What Next | Daily News and AnalysisDaily News

What Next | Daily News and Analysis


What Next | Daily News and Analysis

What ICE Doesn’t Want You to See

Mon, 02 Feb 2026

Congress is supposed to have a legal right to tour ICE detention centers and provide oversight on these facilities, where 32 people died in 2025. But this representative’s attempt to tour a facility in her New Jersey district led to her being charged with assaulting a federal officer and facing a 17-year prison sentence.  


Guest:  LaMonica McIver is the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 10th congressional district.


Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at 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.

Why Dictators Take Out the Internet

Sun, 01 Feb 2026

The Iranian government cut off nearly all internet access on January 8 as part of a crackdown on protestors, an example of why authoritarians attempt internet blackouts—and why they don’t always work the way authoritarians want them to.


Guest: Steve Feldstein, political scientist and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program.


Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.


Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.


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

SchadenFriday: Greg Bovino, You’re Fired…from Minnesota

Fri, 30 Jan 2026

In the wake of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during Trump’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, the closest thing to “accountability” we’ve seen is Border Patrol’s Gregory Bovino being sent back to California. It’s not enough but it’s something.


Guest: Rob Gunther, What Next senior producer.


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.

Can Cell Phones Stop ICE?

Fri, 30 Jan 2026

In the immediate aftermath of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, federal authorities presented very different accounts of what happened from what videos from witnesses showed. Did having footage from multiple angles of each shooting make the truth clear?


Guests: 

Jake Godin, researcher for Bellingcat.


Julia Angwin, investigative journalist, founder of Proof News and contributing opinion writer for New York Times.


Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.



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

Sure Looks Like Another Government Shutdown

Thu, 29 Jan 2026

Just as public sentiment is turning on ICE and Border Patrol’s action in Minnesota, another spending bill is due in the U.S. Senate. Can the Democrats use the opportunity to put some restraints on Trump’s DHS? 


Guest: David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect.


Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at 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.

Send Message to What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Unverified Podcast
Is this your Podcast? Claim It!

Podcaster File What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Reviews for What Next | Daily News and Analysis