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Today on What Next TBD: What is going on with little kids' vaccines? Why don’t they seem to be a priority for the government or the pharmaceutical companies, while parents are stressed to a breaking point? We discuss with Meg Tirrell, health and science correspondent for CNBC, and co-host of the Readout Loud podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss voting rights, Russia's recent moves, with guest Nina Jankowicz; and the increasing politicization of cable news.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute: Electoral Count Act of 1887David Becker on Face the Nation: “Elections Expert David Becker Denounces ‘Efforts to Sow Confusion and Chaos’ ”Emily Bazelon for the New York Times: “Democracy Worked This Year. but It Is Under Threat.”Christina A. Cassidy for AP News: “Far Too Little Vote Fraud to Tip Election to Trump, AP Finds”How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict, by Nina JankowiczAnne Applebaum for the Atlantic: “The Science of Making Americans Hurt Their Own Country”Here’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Jan Ransom for the New York Times: “A Look Inside Rikers: ‘Fight Night’ and Gang Rule, Captured on Video”David: Nathanael Johnson thread on Twitter and We Are Lady Parts TV showJohn: The Mezzanine, by Nicholson Baker and “On Keeping a Notebook,” by Joan DidionListener chatter from Bea Scott: The History of Democracy Has Yet to Be Written by Thomas GeogheganFor this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment John, Emily, and David discuss rule-breaking and Novak Djokovic’s moves in Australia.Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Shayna Elliot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the past year, Democrats have been touting the importance of passing two huge federal voting protections bills. If those plans can’t pass, should the party tackle straight-up election subversion? Guest: Rick Hasen, professor of law and political science at the University of California–Irvine School of Law and author of Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy.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.

Back in March, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent a couple hundred members of the Texas National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border to counteract what he called President Biden’s “open border policies.” Almost a year later, around 10,000 troops are stationed there at Abbott’s command. Many guardsmen have had to upend their lives for a mission that seems to have little purpose. Guest: Davis Winkie, staff reporter for Army 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 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.

Chicago Public Schools canceled classes for three consecutive days this year, following a vote by the teachers union to defy in-person teaching orders amid a rise in COVID-19 cases. The union wants additional safety measures in place as teachers and students return to school. Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the union’s actions are “illegal,” and the public schools system said the refusal to teach in-person amounted to a strike. How will the showdown end? And when will students get back into the classroom?Guest: Sarah Karp, education reporter at WBEZ in Chicago.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.

J.D. Vance became a sought-after cultural translator when he published Hillbilly Elegy. Now, he’s a rhetorical bomb-thrower running for the Republican nomination for Senate in Ohio. But underneath Vance’s transformation is a relatively consistent appreciation for a new strain of conservatism still in the process of defining itself. Could Vance’s candidacy advance this intellectual movement on the political right?Guest: Simon van Zuylen-Wood, who wrote about J.D. Vance for the Washington Post 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 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.

This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck and Stacy-Marie Ishmael talk about the split verdict in the trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, the short supply (and high prices) of COVID rapid tests, and whether restaurants should be allowed to sell cocktails to-go. Plus, we say goodbye to Stacy during her last episode of Slate Money. In the Plus segment: The New York Times’ purchase of The AthleticEmail: slatemoney@slate.comPodcast production by Cheyna Roth Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors this week in federal court. The former CEO, wunderkind, and blood mogul has been the subject of intense legal interest and public fascination ever since her company, Theranos, was beset by scandal in 2015. Today on What Next: TBD we follow-up with Rebecca Jarvis, host of “The Dropout” podcast and ABC News Chief Business, Technology & Economics Correspondent. We dig into the verdict and ask if Silicon Valley will finally confront the elements of its culture that allowed Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos to run wild with investor’s money, and patient’s health. You can listen to “The Dropout: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial” now wherever you get your podcasts.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz discuss Jan. 6, with guest Jamelle Bouie and what to make of omicron's impact on schools, and the Theranos case.Here are some notes and references from this week’s show:Matt Levine for Bloomberg: “Slaying the Blood Unicorn”Wall Street Journal: Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes: History of the WSJ Investigation Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?”Ruddy Roye PhotographyWalker EvansAnastasia Taylor-LindSally MannLarry Fink PhotographyEdward Hopper: Night Shadows, 1921Alexander Calder: Finny FishWolfgang Laib: Wax RoomCaravaggio: The Conversion of Saint PaulHere’s this week’s chatter:Emily: Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen; Parul Sehgal for the New Yorker: “The Case Against the Trauma Plot”John: Window-Swap.comDavid: Fight Club; Free Guy; City CastListener chatter from Cynthia Weiner: Corryn Wetzel for Smithsonian Magazine: “Ten Hilarious Winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards”For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, David, and Jamelle discuss the famous works of art they would most like to possess. Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank.Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in March of 2020, a scientist working at MIT developed a rapid test for the novel coronavirus. It wasn’t quite as accurate as a PCR, but would have gone a long way in detecting infectious cases during the emerging pandemic. But her test was never approved—and today, the U.S. is still behind other developed countries in our mass testing scheme.Guest: Lydia Depillis, reporter for ProPublica.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.