Candice Lim and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe dissect the drama surrounding country singer Zach Bryan and his breakup with Barstool Sports personality Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia. On October 22, Bryan announced via Instagram Story that he had split from LaPaglia, which did not surprise certain corners of Reddit who had been discussing alleged Raya profiles and recent ominous podcast comments. But multiple online communities were praying for the downfall of this relationship, asking: How much of this celebration is warranted, and how should an online figure react when people openly await their demise? But first, Nadira details her reporting from the Timothée Chalamet look-alike contest this past weekend.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from Alexandra Botti and Kat Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He didn’t find his grandfather. But traveling to, photographing, and uploading his grandfather’s memorial stone gave him something else. Guest: Tony Tran, senior tech editor at Slate and author of the feature “My Weekends with the Dead.”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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Candice Lim is joined by Meghan Keane, the founder of NPR’s Life Kit and the author of Party of One: Be Your Own Best Life Partner. We’re approaching “cuffing season,” a viral term that demarcates those colder months when everyone in your life suspiciously couples up. While it’s bred a whole economy of cozy, staying in vlogs and soft (or hard) launches, what happens to those who choose not to cuff up this season — or ever? On today’s episode, we’re talking about what it really means to choose yourself in a world that pressures us to partner, and how the internet helps or hurts this narrative thanks to friendship breakups, dating app screenshots, and unfiltered Reddit advice.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from Alexandra Botti. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This election cycle, TikTok has evolved into a news-and-politics delivery mechanism. Will it make a difference?Guest: Sapna Maheshwari, reporting on TikTok and other tech for the New York Times.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.Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond’s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The “locked in” YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Candice Lim is joined by Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe and Teen Vogue associate editor Aiyana Ishmael to break down the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which came back last week after six years away. The lingerie brand’s once-iconic show featured performances from Cher, Tyla, and LISA, but its return has begged the question: who is the show for, and what does it say about the body positivity movement right now. But first, the panel dissects the alleged insurance fraud attempt that recently went viral on TikTok.This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from Alexandra Botti and Kat Hong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America’s head of cybersecurity isn’t worried about the election being hacked or the results being tampered with. But this election cycle does have her worried for our democracy.Guest: Jen Easterly, Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Candice Lim is joined by Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe to play a game of High Speed Downloads, where they get 60 seconds to break down an internet story they’re obsessed with. On today’s episode, they’re breaking down the massive drama surrounding former RIIZE member Seunghan, the most famous missing cake in New York City, and why “in the clerb, we all fam.”This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim, with production assistance from Alexandra Botti. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk went from voting for Hillary to supporting Trump so hard that he may have broken election laws. And with Musk influencing both on X and in campaign finance, Democrats are kicking themselves for letting him go. What will his political and financial support actually amount to this election season? Guest: Teddy Schleifer, New York Times reporter covering campaign finance and billionaire influence on American politics.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, Patrick Fort, and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest host Daisy Rosario is joined by Slate’s own Luke Winkie. They talk about Luke’s brief experimentation with the Sardine Fast, a fad diet made popular by a YouTuber. Plus, a chat about Brat Autumn in NY’s place for making relationships “IG official.” This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario and Candice Lim. Alexandra Botti helped produce this episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Forget polls—are gambling websites the real way to predict politics?Guest: Nitish Pahwa, business and tech writer at SlateWant 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices