Off-the-Record: Wait, You Ran THAT Boston Marathon?

Off-the-Record: Wait, You Ran THAT Boston Marathon?

Author: Slate Podcasts July 24, 2026 Duration: 6:04

Why are kids getting faster? Is it the shoes? Also, running the Boston Marathon is obviously a huge accomplishment, but if you ran the 2013 Boston Marathon, you should lead with that and not save it for an interview years after you meet someone.


Guest: Rob Gunther, producer for Slate’s What Next.


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 Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.


Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.


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


Each day’s news cycle can feel like a flood, leaving us adrift in a stream of headlines without much understanding of what they truly mean or where they might lead. What Next | Daily News and Analysis, from Slate Podcasts, cuts through that noise with clarity and purpose. Instead of just recounting events, this daily podcast focuses on the crucial question that follows any major story: what happens now? The hosts delve into a single pressing issue-whether it’s a political shift, a cultural moment, or a policy change-and unpack its implications with expert interviews and thoughtful commentary. You’ll hear analysis that goes beyond the initial shock or spectacle, exploring the real-world consequences and the potential paths forward. Released each weekday morning, the episodes are concise and designed to fit into your routine, offering a meaningful pause for reflection amid the chaos. It’s a resource for anyone who wants to move past mindless scrolling and toward genuine comprehension. For listeners who want even more, Slate Plus offers ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content, deepening the engagement with the day’s most important topics. This isn’t just another news recap; it’s a guide for navigating the aftermath and understanding what comes next.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

What Next | Daily News and Analysis
Podcast Episodes
The WNBA's Caught in the Culture Wars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:43
The WNBA is enjoying its most profitable and popular season in league history. At the same time, it’s become another front in the culture war. Guest: Matreyi Anantharaman, staff writer at Defector. Want more What Next? S…
Can I Still Vote By Mail? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:33
Donald Trump, Supreme Court justices, states, and even the Post Office are all trading legal salvos over mail-in voting. Where does it stand now? And what’s Trump’s end goal in making mail-in voting—something rural and e…
Off-the-Record: Friends Don’t Let Friends Ruin Vacation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:33
The idea of a big ol’ group of friends taking a vacation sounds so fun…in theory. In practice, though, the museum friends and the beach friends are forming opposing factions, and the vegetarian friend is hovering between…
A.I. Enshittifies Everything (Still) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:39
Through stealing your job or simply tanking the stock market—whichever comes first—the rise of artificial intelligence (companies) is a very futuristic sounding problem. It may have some very old-fashioned sounding solut…
How to Lose Wars and Tank the Economy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:18
From the trade war with Canada to the literal war with Iran, US foreign policy seems to have become “flail at whatever Trump says to flail at, no matter the cost.” But the American people are the ones left holding that b…
The A.I. Populist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:30
Intertwined with many Americans’ contempt for data centers is their suspicion of artificial intelligence itself, which is being used to spy on you, being forced on anyone who still has a job, and will eventually, we’re p…
What Lindsay Clancy Truthers Are Missing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:16
As the trial of Lindsay Clancy over the murder of her three children goes into closing arguments this week, the reactions to the case reveal just how little the general public understands about postpartum psychosis.Guest…
The Progressive Case for Midterms Optimism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:17
Since losing the 2024 presidential election, Democrats have been doing a lot of finger pointing. But with the midterms this fall, it’s time to stop pointing and start saying what you actually believe and why people shoul…
Off the Record: We Don’t Talk About Natalie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:20
Nobody objected to Jon Ossoff calling the president disinterested in doing his job. But an off-hand mention of Trump’s “human printer”? That, for some reason, took things way too far.This episode is member-exclusive. Lis…
Can the Midterms Withstand Prediction Markets? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:40
Hundreds of millions of dollars, desperation for insider info, fury and accusations of conspiracy when it doesn’t go your way—is this gambling or elections? Through the magic of prediction markets, it’s both! Guest: Davi…