What Next | Daily News and Analysis – Details, episodes & analysis

Last week, the Army’s Chief of Staff, General Randy George, joined a long and growing list of high-level military officers who have been fired, forced out, or otherwise induced to leave their positions during the second Trump administration. What does that mean for the war in Iran?

Guest: Idrees Ali, national security correspondent at Reuters.

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

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American Catholicism finds itself at a crossroads—split between its prominent conservative representatives in the Trump administration and in the priesthood, and the more inclusive, social justice-oriented messaging of the American pope. 

Guest: Colleen Dulle, Vatican correspondent for America Media, co-host of “Inside the Vatican” podcast, and author of “Struck Down, Not Destroyed.”

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

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

Trump’s unpredictability injects uncertainty into the economy, foreign policy, and everything else he touches. Even as his war messaging varies wildly moment to moment, the world economy is certain of one thing: it’s bad for the Strait of Hormuz to close.

Guest:  Justin Wolfers, professor of economics at the University of Michigan. 

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.

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

Is the president falling into the very trap that launched him back into office by telling people the economy is actually great when they say it isn’t? Is this partially ballroom’d White House as chaotic as its detractors—and Trump’s chief of staff—say it is? 

Guest: Ben Jacobs, political reporter based in Washingon.

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

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

Israel ground to a halt on Monday after a series of massive protests against planned judicial reforms. Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the reforms will be delayed, getting them passed is a top priority for his far-right coalition government. How can the government—and country—move forward?

Guest: Dahlia Scheindlin, international political and strategic consultant and fellow at Century International in Tel Aviv.

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In Chicago, a city plagued by recent crime concerns from its citizens, a progressive former Teachers Union organizer faces an opponent who has described himself in the past as “more of a Republican than a Democrat.” 

Guest: Gregory Pratt, Chicago Tribune reporter covering Mayor Lori Lightfoot and City Hall.

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Elon Musk has been promising fully self-driving Teslas to the public for years and the beta version of Full Self-Driving is already in over 300,000 cars. But as a recent recall attests, the software still isn’t ready to take the wheel—and Musk himself may be a big reason why. 

Guest: Faiz Siddiqui, tech reporter for the Washington Post

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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To most of its 150 million American consumers, TikTok is a fun app. To some creators, TikTok is a job and their platform. But to members of the US government, TikTok is a national security risk. As the fight over TikTok’s future comes to Capitol Hill this week, what’s next for the embattled social media platform?

Guest: Emily Baker-White, senior writer, tech reporter at Forbes

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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Despite his campaign promises, President Biden has signed off on the Willow Project, an $8 billion plan to extract 600 million barrels of oil from public lands in Alaska. But how useful might this 30-year project be with the country continually prioritizing electric energy?

Guest: Ben Lefebvre, energy reporter at Politico. 

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Since last summer, it’s been difficult to fill an Adderall prescription. The shortage is driving some people to try other ADHD medications—causing shortages of those medications too—while others are sourcing their medication on the “gray market.” 

Why is such a common drug nowhere to be found?And why has the FDA been so mum on the subject? 

Guests: 

Ike Swetlitz, health journalist for Bloomberg News

Sheila McClear, writer for Los Angeles magazine

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