What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future
461 episodes - English - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★ - 224 ratingsEvery Friday and Sunday, Slate’s popular daily news podcast What Next brings you TBD, a clear-eyed look into the future. From fake news to fake meat, algorithms to augmented reality, Lizzie O’Leary is your guide to the tech industry and the world it’s creating for us to live in.
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Episodes
How Tough Will Biden Really Be on Big Tech?
November 13, 2020 10:00 - 24 minutesWhen Barack Obama first won the White House, back in 2008, with Joe Biden as his vice president, the executive branch’s stance towards tech and tech companies was seen as cooperative, progressive, and forward-thinking. This time around, the tech giants can expect a very different relationship. Will Biden be the president to finally rein in big tech? Guest: Cecilia Kang, technology reporter at The New York Times Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...
How the Gig Economy Won in California
November 06, 2020 10:00 - 22 minutesCompanies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have always argued that their workers are independent contractors, not employees. This distinction has been crucial in their rise from startups to multi-billion-dollar companies. On Tuesday, Californians sided with these companies by approving Prop 22, a ballot measure that enshrines workers’ non-employee status. Why did progressive Californians side with Big Tech? And will the rest of the country follow California’s lead? Guest: Sam Harnett, Tech and...
The Fight Against Election Day Falsehoods
October 30, 2020 09:00 - 25 minutesThe 2016 general election changed the way we think about information online and its power to sway results. Four years later, Americans will vote amid a surge of misinformation, collected and distorted to fit political narratives. What can people and platforms do to protect the truth in this most consequential election? Guests: Renee DiResta, Research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory Justin Hendrix, founder of Tech Policy Press Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...
A Historic Case Against Google
October 23, 2020 09:00 - 23 minutesIt’s been 22 years since the federal government last brought a meaningful legal challenge to a big tech company. Back then, when the Justice Department sued Microsoft, the outcome changed the direction of the company for years to come. Now, the Department of Justice is coming for Google. Can the search giant resist this challenge to its role as the gatekeeper of the internet? Guest: Tony Romm, technology reporter at the Washington Post Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. V...
Facebook Flips on Holocaust Denial
October 16, 2020 09:00 - 25 minutesTwo years ago, Mark Zuckerberg held up Holocaust denial as an example of the type of speech that would be protected on Facebook. The company wouldn’t take down content simply because it was incorrect. This week, Facebook reversed that stance. Is this decision the first step toward a new way of policing speech on the social network? Guest: Evelyn Douek, Lecturer at Harvard Law School and affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad...
What Landlords Have on You
October 09, 2020 09:00 - 23 minutesOver the last decade, born from the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis, automated tenant screening has grown into a billion-dollar industry. Now, nine out of 10 landlords rely on automated tenant-screening reports, scraped from eviction history, criminal background records, and terror watchlists, to decide if they can trust potential renters. The problem? Often, the reports contain major errors, mistaken identities, and criminal records that are supposed to be expunged. Can these reports real...
The Attack on Florida’s Latino Voters
October 02, 2020 09:00 - 19 minutesSince 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 ...
A Vaccine Won’t Be the End
September 25, 2020 09:00 - 24 minutesAs 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. ...
Did the Internet Doom a Pregnancy?
September 18, 2020 10:00 - 23 minutesFor 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 thes...
The Great Climate Migration Begins
September 11, 2020 09:00 - 21 minutesAs 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 ProPublica Host Celeste Headlee Learn mo...
The Limits of Filming Police Brutality
September 04, 2020 10:00 - 24 minutesIn 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 Verge Ethan Zuckerman, ...
QAnon Goes Mainstream
August 28, 2020 10:00 - 20 minutesNot 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 Host Celeste Headlee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What Went Wrong With Contact Tracing Apps
August 21, 2020 10:00 - 21 minutesIn 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 Host Celeste Headlee Learn more about your ad ch...
How Google Search Sold Out
August 14, 2020 10:00 - 20 minutesIn 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. Host Celeste ...
How One Block Got Through It
August 07, 2020 10:00 - 22 minutesOver 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 Initiative Brian d'Antignac, The Woodshop Jaidah Wilson-Turnbow, Frances Cocktail Lounge Zoie Reams, Brown Sugar Bake...
When America Can’t Pay the Rent
July 31, 2020 10:00 - 25 minutesFor 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 Side Mark Durakovic, principal at Kass Management Peter Hepburn, analyst at Princeton’s Eviction Lab Host Henry Grabar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...
New Orleans Without Music
July 24, 2020 10:00 - 23 minutesMore than any other U.S. city, New Orleans banks on its culture. From music to restaurants to parades, the city relies on a steady stream of tourists to support its many artists and institutions. In March, those tourists stopped visiting. And without them, the fragile infrastructure of clubs, venues, and performances is starting to collapse. Can New Orleans survive the coronavirus? Guests: Patrick Williams, harmonica player Jesse Paige, owner of the Blue Nile Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, Execut...
Cities Are Running Out of Money
July 17, 2020 10:00 - 23 minutesAfter months of coronavirus lockdowns, cities are taking stock of their finances. The situation is bleak. With plummeting sales and property tax revenue, American cities of all sizes may be facing a budget crisis. What happens when local governments have to cut their budgets by double-digit percentages? Will the federal government learn from the Great Recession and intervene? Guests: Minh Nguyen, owner of Cafe TH in Houston Chris Brown, Houston City Controller Mildred Warner, professor of ur...
Is “Covid Flight” a Thing?
July 10, 2020 10:00 - 21 minutesTens of thousands of people leave American cities every year. Normally, they’re replaced by new arrivals seeking jobs, education, and opportunity. But in a world transformed by the coronavirus, what happens if nobody arrives to replace them? Guests: Emily Badger, reporter at the New York Times Natalie Moore, reporter at WBEZ Amanda Kolson Hurley, editor at Bloomberg Businessweek Host: Henry Grabar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What's a City Without the Office?
July 03, 2020 10:00 - 20 minutesSince March, white-collar offices in major cities across the United States have stood empty. Now, with growing evidence that the workforce is equally effective at home, companies and designers are starting to rethink the office—what it looks like, what it’s used for, and if it’s really needed at all. But this wholesale reimagining of office life comes at a cost. How will the severe reduction of commuters transform American cities? Guests: John Capobianco, principal at IA Interior Architects...
A Hidden Side of Police Abuse
June 26, 2020 09:00 - 18 minutesResponding to protests around the country, the New York City Council passed the POST Act: Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology last week. The bill will require the NYPD to reveal the extent of their surveillance technology deployed within the city. For the first time, New Yorkers will get a clear picture of the technology being employed to watch and trace them. Experts say to expect the worst. Guest: Ángel S. Díaz, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice. Learn more about your ad ch...
Why Remote Learning Failed
June 19, 2020 09:00 - 23 minutesIn March, when schools across the country shut down, few people could have guessed that students wouldn’t return until the fall. Schools weren’t equipped to deploy remote-learning curricula, technology was in short supply, and most parents weren’t free to guide their children through lessons during the day. Three months later, little has changed. And all that time out of the classroom has taken a toll on students. Can they recover in time for the fall? Guest: Dana Goldstein, national corres...
Is This the End of Facial Recognition?
June 12, 2020 09:00 - 22 minutesThis week, three of the leading developers of facial-recognition technology announced they would stop, or at least pause, selling this technology to police. The decision stems from evidence of racial bias inherent in these tools. For the researchers who first uncovered the deep-seated issues with these tools, it’s a watershed moment. Will facial-recognition technology continue to grow unchecked? Or will this week’s announcements result in lasting change? Slate Plus members get bonus segments...
