What Next | Daily News and Analysis

Fearing a Democratic-led House of Representatives, Donald Trump set off a state-redistricting arms race when he asked Texas to find him five more safe GOP seats. This triggered California to go hunting for five more Democratic seats, and states like North Carolina and Missouri to search for other seats in the margins. But in some states, Trump’s demands are running into rare Republican resistance.

Guest: Ari Berman, voting rights reporter at Mother Jones. 

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.


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance who had been convicted for violating anti-money laundering laws, after months of Zhao boosting Trump’s own crypto company. The crypto industry has really nailed the path to Trump’s heart: it was something Joe Biden didn’t like, and it feeds directly to the president’s bottom line. 

Guest: Alex Kirshner, contributing writer at Slate.

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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One legacy of the internet is the millions of subcultures that it helps flourish. Another is pornography—and lots of it. At a “gooner meet-up,” the two collide. 

Guest: David Kolitz, author of “⁠The Goon Squad⁠” for Harper’s Magazine.

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.


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why SNAP benefits potentially won’t be replenished Nov. 1, and what happens to the people who depend on them to eat.

Guest: Dr. Lindsay Allen, health economist and policy researcher at Northwestern University.

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.


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having successfully gotten their photo ops, the National Guard receded from the streets of Los Angeles, but an aggressive border patrol, with an eye on raising arrest numbers, has taken their place. In the South Bay, an activist group has formed to monitor where raids are happening, who’s conducting them, and try to help residents keep themselves safe.

Guest:  Alexander Sammon, politics writer for Slate. 

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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices