Democracy dies in Chatbots.

How Tony Vara used his popular TikTok account to document his family’s separation.

Last Friday, Netflix announced that they would be acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, a massive megamerger that would let the number one streaming service acquire the third biggest streamer (HBO Max), the entire Warner Bros. film catalog, its cable channels, and the Discovery+ streaming service. But before any shareholders could celebrate, Paramount Skydance, the megaconglomerate led by the Trump-favored Ellison family, launched a hostile takeover. Which company will emerge victorious here…will the biggest loser be the cinephile consumer? Guest: Nitish Pahwa, Slate staff writer covering business and tech. 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

This week, Senate Democrats will hold a vote on extending expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits to try to prevent health insurance premiums from skyrocketing for millions of Americans. That vote is basically guaranteed to fail. Where did these credits come from, and what’s likely to happen when they (almost) inevitably lapse? Guest: Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News and host of the podcast “What the Health?” 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

Ten years ago, the alt-right’s talking points about immigration used to be too toxic to even post on the internet under your own name. So how did they turn into something President Trump regularly fires off on social media? Guest: Zack Beauchamp, senior correspondent for Vox. 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

How AI is splitting the MAGA coalition.

The story all of your favorite journalists are groaning over.

David Sacks is making policy in Washington. And it benefits his firm.

Where can the majority of parents—who believe in inoculation—find advice they can trust?

A look inside Trump’s clemency machine.

That reminder to refuse illegal orders may have come a few months too late.

Books like his are being banned from classrooms—so that’s where his book tour went.

Don’t worry. Computers can’t decide to drop a bomb. Yet.

Is your skincare/skirt/vacation island as good as the real thing?

What’s going on with three fall favorites?

It's the way you're viewed, so it's very shrewd to be very very…weird?

The Trump administration’s proposed plan is fairly vague—but it would result in a clear victor.

Abortion bans may not be politically feasible—but cutting funding from the clinics gets you a lot of the way there.

ICE is watching how and where you drive.

Could we abolish the rogue agency by simply moving their recruitment offices to the tops of tall staircases?