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What Next | Daily News and Analysis


What Next | Daily News and Analysis

SchadenFriday: The Week MAGA Turned Cringe

Fri, 13 Feb 2026

There was a moment, when the tech CEOs and media moguls were lining up to kiss Trump’s ring, when it looked like almost all the demographic arrows were pointing right, where it looked like Trumpism was, if not widely embraced, at least too big to be written off. After a year of Trump back in office, the culture cries out for Woke 2.0.


Guest: Brian Beutler, founder of Off-Message.


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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.

The Senator Going After Data Centers

Fri, 13 Feb 2026

Data centers are a hot issue - tech companies say they need them, but communities don’t want to be anywhere near them. Senator Van Hollen stops by the show to share his plan to address the rising costs of energy for consumers that data centers create, as well as his thoughts on ICE and the future of the Democratic Party. 


Guest: Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland


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, and Patrick Fort.


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

No Really, Abolish ICE

Thu, 12 Feb 2026

Democrats have a list of demands and reforms they want implemented before continuing to fund the Department of Homeland Security. But  DHS doesn’t really need their approval to keep going.


Guest: Garrett Graff, journalist, historian, author of Doomsday Scenario.


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.

Her Client Sued Uber—And Won

Wed, 11 Feb 2026

Although sexual assault and rape by rideshare drivers has been widely reported, Uber itself largely avoided legal liability until last week, when a jury decided the company had to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said she was raped by her Uber driver. 


Guest:  Sarah London, co-Lead and liaison counsel in the multidistrict litigation against Uber.


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.

Markiplier Goes to Hollywood

Tue, 10 Feb 2026

Markiplier has been entertaining millions of fans on YouTube for over a decade. But his new movie Iron Lung - which he self-financed, directed, wrote and acted in - was a smash at the box office, not on his YouTube channel. Is it proof that he’s more than a YouTuber? Or is it proof that Hollywood is thinking about the platform and its creators all wrong? 


Guest: Mark Fischbach aka Markiplier, YouTuber, filmmaker and director of “Iron Lung.”


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, and Patrick Fort.


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

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