What Next Creators & Guests

Ray Suarez is a journalist and author. Currently, he is the host of "World Affairs" on NPR station KQED.Previously, Suarez was host of "Inside Story" on Al Jazeera America. Before that, he was chief national correspondent for "Newshour" on PBS. He has also worked as a radio reporter in London and Rome, as a Los Angeles correspondent for CNN, and as a reporter for the NBC-owned station WMAQ-TV in Chicago.Suarez received his B.A. in African History from New York University and his A.M. in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.

Lizzie O'Leary is an American journalist. She has worked with CNN, NPR, Bloomberg TV, Yahoo News, ABC, and the BBC.

Mary Cecelia Curtis is a journalist. Currently, she a columnist for Roll Call and a senior facilitator for The OpEd Project. She is known for her coverage of politics as it intersects with race and culture, and for being a pioneer and advocate for diversity in U.S. news media.She has been a reporter and editor at major publications including The New York Times, Baltimore Sun, and the Arizona Daily Star. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Region IV National Association of Black Journalists in 2004.Curtis received her B.A. in Communications from Fordham University.

Mary Harris is a host, reporter, and producer. Currently, she is the host of "What Next?" at Slate.Before joining Slate, Harris was host for the NPR show "Only Human." She has been a producer for NPR and ABC News.Harris received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Yasmin Khan is an author, broadcaster, and human rights campaigner.

Elena Schwartz is a journalist and podcast producer. Currently, she produces podcasts for Slate Magazine. Previously, she was at NPR.

Jayson de Leon is an audio producer. Currently, he is a producer for “99% Invisible.”Previously, de Leon was a producer for Slate, where he produced seasons 5 and 6 of “Slow Burn,” launched and led production of Slate’s daily news program “What Next,” and was the founding producer of “Trumpcast.” Before joining Slate, he produced season 1 of “Family Ghosts.” Before that, he was an intern at NPR’s “Planet Money.”de Leon  received his B.S. in Business Economics from the University of Central Florida.

Paige Osburn is an audio producer, occasional reporter, and producer of 1A Podcast.

Mary Wilson is an audio producer for The New York Times.Previousl, Wilson was a politics editor of Slate Magazine's podcast "What Next."

Richard L. Hasen is a legal scholar and expert in legislation, election law, and campaign finance. Currently, he is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Jack Schneider is a historian, policy analyst, and co-author of the book A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door.

Dr. Katelyn Jetelina is an epidemiologist. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Texas School of Public Health. She also has a secondary appointment at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.Jetelina received her B.A. in General Physiology with a minor in Geography from the University of Arizona. She received her M.P.H. in Epidemiology and her Ph.D. in Epidemiology with a minor in Biostatistics from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Yousef Munayyer is a Palestinian-American writer and political analyst based in Washington, D.C., United States.

Robert Kolker is a former contributing editor at New York Magazine, a former projects and investigations reporter for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek, and the author of Lost Girls, a book that was a New York Times best-seller and named one of Publishers Weekly's Top Ten Books of 2013.

Dr. Sam J. Tsemberis is a clinical and community psychologist. He is the founder and executive director of Pathways to Housing, a Housing First program for individuals with serious mental illnesses, long histories of homelessness, and often co-occurring substance abuse. He is also an Associate Professor at the University of California Los Angeles.

Simon van Zuylen-Wood is a journalist who writes features about the intersection of tech, media, and political ideology. He is especially interested in stories about ego and ambition. Van Zuylen-Wood's work has appeared in New York, Vanity Fair, Wired, The Atlantic, Bloomberg Businessweek, ESPN, The Washington Post Magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, Politico Magazine, Boston Magazine, National Journal Magazine, Newsweek, Elle, The Washington Monthly, and Washington City Paper.Previously, van Zuylen-Wood was a staff writer at Philadelphia magazine. Before that he was a reporter at The New Republic. Van Zuylen-Wood is also a co-director of the Princeton Summer Journalism Program, an intensive seminar/summer camp for high school journalists from low-income backgrounds.

Will Sommer is a journalist and currently reports on technology for The Daily Beast. Prior to that, he was a campaign editor at The Hill and a political columnist for Washington City Paper.Sommer also publishes Right Richter, an online blog that rounds up the week's ideas, conspiracy theories, and personalities in conservative media.Sommer was raised in Texas.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán is Nashville Public Radio’s political reporter and host of The Tri-Star State podcast. Before moving to Nashville, Sergio covered education for the Standard-Examiner newspaper in Ogden, Utah. He is a Puerto Rico native and his work has also appeared on NPR station WKAR, San Antonio Express-News, Inter News Service, GFR Media and WMIZ 1270 AM.

Mia Sato is a journalist. Currently, she is a reporter at The Verge, where she writes about tech platforms and the people who use them.