What Next | Daily News and Analysis

For decades, the conventional wisdom surrounding the midterm elections has been that the party in the White House will lose the seats in the House, Senate, or both. Earlier this year, skyrocketing gas prices and Biden’s sinking approval rating portended misfortune for Democrats, particularly those in swing districts. But now, the fall of Roe and some snappy social media campaigns have shaken up most politicos’ predictions.Guest: Amy Walter, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2022 midterms are about to happen, but many Republicans still cling to the big lies that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, or that Joe Biden could have only won through massive fraud. How do you hold an election when a large number of voters, officials, and even candidates are convinced the whole thing is rigged? How do you fight misinformation when it rolls into town like a circus?Guests: Annie Gowen, Midwest correspondent for the Washington Post.Robyn Holmes, county clerk, Otero County, New MexicoIf 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nuclear technology has become more important than ever, thanks to a global energy crisis and climate change. But it also has a complicated history.Guest: Joshua KeatingHost: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conservative lawmakers in Florida and Texas are taking aim at content moderation on social media, with implications that go far beyond just the platforms.Guest: Mark Joseph SternHost: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Hurricane Maria hit in 2017, it destroyed Puerto Rico’s power grid, leaving vast swathes of the island in the dark and claiming almost 3,000 lives. $9.5 billion was set aside to rejuvenate the island’s power grid and the government-run utility company was taken over by a private one. But five years later, before Hurricane Fiona even hit, the island lost electricity. How could this happen—again? Guest: Gloria Gonzalez is the Deputy Energy Editor at POLITICOIf 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Public schools have become hotly debated—what’s on the curriculum and what isn’t; which books are allowed and which aren’t. But one voice frequently missing from these debates is that of the people most affected: students. One high school senior in Idaho decided to speak up by running for school board, and he won by unseating an incumbent who had been endorsed by right-wing extremists. Guest: Shiva Rajbandari, senior at Boise High School and recently elected member to the Boise School District Board of TrusteesIf 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An obsession with Hunter Biden’s laptop has been written off as the byproduct of a right-wing media bubble—but the reality is that what you don’t know can hurt you. It’s past time for Democrats and their supporters to confront some uncomfortable facts.Guest: Olivia Nuzzi, Washington Correspondent for New York magazine.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years anti-abortion activists have argued that Roe v. Wade wasn’t just immoral, it was federal overreach, and abortion laws should be written on the state level. Only months after Roe’s overturn, district courts are hearing cases that demonstrate why that won’t work—and Republican senators are proposing a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks.Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer covering courts and the law for 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victims of a new and high tech kind of human trafficking are forced to scam people all around the world.Guest: Cezary PodkulHost: Lizzie O'LearyHuman Trafficking’s Newest Abuse: Forcing Victims Into Cyberscamming Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A small parish in Louisiana tried to get affordable, fast internet. An incumbent ISP stopped them.Guest: Issie Lapowsky, Wanda ManningHost: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.