What Next | Daily News and Analysis

How one theory about COVID-19’s origins went from the fringes to the mainstream -- and why it just might be plausible. Guest: Alina Chan, postdoctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Derek Chauvin stands trial for the murder of George Floyd, prosecutors are determined to show the justice system is going to work in this case. Beyond the courtroom, the future of Minneapolis’s relationship with its police department is an open question. Guest: Jon Collins, class and criminal justice reporter at Minnesota Public Radio. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the start of the pandemic, usage of apps like BetterHelp and Talkspace has skyrocketed. These apps might make mental health care more accessible, but are the products they sell really the same as therapy? Guest: Molly Fischer, features writer for the Cut at New York Magazine Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February 2020, Karlin Chan began a group called the Chinatown Block Watch to patrol his New York City neighborhood and act as a “visual deterrent” to anti-Asian attacks. One year and one pandemic later, Chan’s Block Watch is still patrolling the streets, and taking an expansive view of what it means to keep the community safe. Guest: Karlin Chan, founder of the Chinatown Block Watch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michigan is currently home to 13 of the worst performing metro areas when it comes to the coronavirus. They recently surpassed 10,000 new cases and their curve has “gone vertical”. With vaccine distribution ramping up across the country, is the Michigan surge a warning for the rest of the country? Guest: Abdul El-Sayed, host of America Dissected Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, President Biden rolled out an ambitious infrastructure plan that relies on increased taxes on corporations to fund big changes to America’s infrastructure. His plan goes beyond putting pavement on the ground, and lays out a different vision for what "infrastructure" really means. Guest: Jordan Weissmann, Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Last week, The New York Times reported that Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz was under investigation by the Justice Department over his relationships with women recruited online for sex, and whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. Gaetz gained national attention for his trollish, Trumpian antics and fiery loyalty to the then-president. What happens if the Trump playbook doesn’t work for the 38-year-old congressman? Guest: Jeff Weiner, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Editor for the Orlando...

There are at least 17 different “vaccine passport” initiatives underway in the United States. And leaked documents reveal that the Biden administration fears that “a chaotic and ineffective vaccine credential approach could hamper our pandemic response by undercutting health safety measures, slowing economic recovery, and undermining public trust and confidence.” Without coordination, a chaotic and ineffective approach seems likely. So, what can, and what should, the Biden administration do...

Los Angeles’s Echo Park Lake is home to swan boats, running trails and space for members of it’s rapidly gentrifying community to gather during the pandemic. Up until last week, it was also home to over 100 people living in tents on the west side of the park. The encampment became the focal point of LA’s housing affordability crisis when the housed members of the Echo Park neighborhood called for it to be cleared. Guest: Benjamin Oreskes, metro report for the Los Angeles Times. Slate Plus...

Most kids in the country aren’t back to school in any way we’d recognize as normal. Republicans have noticed. Now, they’re launching a few trial balloons this year to see if “reopen the schools” can become their next winning campaign slogan. Guest: Edward-Isaac Dovere, staff writer at the Atlantic. Read his story, “Democrats Are Failing the Schools Test.” Dovere is the author of the forthcoming book, Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats’ Campaigns to Defeat Trump. Slate Plus members get...

Houston residents and elected officials are trying to stop the largest urban highway project of their lifetimes -- one that would clear out more than 1,000 homes in primarily Black and Latin neighborhoods and, they say, introduce additional flooding and health risks. Now, residents have a powerful new ally in Washington: the Biden administration. The fate of I-45 may tell us something about what 21st-century infrastructure will look like. Guests: Tomaro Bell, Houston resident and community...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has become a Republican celebrity for his notably lax coronavirus policies, keeping the state mostly open during the pandemic. But in Miami Beach, tourists are using the lack of restrictions to their advantage, exposing the difficulty of managing a world that isn’t quite done with COVID-19, but desperately wants to be. Guest: Verónica Zaragovia, healthcare reporter at WLRN. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more...

Back in April 2020, AstraZeneca was hailed as a frontrunner in the race to get an effective vaccine to market. A year later, after a series of trial pauses, communication blunders, and PR problems, the vaccine is on the cusp of FDA approval. By all accounts, the company succeeded in making a safe, effective vaccine. So why has there been so much confusion about its rollout? Guest: Peter Aldhous, science reporter at Buzzfeed News Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Colorado Rep. Tom Sullivan counts the number of Fridays since his son was killed in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012. The latest mass shooting in Boulder, which left 10 people dead, was yet another reason Sullivan says he’s continuing his quest to curb gun violence in the state. Guest: Colorado State Rep. Tom Sullivan. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After four years of President Trump’s harsh immigration policies, many advocates for Central American migrants welcomed a change in administration. But after two months in office, President Biden has given a clear message to people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border: “don’t come.” Still, thousands of people, including an increasing number of unaccompanied children, are making the trek and forcing Biden to face his first big immigration test. Guest: Adolfo Flores, national security for...

Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, were left without water for weeks after a deep freeze hit the south, bursting pipes and forcing people to rely on bottled or collected rain water. But even though the water is back on, Jackson’s next water crisis might not be so far off. Guest: Nick Judin is a reporter at the Mississippi Free Press. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 16, a white gunman killed eight people - six of them Asian-American women - during shootings at three different spas in Georgia. The shooter claims he was driven by a “sex addiction,” but his actions fall into a complicated legacy where race, sex, and the fetishization of Asian women all intersect. That legacy is now in full view as the nation grapples with this latest tragedy and a rise in anti-Asian violence. . Guest: Lisa Hagen is a reporter for WABE in Atlanta and the co-host of...

Facebook’s failure to contain the spread of dangerous misinformation is no secret. For years, the company has pledged publicly to fix the problem. But in the wake of the Capitol riots, it’s clear that there’s more work to be done. So, why isn’t the social media giant using its powerful AI to contain hate and lies? Guest: Karen Hao, senior AI reporter at MIT Technology Review Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo faces calls to resign over accusations of sexual harassment and allowing a toxic workplace culture to persist. But to the people who know him best, it’s unlikely the governor will ever bow to those demands. Guests: Jimmy Vielkind, Wall Street Journal reporter covering New York politics & government. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed crucial gaps in the public health system, including the government’s inability to gather data quickly and accurately. After a year of lockdowns and isolation, a return to life resembling normalcy is in sight, but how will we know when we get there? Guests: Alexis Madrigal, co-founder of The COVID Tracking Project, and staff writer at The Atlantic. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices....