2024 in Review: Why Miss USA is Imploding

While the What Next team takes some rest, enjoy this episode, originally aired on May 16.When Miss USA abdicated her throne, people noticed that the first letters of each sentence of her resignation letter spell out “I am silenced.” Shortly thereafter, Miss Teen USA stepped down with a letter that opens with a quote from Nietzsche. What’s going on at the Miss USA organization? Has the idea of a national pageant outlived its usefulness?Guest: Constance Grady, senior Culture 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.