What Next | Daily News and Analysis

One of the many things laid bare by COVID-19 was the importance of public health messaging—and the many ways it can fail. So when monkeypox began spreading in the U.S., the White House found someone who understands just how important it is to know your audience. Guest: Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, White House National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator and former director of the CDC Division of HIV Prevention.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.

A Ukrainian counteroffensive has pushed Russian forces back to the east surprisingly quickly and effectively. Military experts are now wondering if Ukraine will win the war outright and avoid the stalemate that seemed likely only a few weeks ago. But if Vladamir Putin starts to feel the heat both in the field and from citizens at home, what is he capable of? And lacking a mechanism to remove their leader from office, what can Russians do? Guest: Fred Kaplan is Slate’s war stories correspondent and author of The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War.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.

The United Kingdom is saddled with an energy crisis, a pandemic-weary national health service, and continued economic fallout from Brexit. For now, the country is observing an official mourning period, after losing its longest-serving monarch. But soon it will be time for King Charles and newly-installed Prime Minister Liz Truss to show what they’ll do to lead the U.K. through what’s expected to be a grim winter. Guest: Charlotte Ivers, political correspondent for Times Radio, and columnist for the Sunday Times.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.

Unions have won more elections in 2022 than they have in nearly 20 years, and they’re making in-roads in high-turnover, retail and service jobs like Starbucks, Chipotle and Amazon. As corporate leaders close down stores, fire union stalwarts, and stall bargaining, unionized workers fear they may never get a contract. Guest: Rani Molla, senior correspondent at Recode covering business, technology, and the future of work.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.

An inside look at the rise of YouTube into a social media behemoth.Guests: Mark Bergen and Claire StapletonHost: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Technology is transforming the creative economy and ideas about what "art" even is.Guest: Drew HarwellHost: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Under Governor Ron DeSantis, the Parental Rights in Education Act—what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill—and “curriculum transparency” laws are going into effect in Florida schools. Supporters say the laws are there to protect students and keep them from being “indoctrinated.” But the state now faces a “critical teacher shortage” and teachers are pointing to state intervention as a reason for low morale.  Guest: Bridget Ziegler, Sarasota County school board member and co-founder of Moms for Liberty.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.

Today’s high schoolers have lived in an America with legally recognized gay marriage for nearly half of their lives, but this fall, Florida students are starting the first school year under the “Parental Rights in Education” law, a.k.a. “Don’t Say Gay,” and LGBTQ students are bracing for a very different classroom experience.Guest: Will Larkins, a 17-year-old senior at Winter Park High School, Florida and cofounder of the school’s Queer Student Union.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.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has encouraged a small Christian college to exert an unusual amount of influence over education policy. Hillsdale College is an institution growing in notoriety among conservative luminaries. Now, Hillsdale is using Florida public schools as a laboratory for its plans to reshape public education across the country. Guest: Anita Carson, a former sixth-grade teacher in Florida, and Sommer Brugal, education reporter for the Miami Herald. 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.

We’ve got something special for you this Labor Day: an episode from the new season of Slate’s narrative history podcast One Year. Evan Chung tells the story of the American teachers who competed for an unprecedented prize: a spot on the January 1986 launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Three of the finalists describe the grueling selection process and the tragedy that killed one of their own.One Year is produced by Evan Chung, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, Madeline Ducharme, and Josh Levin. Derek John is Sr. Supervising Producer of Narrative Podcasts and Merritt Jacob is Sr. Technical Director.Slate Plus members get to hear more about the making of One Year. Get access to extra episodes, listen to the show without any ads, and support One Year by signing up for Slate Plus for just $15 for your first three months. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.