What Next | Daily News and Analysis

We’re still learning the details about how Donald Trump and his supporters tried to get the 2020 presidential election results overturned. One scheme involved attorneys general across several states, and lawyers deep in the Department of Justice. This is the story of one of those lawyers, Jeffrey Bossert Clark, and his desperate attempts to keep Trump in power.Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, staff writer for Slate on the courts and law.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.

For decades, Richard Trumka was the head of the country’s largest labor federation. Widely considered to be the face of the American labor movement while workers faced a surge in union busting campaigns, Trumka presided over an organization that was diverse and fractious. Last week, he passed away.What is the state of the labor movement without its longtime leader? And how can his successor steer workers to safer waters? Guest: Erik Loomis, a labor historian at the University of Rhode Island and the author of A History of America in Ten Strikes.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 delta variant is making its way through the country, becoming the leading strain of the coronavirus and increasing case counts as it goes. In few places is the crisis more severe than in Florida, where new daily case counts are hitting all-time highs and vaccination rates have leveled out around 50%. Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused to instate a mask mandate and insists that the spike is just a “seasonal wave” -- even as healthcare workers are pushed to the brink trying to care for ill patients.Guest: Bernard Ashby, a vascular cardiologist in Miami and the Florida director of the Committee to Protect Healthcare.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.

America used to be at the vanguard of railroad technology. What went wrong? And can the new infrastructure bill fix our broken system?Guests: Alon Levy and Eric Goldwyn of the Marron Institute at NYU HostHenry Grabar  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America used to be at the vanguard of railroad technology. What went wrong? And can the new infrastructure bill fix our broken system?Guests: Alon Levy and Eric Goldwyn of the Marron Institute at NYU HostHenry Grabar  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Federal Election Commission can barely get anything done. With its commissioners stuck in partisan gridlock, one is finding new ways to make sure election law is upheld. Guest: Ellen Weintraub, commissioner at the FEC.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.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is back on his heels again, following the release of the state attorney general’s extensive report on his pattern of sexually harassing women working around him. Now, even former allies of the governor are calling for him to resign or face impeachment. How long can Cuomo hang onto his office?Guest: Brigid Bergin, political reporter for WNYC. 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.

After months of negotiation, an infrastructure bill is finally on its way to the Senate floor. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are touting their one big successful bipartisan move, but what’s actually in the legislation? And why are Republicans willing to sign off on a win for Joe Biden? Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent.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.

Why aren’t people returning to jobs they lost during the pandemic? The answer is more complicated than generous unemployment checks. Guest: Bram Sable-Smith, investigative reporter at Wisconsin Watch. 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.

Whether it’s a phone screen or a coffee machine, why is it so hard to fix our own stuff? And what can we do to make it a bit easier?Guest: Jason Koebler, editor-in-chief of Motherboard and contributor to the CYBER podcastHostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.