Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

---

If you love What Next, join Slate Plus at slate.com/youtubeplus?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=link&utm_content=What_Next&utm_campaign=show_description&tpcc=youtube-link-show_description-What_Next to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts.

The Judiciary Committee is holding a vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination for AG Thursday morning. Sitting on the committee is perhaps his most vocal critic, Sen. Cory Booker. Booker has alleged he lied about meeting Epstein victims, he’s called him a “sword and shield” for the President during his time as acting AAG.

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

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

Social:
@maryharris on Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/maryharris.bsky.social

Note: Captions are auto-generated by YouTube.

Learn more: slate.com/podcasts/what-next

Follow Slate on Social:
Slate on Twitter - twitter.com/Slate
Slate Podcasts on Twitter - twitter.com/SlatePodcasts
Slate on Facebook: facebook.com/slate
Slate on Instagram: instagram.com/slate