective vaccine. So why has there been so much confusion about its rollout? Guest:    Peter Aldhous, science reporter at Buzzfeed News Host Lizzie O’Leary   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colorado Rep. Tom Sullivan counts the number of Fridays since his son was killed in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012. The latest mass shooting in Boulder, which left 10 people dead, was yet another reason Sullivan says he’s continuing his quest to curb gun violence in the state. Guest: Colorado State Rep. Tom Sullivan. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After four years of President Trump’s harsh immigration policies, many advocates for Central American migrants welcomed a change in administration. But after two months in office, President Biden has given a clear message to people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border: “don’t come.” Still, thousands of people, including an increasing number of unaccompanied children, are making the trek and forcing Biden to face his first big immigration test. Guest: Adolfo Flores, national security for immigration correspondent at Buzzfeed. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, were left without water for weeks after a deep freeze hit the south, bursting pipes and forcing people to rely on bottled or collected rain water. But even though the water is back on, Jackson’s next water crisis might not be so far off. Guest: Nick Judin is a reporter at the Mississippi Free Press.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 16, a white gunman killed eight people - six of them Asian-American women - during shootings at three different spas in Georgia. The shooter claims he was driven by a “sex addiction,” but his actions fall into a complicated legacy where race, sex, and the fetishization of Asian women all intersect. That legacy is now in full view as the nation grapples with this latest tragedy and a rise in anti-Asian violence. .  Guest: Lisa Hagen is a reporter for WABE in Atlanta and the co-host of No Compromise, a podcast about a grassroots movement for gun rights. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook’s failure to contain the spread of dangerous misinformation is no secret. For years, the company has pledged publicly to fix the problem. But in the wake of the Capitol riots, it’s clear that there’s more work to be done. So, why isn’t the social media giant using its powerful AI to contain hate and lies? Guest:  Karen Hao, senior AI reporter at MIT Technology Review Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling for Mike Johnson’s job—again. But unlike Kevin McCarthy before him, Johnson has support from a surprising place. Guest: Jim Newell, Slate’s senior politics writer. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo faces calls to resign over accusations of sexual harassment and allowing a toxic workplace culture to persist. But to the people who know him best, it’s unlikely the governor will ever bow to those demands.  Guests: Jimmy Vielkind, Wall Street Journal reporter covering New York politics & government. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed crucial gaps in the public health system, including the government’s inability to gather data quickly and accurately. After a year of lockdowns and isolation, a return to life resembling normalcy is in sight, but how will we know when we get there?  Guests: Alexis Madrigal, co-founder of The COVID Tracking Project, and staff writer at The Atlantic. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to the past year, we’ve all lost something -- or someone. Time with friends and family. A job. A loved one. But when we think about the 530,000 people in the U.S. who died because of COVID-19, the magnitude makes it hard to see the individuals. Today, we remember one loss, out of many. Guests: Alicia Montgomery, executive producer of podcasts at Slate, and her cousin, Yvonne Tilghman. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down cities across the U.S. and forced many people to work from home, others deemed “essential” still had to show up for their jobs. A year later, the gap between the need for essential workers and the way they’re treated is all too apparent.  Guests: Henry Grabar, staff writer at Slate. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 2014, Google released in-depth diversity data for its workforce for the first time. 1.1 percent of its tech team identified as Black. Six years later, after millions of dollars spent and a much-hyped partnership program with historically Black colleges and universities across the country, that number is up to 2.4 percent.  How did such a promising effort yield such incremental change? Guest: Nitasha Tiku, tech culture reporter at the Washington Post Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why did schools stay closed for so long in Memphis? And why weren’t parents clamoring for them to reopen? To answer those questions, you have to tell a longer story about the relationship between a majority-Black, Democratically-controlled city and a largely white, Republican-controlled state.  Guest: Laura Faith Kebede, reporter for Chalkbeat Tennessee.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly a third of republican voters say they’re not interested in getting a COVID-19 vaccine. What does that mean for the spread of the virus?  Guest: Dan Diamond, national health reporter for the Washington Post.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 117th U.S. Congress is the most diverse ever. But that distinction does not extend to senior staff on the Hill. How does the makeup of Congressional staff influence legislation? Guest: Maya King, author of Politico’s Recast newsletter on how race and identity shape politics, policy, and power.   Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police last year sparked an international protest movement and amplified calls for police accountability. Now, as the former police officer Derek Chauvin goes on trial, Minneapolis is preparing for another public reckoning.  Guest: Jon Collins, senior reporter for Minnesota Public Radio. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal Lifeline program was intended to bridge the gap between Americans who could comfortably pay for phone and internet service, and those who couldn’t. But in the midst of the pandemic, Lifeline is falling woefully short. How did a program meant to help connect low-income Americans with phone and internet service ended up making them second-class digital citizens at the worst possible moment?  Guest:  Tony Romm, senior tech policy reporter at the Washington Post, author of “How the Federal Lifeline Program Failed Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic” Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The California Journalism Preservation Act would make companies like Google and Meta pay publishers for the news content appearing in their feeds and search results—and force news organizations to spend that money on their journalists. How have similar laws worked in Canada and Australia? And could it solve journalism’s on-going revenue problem? Guest: Matt Pearce, former LA Times journalist, the president of Media Guild of the West. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Joe Biden’s surprising win in Georgia, Republicans in the state started in on legislation to limit voting access in the state. Their efforts mirror what’s happening in state houses across the country. Is there any way to slow down these efforts to limit access to the ballot?  Guest: Ari Berman, writer for Mother Jones and the author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As legislative sessions begin across the country, a rash of anti-trans bills have been brought to the floor by Republican legislators. Many of the proposals target trans youth -- both in sports, and access to medical care. If any of these bills become law, what will it mean for trans rights across the country?  Guest: Kate Sosin, Reporter for the 19th Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices