What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Until last month, Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, and one of only three Black head coaches among the NFL’s 32 teams. That number has since dropped to one. On Tuesday, Flores announced he was suing the NFL, alleging that the league's hiring practices are racist. His suit comes almost 20 years after the creation of the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates for senior positions, and eight years after Colin Kaepernick was black-balled from the sport for kneeling during the national anthem—begging the question of how much has really changed in that time. This week as we ease out of summer, we are replaying some of our favorite episodes from the last year. This episode originally aired February 7, 2022.Guest: LZ Granderson, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of ABC News’ “Life Out Loud with LZ Granderson.”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. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is a fervent right-wing activist. She was also a supporter of the attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, as evidenced by a batch of texts shared with the congressional committee investigating January 6th. The Ginni Thomas texts create a conflict of interest for Justice Clarence Thomas as he hears cases pertaining to the insurrection. But the Supreme Court is not expected to do much to dispel notions of bias. Why?Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer covering courts and the law for Slate.This week as we ease out of summer, we are replaying some of our favorite episodes from the last year. This episode originally aired March 30, 2022.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. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shows are disappearing. Staff are getting axed. Is It greed, or necessary for the networks' survival?Guest: Julia AlexanderHost: Lizzie O'Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legendary hacker Peiter "Mudge" Zatko’s reputation in the cybersecurity world is unmatched. His allegations against Twitter’s security are all the more damning because of it.Guest: Joseph MennHost: Lizzie O'Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles, four Olympic gold medals, and over $100 million in prize money, this month Serena Williams announced the end of her professional tennis career. While her on-court accomplishments and longevity put her in the sporting pantheon, her cultural impact is just as remarkable. Guest: Amira Rose Davis, assistant professor of Black studies at the University of Texas Austin and co-host of the feminist sports podcast Burn It All Down.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. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Justice announced this month that they were investigating allegations that leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention mishandled sexual abuse accusations for decades. How have abusers exploited the church’s decentralized structure and notions of forgiveness to avoid accountability, and how have church teachings about sexuality and “purity culture” allowed the abuse to continue?Guest: Robert Downen, reporter at the Houston Chronicle. Jules Woodson, co-Founder & COO of Help;Hear;Heal, a nonprofit providing therapy funding for survivors of sexual abuse.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. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite its fraught history of botched executions, the state of Oklahoma is preparing to begin a 29 month execution spree this week. 25 dates have been set for men with severe mental illness, personal histories of childhood abuse, inadequate legal representation, or claims of innocence. Though these inmates have been deemed "the worst of the worst," activist nun Sister Helen Prejean implores the world to look at fuller pictures of their lives, and seek out an alternative to the death penalty.Guest: Sister Helen Prejean, anti-death penalty activist and author of Dead Man Walking, The Death of Innocents, and River of Fire.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. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As part of a stunt to protest the Biden administration’s immigration policies, the governors of Texas and Arizona have been sending bus-loads of migrants to DC and New York without any support. Immigrant advocate groups are scrambling to take care of these people, who were vulnerable well before being used as political props.Guest: Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director at New York Immigration Coalition & NYIC ActionIf 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. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's no way to remove politics from public health.Guest: Tim RequarthHost: Lizzie O'Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Inflation Reduction Act is spurring progress towards new climate technology that, at times, sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. Will it make a dent in the fight against climate change?Guest: Pranshu VermaHost: Lizzie O'Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices