What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

The Future of the Internet Hinges on Gail Slater

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater inherited the government’s antitrust case against Google and is eager to follow it through—but likely not f...

Is Palantir Building a Data Big Brother?

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of the goals of DOGE was to get rid of the “silos” that keep government agencies from sharing freely amongst themselves efficiently and instea...

So Long, Elon

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

His time in Washington was brief, but we’ll be picking up the pieces for a long time. What Elon’s exit signals for the future of DOGE, and Musk’...

The Drone Wars

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The war between Ukraine and Russia is being fought increasingly via drone —and NATO and US military leadership is training troops for future conflic...

Crypto's Big Win

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The crypto industry poured tons of money into the last election cycle. Is the GENIUS Act, which has bipartisan support, their big payoff? Guest: Hi...

Inside OpenAI's Empire

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

OpenAI started as a non-profit dedicated to building safe A.I. Now, they’re obsessed with building artificial general intelligence by any means nece...

You’ve Been Deepfaked

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What do you do when your likeness has been turned into A.I.-generated pornography?—it’s a problem people are already facing. But legislation movin...

You’ve Been Deepfaked

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What do you do when your likeness has been turned into A.I.-generated pornography?—it’s a problem people are already facing. But legislation movin...

The Newarkification of Flying

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Aging equipment and chronically understaffed air traffic control have made flying in and out of Newark’s Liberty International Airport a delay-snarl...

Online and Pregnant

11 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The intimate and extremely personal experience of bringing a child into this world? There’s an app for that…and forums…and so much advice…that...

Chatbots All The Way Down

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why artificial intelligence isn’t waiting for consumer demand. Guest: Gerrit De Vynck, tech reporter for The Washington Post. Want more What Next ...

How Elon Wields Power

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What is it about the way that Elon Musk wields power that led 65 percent of Americans to agree he has too much influence on the federal government? ...

Marc Andreessen’s New Deal

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What drove Marc Andreessen’s transformation into a political actor, and what is he looking for from having Washington in his thrall? Guest: Zoe Sch...

Death of the Weather Forecast?

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration has already begun cutting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the U.S. National Weather Servi...

The Immigration Data Dragnet

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of DOGE’s goals is to get government data out of “silos” and make it more easily shared across departments. But there are good reasons for s...

The Baby Monitor Trap

20 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If setting up a baby monitor in the room with your sleeping kids doesn’t allow you to pop out and enjoy the cruise ship, what are they actually good...

The U.S. vs Meta

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, the FTC and Meta began a trial to determine if—by adding Instagram and WhatsApp to its portfolio with Facebook over a decade ago—the co...

TikTok: Somehow Also Affected by the Tariffs

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

TikTok was on the verge of being sold to a non-Chinese company when Trump rolled out his new tariff plans. Now everything is thrown into uncertainty a...

Trump Tariffs Hit Mushroom Kingdom

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The same day  Nintendo was officially introducing its latest console, Donald Trump was announcing his new global tariff plan. As a result, gamers wer...

Why Wall Street Can’t Quit Elon

06 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk’s polarizing persona and antics have created a toxic cloud around his companies, particularly Tesla. But despite that, Wall Street can’t...

Where DOGE Is Taking Us

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, DOGE set its sights  and scythe on the Department of Health and Human Services, with a goal of cutting 10,000 federal workers, once again ...

This Is Your Brain On Ketamine

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ketamine has gone from a recreational psychedelic to an approved treatment, and it has caught on in Silicon Valley in a big way. Are the long-term eff...

This Is Your Brain On Ketamine

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ketamine has gone from a recreational psychedelic to an approved treatment, and it has caught on in Silicon Valley in a big way. Are the long-term eff...

We Made a Memecoin

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Memecoins are a niche type of cryptocurrency with no intrinsic value. But they remain a popular form of crypto, as seen earlier this year with Preside...

Bezos 2.0

23 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During his first term, President Trump and Jeff Bezos openly sparred with each other. During this second administration, though, it seems like Bezos i...

Trump's War on Scientific Research

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The National Institutes of Health is the primary engine of biomedical research around the world, which makes the Trump administration's dramatic cuts ...

How Trump Is Trying to Kill Press Freedom

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With a Trump-friendly Supreme Court and a contentious relationship with the press, could Donald Trump follow through on his 2016 campaign goal of maki...

Will Tesla Survive Elon Musk?

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Zuckerberg and the Post-Factcheck Era

09 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After the election, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was doing away with Facebook’s fact-checking apparatus in the US. With content creators gettin...

From 4Chan to Charlottesville to DOGE

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

To understand the second Trump administration, you have to understand the internet culture that gave birth to it. Guest: Elle Reeve, CNN corresponden...

Cracking the Egg Crisis

02 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone’s talking about the price of eggs—so why are they so expensive? And when can we expect—if ever—the price to come back down? Guests: ...

The DOGE Resistance

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Federal workers in the U.S. Digital Service resigned in protest over what they viewed as indiscriminate, irresponsible firings coming from the DOGE of...

$Trump

23 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The crypto industry threw its weight and money behind Donald Trump, in hopes of legitimizing the industry. Before his Inauguration Day was over, Donal...

Elon's Endgame

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As someone whose companies receive billions of dollars from the government, it’s worth asking why Elon Musk is so zealous about cutting government s...

Can You Pay Attention, Please?

16 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The infinite scroll has no purpose other than keeping your attention. But that doesn’t mean it’s value-neutral. Guest: Chris Hayes, MSNBC news an...

Is Elon Actually Trying to Buy OpenAI?

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion offer to buy OpenAI genuine—or an irresistible opportunity to troll Sam Altman? Guest: David A. Fahrenthold, investi...

Why Trump’s Data Purge is a Digital Book Burning

09 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Using Github, you can watch as government websites are brought into compliance with Donald Trump’s executive orders. Out goes the word “equity;”...

Bonus: The Discourse | Why is Elon Musk Cheating at Video Games?

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk is supposed to be running several companies and a new government department—so why is he also spending money to pretend to be good at vide...

Bonus: The Discourse | Why is Elon Musk Cheating at Video Games?

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk is supposed to be running several companies and a new government department—so why is he also spending money to pretend to be good at vide...

Is Elon Musk Unstoppable?

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You can’t doubt the enthusiasm of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. You can question the legality of some of their early moves.  ...

The DeepSeek Panic

02 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The artificial intelligence industry was thrown for a loop when the Chinese start-up DeepSeek rolled out a product that was more energy efficient, che...

RFK Jr. Is a Feature, Not a Bug

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tapped by Trump for the role of health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presents himself as someone willing to say what other politicians won’t. But...

The A.I. Will See You Now

26 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence is coming to a doctor’s office near you—if it isn’t already there, working in an administrative role. Are you ready for ...

Bonus: The Discourse | The Bro-ligarchs Take Washington

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Choice seats for Donald Trump’s second inauguration were filled with tech founders and CEOs, signaling their importance to this presidential term. T...

Bonus: The Discourse | The Bro-ligarchs Take Washington

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Choice seats for Donald Trump’s second inauguration were filled with tech founders and CEOs, signaling their importance to this presidential term. T...

Department of Government Elon

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Department of Government Efficiency was made to Elon Musk’s specifications, right down to its meme-indebted name. Now that DOGE is shaping up t...

As Fires Approached LA, Angelenos Turned to Watch Duty

19 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Looking for up-to-the-minute updates on where the fires are, LA residents have been turning to the app Watch Duty, rather than getting updates directl...

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta-Morphosis

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Misinformation, disinformation, politics—Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is not going to shield users from those anymore. What’s behind the abrupt change...

Why Tech Is Bending the Knee

12 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How the FCC and its incoming head, Brenden Carr, could enact Trump’s top policy goal: punishing anyone who says mean stuff about Trump. Guest: Drew...

Will the Supreme Court Save TikTok?

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Will a First Amendment defense keep TikTok running in America?  Guest: Emily Baker White, tech reporter for Forbes.  Want more What Next TBD? Subscr...

Bitcoin Takes the White House

05 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cryptocurrency spent generously on this last election cycle, and now they’ve got their top pick in the White House, and wins across Congress. Where ...

Musk vs. MAGA

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Christmas Eve a fracas erupted on X, when Elon Musk posted in favor of H1-B visas for specialized and high-skill workers and was met with anger fro...

The Cost of Suicide Prevention Software

29 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Between a third and half of American schoolchildren have a form of “mental health monitoring” software on their school devices, which scans for an...

2024 In Review: Would You Buy Poop On the Internet?

27 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Fecal microbial transplants” treat someone’s unhealthy gut with poop from someone else’s healthy gut, and proponents of FMT claim it can help...

2024 In Review: Would You Buy Poop On the Internet?

27 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Fecal microbial transplants” treat someone’s unhealthy gut with poop from someone else’s healthy gut, and proponents of FMT claim it can help...

Influencer vs. Influencer

22 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One influencer working for Amazon sued another influencer who works for Amazon for creating content that looks too similar to theirs. But with how the...

Influencer vs. Influencer

22 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One influencer working for Amazon sued another influencer who works for Amazon for creating content that looks too similar to theirs. But with how the...

Drones!??!!!?!!!

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Reports of flocks of drones, flying overhead nightly, are coming in from New Jersey down to Maryland. Are they UFOs? Nefarious foreign powers? Somethi...

The Surveillance State Trump Is Inheriting

15 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our lives, and our communication in particular, are increasingly conducted over the internet. This means we are increasingly able to be hacked and mo...

Elon Musk and Trump’s Shadow Transition Team

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk has been down in Florida with Donald Trump, inviting his fellow rich Silicon Valley friends to stop by and weigh in on the next administrati...

Spotify Trapped

08 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Spotify is shaping listening habits, so much so that musicians are shaping themselves for Spotify. It makes your musical world a little more prescribe...

The Influencer Administration

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From Dr. Oz to RFK Jr. to Donald Trump himself—the incoming administration looks like it will be populated with pitchmen and influencers. Will anyo...

When Your Flight’s GPS Gets Spoofed

01 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Anyone stuck in a knotted snarl of interstate clovers knows that GPS is both important and imperfect. But if GPS fails while you’re bringing a 737 i...

The Post-Election Social Media Wars

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Whatever X is, it ain’t the Twitter so many users fell in love with. Since the election, Bluesky has been on the rise, but it’s still only a fract...

Is Sickle Cell Anemia…Cured?

24 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last May, a 12-year-old with sickle cell anemia was the first person to receive a new gene therapy to treat the disease. The process is painful, expen...

What's Google Without Chrome?

22 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Department of Justice has released its recommendations for how Google’s monopoly on web search should be broken up. Top of their wishlist? Spinn...

What's Google Without Chrome?

22 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Department of Justice has released its recommendations for how Google’s monopoly on web search should be broken up. Top of their wishlist? Spinn...

The X-odus

17 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since Elon Musk took over, Twitter—er, sorry “X”—has been slowly deflating. But given that soon you’ll be getting yelled at by right-wing tr...

The X-odus

17 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since Elon Musk took over, Twitter—er, sorry “X”—has been slowly deflating. But given that soon you’ll be getting yelled at by right-wing tr...

The Manosphere That Delivered Trump Back to Power

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Going on Joe Rogan’s podcast didn’t fit into Kamala Harris’s last month of campaigning, which consisted of a careful diet of traditional media a...

The Polls Weren’t Wrong

10 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many folks were surprised at how soundly Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the election, especially since they thought the polls made it seem lik...

Elon Wins

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As Elon Musk channeled his considerable resources towards Donald Trump’s campaign, there was talk about what his role in the new Trump administratio...

u up? Go vote.

03 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Voters in swing states are being subjected to constant political messages—on billboards, commercials and, increasingly, via text messages. But are d...

What Elon Wants From Trump

01 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How did Elon Musk go from a poster to someone pumping millions of dollars towards Donald Trump? And what’s he hoping to get for doing so? Guest: Ma...

Facebook for the Dead

27 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He didn’t find his grandfather. But traveling to, photographing, and uploading his grandfather’s memorial stone gave him something else.  Guest:...

Can TikTok Sway this Election?

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This election cycle, TikTok has evolved into a news-and-politics delivery mechanism. Will it make a difference? Guest: Sapna Maheshwari, reporting on...

How Secure Is Our Election?

20 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

America’s head of cybersecurity isn’t worried about the election being hacked or the results being tampered with. But this election cycle does hav...

The Elon-Trump Alliance

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk went from voting for Hillary to supporting Trump so hard that he may have broken election laws. And with Musk influencing both on X and in c...

23andMe...And a Looming Data Disaster

13 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How did 23andMe go from the peak of the double-helix to a death spiral? And if it goes under, is all of the genetic data it collected at risk?  Gues...

Trump’s Crypto Gurus

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The crypto project “World Liberty Financial,” which was announced on X by Donald Trump, isn’t a cryptocurrency, nor a crypto-exchange, nor is it...

Trump’s Crypto Gurus

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The crypto project “World Liberty Financial,” which was announced on X by Donald Trump, isn’t a cryptocurrency, nor a crypto-exchange, nor is it...

A.I. Goes Nuclear

06 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Decades ago, Three Mile Island was shut down after a near catastrophic nuclear meltdown. So why is Microsoft paying over a billion dollars to open it ...

Helene Proves Nowhere is Safe

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the idea of a climate haven has been upended. And as the climate change gets worse every year, fewer places will...

American Life is a Highway

29 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

America is caught in a vicious cycle of trying to alleviate traffic by expanding and building more highways, only for them to clog right up with more ...

Big Tech Fears Her

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the last decade, the European Union has been the vanguard regulating Big Tech, and the push has been led by Margrethe Vestager. As she steps down...

Trump Called. Laura Loomer Answered.

22 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Given Laura Loomer’s history of saying outright offensive and often bewildering things, how did she get into the Trump campaign’s inner circle?  ...

Can Instagram Really Keep Kids Safe?

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Instagram’s new default privacy settings for teenagers are designed to keep kids safe from strangers online. It’s a worthy endeavor, but are priva...

Is Boeing Lost in Space?

15 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Boeing’s Starliner has now landed successfully—but Butch and Sunny weren’t on it. With a pair of astronauts still stuck on the ISS, when will NA...

TikTok Goes to Court

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The law has been passed and signed by the president: TikTok’s parent company must sell or divest from the app. But that’s not happening without a ...

The Misguided Buzz About Mosquitoes

08 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An outbreak of eastern equine encephalitis in the northeast made headlines, but as far as mosquito-borne illnesses go, EEE is serious but still rare. ...

US v. Google… Again

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A month after a federal judge declared that Google was operating as a monopoly because of its search engine, the Justice Department has alleged that G...

Telegram's CEO Just Got Arrested. Huh?

01 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Telegram was supposed to be the platform with the freest of free speech, which meant it was also rife with the worst the internet has to offer—"crim...

Back To School… Without Phones

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since the pandemic, schools have been reporting that their students are more anxious and having trouble learning. How much does simply removing cell p...

Who’s Going to Regulate AI?

25 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why are national politicians like Nancy Pelosi lining up alongside artificial intelligence companies to oppose safety regulations on this new industry...

Crypto Courts the 2024 Vote

23 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The last crypto boom left the industry cash-rich and reputation-poor, so they’re doing what any beleaguered industry does—donating to politicians....

The Rise of Off-Brand Ozempic

18 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are in high demand and short supply. The internet makes it easy for you to have a compounding pharmacy whip you up...

Elon Musk’s Bully Pulpit

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter - now X - in 2022, he’s increasingly used it to push his conservative views. A suit against a non-profit brand saf...

Tesla’s Out of Juice. But Are EVs?

11 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The hype has slowed but electric vehicles aren’t going away—once the infrastructure is in place, they’ll go everywhere. Guests:  Nitish Pahwa,...

Google’s a Monopoly. What About The Rest?

09 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Should the other Silicon Valley giants be worried following the Department of Justice’s decisive win against Google?  Guest: Leah Nylen, antitrust...

If They Can Get Sydney Sweeney They Can Get You

04 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this month, AT&T was hit by the largest telecom hack ever. Not long after, Sydney Sweeney’s phone number was stolen by criminals, who used i...