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.

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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. 

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

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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.

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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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The Atlanta Police Foundation’s $90 million police training facility, a mock-urban space with a nightclub, convenience store, and even homes, has drawn the ire of police reform activists, environmentalists, and even advocates for the homeless. The months-long effort by forest-dwelling protesters to prevent the construction of this facility has left an advocate dead, a state trooper shot, 35 individuals facing terrorism charges, and a community divided.

Guest: Madeline Thigpen, criminal justice reporter at Capital B Atlanta.

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This weekend, former President Trump warned supporters on Truth Social he could be arrested on Tuesday, and called for them to “TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” Although it’s unclear whether Trump is facing imminent arrest, many observers believe legal proceedings focused on Trump’s “hush money” payment to Stormy Daniels suggest an indictment is coming soon.

How strong is this case, and how likely is it that Trump will face real legal consequences? 

Guests: 

Dahlia Lithwick, host of Slate’s Amicus, and author of “Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America.”

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, and Madeline Ducharme, with help from Jared Downing and Laura Spencer.

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Using just what you’ve posted to social media, generative A.I. can create a “puppet version” of your voice—one that’s close enough to scam your family into paying thousands in, say, bail money. And imitating public officials to create “deep fakes” who say whatever they’re told is even easier. 

Guest: Pranshu Verma, tech reporter for the Washington Post.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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The economy is doing well almost every but in tech, where headlines about layoffs have been replaced with news about Silicon Valley Bank’s demise. The collapse of “the central artery for the tech industry” looks like the end of an era. Where do venture capitalists, start-ups—and the industry writ large—go now?

Guest: Priya Anand, reporter at Bloomberg covering venture capital and start-ups.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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While the A.I. boom has created a data center boom, rich guys are turning their computing dreams to the skies. With its impending IPO, SpaceX stands to lead the extraterrestrial data center boom. Will it work out for Elon and company? 

Guest: Eric Berger, space reporter at Ars Technica

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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Colleges are dropping the SAT as a requirement in their admissions process, citing studies that what the test measures best is simply how well you’ve prepared for the test. But the question at the heart of the matter remains: how do you create a fair and equitable college admissions process? And can a test-optional system help foster a more equal playing field when there’s still so much inequality built into our school systems?

Guest: Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, senior reporter at Higher Ed Dive.

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The downfall of Silicon Valley Bank marks the second largest bank collapse in American history. 

Why and how did SVBgo under? Where were the regulators? And how do we stop this from happening again?

Guest: Annie Lowery,staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Give People Money.

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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has made anti-trans legislation a trademark of her term, but singling out trans people—and those who provide them medical care—comes at a cost to the state and its residents. It left the tiny rural town of Webster with only one physician.

Guest: Mayson Bedient, a family medicine and gender-affirming care specialist in Fargo, North Dakota

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Judy Heumann devoted her life to advocating for Americans with disabilities and was a fixture at protests, sit-ins, and activist meetings, eventually becoming a presidential advisor. After passing away at 75, her work continues through her friends and those she fought for. 

Guest: Sandy Ho, founder of Disability and Intersectionality Summit and disability policy researcher.

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The online dating world can be brutal and repetitive—just the kind of thing you might want to automate. But, in one tech writer’s experience, artificial intelligence isn’t ready to make real connections—at least, not without a lot of help.

Guest: Heather Tal Murphy, covers business and technology at Slate

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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Just weeks before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a Nebraska woman and her daughter were charged with performing an illegal abortion, thanks to information that law enforcement uncovered by going through their Facebook accounts. 

Guest: Johana Bhuiyan, senior reporter on tech and surveillance for The Guardian

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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For all of his success, Steven Spielberg has a spotty record at the Oscars. He’s been nominated 22 times, but he’s only won three. Is it a curse?

 This Sunday could mark a shift for the King of Hollywood’s five decades in the industry. And with The Fabelmans this year, it’s personal. 

Guest: Michael Schulman, New Yorker staff writer and the author of Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears.

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The New York Times published an exposé on immigrant children illegally employed to do dangerous jobs across the country. To one U.S. representative, it’s not just a labor issue; it’s symptomatic of the larger problems in the immigration system. Fixing it, then, will require once again taking up the fight to overhaul immigration. 

Guest: Rep. Hillary Scholten, U.S. representative from Michigan’s 3rd congressional district. 

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The federal government ended the COVID-19 increase to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program this month. What does this mean for people who depend on SNAP to put food on the table?

Guests: Helena Bottemiller Evich, reporter and founder of Food Fix, a publication on food policy.

Jennifer Barnes, founder of Solidarity Sandy Springs in Georgia.

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The “Native American Graves and Repatriation Act” passed more than 30 years ago, with the goal of returning human remains, which were taken from native burial sites, back to their tribes. But museums and universities still hold the remains of thousands of people—UC Berkeley alone has nearly 10,000.

Guest: Mary Hudetz, Propublica reporter focusing on tribal issues throughout the Southwest.

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Make an impact this Women’s History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

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It’s not that antisemitism ever went away, but it’s still jarring to watch people spread its oldest and most vile tropes on social media in a way that would’ve been unthinkable ten years ago.

Guest:  Isaac Saul, politics reporter in Bucks County, Penn., author of the Tangle newsletter

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

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The diabetes medication Ozempic has exploded in popularity, particularly amongst those in Hollywood looking to lose a few extra pounds. But a silver bullet for weight loss leads to a number of questions: Is “buying weight loss” via injection somehow worse than diet and exercise? Are so many people buying and using this drug that people who need it for its intended purpose are missing out? What happened to body positivity? 

Guest: Matthew Schneier, feature writer for New York Magazine.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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It was reported this week that the U.S. Department of Energy now believes, “with low confidence,” that the COVID-19 virus came from a lab. But is there enough evidence for the “lab leak theory” to convince those who believe the virus emerged from animals in a wet market?

Guest: Angela Rasmussen, virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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President Biden’s student loan debt relief plan goes before the Supreme Court this week. Though the court’s conservative majority seems opposed to the program, debt-relief detractors are struggling to answer a major question: who does this program harm?

Guests:

Mark Joseph Stern, Slate senior writer covering the courts

Alice Turner, hospital pharmacist and compounder

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Make an impact this Women’s History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

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It’s a rare bi-partisan point of agreement: the price of insulin is too high—and it’s still rising. With the stakes literally life-or-death for millions of Americans, what can be done?

Guest: Bram Sable-Smith, Midwest correspondent for Kaiser Health News.

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Make an impact this Women’s History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

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When John Fetterman checked himself into a hospital for clinical depression in mid-February, he was praised by both parties and public health officials for his bravery. But not long ago, being diagnosed with depression or taking time for your mental health were seen as disqualifying for those seeking public office. 

Guest: Jason Kander, President of National Expansion at Veterans Community Project, author of Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD, and co-host of Crooked Media’s podcast Majority 54.

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When Beijing passed a new law that harshly penalized protests in Hong Kong, activists and dissident groups had to choose whether to shut down or get out. Now, 47 pro-democracy activists are facing charges and likely prison time, and a generation of dissent may be quelled. 

Guest: Emily Feng, NPR’s Beijing correspondent. 

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CORRECTION (March 2, 2023): A previous version of this episode misidentified this trial as a closed trial.

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New understandings of how our brains develop are changing how the law considers who is mature and who isn’t. But If our brains are still developing, when can the law treat us like adults? 

Guest: Jane C. Hu, independent science journalist.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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Microsoft has been testing out their new artificial intelligence on their long-ridiculed search engine Bing. The results? A chatbot that lies brazenly and confidently, and has a penchant for manipulation. What are the risks and rewards of letting bots loose on the world?

Guest: Drew Harwell, Washington Post tech reporter covering artificial intelligence 

Host: Emily Peck

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The sound of air raid sirens in Kyiv are almost comforting to one Ukrainian journalist—it means the air defense system still works. But even with the Russians running low on weaponry, he doesn’t see how the war ends while Vladimir Putin is alive. 

Guest: Romeo Kokriatski, managing editor of New Voice of Ukraine, and co-host of the podcast Ukraine Without Hype

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How getting recovery aid and assistance to Turkey and northern Syria has been complicated by on-going aftershocks from the earthquake and the reverberations of the Syrian civil war. 

Guests:  

Louisa Loveluck, Baghdad bureau chief for the Washington Post. 

Dr. Ahmad Dbais, Operations Director and Disaster Management Team Leader for UOSSM (Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations).

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Even though the economy looks to be slowing down, prices are still rising. And while presidents don’t have a ton of control over the economy, there is something in Donald Trump’s power that could help reverse these trends. 

Guest: Catherine Rampell, economics editor at The Bulwark and anchor at MS NOW.

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

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How a derailed train and the dark cloud of chemical burn off over East Palestine, Ohio, came to confirm everything you think is wrong with everything.

Guest: Ben Mathis-Lilley, Slate staff writer

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Make an impact this Black History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund UNCF scholarships for HBCU students. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

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Enjoy this episode of Slate's Amicus, while the What Next team enjoys the holiday.

Wisconsin’s State Supreme Court heard one of the landmark cases of the 2020 presidential election. During oral arguments in Trump v Biden in December 2020, Justice Jill J Karofsky participated in proceedings via Zoom from her office inside the state capitol in Madison. Outside her office window, she could see armed protesters gathered in what she later viewed as a dry run for January 6th. In a 4-3 decision, with one Republican justice siding against Trump, the Wisconsin Supreme Court voted to uphold Biden’s victory in the state. On this week’s Amicus, Justice Karofsky speaks for the first time about the fallout from that case: Fallout in her personal life, for herself and loved ones. Fallout in her professional life, with an investigation and the threat of sanction for her line of questioning in oral argument. And beyond all that, the fallout for democracy—and for the role of jurists within that democracy. 

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The tech-laden, luxury bassinet “Snoo” has been presented as preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, helping babies sleep longer, and a totally reasonable way to spend $1,700. Is any of that true?

Guest: Kate Taylor, senior features correspondent for Business Insider

John Collins, Lizzie’s husband.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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Come to think of it, a giant balloon seems like a pretty conspicuous way to spy on another country. So what was that Chinese spy balloon doing above the U.S.—and what have American planes been shooting down since?

Guest: Shane Harris, Washington Post reporter covering intelligence and national security. 

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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A judge in north Texas is considering a lawsuit that could make access to abortion pills more difficult across the country. While anti-abortion activists can point to a string of recent successes, the existence of another, widely-used abortion medication would make medical abortions nearly impossible to ban outright. 

Guest: Christina Cauterucci, Slate senior writer and host of Outward.

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Former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley announced that she is running to be president in 2024—challenging Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. How will she define herself in contrast to the former president—her former boss—without losing his base?

Guest: Ed Kilgore, political columnist for New York magazine.

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With hard-right, pro-settler representatives in the Israeli government, and the Palestinian Authority losing credibility with Palestinians, illegal settlements in the West Bank have become flashpoints in the ever-present yet still-escalating tension in the region.

Guest: Yair Rosenberg, staff writer at the Atlantic and the author of its newsletter, Deep Shtetl, about the intersection of politics, culture, and religion.

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Why does someone become a mass shooter? Researchers are interviewing perpetrators and their victims—and those who narrowly averted committing a mass shooting—and discovering a common thread of psychological despair. Can their work be applied to the prevention of future violence?

Guest: Jillian Peterson, forensic psychologist, violence researcher, and author of The Violence Project. 

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It’s hard to put a number on it but judging from the number of videos emerging online, there are more and more contraband cell phones finding their way into the hands of people in prison, who use them to record TikTok dances, take online courses, and alert the outside world to what’s happening on the inside.

Guest: Keri Blakinger, criminal justice reporter at the Los Angeles Times, author of Corrections in Ink.

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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TikTok was banned on government agency devices in December; several schools and universities have banned it on their devices and wifi networks, and the governor of Texas unveiled a plan to ban it in the state. Can “Project Texas” stem the anti-TikTok tide? And would banning the app actually achieve…anything?

Guest: Louise Matsakis, reporter for Semafor covering tech and China

Host: Lizzie O’Leary

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In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, the right-wing commentator Candace Owens didn’t simply blame liberals. Her antisemetic conspiracy theories have become so toxic that Kirk’s widow has called for a private summit this week.

Guest: Will Sommer, senior reporter for The Bulwark.

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

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Governor Ron DeSantis canceling the rollout of AP African-American Studies course in Florida is more than just another salvo in the culture war. It has implications across public education, across the country—and its chilling effect is already evident.

Guests: Jeremy Young, historian and Senior Manager of Free Expression and Education at PEN America.

Chyna-Lee Hunter, a 12th grade student at Robert Morgan Educational Center in Miami, Fla.

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Make an impact this Black History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund UNCF scholarships for HBCU students. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

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For Ukrainians who remained behind when the war began, choices made in the fog of occupation come under scrutiny when the invading army leaves, and neighbors once divided by the Russians again must live side by side.  

Guest: Joshua Yaffa, contributing writer at The New Yorker and the author of “Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin's Russia.”

If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.

Make an impact this Black History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund UNCF scholarships for HBCU students. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

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