What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Carolyn Foote was furious when Republican lawmakers in Texas singled out hundreds of books about race or sexuality for removal from school libraries. So she and a group of other librarians stepped into the fray to push back against what they see as harmful censorship.Guest: Carolyn Foote, former librarian for schools outside Austin, Texas.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 conflict between Ukraine and Russia is uncovering new wartime applications for facial recognition technology.Guest: Aric Toler, director of research and training at BellingcatHost: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are we facing down yet another COVID wave right now? Does it matter?Guest: Katherine Wu, staff writer for The AtlanticHost: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bill Browder has been sounding the alarm about Vladimir Putin for decades. Formerly one of Russia’s largest foreign investors, Browder has made it his life's work to expose corruption in the country. Unsurprisingly, he’s one of Putin's personal targets. Browder believes that money is what's really driving the war in Ukraine.Guest: Bill Browder, founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management. Browder ran the largest foreign investment firm in Russia until 2005, when he was kicked out of the country. His new book is Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath. 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.

Pro-immigration advocates had high hopes when the Biden administration came to office that some of the harsher policies imposed by Trump would ease. Instead, immigration policy has been a mess inside the White House. The move to rescind Title 42 – a health policy that the Trump administration used to restrict migration at the U.S.-Mexico border is now further dividing Democrats. Guest: Tyler Moran, former deputy assistant to President Biden and senior advisor for migration. Moran co-founded the Immigration Hub and has 20 years of experience developing and implementing immigration policy. 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.

Morgan Davis saw his job as an investigator in the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as a calling. As a transgender man, he joined the child welfare agency to be the advocate he never had while growing up. But Davis eventually quit, following Governor Greg Abbott’s order to investigate the families of transgender children. While Abbott’s order is currently paused due to an injunction, many families are still left in limbo due to open cases – and other child welfare workers are handing in their notices.Guest: Morgan Davis, investigator at the Travis County office of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. 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 Biden Administration recently announced a new policy aimed at cracking down on ghost guns—homemade weapons without serial numbers, making them harder to trace. But with gun violence on the rise, will this particular move make a meaningful difference?Guest: David Chipman, senior policy advisor at Giffords, a gun violence prevention organization. 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.

How did Intuit build its TurboTax empire?Guest: Justin Elliott, reporter for ProPublicaHost: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Musk's bid to take Twitter private a genuine attempt to mold the social network in his image? Or is he just going to have some fun, make some money, and walk away?Guest: Felix Salmon, host of Slate Money and chief financial correspondent for AxiosHost: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the French presidential election five years ago, Marine Le Pen lost badly to Emmanuel Macron. Now, Le Pen is back for a rematch—and this time, polls are pretty tight. Guest: Henry Grabar, staff writer at 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 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.