What Next | Daily News and Analysis

The (once) second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, collapsed in stunning fashion this week, highlighting why consumers really do want regulation, and why old financial institutions remain wary of crypto. Guest: Felix Salmon, host of Slate Money, chief financial correspondent for Axios.Host: Lizzie O’Leary 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second largest investor in Twitter, after Elon Musk, is the Saudis, which raises questions about what kinds of “free speech” Musk is really committed to. But it also raises questions around national security in the U.S. Guest: Chris Murphy, U.S. Senator from ConnecticutHost: Lizzie O’LearyIf 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The dust still hasn’t settled from the midterm elections. But some themes have begun emerging: the GOP underperformed; the right to abortion won on state-level votes; Florida has gone red, but Democrats won gubernatorial races across the old “blue wall.” And it may be time for Republicans to consider who they are, apart from the party of Trump.Guest: Jamelle Bouie, columnist at the New York Times.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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katie Laird, a social justice blogger, and her son Noah discuss the challenges faced by their transgender family in Texas, including their decision to move to Colorado for a more supportive environment. They reflect on the emotional toll of leaving their beloved state and discuss concerns about safety, self-acceptance, and the slow pace of change.

Paul Pelosi joined a growing list of Congress members and their families who have been targets of violent political attacks. What can be done about the growing safety risk of being in the public eye? And what does living under threat do to the people charged with running the government?Guest: Liz Goodwin, Congress reporter at the Washington Post.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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump won Ohio handily, and it’s been expected that JD Vance would cruise into a Senate seat this fall. But Democratic candidate Tim Ryan seems to have struck a chord with the very demographics that have been drifting away from his party. Does he have what it takes to win in Trump country? And could his success be replicated across the Midwest?Guest: Alec MacGillis, politics and government reporter at ProPublica.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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been a rough autumn for parents of little kids, as non-COVID respiratory diseases are taking advantage of the first fall since 2019 where schools and daycares are full again, and America’s strained pediatric health care system is once again put to the test. Guest: Katherine Wu, science writer for The Atlantic.Host: Lizzie O’Leary.Podcast production by Madeline Ducharme.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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One week in as head honcho of Twitter and Elon Musk is in a tight spot: how do you balance the desires of advertisers with your ostensible zeal for free speech? How do you make something for which you’ve already overpaid turn a profit? How do you convince Stephen King to pony up for a blue check?Guest: Alex Kirshner, contributing writer at Slate. Host: Lizzie O’LearyIf 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 Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.Podcast production by Madeline Ducharme.Thanks Avast.com! Learn more about Avast One at Avast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrats have been winning reliably in Nevada, but between the lack of enthusiasm for Joe Biden among Latino voters, and a lackluster voter-turnout effort from Vegas’s hospitality union, it’s very possible that the face of Nevada’s “Stop the Steal” effort may win a Senate seat.Guest: Jon Ralston, CEO and Editor in Chief of The Nevada Independent.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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden won Colorado by 13 points, which is why Jim O’Dea is running for the Senate as a moderate Republican—one who will stand up to Donald Trump. It’s a message that isn’t winning support from Democratic voters, and may well be undermining his appeal to Republicans.  Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics writer at Slate. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices