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Democrats Had a Rare Opportunity. They Blinked. Mar 17, 2025

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Last week, Democrats averted a government shutdown—by voting for a MAGA-friendly Continuing Resolution, which may have just handed even greater power to Trump. Why?

Guest: Josh Marshall, editor-in-chief of Talking Points Memo

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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How Trump Is Trying to Kill Press Freedom Mar 16, 2025

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With a Trump-friendly Supreme Court and a contentious relationship with the press, could Donald Trump follow through on his 2016 campaign goal of making it easier to sue media companies for libel—and imperil America’s free press?

Guest: David Enrich, business investigations editor at the New York Times and author of “Murder The Truth.”

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Bonus Main Character: Meghan Markle Could Use a Win Mar 14, 2025

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From television, to a royal wedding…and back to TV, Meghan Markle is carving out her own niche.

Guest: Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay, cohosts of Slate’s ICYMI.

This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive episodes of What Next —you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Tesla Survive Elon Musk? Mar 14, 2025

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The public’s anger towards Elon Musk and DOGE has found an outlet in the form of Musk’s car company Tesla. How long can the company put up with a sinking reputation and stock price?

Guest: Pranshu Verma, tech reporter for the Washington Post.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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Could DOGE Really Gut Social Security? Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

DOGE cuts have already hit Social Security, with offices closing and employees fired. With Elon Musk calling the program a “Ponzi scheme” and saying entitlements are “the big one to eliminate,” this may be just the beginning of the unraveling of the trusted safety net that millions of Americans rely on.

Guest: Joe Perticone, political reporter at The Bulwark.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Student Protesters Be Deported? Mar 12, 2025

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The Trump administration’s approach to free speech, immigration, and due process all converge in a crackdown on Columbia University.

Guest: Sarah Brown, news editor at the Chronicle for Higher Education.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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Andrew Cuomo Wanted To Be President. He’ll Settle For Mayor. Mar 11, 2025

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Andrew Cuomo—the hard-headed former governor of New York state —became something of a national hero in 2020 with his no-nonsense press conferences. By 2021, he was mired in a sexual misconduct scandal and the fallout from a public health disaster. How is he polling so well in the Democratic primary for New York’s mayoral race?

Guest: Jimmy Vielkind, New York politics reporter for WNYC.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman and Rob Gunther.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Til Trump Do Us Part Mar 10, 2025

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They were three Harris-supporting women, from across the country, all married to Trump-supporting men—and they were all contemplating divorce.

Guest: Scaachi Koul, Slate senior writer who wrote about women considering leaving their husbands over their support for Donald Trump and the author of Sucker Punch.

Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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Zuckerberg and the Post-Factcheck Era Mar 09, 2025

Show notes

After the election, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was doing away with Facebook’s fact-checking apparatus in the US. With content creators getting paid based on reach, and content spreading wider and faster the more extreme it is, is Facebook the perfect environment for misinformation to flourish?

Guest: Craig Silverman, technology reporter for ProPublica.

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From 4Chan to Charlottesville to DOGE Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

To understand the second Trump administration, you have to understand the internet culture that gave birth to it.

Guest: Elle Reeve, CNN correspondent who reported on the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA for Vice News.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.