What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Companies from Nike to the New York Times have announced that Juneteenth will be a paid day off this year. What does wider observance of the holiday say about the progress we’re making as a country? Guest: Adam Serwer, staff writer for The AtlanticSlate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Police reform is not a new cause in New York. The same proposals have been discussed for years. But when people took to the streets in late May, they handed politicians a mandate. This is the story of how the protesters got their first big win. Guest: Zellnor Myrie, New York state senator serving in Brooklyn. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Monday, the conservative Supreme Court extended civil rights protections to transgender and gay Americans. The ruling is not controversial -- supermajorities of polled citizens say discrimination against LGBTQ people should be illegal. But Monday’s decision comes ahead of a flurry of rulings on other closely-watched cases involving the president’s financial records, the DACA program, abortion rights, and more. Does this win for the left clear a path for the court to hand down some bitter pills in the next few weeks?Guest: Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the past couple of weeks, multiple high ranking military members, active and retired, have spoken out against the Trump administration's use of force in Lafayette Square. Usually, military officers prefer to stay silent on political matters. Does this mark a sea change in the way the military deals with President Trump?Guest: Fred Kaplan, Slate’s War Stories Correspondent and the author of The Bomb. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This 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 and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Guest: Deb Raji, technology fellow at the AI Now Institute.HostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This 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 and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Guest: Deb Raji, technology fellow at the AI Now Institute.HostLizzie O’Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To hear the president tell it, you would think that antifa activists are blanketing the country -- bringing their campaign of vandalism and looting and lawlessness to your town. These fears are sown and circulated through digital whisper networks that can be hard for outsiders to penetrate. But the online rumors are having real-life consequences. Guest: Brandy Zadrozny, NBC News correspondent. Read her latest. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, nine members of the Minneapolis City Council announced their intention to dissolve the Minneapolis Police Department. And while this moment may belong to the protesters of Minneapolis, it has just as much to do with the conduct of the city’s police, and how they’ve met even small reforms with utter contempt. Guest: Steve Fletcher, a member of the Minneapolis City Council. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Looking at the images that have come out over the last few weeks: images of police violence and protest, it’s impossible not to think how similar they are to pictures we saw just a few years back in Ferguson, Missouri. Michael Brown's death at the hands of a police officer sparked protests across the country and cemented the Black Lives Matter movement into the American consciousness. Today on the show, we revisit the worst night of clashes between protestors and police in Ferguson.This episode originally aired in August 2019 and is part of Ferguson Revisited, a series from What Next looking back at Michael Brown’s death, the protests that followed, and their legacy five years later. Guest: Joel Anderson, writer at Slate, co-host of Hang Up and Listen, and the host of season 3 of Slow Burn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is entirely possible to support the protests while feeling intense anxiety that they will result in additional cases of COVID-19. Guest: Dr. Howard Markel, professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and author of When Germs Travel, among other books. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.