Your Delivery Habit Isn't Helping
June 05, 2020 09:00 - 20 minutesIn the midst of the pandemic, protests and police lockdowns, restaurants are turning increasingly to delivery apps like DoorDash and Grubhub to stay afloat. But with shady tactics, soaring fees, and deep-seated flaws with the business model of the entire industry, delivery startups may do more harm than good. Guest: Ranjan Roy, CEO at the Edge Group and writer of Margins newsletter Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more a...
Trump and Twitter Go to War
May 29, 2020 09:00 - 20 minutesOn Tuesday, after years of inaction, Twitter fact checked President Trump’s tweets for the first time. Six words were added below the original text, directing readers to outside articles refuting his claims. Two days later, the president signed an executive order that aims to change the nature of online speech, and the platforms that host it. Guest: Casey Newton, Silicon Valley editor at the Verge Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What Is Elon Musk Thinking?
May 22, 2020 09:00 - 19 minutesAs the coronavirus shut down manufacturing across California in March and April, Elon Musk only wanted one thing: to start making cars again. So when local government officials in Alameda County got in his way, Musk took the fight public, and won. Guest: Kara Swisher, co-host of the Pivot podcast. Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Decoding the Flood of COVID Data
May 15, 2020 09:00 - 20 minutesEvery week, it feels like some new piece of coronavirus information dominates the headlines. Mysterious symptoms, changing government directives. This constant trickle of updates can quickly turn into a flood. How should normal people interpret this deluge of data? Guest: Emily Oster, professor of economics at Brown University and co-founder of COVID-Explained. Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Should You Get an Antibody Test?
May 08, 2020 09:00 - 25 minutesYesterday, New York City announced that it would provide 140,000 free antibody tests to residents who want to know if they have been exposed to the coronavirus. And New York isn’t alone: large-scale antibody testing is ramping up around the country. But with faulty tests flooding the market and questions about whether a positive test really confers immunity are antibody tests really worth the bother? Guests: Shannon Palus, staff writer for Slate, and Dr. Natalie E. Dean, assistant professor...
How the Crisis Could Embolden Big Tech
May 01, 2020 09:00 - 20 minutesThis week, the world’s largest tech companies posted their quarterly earnings. And—unlike most other companies in the world—things aren’t looking so bad. With the global economy reeling, and people sheltering indoors, the tech giants have an opportunity to reshape the way we live. Don’t expect them to wait on the sidelines. Guest: Elizabeth Dwoskin, Silicon Valley correspondent at the Washington Post Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Can We Really Make a Safe Vaccine in 18 Months?
April 24, 2020 09:00 - 23 minutesThere are over 60 vaccines for the coronavirus currently in development. Four of them are already being tested in humans. As researchers move at breakneck speed to find a vaccine, they’re debating breaking (or at least bending) the rules that ensure the end product is safe. How do we balance speed with safety in the rush to develop a vaccine? Guest: Dr. Timothy Lahey, an infectious diseases doctor, ethicist, and vaccine researcher at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Learn more abou...
Can the U.S. Really Track the Coronavirus?
April 17, 2020 09:00 - 23 minutesBefore the U.S. can start opening back up, states will need to put systems in place for “contact tracing,” or meticulous tracking of the disease within communities. South Korea’s extensive tracing program has all but eliminated the spread of the virus within its borders. What will it take for the U.S. to do the same? Guests: Raphael Rashid, a freelance journalist, and Dr. Mike Reid, professor at University of California, San Francisco Host Henry Grabar Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...
The Limits of Coronavirus Predictions
April 10, 2020 09:00 - 20 minutesAs governments around the world try to predict the toll and duration of the coronavirus, they’re turning increasingly to a handful of forecasting models for answers. But many of the leading models differ drastically in their approach and methods. What do we need to know about these forecasts? And what are their limitations? Guest: Jordan Ellenberg, mathematics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Host: Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Risking Your Life for $8.71
April 03, 2020 12:15 - 18 minutesThis week, workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, and Instacart have announced mass strikes across the country. Though demand for these services is high, pay and protection is low. What exactly do we owe to the delivery workers at the front lines of the pandemic? And with these companies hiring in record numbers, can the strikes succeed? Guests: Heidi Carrico, founding member of the Gig Workers Collective, and Johana Bhuiyan, tech accountability reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Host Lizzie O’L...
Where Are All the Tests?
March 27, 2020 09:00 - 26 minutesSlate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence. Sign up now to listen and support our work. The United States failed to roll out widespread testing in the early days of the pandemic. Now it faces critical shortages of supplies as it scrambles to track the disease around the country. Until testing is available at scale, Americans won’t be able to return to their normal lives. So: what will it take to solve the country’s testing shortage? ...
Big Tech Eyes the Pandemic
March 20, 2020 09:00 - 24 minutesSlate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Google has spent the last decade trying to find a foothold in the health care industry. Now they’re partnering with the federal government to build a website that will seek to address the crisis. Can Google be trusted with our medical data? Guest: Mason Marks, law professor at Gonzaga University School of Law and an affiliated fellow at Yale Law ...
What If They Close All the Schools?
March 13, 2020 09:00 - 20 minutesLast week, the superintendent of the Northshore school district near Seattle made a difficult decision. With the coronavirus spreading rapidly in the area, she closed all 34 schools in her district and moved all classes online. But for many schools, remote learning at this scale simply isn’t an option. With new cases appearing around the country, how will schools respond? And what happens when you send millions of students home for weeks on end? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...
Did Money Corrupt an A.I. Utopia?
February 28, 2020 10:00 - 21 minutesOpenAI was founded in 2015 with a billion dollars and an idealistic mission: Create artificial intelligence that could address humanity’s biggest problems, and do it out in the open. Then came the money problems. Guest: Karen Hao, senior A.I. reporter at MIT Tech Review Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Inside Facebook’s Supreme Court
February 21, 2020 10:00 - 23 minutesAfter years of controversial content moderation decisions, from deepfakes to deplatforming, Facebook is trying something new. In January, the social network announced that its new Oversight Board, which will act as a sort of supreme court for controversial content, will begin hearing cases this summer. Could this independent board change the way we govern speech online? Guest: Kate Klonick, assistant professor at St. John’s University School of Law, and fellow at the Information Society Pro...
Coronavirus Tests China's Surveillance State
February 14, 2020 10:00 - 20 minutesOver the last month, as coronavirus spread across China, Xi Jinping’s vast surveillance and censorship infrastructure went into high gear. But with outrage growing over the death of a beloved doctor, and surveillance technology under strain, the virus is exposing the limits of the Chinese Communist Party’s techno-authoritarian network. Guest: Josh Chin, Wall Street Journal reporter covering Chinese politics and tech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Iowa’s App-ocalypse
February 07, 2020 10:00 - 20 minutesOn Monday, the Iowa caucuses went off the rails. As the hours stretched into days, and still the results remained unclear, a new piece of election technology was identified as a central cause of the delay. An app designed to make the election process speedier and more secure had the opposite effect. And its failure is symptomatic of deep-rooted issues in the way the Democratic Party develops and deploys election technology. So, what exactly went wrong on Monday? And what does it say about t...
Why Is the U.S. Scared of Huawei?
January 31, 2020 10:00 - 20 minutesRecently a special delegation of senior Trump administration officials arrived in the U.K. Their mission? To convince prime minister Boris Johnson to bar Huawei from their new 5G network. Why is the U.S. so keen to influence Britain’s decision on 5G? And now that the U.K is officially withdrawing from the European Union, how will they manage competing pressures from the U.S. and China? Guest: Dan Sabbagh, defense and security editor at the Guardian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Which Tech Companies Are Doing the Most Harm?
January 24, 2020 10:00 - 23 minutesLast week, Slate published The Evil List, an expansive attempt to document the most concerning tech companies around the world, according to the experts. Some you’ve heard of, some you probably haven’t, and some you almost certainly use every day. Which of these deserve our attention? And why? Guests: Mutale Nkonde, public interest technologist and fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society Felix Salmon, chief financial correspondent at Axios and host of Slate Money Lindsey Ba...
The Silicon Valley Dream Was Always a Fantasy
January 17, 2020 10:00 - 24 minutesIn 2013, Anna Wiener moved from New York to San Francisco to join the city’s booming tech scene. Over the course of four years, she worked at three companies: an e-book startup, a data analytics company, and an open-source software platform. Then, her infatuation with the tech industry took a turn. On this week’s show, an insider’s perspective on the intoxicating promise and disappointment of Silicon Valley during the mid-decade boom. Guest: Anna Wiener: author of Uncanny Valley and contribut...
How Targeted Ads Started Watching Us All
January 10, 2020 10:00 - 20 minutesIn 2019, for the first time, more advertising money went toward targeted digital ads in the U.S. than on radio, television, cable, magazine, and newspaper ads combined. The moment was the culmination of a decadeslong journey that has completely transformed media, politics, and privacy. How did the targeted ad come to hold so much power? And what did we lose along the way? Guest: Siva Vaidhyanathan, professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. V...
Do Algorithms Make Sentencing Fairer?
January 03, 2020 10:00 - 20 minutesAround the country, states are employing algorithms to help reduce prison populations and predict recidivism. This week, we hear from a Wisconsin judge with serious reservations about the algorithm used in his state. Also: a deep dive into Virginia's risk-assessment algorithm and the surprising results of its implementation. Guests: Nicholas McNamara, judge on the circuit court of Dane County, Wisconsin. Jennifer Doleac, associate professor of economics at Texas A&M and director of the Justi...
A Landmark Privacy Law Takes Effect. Now What?
December 27, 2019 10:00 - 19 minutesOn January 1st, a new law will grant Californians the right to see, delete, and stop the sale of personal information collected by tech companies. But the impact of the bill may reach far beyond California. How does this landmark law affect the rest of the country? And will it set the stage for national privacy legislation? Guest: Hayley Tsukayama, Legislative Activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ring: Your Doorbell Is Watching
December 20, 2019 10:00 - 20 minutesBack in 2013, an entrepreneur named Jamie Siminoff appeared on Shark Tank. He was seeking an investment in a new product he was calling Doorbot, a smart doorbell that would make answering the door more convenient and users’ lives “more connected.” Six years later, Doorbot is now Ring, an Amazon-owned home-security system that partners with more than 600 police departments around the country. How did Doorbot become Ring? And what are the consequences of placing surveillance cameras on front d...
Inside The Influence Economy
December 13, 2019 10:00 - 19 minutesOver the past decade, the world of influencers has grown from a fringe marketing movement to a multibillion-dollar industry. Now, tactics and strategies originally developed by influencers can be found across industries, from health care to politics to higher ed. What’s behind this meteoric rise? And why do we misunderstand a movement that Taylor Lorenz calls “a fundamental shift in society”? Guest: Taylor Lorenz, internet culture reporter for the New York Times Learn more about your ad...
What Is Google After Larry and Sergey?
December 06, 2019 10:00 - 19 minutesOn Tuesday, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page announced that they are stepping down from their respective roles as president and CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. The move will leave Sundar Pichai in charge of both Google and Alphabet. With pressure mounting from unhappy employees, antitrust regulators in Europe, and the Trump administration, Pichai takes the helm at a crucial moment in the company’s history. Will he be up to the task? Guest: Mark Bergen, technology repo...
Is TikTok Really a National Security Threat?
November 22, 2019 10:00 - 22 minutesTikTok now has over 1.5 billion downloads, putting it in the company of social media giants like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. While all of these companies have faced scrutiny from lawmakers in one form or another, TikTok is getting attention for its Chinese ownership as some fear that Beijing could use data uploaded to the platform for counterintelligence purposes. Is there a real reason to be concerned? Or is this just fearmongering about a geopolitical rival? Guest: Drew Harwell, tec...