What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Spanish-speaking voters in Florida have been exposed to a steady uptick in falsities and conspiracy theories. This misinformation is shared in WhatsApp groups, Facebook groups, and YouTube channels, then amplified by enormously popular local radio stations. Now there are signs that the flood of misinformation is having an effect. Groups that voted Democrat in 2016 seem to be leaning to the right.Will this onslaught of misinformation tilt the Latino vote in Florida? And if so, what does that mean for Florida’s 29 electoral votes?Guest: Eduardo Gamarra, professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University. HostCeleste Headlee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As of Sept. 24, there are 42 vaccines in clinical trials on humans. At least 92 others are being developed but have not yet gone to trial. For months, the world has tracked the progression of these vaccines closely, with the expectation that once one arrives on the market, we can finally start to go back to normal. But, is that true? Does the world really look much different with an effective vaccine?Guest: Dr. Paul Offit, professor of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.HostCeleste Headlee  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For pregnant women in the U.S., there are plenty of reasons to mistrust the medical establishment. Mortality rates are high compared to other western countries, and one-third of women in the U.S. give birth by C-section. It’s no wonder that many women turn to the internet for alternatives. This week, the story of one woman who was drawn into a network of private Facebook groups dedicated to the idea of ‘freebirth,’ or unassisted birth. And what happens when the misinformation shared in these private groups has real-life consequences. Guest: Brandy Zadrozny, reporter for NBC News. You can read her reporting on ‘freebirth’ here.  This episode originally aired in March 2020  HostLizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the planet warms in the coming decades, many parts of the planet that millions now call home will become uninhabitable. At first, people in these areas will move to the cities, then across international borders. This mass migration is already underway in the hottest parts of the world, and it is likely to accelerate in coming years.Just how many people will be forced to move? And where will they go?Guest: Abrahm Lustgarten, senior reporter at ProPublicaHostCeleste Headlee  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the killing of Michael Brown in 2014, and the national protests that followed, many believed that video shared on social media, along with footage from body cameras, would reshape the relationship between police and citizens. Six years later, one thing is clear: It didn’t work. Can viral videos really hold power to account?And why do we so often put our faith in technological solutions to solve societal problems?Guests:Bijan Stephen, reporter at the VergeEthan Zuckerman, former director, the Center for Civic Media, MIT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not long ago, the QAnon conspiracy theory seemed to have lost momentum. Social media mentions had decreased. 8chan had gone offline. But since March, fueled by the pandemic and social media giants, the conspiracy has taken on new life.What’s responsible for the rapid uptake of the movement? And now that QAnon has spilled over to the mainstream, how far can it go?Guest:Ali Breland, reporter at Mother Jones HostCeleste Headlee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early days of the pandemic, countries around the world invested heavily in new technologies that would help track the movement of the virus. Now, six months later, contact tracing apps are all but an afterthought in the fight to contain COVID-19. What happened? The U.K. provides some answers. The country put its faith in technology to contain the virus, and paid the price.Guest:Gus Hosein, executive director at Privacy International HostCeleste Headlee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early days of internet search engines, Google set itself apart by providing a simple service. A list of links, inviting you to explore the websites that best matched your query. It was a portal to the rest of the internet. But over the last two decades, that mission has changed.Does Google search still take you to the best result for your query? Or does it point users back to its own suite of products?Guest:Adrianne Jeffries, investigative journalist at The Markup. HostCeleste Headlee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the past five months, city blocks have been slipping away. Bars are closed; restaurants are half-empty; retail is shuttered. As the country returns to varying states of lockdown, how long can these blocks hold on? This week: how one commercial strip on Chicago’s South Side is weathering the pandemic.  Guests:Nedra Sims Fears, executive director of the Greater Chatham InitiativeBrian d'Antignac, The WoodshopJaidah Wilson-Turnbow, Frances Cocktail LoungeZoie Reams, Brown Sugar Bakery  HostHenry Grabar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the last four months, federal and state eviction moratoria have kept Americans in their apartments, even if they couldn’t pay rent. Now, with financial relief in question, and moratoria set to expire, the first of the month might look very different for millions of Americans.Guests:Emily, a resident of Chicago’s Northwest SideMark Durakovic, principal at Kass ManagementPeter Hepburn, analyst at Princeton’s Eviction LabHostHenry Grabar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices