The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The Washington Roundtable will return next Friday. To commemorate two hundred and fifty years of the American experiment, the hosts of The New Yorker’s Critics at Large podcast, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz, present an American playlist. On this special episode, the hosts hear from listeners regarding the songs that best encapsulate their feelings about the U.S. today—and offer some tracks of their own. The resulting compilation reflects the country’s turbulent history, its uncertain present, and, crucially, listeners’ hopes for its future. “What we think of as nation-building—at least if you care about art, that’s not where the real action is,” Cunningham says. “The action is in our creative response to the circumstances that we’re given. And that’s what music is all about.”  Listen to a playlist of songs from this episode <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Vr218WFdEdHDrhsXLxfta?si=NXF_n8tHRfGLaF5KGXLiBw&amp;nd=1&amp;dlsi=8528c888e518496d">here</a>. Featured tracks: “Kids in America,” by Kim Wilde “Miss America,” by David Byrne “All-American Bitch,” by Olivia Rodrigo “Django Jane,” by Janelle Monáe “Help Save the Youth of America,” by Billy Bragg “Almost Cut My Hair,” by Crosby, Stills, Nash &amp; Young “Free Fallin’,” by Tom Petty “America,” by Simon &amp; Garfunkel “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” covered by Joan Baez “Sleep Now in the Fire,” by Rage Against the Machine “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore,” by John Prine “Compared to What,” by Roberta Flack “Ohio/Machine Gun,” by The Isley Brothers “Bob Dylan's 115th Dream,” by Bob Dylan “Wild Goose Chase,” covered by Nora Brown “That’s Life,” covered by James Brown “Billy The Kid Suite,” by Aaron Copland “A Change Is Gonna Come,” by Sam Cooke New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-cal-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

Americans tend to see the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War as milestones in world history that inaugurated the era of modern democracy. But the British, unsurprisingly, see these events quite differently. David Remnick talks with the historians who host the popular podcast “The Rest Is History,” Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland. Growing up in Britain, Sandbrook explains, the Revolution seemed like “a parade of quite boring men talking very earnestly about liberty, [with] battles that involved twenty people in a field somewhere. . . . It’s not Waterloo!” The King was “annoyed” to lose the thirteen colonies to the new nation, but, for his government, “it could have been a lot worse.” Sandbrook and Holland discuss historical events that overshadow the American Revolution in the British mind; the 1619 Project and the subject of slavery; the “colossally consequential” Presidency of Donald Trump; and the fate of the British monarchy. Further reading :  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/why-the-declaration-of-independence-went-through-seventeen-drafts">Was the Declaration of Independence Better Before the Edits?</a>” by Jill Lepore.  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/republic-and-empire-trevor-burnard-andrew-jackson-oshaughnessy-book-review-freedom-round-the-globe-sarah-pearsall">The American Revolution Wasn’t the Main Event</a>” by Daniel Immerwahr. “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/two-hundred-and-fifty-years-of-complicated-commemorations">Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Complicated Commemorations</a>" by Jelani Cobb The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Jeff Stein, the veteran political reporter and founding editor of the newsletter “Spytalk,” to examine Donald Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte as the new acting Director of National Intelligence, a position that, in theory, oversees the C.I.A., N.S.A., F.B.I., and fifteen other agencies. Pulte has no intelligence background and no national-security experience, but does have a track record of going after the President’s perceived enemies. Plus, the panel discusses a recent <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/06/21/tulsi-gabbard-her-guru-mysterious-messages-that-helped-shape-her-political-career/">Washington Post investigation</a> that raised new questions about the outgoing director, Tulsi Gabbard, and her alleged ties to a religious cult. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/everyone-wants-to-touch-the-blue-coating-in-the-reflecting-pool">Everyone Wants to Touch the Blue Coating in the Reflecting Pool</a>,” by Jesús Rodríguez “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/06/chronicle-of-a-disaster-foretold">Chronicle of a Disaster Foretold</a>,” by David Remnick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/29/the-difference-between-the-knicks-and-the-white-house-cage-fight">The Difference Between the Knicks and the White House Cage Fight</a>,” by Adam Gopnik “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-the-trump-administration-pushed-judges-to-deport-children">How the Trump Administration Pushed Judges to Deport Children</a>,” by E. Tammy Kim “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/do-netanyahus-domestic-opponents-offer-a-real-alternative">Do Netanyahu’s Domestic Opponents Offer a Real Alternative?</a>” by Isaac Chotiner The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The comedian and actor Robby Hoffman, known for her role on the HBO show “Hacks” and her début Netflix comedy special, “Wake Up,” joins Tyler Foggatt at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, in Seattle, for a conversation about social class and politics. Growing up as one of ten kids, Hoffman developed a world view that has never fit neatly into the left-vs.-right political dichotomy, and instead focusses her comedy on what she believes is the real defining divide in America: the rich versus the poor. “Classism is the conversation. The haves versus the have nots is the conversation. How much worse does it need to get for you to realize that’s what it’s all been about?” Hoffman says. She and Foggatt also discuss why Hoffman thinks Republicans and Democrats are often more alike than different, and why Donald Trump’s form of humor has given him a political advantage. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/06/chronicle-of-a-disaster-foretold">Chronicle of a Disaster Foretold</a>,” by David Remnick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-torture-chamber-of-british-politics-crushes-its-latest-prime-minister">The Torture Chamber of British Politics Crushes Its Latest Prime Minister</a>,” by Sam Knight “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-the-trump-administration-pushed-judges-to-deport-children">How the Trump Administration Pushed Judges to Deport Children</a>,” by E. Tammy Kim “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/who-is-the-real-kevin-warsh">Who Is the Real Kevin Warsh?</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/29/the-teen-believers-in-a-christian-america">The Teen Believers in a Christian America</a>,” by Eliza Griswold “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/j-d-vances-contemptuous-conversion-memoir">J. D. Vance’s Contemptuous Conversion Memoir</a>,” by Jessica Winter Tune in to The Political Scene <a href="https://pod.link/268213039">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat down with David Remnick at the 92nd Street Y, in New York, on Monday evening, after the Trump Administration announced a memorandum of understanding to end its war in Iran. Remnick asked whether the United States lost this war. “Yes,” Clinton replied. “The United States has come out weaker. Iran has come out stronger.” According to Clinton, Israel repeatedly tried to pressure the Obama Administration into backing a similar action in Iran, but she didn’t take the bait. “They would say things like ‘Our planes are on the tarmac,’ ” Clinton recalled. “And I’d say, ‘Well, good luck. Great. Why are you doing this?’ ” They also discuss Joe Biden’s decision to run for a second term, and its fateful consequences. “He made a terrible mistake,” she said. Had Biden stayed with his plan of serving for one term, “I believe whoever emerged . . . would have beaten Donald Trump.”  Further reading and listening:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/political-scene/hillary-clinton-on-the-psychology-of-autocrats">Hillary Clinton on the Psychology of Autocrats</a>,” an episode of The Political Scene  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/hillary-clinton-explains-what-happened">Hillary Clinton Explains What Happened</a>,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-broadway-life-of-hillary-clinton">The Broadway Life of Hillary Clinton</a>,” by Michael Schulman “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/curtis-sittenfelds-rodham-offers-the-catharsis-of-uncomplicated-regret">Curtis Sittenfeld’s ‘Rodham’ Offers the Catharsis of Uncomplicated Regret</a>,” by Nora Caplan-Bricker The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Louisa Thomas join Tyler Foggatt to discuss three recent collisions of sports and politics. Cunningham and Foggatt talk about President Donald Trump’s appearance at a Knicks game during the team’s championship run, which evoked a mixed reception from New Yorkers and complicated an otherwise celebratory week in the city. Then Fry and Foggatt discuss the U.F.C. fight that Trump hosted on the White House lawn—in celebration of America’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary, and his own birthday—and how it merged the aesthetics and politics of Trump’s second term. Finally, Thomas joins Foggatt to discuss the World Cup and how the Administration’s immigration policies, the Iran war, and America’s precarious standing on the international stage are impacting one of the world’s premier sports and cultural events. Listen to Critics at Large <a href="https://pod.link/1704902371">wherever you get your podcasts</a>. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/fight-night-at-the-white-house">Fight Night at the White House</a>,” by Naomi Fry “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/will-americans-start-to-care-about-the-world-cup-now">Will Americans Start to Care About the World Cup Now?</a>,” by Louisa Thomas “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/lessons-in-fanhood-from-the-knicks">Lessons in Fanhood from the Knicks</a>,” by Vinson Cunningham “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/global-notes/can-the-world-cup-transcend-donald-trump">Can the World Cup Transcend Donald Trump?</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/the-world-cup-and-the-changing-psyche-of-the-haitian-diaspora">The World Cup and the Changing Psyche of the Haitian Diaspora</a>,” by Doreen St. Félix “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/sports/world-cup-2026/how-the-moroccan-world-cup-team-became-a-symbol-of-the-global-south">How the Moroccan World Cup Team Became a Symbol of the Global South</a>,” by Dan Greene The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

When Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s son, Hersh, was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, she became a prominent spokesperson for the families of Israeli hostages. Throughout Hersh’s captivity, and then after his murder, Goldberg-Polin, who was born in Chicago and emigrated to Israel in 2008, argued that Israel’s priority should be to bring the hostages home, and that the killing of all innocents, Israeli and Palestinian, must stop. She advocated with Israeli politicians, Pope Francis, and other leaders, and she addressed the Democratic National Convention in 2024. She recently spoke with David Remnick about her new book, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/When-We-See-You-Again/dp/B0GFSNF8GV">When We See You Again</a>,” and how she has continued her work as a public figure despite unending grief. “People are desperate for us to be angry . . . to feel things that I think that they assume they would feel if they were in the position that we are in. But the truth is, I’m open to feeling anything,” she reflects. “I put Hersh in the ground on September 2, 2024. After that, I’m in a completely different universe.”  Further reading:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/gazas-broken-politics">Gaza’s Broken Politics</a>,” by Mohammed R. Mhawish “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-end-of-israels-hostage-ordeal">The End of Israel’s Hostage Ordeal</a>,” by Ruth Margalit “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-hamas-agreed-to-release-the-hostages">Why Hamas Agreed to Release the Hostages</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/hope-and-grief-in-israel-after-the-gaza-ceasefire-deal">Hope and Grief in Israel After the Gaza Ceasefire Deal</a>,” by Ruth Margalit The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses Donald Trump’s eightieth birthday, on Sunday, with a look at the pageantry and spectacle surrounding the planned U.F.C. fight on the South Lawn of the White House. The panel contrasts Trump’s desire to project power and masculinity with his recent pattern of disinhibition: from allegedly falling asleep at important meetings and the N.B.A. Finals to angry outbursts at reporters, including such politically damaging statements as “I love the inflation.” Is the President fading, physically and politically? “It’s not about the age; it’s about the behavior,” the staff writer Evan Osnos says. “It’s about the clear fact that his conduct, his cognitive function, his behavior is declining.” This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/what-jill-biden-doesnt-say-in-her-white-house-memoir#intcid=_the-new-yorker-homepage-bkt-a_6da736d0-45af-4fb4-930b-38d9b8d794ce_cygnus-personalized">What Jill Biden Doesn’t Say in Her White House Memoir</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/global-notes/can-the-world-cup-transcend-donald-trump">Can the World Cup Transcend Donald Trump?</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-supreme-courts-latest-blow-to-black-voters-rights#intcid=_the-new-yorker-homepage-bkt-a_6da736d0-45af-4fb4-930b-38d9b8d794ce_cygnus-personalized">The Supreme Court’s Latest Blow to Black Voters’ Rights</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/is-elon-musks-spacex-really-worth-1-75-trillion#intcid=_the-new-yorker-homepage-bkt-a_6da736d0-45af-4fb4-930b-38d9b8d794ce_cygnus-personalized">Is Elon Musk’s SpaceX Really Worth $1.75 Trillion?</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/has-nancy-maces-crusade-against-sexual-violence-ruined-her-career">Has Nancy Mace’s Crusade Against Sexual Violence Ruined Her Career?</a>,” by Moira Donegan “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/15/for-the-nations-birthday-making-it-harder-to-become-an-american">For the Nation’s Birthday, Making It Harder to Become an American</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker investigative reporter Heidi Blake joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss her <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/15/andrew-tates-empire-of-abuse">reporting on Andrew Tate</a>, the British American influencer and figurehead of the manosphere. They talk about Tate’s rise to prominence, the media empire he built by glorifying ideas about male dominance and female subjugation, and the allegations of rape, assault, coercion, and sex trafficking that have followed him and his brother, Tristan, across multiple countries. Drawing on leaked documents and messages, interviews with both Tates, and testimony from women who say they were victimized by the brothers, Blake explains how Tate’s online persona reflects a much longer history of alleged abuse and exploitation. Blake and Foggatt also explore Tate’s growing ties to people in Donald Trump’s orbit, and whether his support for Trump and the MAGA movement helped shape the political response to the investigations against him. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/15/andrew-tates-empire-of-abuse">Andrew Tate’s Empire of Abuse</a>,” by Heidi Blake “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/has-nancy-maces-crusade-against-sexual-violence-ruined-her-career">Has Nancy Mace’s Crusade Against Sexual Violence Ruined Her Career?</a>,” by Moira Donegan “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-supreme-courts-latest-blow-to-black-voters-rights">The Supreme Court’s Latest Blow to Black Voters’ Rights</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/15/for-the-nations-birthday-making-it-harder-to-become-an-american">For the Nation’s Birthday, Making It Harder to Become an American</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/15/could-switzerland-become-the-first-country-to-limit-its-population">Could Switzerland Become the First Country to Cap Its Population?</a>,” by Jessi Jezewska Stevens The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy, was one of a number of Kennedy family members who spoke out against the policies and the character of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Schlossberg became a public figure on social media, often trolling the right, doing his imitation of Vladimir Putin, or claiming that Usha Vance was carrying his baby. But, when Schlossberg decided to run for an open seat in Congress, critics pointed to his lack of experience in governing, or even holding a job. In some ways, Schlossberg seems a test case for how social-media influence may translate into electoral politics. “I understand that content creation is a new profession, and that it’s not synonymous for many people with a quote-unquote real job,” Schlossberg tells David Remnick. “I think that my experience is exactly what the Democratic Party needs right now from candidates.”  Further reading:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/how-a-congressional-primary-became-a-proxy-battle-over-ai#rid=cda9a6e5-3426-4398-8d34-cbdbe308c237&amp;q=jack+schlossberg">How a Congressional Primary Became a Proxy Battle Over A.I.</a>,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus “ <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/love-story-is-a-forgettable-elegy-for-gen-x#rid=cda9a6e5-3426-4398-8d34-cbdbe308c237&amp;q=jack+schlossberg">‘Love Story’ Is a Forgettable Elegy for Gen X</a>,” by Doreen St. Félix “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/a-battle-with-my-blood">A Battle with My Blood</a>,” by Tatiana Schlossberg The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses the 2026 midterm elections and the prospects of a comeback for the Democratic Party with The New Yorker’s editor, David Remnick. Recorded during a live show at the 92nd Street Y, in Manhattan, the group explores the President’s abysmal approval ratings, key Senate races in Maine and Texas, fights over redistricting, and how public anger over corruption and wealth inequality could shape the battle for control of Congress. “It’s a stress test that we’re looking at,” the staff writer Jane Mayer says. “That’s what this midterm is: Can this democracy survive it? And, if it doesn’t, then what?” They also examine recent upheavals at CBS News and “60 Minutes,” and consider what those changes might mean for the future of investigative journalism.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-changing-face-of-authenticity-in-politics">The Changing Face of ‘Authenticity’ in Politics</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-absurd-virtual-spectacle-of-trumps-dc">The Absurd Virtual Spectacle of Trump’s D.C.</a>,” by Kyle Chayka “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/this-is-what-trumpian-self-dealing-looks-like#intcid=_the-new-yorker-homepage-bkt-a_6da736d0-45af-4fb4-930b-38d9b8d794ce_cygnus-personalized">This Is What Trumpian Self-Dealing Looks Like</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-strange-emptiness-of-the-crowded-governors-race-in-california">The Strange Emptiness of the Crowded Governor’s Race in California</a>,” by Nathan Heller The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer David D. Kirkpatrick joins Tyler Foggatt and Andrew Marantz to discuss <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/18/the-number">his investigation</a>—published in August, 2025—into the many ways President Donald Trump has profited during his second term, which include a reported private jet (a gift from Qatar), soaring valuations of Trump Media, and a flood of crypto ventures. They discuss whether these attempts at self-enrichment amount to ordinary political corruption, or whether they represent tools for consolidating power that could in turn accelerate democratic backsliding in the United States, much like in kleptocracies and oligarchies abroad. This episode originally aired on August 20, 2025. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/16/is-there-a-remedy-for-presidential-profiteering">Is There a Remedy for Presidential Profiteering?</a>,” by David D. Kirkpatrick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/a-reporter-at-large/trumps-profiteering-hits-four-billion-dollars">Trump’s Profiteering Hits $6 Billion</a>,” by David D. Kirkpatrick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/this-is-what-trumpian-self-dealing-looks-like">This Is What Trumpian Self-Dealing Looks Like</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-trump-created-a-slush-fund-for-his-allies">How Trump Created a Slush Fund for His Allies</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-pakistan-is-using-the-iran-war-to-reinvent-itself">How Pakistan Is Using the Iran War to Reinvent Itself</a>,” by Sudarsan Raghavan “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-strange-emptiness-of-the-crowded-governors-race-in-california">The Strange Emptiness of the Crowded Governor’s Race in California</a>,” by Nathan Heller The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

As control of the Senate hangs in the balance, many eyes are on Dan Osborn, of Nebraska. He’s a dream candidate for the Democrats: a mechanic in the food-processing industry, a former president of his local union, and a veteran of the Navy and the Army National Guard. But Osborn isn’t a Democrat; he’s running as an independent. Polls show a close or tied race with the Republican incumbent, Pete Ricketts, an heir to a financial fortune. David Remnick talks with Osborn about leading a strike at a Kellogg’s plant; how Donald Trump’s tariffs are affecting voters in an agricultural state; and Osborn’s decision to not caucus with either party if he wins the seat. Further reading:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/25/can-the-democrats-take-back-the-senate#rid=8e63d86b-a0c1-4da8-8750-a87db37c04c7&amp;q=dan+osborn">Can the Democrats Take Back the Senate?</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker contributing writer Robin Wright joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the state of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. They talk about the evolving terms—and major sticking points—of a potential agreement between the two countries, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. They also explore whether the war has ultimately weakened or emboldened Iran, and how Donald Trump’s approach to the conflict and negotiations fits into his broader diplomatic legacy. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-epic-disaster-of-operation-epic-fury">The Epic Disaster of Operation Epic Fury</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-any-plausible-iran-deal-is-a-humiliation-for-trump">Why Any Plausible Iran Deal Is a Humiliation for Trump</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-trump-created-a-slush-fund-for-his-allies">How Trump Created a Slush Fund for His Allies</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-the-working-class-finally-turning-on-trump">Is the Working Class Finally Turning on Trump?</a>,” by Eyal Press “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/01/how-problematic-is-patriotism">How Problematic Is Patriotism?</a>,” by Arthur Krystal See Tyler Foggatt in Conversation with Robby Hoffman at <a href="https://www.cascadepbs.org/ideas-festival/">the Cascade Ideas Festival</a> on June 6th The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

There will be a variety of celebrations to honor America’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary this year. Much of it is to be expected: fireworks, red, white, and blue lights, even a military parade. But something else is happening, something that probably wouldn’t occur if anyone other than Donald Trump were President. The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the premier league for mixed martial arts, is staging a fight at the White House. The U.F.C. was founded in 1993, and exploded in popularity after Dana White took over as president of the company, in 2001. He’s also been friends with Donald Trump for a quarter century, and spoke on the President’s behalf at all three Republican National Conventions where Trump was the nominee. He’s stumped for him at rallies, and Trump even called him up to speak at his victory celebration on Election Night in 2024. David Remnick and White discuss his remarkable rise to prominence, and his relationship with the increasingly unpopular President. “He’s not a racist,” White tells Remnick. “He’s not a fascist. He loves this country. And if you’re an American—race, religion, whatever it is—President Trump is on your team, that I guarantee you.” Further reading:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/donald-trumps-ufc-victory-party#rid=c4a84f2e-17cc-4da9-a04d-396b12d52bbe&amp;q=ufc">Donald Trump’s U.F.C. Victory Party</a>,” by Sam Eagan “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/cage-fighting-during-a-pandemic-is-this-the-future-of-sports#rid=c4a84f2e-17cc-4da9-a04d-396b12d52bbe&amp;q=ufc">Cage-Fighting During a Pandemic: Is This the Future of Sports?</a>,” by Kelefa Sanneh “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/fighting-for-trump-the-u-f-c-comes-to-new-york-city#rid=c4a84f2e-17cc-4da9-a04d-396b12d52bbe&amp;q=ufc">Fighting for Trump: The U.F.C. Comes to New York City</a>,” by Kelefa Sanneh See the Washington Roundtable <a href="https://www.92ny.org/event-class-detail-pages/simon-center/simon-lectures/events/w/a-democratic-comeback-in-2026">live at 92NY</a> on June 4th. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.

The Washington Roundtable discusses the growing political backlash to artificial intelligence, especially among young Americans, and asks whether Washington, D.C., is capable of regulating A.I. companies. They’re joined by Nate Soares, the executive director of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and co-author of the book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Anyone-Builds-Everyone-Dies-Superhuman/dp/0316595640">If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies</a>.” The group explores what was behind the White House’s sudden reversal on an A.I.-safety executive order this week, the outsized influence of venture capitalists in the A.I. industry, and how A.I. may turbocharge the next populist movement in American politics. “My impression is that a lot of the people protesting data centers can sort of tell that this A.I. stuff is taking the world somewhere they don’t want,” Soares says. “They can tell that there’s this big corporate race that will either kill them or make them a permanent underclass.” See the Washington Roundtable <a href="https://www.92ny.org/event-class-detail-pages/simon-center/simon-lectures/events/w/a-democratic-comeback-in-2026">live at 92NY</a> on June 4th. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/25/can-hakeem-jeffries-lead-a-democratic-takeover-of-the-house">Can Hakeem Jeffries Lead a Democratic Takeover of the House?</a>,” by Jason Zengerle “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/sam-altman-won-in-court-against-elon-musk-but-really-we-all-lost">Sam Altman Won in Court Against Elon Musk. But, Really, We All Lost</a>,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/25/can-the-democrats-take-back-the-senate">Can the Democrats Take Back the Senate?</a>,” by Amy Davdison Sorkin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-thomas-massies-race-says-about-trumps-influence">What Thomas Massie’s Race Says About Trump’s Influence</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/clarence-thomas-against-progressivism-and-progressives">Clarence Thomas Against Progressivism—and Progressives</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/a-republican-bloodbath-in-the-texas-senate-primary-is-giving-democrats-hope">A Republican Bloodbath in the Texas Senate Primary Is Giving Democrats Hope</a>,” by Rachel Monroe The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker staff writer Jason Zengerle joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss his <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/25/can-hakeem-jeffries-lead-a-democratic-takeover-of-the-house">Profile of Hakeem Jeffries,</a> the House Minority Leader. They talk about how Jeffries has balanced resisting Donald Trump’s agenda with holding together an increasingly fractious Democratic caucus, and whether Jeffries’ measured persona and “light touch” as a leader are an asset or a weakness in the current climate. They also consider the Democrats’ chances of reclaiming the House in the 2026 midterms—and what Jeffries could realistically accomplish if he becomes Speaker. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/25/can-hakeem-jeffries-lead-a-democratic-takeover-of-the-house">Can Hakeem Jeffries Lead a Democratic Takeover of the House?</a>,” by Jason Zengerle “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/25/can-the-democrats-take-back-the-senate">Can the Democrats Take Back the Senate?</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-gaza-peace-plan-has-gone-nowhere">The Gaza Peace Plan Has Gone Nowhere</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-thomas-massies-race-says-about-trumps-influence">What Thomas Massie’s Race Says About Trump’s Influence</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/benjamin-netanyahus-war-at-home">Benjamin Netanyahu’s War at Home</a>,” by Bernard Avishai See the Washington Roundtable <a href="https://www.92ny.org/event-class-detail-pages/simon-center/simon-lectures/events/w/a-democratic-comeback-in-2026">live at 92NY</a> on June 4th. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence arrives during intense disputes about American history, as the Trump Administration demands a more glorifying view of the nation’s past at federally run historical sites and in federally funded projects. The staff writer <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/jill-lepore">Jill Lepore</a> (who won the Pulitzer Prize in History this month for her book “<a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631496080">We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution</a>”) guest-hosts a special episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour about this fraught moment, reflecting on the responsibility of academic historians to shape the public debate. She compares our moment with the bicentennial—which fell in the wake of the Vietnam War and the scandals of Richard Nixon’s Presidency—in a conversation with the Yale historian Beverly Gage. Lepore looks at the nature of the country’s war over history with <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/jelani-cobb">Jelani Cobb</a>, the dean of Columbia Journalism School and a staff writer at The New Yorker. They discuss the Donald Trump-approved “Freedom 250” projection on the Washington Monument, and talk about how Americans can meaningfully participate in the semiquincentennial. If “we’re sitting around waiting for the occupant of the White House to tell us what American history means,” Lepore says, “you just kind of want to walk into traffic.”  Further reading:  <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/america-at-250">America at 250</a>, a special issue of The New Yorker “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/why-the-declaration-of-independence-went-through-seventeen-drafts">Was the Declaration of Independence Better Before the Edits?</a>,” by Jill Lepore “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/03/09/scandal-protest-goofiness-and-grandeur-at-the-us-bicentennial">Scandal, Protest, Goofiness, and Grandeur at the U.S. Bicentennial</a>,” by Jill Lepore “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/two-hundred-and-fifty-years-of-complicated-commemorations">Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Complicated Commemorations,” </a>by Jelani Cobb “<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-Land-is-Your-Land/Beverly-Gage/9781668033104">This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History</a>,” by Beverly Gage See the Washington Roundtable <a href="https://www.92ny.org/event-class-detail-pages/simon-center/simon-lectures/events/w/a-democratic-comeback-in-2026">live at 92NY</a> on June 4th. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Representative Jason Crow, of Colorado, an Army Ranger veteran, member of the House Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, and one of the so-called Seditious Six, members of Congress whom Donald Trump threatened to have arrested for recording a video which reminded servicemembers that they are not required to follow illegal orders. Crow is also co-leading the Democratic Party’s effort to recruit and train a new generation of congressional candidates, placing him at the center of an urgent dilemma: how can the Party translate growing anxiety over the economy and the war in Iran into a coherent, winning message? His answer, in part, is to go “hyper-local,” build coalitions, and ignore the noise. “I tell these folks that you’re basically running your campaign like you’re running for mayor of your district,” Crow says. “Ignore Fox News, ignore the cable news networks, ignore the algorithms. You can’t control that, anyhow.” See the Washington Roundtable <a href="https://www.92ny.org/event-class-detail-pages/simon-center/simon-lectures/events/w/a-democratic-comeback-in-2026">live at 92NY</a> on June 4th. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/while-donald-trump-adventures-in-china-dc-entertains-itself">When Trump’s Away</a>,” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/what-the-gerrymandering-wars-mean-for-the-midterms-and-2028">What the Gerrymandering Wars Mean for the Midterms—and 2028</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/will-donald-trump-be-allowed-to-destroy-his-records">Will Donald Trump be Allowed to Destroy His Records?</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/the-looming-disaster-of-the-border-wall-in-big-bend-texas">The Looming Disaster of the Border Wall in Big Bend, Texas</a>,” by Rachel Monroe The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Péter Magyar, the new Prime Minister of Hungary, whom Marantz recently <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/peter-magyar-led-hungarians-out-of-autocracy-where-will-he-take-them-now#intcid=_the-new-yorker-homepage-bkt-a_d68c3eda-56b8-4150-a147-5fb183935ae0_cygnus-personalized">interviewed for the magazine</a>. Marantz tells Foggatt about how Magyar defeated the longtime incumbent, Viktor Orbán—despite intervention by Donald Trump and his allies, and Orbán’s extensive influence over the Hungarian media—and why many Hungarians, after years of democratic backsliding and alleged corruption, ultimately turned against their deeply entrenched leader. Foggatt and Marantz also explore the challenges of governing after authoritarianism without reproducing its abuses of power, and whether Hungary’s political transition offers lessons for other democracies confronting illiberal movements. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/peter-magyar-led-hungarians-out-of-autocracy-where-will-he-take-them-now#intcid=_the-new-yorker-homepage-bkt-a_d68c3eda-56b8-4150-a147-5fb183935ae0_cygnus-personalized">Péter Magyar Led Hungarians out of Autocracy. Where Will He Take Them Now?</a>,” by Andrew Marantz  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/why-spain-is-standing-up-to-donald-trump">Why Spain Is Standing Up to Donald Trump</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-trumps-spiritual-adviser-dedicated-a-golden-statue-to-the-president">Why Trump’s Spiritual Adviser Dedicated a Golden Statue to the President</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-art-of-the-ceasefire">The Art of the Ceasefire</a>,” by Sudarsan Raghavan “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/rumors-of-instability-in-moscow">Rumors of Instability in Moscow</a>,” by Joshua Yaffa See the Washington Roundtable <a href="https://www.92ny.org/event-class-detail-pages/simon-center/simon-lectures/events/w/a-democratic-comeback-in-2026">live at 92NY</a> on June 4th. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The contributing writer Peter Slevin met with Barack Obama at the new Obama Presidential Center, which opens next month, in Chicago, and asked him the question on a lot of Democrats’ minds: Where is he, and why isn’t he doing more to help the country in a moment of crisis? Slevin shares excerpts from his interview, during which Obama explains the limits of his role, and why he should no longer be the figurehead for his party. Slevin also speaks with David Remnick about why the famously optimistic President has lost some of his confidence in the American prospect. “I would be dishonest if I didn’t acknowledge that,” Obama admitted.  Further reading:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/barack-obama-in-the-age-of-trump">Barack Obama Considers His Role in the Age of Trump</a>,” by Peter Slevin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/presidents-days-from-obama-to-trump#rid=4cef9e7d-ba9d-4751-abf9-5afd160e2fba&amp;q=obama">Presidents’ Days: From Obama to Trump</a>,” by David Remnick The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The über-rich have enjoyed a remarkable degree of sway in Donald Trump’s Washington—but they may now be facing a backlash. The Washington Roundtable traces the signs of invigorated “pitchfork politics,” such as Zohran Mamdani’s pied-à-terre <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/new-york-journal/zohran-mamdani-and-the-art-of-the-ask">tax in New York</a>, a wealth tax on the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/09/gavin-newsom-profile">ballot in California</a>, and recent protests against the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-and-off-the-avenue/the-2026-met-gala-bezoses-beyonce-and-blood">involvement in the Met Gala</a>—and what these efforts reveal about the cultural and political limits of oligarchy. The panel is joined by Brooke Harrington, a Dartmouth professor of economic sociology who trained as a wealth manager to embed inside the world of the super-rich. Together they examine whether the “broligarchs” have overplayed their hand, what history tells us about when élites lose their grip on power, and whether the left or the right is better positioned to harness growing inequality and anger as a political weapon heading into the 2026 midterms and beyond. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/all-the-presidents-contractors">All the President’s Contractors</a>,” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/two-hundred-and-fifty-years-of-complicated-commemorations">Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Complicated Commemoration</a>,” by Jelani Cobb “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/for-putin-problems-and-paranoia-keep-mounting">For Putin, Problems (and Paranoia) Keep Mounting</a>,” by Joshua Yaffa “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-popes-first-anniversary-is-marked-by-more-sparring-from-the-white-house">The Pope’s First Anniversary Is Marked by More Sparring from the White House</a>,” by Paul Elie “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/barack-obama-in-the-age-of-trump">Barack Obama Considers His Role in the Age of Trump</a>,” by Peter Slevin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-the-iran-war-is-shifting-power-toward-china">How the Iran War Is Shifting Power Toward China</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/the-ai-industry-is-booming-when-will-it-actually-make-money">The A.I. Industry Is Booming. When Will It Actually Make Money?</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/how-a-congressional-primary-became-a-proxy-battle-over-ai">How a Congressional Primary Became a Proxy Battle Over A.I.</a>,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/deep-state-diaries/the-real-cost-of-downsizing-social-security">The Real Cost of Downsizing Social Security</a>,” by E. Tammy Kim See the Washington Roundtable <a href="https://www.92ny.org/event-class-detail-pages/simon-center/simon-lectures/events/w/a-democratic-comeback-in-2026">live at 92NY</a> on June 4th. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker’s general counsel, Fabio Bertoni, joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Kash Patel’s two-hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar lawsuit against The Atlantic, on claims that the magazine defamed the F.B.I. director <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/">in an article</a> that alleges on-duty inebriation and other misconduct by Patel. Bertoni and Foggatt examine the legal rationale behind Patel’s accusations, and the questions that the case raises about the use of anonymous sources, by The Atlantic and other publications. They also explore how Patel’s suit fits into President Donald Trump’s longstanding litigious relationship with the press, and the broader wave of lawsuits that Trump has brought against media organizations. Will these cases influence the kind of reporting that outlets are willing to publish, let alone pursue? Bertoni and Foggatt consider whether existing press protections are strong enough to withstand the mounting legal attacks. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/kash-patels-implausible-lawsuit-against-the-atlantic">Kash Patel’s Implausible Lawsuit Against The Atlantic</a>,” by Fabio Bertoni “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-the-iran-war-is-shifting-power-toward-china">How the Iran War Is Shifting Power Toward China</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/why-the-declaration-of-independence-went-through-seventeen-drafts">Was the Declaration of Independence Better Before the Edits?</a>,” by Jill Lepore “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/barack-obama-in-the-age-of-trump">Barack Obama Considers His Role in the Age of Trump</a>,” by Peter Slevin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-the-supreme-court-demolished-the-voting-rights-act">How the Supreme Court Demolished the Voting Rights Act</a>,” by Jeannie Suk Gersen See the Washington Roundtable <a href="https://www.92ny.org/event-class-detail-pages/simon-center/simon-lectures/events/w/a-democratic-comeback-in-2026">live at 92NY</a> on June 4th. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

In the governor’s race in California, the leading Republican candidate appears to be Steve Hilton, a British-born political consultant and former Fox News contributor. Hilton has been endorsed by Donald Trump, which may not help him in the heavily Democratic state. His lead may owe something to California’s unusual primary system, but it’s not the first time a Republican has had a strong showing in the state: former Republican governors include Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hilton is running on a platform emphasizing affordability, cutting waste in the government, and increasing oil and natural-gas production. He talks with David Remnick about how a Republican might win this election, and how he would govern with a minority of Californians supporting him. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Antonia Hitchens joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss a surreal week in Washington: the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, followed days later by a state visit from King Charles III and Queen Camilla. They talk about what Hitchens witnessed inside the Hilton ballroom during the shooting attempt, and how Washington responded in the days that followed. They also discuss the state of the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom, how Trump embraced the pageantry of the royal visit, and what King Charles’s trip was meant to signal diplomatically. They also explore what the week’s whiplash reveals about covering politics during the second Trump term. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/dc-gets-a-king-it-actually-wants">D.C. Gets a King It Actually Wants</a>,” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/inside-the-white-house-correspondents-dinner-as-gunshots-rang-out">Inside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as Gunshots Rang Out</a>,” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/04/can-the-epa-survive-lee-zeldin">Can the E.P.A. Survive Lee Zeldin?</a>,” by Elizabeth Kolbert “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-kirkification-of-our-troubled-times">The Kirkification of Our Troubled Times</a>,” by Brady Brickner-Wood “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/donald-trumps-lose-lose-negotiations-with-iran">Donald Trump’s Lose-Lose Negotiations with Iran</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner See the Washington Roundtable <a href="https://www.92ny.org/event-class-detail-pages/simon-center/simon-lectures/events/w/a-democratic-comeback-in-2026">live at 92NY</a> on June 4th. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

One of Donald Trump’s few critics within his party is the libertarian-leaning senator Rand Paul, from Kentucky. Paul was recently the sole Republican to vote in favor of restricting the President’s power to make war in Iran. He also opposed Trump on tariff policy, and on his budget bill in 2025. “He loves voting ‘NO’ on everything,” the President fumed. Paul ran for President in 2016, and is considering another run for the White House in 2028. He talks with David Remnick about how he would differentiate himself from J. D. Vance and Marco Rubio; about his opposition to the attack on Iran; and about Pete Hegseth invoking Christianity in the war. “People quoting the Old Testament about smiting the enemy” concerns Paul greatly: “If this becomes Christians versus Muslims, I don’t see a quick end to a war.”  Further reading:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-end-of-limits-on-a-presidents-wars#rid=7552e6fb-9507-41b3-a24f-793360e73340&amp;q=rand+paul">The End of Limits on a President’s Wars</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-rand-paul-ran-aground">Why Rand Paul Ran Aground</a>,” by Kelefa Sanneh The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses the global consequences of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz with Edward Fishman, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of the book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593712978">Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare</a>.” The group explores how Donald Trump’s embrace of economic weapons such as tariffs, along with his military escalation in Iran, has upended the world’s economy and weakened his popularity at home. “I think we have not seen the worst of this war yet,” Fishman says. “I don’t see how anyone can view that as a victory, and we all know Donald Trump doesn’t like to look like a loser.” See the Washington Roundtable <a href="https://www.92ny.org/event-class-detail-pages/simon-center/simon-lectures/events/w/a-democratic-comeback-in-2026">live at 92NY</a> on June 4th. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trump-and-the-iran-deal-that-wasnt">Trump and the Iran Deal That Wasn’t</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/dept-of-design/donald-trumps-triumphal-arch-and-the-architecture-of-autocracy#intcid=_the-new-yorker-homepage-bkt-a_6da736d0-45af-4fb4-930b-38d9b8d794ce_cygnus-personalized">Donald Trump’s Triumphal Arch and the Architecture of Autocracy</a>,” by Adam Gopnik “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-big-a-threat-are-iranian-backed-cyber-attacks">How Big a Threat Are Iranian-Backed Cyberattacks?</a>,” by Sue Halpern “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-beijing-views-the-war-in-iran">How Beijing Views the War in Iran</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Zach Helfand joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss his <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/27/linda-mcmahon-profile">Profile of Linda McMahon</a>, the Secretary of Education. They talk about the sweeping layoffs and downsizing at the Department of Education during Donald Trump’s second term—a fulfillment of a long-standing conservative effort to dismantle the agency—and the consequences for students and schools that rely on its services. They also explore how McMahon’s tenure as C.E.O. of World Wrestling Entertainment set her up to be one of Trump’s most reliable and effective Cabinet members, across both his terms—and why the President has long been drawn to McMahon, her husband, Vince, and the world of professional wrestling. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/27/linda-mcmahon-profile">How Professional Wrestling Prepared Linda McMahon for Trump’s Cabinet</a>,” by Zach Helfand “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/27/j-d-vances-bumpy-ride">J. D. Vance’s Bumpy Ride</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/dept-of-design/donald-trumps-triumphal-arch-and-the-architecture-of-autocracy">Donald Trump’s Triumphal Arch and the Architecture of Autocracy</a>,” by Adam Gopnik “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-nicolas-maduros-life-is-like-in-a-notorious-brooklyn-jail">What Nicolás Maduro’s Life Is Like in a Notorious Brooklyn Jail</a>,” by Diego Lasarte The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

Omer Bartov is an Israeli professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University. He grew up in a Zionist home and served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces, but he has long been concerned about Israel’s use of military power. In a new book called “<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250436184/israel/">Israel: What Went Wrong?</a>,” Bartov argues that Zionism has morphed into an ideology of extremism that led to genocide in Gaza following the Hamas attacks of October 7th. “There is growing criticism of American support for these kinds of Israeli policies, both on the American left and on the American right,” Bartov tells David Remnick. Bartov believes that Israel requires “shock therapy” because “it has not still come to identify the limits of its own power, because those limits are in Washington, DC and it's there that those limits have to be set.” “For Israel, that would be good, because I think Israel needs to be liberated from that kind of dependence on American power. I think, for American society and for American Jewry, that’s a very bad thing because there is a rise of . . . antisemitism from the Tucker Carlsons of the world, who are a rising force right now.” Further reading:  “<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250436184/israel/">Israel: What Went Wrong?</a>,” by Omer Bartov “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/a-holocaust-scholar-meets-with-israeli-reservists#rid=1c89eda6-8015-4785-b666-23f881f418d5&amp;q=omer+bartov">A Holocaust Scholar Meets with Israeli Reservists</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-to-define-genocide#rid=1c89eda6-8015-4785-b666-23f881f418d5&amp;q=omer+bartov">How to Define Genocide</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses how the anti-corruption candidate Péter Magyar brought down Hungary's autocratic Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, and what implications that victory holds for the far-right movements around the world that Orbán helped embolden. The panel is joined by Kim Lane Scheppele, a Princeton professor who has lived in Hungary and studied its democratic backsliding. Together, they unpack how Magyar’s campaign succeeded by connecting Orbán’s corruption to the everyday struggles of Hungarians, and how that approach might inform Democratic strategy in the 2028 Presidential election. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/americas-orange-jesus">America’s Orange Jesus</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-hungarian-election-shows-that-even-strongmen-can-lose">The Hungarian Election Shows That Even Strongmen Can Lose</a>,” by Andrew Marantz “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/tmz-gets-political">TMZ Gets Political</a>,” by Paula Mejía “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/who-is-the-us-negotiating-with-in-iran">Who Is the U.S. Negotiating with in Iran?</a>,” by Sudarsan Raghavan “ <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-peace-president-gets-belligerent-with-iran-and-the-pope">‘The Peace President’ Gets Belligerent with Iran and the Pope</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-much-has-the-war-in-iran-depleted-the-us-missile-supply">How Much Has the War in Iran Depleted the U.S. Missile Supply?</a>,” by Garrett M. Graff “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/how-project-maven-put-ai-into-the-kill-chain">How Project Maven Put A.I. Into the Kill Chain</a>,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-extremes-of-israeli-public-opinion">The Extremes of Israeli Public Opinion</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Molly Fischer joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Zohran Mamdani’s first hundred days as mayor of New York. They talk about how Mamdani has carried his highly disciplined, media-forward messaging style into office—and how his governing style combines practical city management with a focus on visible and public-facing execution. They also explore the status of his core initiatives, including universal child care and other affordability measures, whether he has scaled back or recalibrated some campaign promises, and how he has navigated relationships with figures such as Governor Kathy Hochul and President Donald Trump as he tries to harness his political momentum into durable results. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/new-york-journal/zohran-mamdani-perpetual-student-of-the-city">Zohran Mamdani, Perpetual Student of the City</a>,” by Molly Fischer “ <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-peace-president-gets-belligerent-with-iran-and-the-pope">‘The Peace President’ Gets Belligerent with Iran and the Pope</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-brought-down-eric-swalwell">What Brought Down Eric Swalwell</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/tmz-gets-political">TMZ Gets Political</a>,” by Paul Mejía “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-hungarian-election-shows-that-even-strongmen-can-lose">The Hungarian Election Shows That Even Strongmen Can Lose</a>,” by Andrew Marantz “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-extremes-of-israeli-public-opinion">The Extremes of Israeli Public Opinion</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

At the end of February, OpenAI’s C.E.O., Sam Altman, made headlines by swiftly cutting a deal with the Pentagon for his company to replace Anthropic, which <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/the-pentagon-went-to-war-with-anthropic-whats-really-at-stake">had balked</a> at the Trump Administration’s bid to use its A.I. technology to power autonomous weapons and aid in mass surveillance. Days earlier, Altman had publicly supported Anthropic’s position in the dispute. Altman’s rise to power and his founding of OpenAI were predicated on placing safety above other concerns in developing artificial general intelligence. Why did he change his stance on such a fundamental issue? The New Yorker writers Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz spoke with Altman multiple times and interviewed more than a hundred people for their <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted">investigation</a> into the leader of one of the most powerful companies in the world, comparing Altman to J. Robert Oppenheimer. Although there is no smoking gun in Altman’s hand, the writers find that persistent allegations about his conduct underscore the danger of entrusting him to wield such vast power over the future.   Further reading: "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted">Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted?</a>,” by Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/the-dangerous-paradox-of-ai-abundance#rid=24f44c6e-b5cf-4d4b-aea3-6b74e42d6b19&amp;q=ai">The Dangerous Paradox of A.I. Abundance</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-ai-bubble-is-coming-for-your-browser#rid=24f44c6e-b5cf-4d4b-aea3-6b74e42d6b19&amp;q=ai">The A.I. Bubble Is Coming for Your Browser</a>,” by Kyle Chayka   The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses Vice-President J. D. Vance’s week on the world stage: stumping for the Kremlin-aligned Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán and being tasked with leading American negotiations in Pakistan to resolve the war with Iran, a conflict he reportedly opposed. The panel explores the events and people that shaped Vance, and how his political evolution toward MAGA may not be enough to make him the Republican Presidential nominee in 2028. “Anyone who comes after Trump is going to have a really hard time inheriting a cult of personality and turning that back into a party,” the staff writer Susan B. Glasser says. Vance is “not this kind of charismatic movement leader.” This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/the-costs-of-trumps-iran-war-folly">The Costs of Trump’s Iran-War Folly</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/20/donald-trumps-strategic-failure-and-moral-calamity-in-iran">Trump’s Strategic and Moral Failure in Iran</a>,” by David Remnick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-global-stakes-of-hungarys-pivotal-election">The Global Stakes of Hungary’s Pivotal Election</a>,” by Kapil Komireddi “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/a-us-iran-ceasefire-is-here-but-trumps-stone-age-mentality-endures">A U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Is Here, but Trump’s Stone Age Mentality Endures</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/how-the-internet-fringe-infiltrated-republican-politics">How the Internet Fringe Infiltrated Republican Politics</a>,” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/israels-war-in-lebanon-has-not-stopped">Israel’s War in Lebanon Has Not Stopped</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/an-economists-quest-to-solve-americas-wage-problem">An Economist’s Quest to Solve America’s Wage Problem</a>,” by John Cassidy The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker contributing writer Ruth Marcus joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Pam Bondi’s removal from her post as Attorney General. They examine the series of missteps and failures that led to her firing—from her continued mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein files to her inability to effectively carry out Donald Trump’s efforts to target his political enemies. They also explore the long-term damage Bondi has done to the Department of Justice, and whether her ouster—alongside Kristi Noem’s dismissal as Secretary of Homeland Security—signals a new era of shakeups within the Trump Administration. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/pam-bondis-legacy-of-flattery-and-destruction">Pam Bondi’s Legacy of Flattery and Destruction</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/a-us-iran-ceasefire-is-here-but-trumps-stone-age-mentality-endures">A U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Is Here, but Trump’s Stone Age Mentality Endures</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted">Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted?</a>,” by Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/how-the-internet-fringe-infiltrated-republican-politics">How the Internet Fringe Infiltrated Republican Politics</a>,” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-forest-service-a-force-across-rural-america-reorganizes-under-trump">The Forest Service—a Force Across Rural America—‘Reorganizes’ Under Trump</a>,” by Bill McKibben The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

In 2021, when Olga Rudenko and other journalists launched the English-language news outlet the Kyiv Independent, they were committed to making a publication that wouldn’t face political pressure from an owner. A few months later, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the Independent began reporting breaking news from the front lines, and conducting investigations of the Ukrainian government. David Remnick talks with Rudenko, the Independent’s editor-in-chief, about the challenges of reporting in wartime; President Volodymyr Zelensky’s pushback on independent journalism; how Iran and Russia have been providing military aid to one another; and why Ukraine cannot accept the peace deal with Russia that Donald Trump is insisting that it take.  Further reading:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-assault-on-ukraines-power-grid#rid=4787afe3-9de1-4af1-bf77-2fab92fd3d3f&amp;q=ukraine">The Assault on Ukraine’s Power Grid</a>,” by Michael Holtz “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-are-putins-ultimate-demands-for-peace-in-ukraine#rid=4787afe3-9de1-4af1-bf77-2fab92fd3d3f&amp;q=ukraine">What Are Putin’s Ultimate Demands for Peace in Ukraine?</a>,” by Joshua Yaffa “<a href="https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-has-irrefutable-evidence-of-russia-providing-intelligence-to-iran-zelensky-says/">Ukraine Has ‘Irrefutable Evidence’ of Russia Providing Intelligence to Iran, Zelensky Says</a>,” by <a href="https://kyivindependent.com/author/asami-terajima/">Asami Terajima</a>, of the Kyiv Independent “<a href="https://kyivindependent.com/china-irans-helping-russia-keep-the-economy-of-occupied-ukrainian-territories-afloat-new-report-reveals/">China, Iran Help Russia Prop Up Economy in Occupied Ukrainian Territories, Report Says</a>,” by <a href="https://kyivindependent.com/author/yuliia/">Yuliia Taradiuk</a>, of the Kyiv Independent “<a href="https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-heads-to-us-with-drone-proposal-trump-dismissed/">Ukraine Heads to US with Drone Proposal Trump Dismissed Before War with Iran</a>,” by Tim Zadorozhnyy, of the Kyiv Independent “<a href="https://kyivindependent.com/we-interviewed-irans-envoy-in-ukraine-and-it-was-absolutely-wild/">We Interviewed Iran’s Envoy to Ukraine and It Was Absolutely Wild</a>,” by <a href="https://kyivindependent.com/author/polina-morozyuk/">Polina Moroziuk</a>, of the Kyiv Independent  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses Donald Trump’s address on the Iran war and the playbook that has defined his career in business and politics when confronted with a crisis: escalate and blame others. The panel discusses how that same playbook is being applied to the Iran conflict with potentially disastrous results. “He’s immune to any possibility of accountability,” the staff writer Evan Osnos says. “That became not just one of the ways he tells his own story but actually how he imagines history will unfold in his hands.” This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trumps-case-for-war-fails-to-mention-how-to-win-it">Donald Trump’s Case for War Fails to Mention How to Win It</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-team-behind-a-pro-iran-lego-themed-viral-video-campaign">The Team Behind a Pro-Iran, Lego-Themed Viral-Video Campaign</a>,” by Kyle Chayka “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/06/he-helped-stop-iran-from-getting-the-bomb">He Helped Stop Iran from Getting the Bomb</a>,” by David D. Kirkpatrick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-pakistan-became-a-major-player-in-peace-negotiations-between-the-us-and-iran">How Pakistan Became a Major Player in Peace Negotiations Between the U.S. and Iran</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/the-spectacle-of-war-and-the-struggle-to-protest">The Spectacle of War and the Struggle to Protest</a>,” by Jay Caspian Kang The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

Thousands of federal prosecutors have been fired or have resigned from their roles since Pam Bondi took over as Attorney General. She has made no secret of weaponizing the Justice Department to pursue Donald Trump’s vendettas. One of those prosecutors is Troy Edwards, who quit a senior national-security position in the Eastern District of Virginia. As an assistant U.S. attorney in DC, Edwardshad won convictions against members of the Oath Keepers for January 6th-related offenses. Edwards is also the son-in-law of the former F.B.I. director James Comey, and, when the Justice Department indicted Comey on grounds widely seen as flimsy, Edwards knew he had reached his red line. (The charges were quickly dismissed, though without prejudice.) The New Yorker’s legal correspondent <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/ruth-marcus">Ruth Marcus</a> talks with Edwards about his decision to leave, how he broke it to his family, and why he thinks other prosecutors should not follow his lead.  Further reading:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/pam-bondis-contempt-for-congress">Pam Bondi’s Contempt for Congress</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-flimsy-dangerous-indictment-of-james-comey">The Flimsy, Dangerous Indictment of James Comey</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/25/pam-bondi-profile">Pam Bondi’s Power Play</a>,” by Ruth Marcus The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable examines the potential for a “Blue Wave” in the 2026 midterms. The hosts are joined by Morris Katz, a twenty-six-year-old Democratic political strategist for Zohran Mamdani and Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine. Katz argues that for the Party to win a historic majority in the next election, it needs to embrace outsider candidates who refuse money from corporate PACs and aren’t “apologetic” about the government’s role in people’s lives. “We can run a campaign that says, ‘Donald Trump said he’d end forever war and lower costs and he hasn’t’—that will be successful,” Katz says. “I think even more successful would be that we are going to end forever wars, and we are going to lower costs by taking on monopolies—by taking on price gouging, by raising wages, by taxing billionaires more.”  This week’s reading: “​​<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/donald-trump-is-breaking-up-with-europe">Donald Trump Is Breaking Up with Europe</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-the-war-in-iran-became-a-race-to-stabilize-the-global-economic-order">How the War in Iran Became a Race to Stabilize the Global Economic Order</a>,” by Sudarsan Raghavan “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/a-former-prisoner-of-the-iranian-regime-watches-trumps-war">A Former Prisoner of the Iranian Regime Watches Trump’s War</a>,” by Jason Rezaian “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-distant-promise-of-irans-would-be-king">The Distant Promise of Iran’s Would-Be King</a>,” by Azadeh Moaveni The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The reporter Cora Engelbrecht joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss what life is like for the people of Iran as war unfolds. They talk about Engelbrecht’s reporting, which is based on dispatches from a dissident in Tehran who maintained contact during an internet blackout, and about how his account reveals some of the challenges of daily life under bombardment from the U.S. and Israel—and under a government that continues to police dissent. They also explore how the conflict has complicated the hopes of many Iranians who once saw foreign intervention as a path to liberation, and the growing fear that, whatever the outcome of the war, everyday citizens will continue to bear the cost. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/what-the-war-has-done-to-iranians">What the War Has Done to Iranians</a>,” by Cora Engelbrecht “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/a-former-prisoner-of-the-iranian-regime-watches-trumps-war">A Former Prisoner of the Iranian Regime Watches Trump’s War</a>,” by Jason Rezaian “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-donald-trump-may-have-sabotaged-his-chances-for-a-deal-with-iran">How Donald Trump May Have Sabotaged His Chances for a Deal with Iran</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-distant-promise-of-irans-would-be-king">The Distant Promise of Iran’s Would-Be King</a>,” by Azadeh Moaveni “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/03/30/is-cuba-next">Is Cuba Next?</a>,” by Jon Lee Anderson The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

The staff writer <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/jon-lee-anderson">Jon Lee Anderson</a> has reported from Cuba for many years, and recently wrote about the deteriorating economic conditions on the island. His newest piece for the magazine dives into the potential outcomes of Donald Trump’s desire to pursue regime change. Anderson explores the economic impact of the United States blocking Venezuelan oil from reaching Cuba, which could be a death knell for the Communist government. Anderson and David Remnick discuss the current negotiations between the two countries, Marco Rubio’s strategy, and what cards the Cuban government might still hold. “They’re going to go into this,” Anderson suggests, “like maybe a canny poker player.” Plus, the historian Ada Ferrer won the Pulitzer Prize for her 2022 book, “Cuba: An American History,” and she has one of the clearest views of the long and vexed relationship between the island and its giant neighbor. Ferrer left Cuba as an infant, coming to the United States with her mother in 1963 when Fidel Castro’s regime was arguably at its peak. David Remnick talks with Ferrer about the impact of U.S. sanctions, the economic collapse of Cuba, and what Donald Trump’s threat of a “takeover” means to the Cuban people and to Cuban Americans in the U.S. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

The Washington Roundtable is off today, and will be back next week. In the meantime, enjoy an episode of The New Yorker’s Critics at Large podcast about the FX series “Love Story,” which drops audiences into the lives of one of the most talked-about couples of the nineties: J.F.K., Jr., and the style icon Carolyn Bessette. The hosts Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz, who are staff writers and critics at The New Yorker, discuss how the show re-creates the look and fashion of the era in granular detail while reducing the relationship itself to a generic fairy tale. “Love Story” ’s focus on style underscores how much the Kennedy legacy lives in aesthetics, which risks obscuring some of the darker chapters of its history. “It does seem like we have ever more efficiently stripped the Kennedys and their image, and their style, from any notions of political power,” Cunningham says. “The look of something and the sort of moral thrust of something are not always one to one working in parallel.” New episodes of “Critics at Large” drop every Thursday, <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-cal-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Gideon Lewis-Kraus joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the escalating standoff between the A.I. company Anthropic and the Department of War. They consider recent reporting on the use of Claude—Anthropic’s family of large language models—in military operations in Venezuela and Iran, and how that news has pushed the company’s relationship with the Pentagon to a breaking point. They also explore how the tech industry is responding to the conflict between the Trump Administration and Anthropic, and the thorny question of whether A.I. should be subject to greater safeguards and more oversight than previous technological innovations. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/the-pentagon-went-to-war-with-anthropic-whats-really-at-stake">The Pentagon Went to War with Anthropic. What’s Really at Stake?</a>,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/israels-gulf-state-gamble-in-the-iran-war">Israel’s Gulf-State Gamble in the Iran War</a>,” by Ruth Margalit “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-iran-war-is-another-reason-to-quit-oil">The Iran War Is Another Reason to Quit Oil</a>,” by Bill McKibben “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/03/23/trumps-mass-detention-campaign">Trump’s Mass-Detention Campaign</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/how-should-we-remember-the-hippies">How Should We Remember the Hippies?</a>,” by Jay Caspian Kang The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

In the book “The Anxious Generation,” Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University, argues that social-media platforms are detrimental to youths’ well-being, and that society needs to treat them as literally addictive. It has spent nearly a hundred weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, and has helped galvanize a movement seeking limits to social media in legislatures, in school districts, and in the courts. David Remnick speaks with Haidt about an Australian law to verify the age of social-media users, the first of its kind in the world, and about lawsuits in California that are aiming to pin liability for harms on social-media companies themselves.  Further reading:  “<a href="https://www.worldhappiness.report/news/leading-experts-to-examine-the-impact-of-social-media-in-world-happiness-report-2026/">World Happiness Report 2026</a>,” featuring a contribution from Jonathan Haidt and other researchers  “<a href="https://www.afterbabel.com/p/mountains-of-evidence">Mountains of Evidence</a>,” by Jonathan Haidt The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

The Washington Roundtable considers how the ideological commitments of Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War, are at play in the conflict with Iran. Their guest, the journalist Katherine Stewart, has covered the MAGA right and is the author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Money-Lies-God-Movement-Democracy/dp/163557854X">Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy.</a>” The panel discusses how Christian nationalism has moved from the fringes of the culture to the center of American military power, with Hegseth driving the shift. “This is a movement that at its core has never believed in democracy,” Stewart says. “It rejects the principles of equality and pluralism, and, frankly, the rule of law that represents the best of the American promise.” This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/the-war-trump-doesnt-want-to-talk-about">The War Trump Doesn’t Want to Talk About</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/trumps-inexcusable-unpreparedness-for-the-iranian-oil-crisis">Trump’s Inexcusable Unpreparedness for the Iranian Oil Crisis</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-the-selection-of-irans-new-leader-might-mean-for-the-war">What the Selection of Iran’s New Leader Might Mean for the War</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/war-in-the-age-of-the-online-information-bomb">War in the Age of the Online ‘Information Bomb,’</a> ” by Kyle Chayka “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-putin-views-trumps-war-in-iran">How Putin Views Trump’s War on Iran</a>,” by Joshua Yaffa “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-limits-of-irans-proxy-empire">The Limits of Iran’s Proxy Empire</a>,” by Sudarsan Raghavan The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

The New Yorker staff writer Jonathan Blitzer joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Kristi Noem’s removal from her post as Secretary of Homeland Security. They talk about the lead-up to her firing—which included accusations of fiscal mismanagement and self-promotion—and her controversial tenure as the head of one of the largest and most powerful departments during Donald Trump’s second Presidential term. They also explore the history and evolution of the Department of Homeland Security and how its founding in the wake of the September 11th attacks laid the groundwork for the sweeping—and, according to some legal experts, unconstitutional—powers it wields today.  This week’s reading:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/kristi-noems-fireable-offenses">Kristi Noem’s Fireable Offenses</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-donald-trumps-iran-war-is-destabilizing-the-gulf">How Donald Trump’s Iran War Is Destabilizing the Gulf</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/03/16/the-zombie-regulator">The Zombie Regulator</a>,” by E. Tammy Kim “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-the-selection-of-irans-new-leader-might-mean-for-the-war">What the Selection of Iran’s New Leader Might Mean for the War</a>," by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-latest-republican-efforts-to-make-it-harder-to-vote-in-the-midterms">The G.O.P.’s Latest Voter-Suppression Plan</a>,” by Sue Halpern  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

As Iran’s retaliation hit American allies throughout the Middle East this week, David Remnick was joined by two New Yorker writers with decades of experience reporting from the region. <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/robin-wright">Robin Wright</a> has reported from Iran extensively, and she met with Ali Khamenei before he became the Supreme Leader of Iran; <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/dexter-filkins">Dexter Filkins</a> covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he has been reporting on the Pentagon and military readiness. Filkins and Wright discuss the possibilities for future leadership in Iran; the Administration’s chaotic statements in regard to its goals and time frame; and the economic impact of the war, which is already being felt around the globe.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

The Washington Roundtable discusses the war that the United States and Israel have started with Iran, how the conflict might evolve and affect the whole region, and the Trump Administration’s rationale for launching the strikes. “I don’t think we have yet heard a clear explanation of what this war is about, what they intend to achieve, what the strategic goals are, and how it’s supposed to end,” the staff writer Jane Mayer says. The group also reflects on the lessons that they learned while reporting on the Iraq War about how conflicts such as these can transform societies.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/can-donald-trump-win-a-war-with-iran-if-he-cant-explain-why-he-started-it">Can Donald Trump Win a War with Iran If He Can’t Explain Why He Started It?</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/do-us-presidents-have-the-power-to-declare-war">Do U.S. Presidents Have the Power to Declare War?</a>,” by Jill Lepore “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/in-the-texas-primaries-a-good-night-for-james-talarico-and-a-bad-one-for-john-cornyn">In the Texas Primaries, a Good Night for James Talarico, and a Bad One for John Cornyn</a>,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-meant-to-iran-and-what-comes-next">What Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Meant to Iran, and What Comes Next</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/has-trump-thought-through-the-endgame-in-iran">Has Trump Thought Through the Endgame in Iran?</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to <a href="mailto:themail@newyorker.com">themail@newyorker.com</a> with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

The foreign-affairs journalist Ishaan Tharoor joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the fallout from the United States’ joint military operation with Israel in Iran. They talk about the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—who was among the hundreds killed by drone and missile strikes—and how the country has retaliated against the U.S., Israel, and several of its Arab neighbors. Their conversation explores what comes next for the Iranian government and people, how the conflict fits into President Donald Trump’s broader foreign-policy vision, and whether this latest attempt at regime change in the Middle East is likely to succeed when past American interventions have failed.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/has-trump-thought-through-the-endgame-in-iran">Has Trump Thought Through the Endgame in Iran?</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-meant-to-iran-and-what-comes-next">What Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Meant to Iran, and What Comes Next</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/trumps-reckless-decision-to-pursue-regime-change-in-iran">Trump’s Reckless Decision to Pursue Regime Change in Iran</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/donald-trump-launches-a-war-of-epic-fury-on-iran">Donald Trump Launches a War of ‘Epic Fury’ on Iran</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/what-mehdi-mahmoudian-saw-inside-the-iranian-prison-system">What Mehdi Mahmoudian Saw Inside the Iranian Prison System</a>,” by Cora Engelbrecht The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Stephen Vladeck, a Georgetown Law professor and self-proclaimed “Supreme Court nerd,” to examine President Trump’s increasing defiance of the Supreme Court. The panel discusses whether the Court’s strong rebuke of the President’s tariff policy obscures a broader pattern of expanding executive power through the use of emergency “shadow docket” rulings, a kind of shortcut for dealing with emergency requests. “I think that’s where the Justices have shown the most inclination to vote in ways that might be inconsistent as a matter of legal principle, but consistent as a matter of partisan political preference,” Vladeck says. Vladeck is the author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Docket-Supreme-Undermine-Republic/dp/1541605187/ref=sr_1_1?crid=4MVJNRSC0WJY&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.J3skAM74FnncCU5pAijf9w.cFjumMRX_Kn3vkgDgIFbBu761SNHC_sQwwHTG5vL_VA&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=The+Shadow+Docket%3A+How+the+Supreme+Court+Uses+Stealth+Rulings+to+Amass+Power+and+Undermine+the+Republic&amp;nsdOptOutParam=true&amp;qid=1772236332&amp;sprefix=the+shadow+docket+how+the+supreme+court+uses+stealth+rulings+to+amass+power+and+undermine+the+republic%2Caps%2C132&amp;sr=8-1">The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic</a>.”  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/donald-trumps-state-of-the-union-was-long-and-wrong">Donald Trump’s State of the Union Was Long and Wrong</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-supreme-courts-complicated-takedown-of-trumps-tariffs">The Supreme Court’s Complicated Takedown of Trump’s Tariffs</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-right-wing-nonprofit-serving-ai-slop-for-americas-birthday">The Right-Wing Nonprofit Serving A.I. Slop for America’s Birthday</a>,” by Jessica Winter “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-media-merger-you-should-actually-care-about">The Media Merger You Should Actually Care About</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/donald-trumps-pantomime-united-nations">Donald Trump’s Pantomime United Nations</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

The New Yorker staff writer Joshua Rothman joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the political and cultural fallout from the release of millions of documents from the criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. They talk about how years of institutional failures and scandals involving élites have shaped the way the material is being interpreted, why the sheer volume of information is raising more questions than answers, and how the fragmented and often chaotic flow of documents has left many Americans trying to make sense of the story for themselves. They also explore what the reaction to the files reveals about a growing belief that the powerful operate with relative impunity—and about the deepening cynicism toward institutions and powerful élites.  This week’s reading:  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/are-we-living-in-the-age-of-epstein">Are We Living in the Age of Epstein?</a>,” by Joshua Rothman “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/donald-trumps-state-of-the-union-was-long-and-wrong">Donald Trump’s State of the Union Was Long and Wrong</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/03/02/james-talarico-profile">James Talarico Puts His Faith in Texas Voters</a>,” by Tad Friend “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/donald-trumps-pantomime-united-nations">Donald Trump’s Pantomime United Nations</a>,” by Ishaan Tharoor “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-supreme-courts-complicated-takedown-of-trumps-tariffs">The Supreme Court’s Complicated Takedown of Trump’s Tariffs</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

Tucker Carlson has long been a standard-bearer for far-right views, such as the racist conspiracy theory known as the “great replacement.” He recently did a chatty interview with the white supremacist <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/nick-fuentes-is-not-just-another-alt-right-boogeyman">Nick Fuentes</a>, an admirer of Hitler. And yet, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/11/11/the-tucker-carlson-road-show">Carlson</a> started out as a respected, well-connected, albeit contrarian, political journalist. Jason Zengerle, who recently joined The New Yorker as a staff writer, talks with David Remnick about his new book, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/808029/hated-by-all-the-right-people-by-jason-zengerle/">Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind</a>.” They trace how Carlson’s sense of personal resentment toward the establishment grew; how launching his own website radicalized his politics in the years before MAGA; and his political ambitions as a potential heir to Donald Trump. “I think, if Tucker Carlson concludes that J. D. Vance can’t get elected President, maybe he has to do it himself,” Zengerle says. “So much of politics now is just being a media figure and being an entertainer. And Tucker does those things very well. . . . I think our politics are at a place where that really doesn’t seem as outrageous as it would have even just a couple years ago.”  This segment originally aired on January 23, 2025.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

The Washington Roundtable discusses the upcoming State of the Union address and the public’s shift against Donald Trump on two of his signature issues: the economy and immigration. What pitch might Trump make for himself and the Republican Party heading into the midterms? “On the economy, he’s in the same fix Biden was in,” the staff writer Jane Mayer says. “He's trying to yell at people and tell them, ‘You are better off than you think you are,’ and that, we know, doesn't work.” Plus, the group examines what the retirement of Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress and what the Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s opposition to a wealth tax in California can tell us about ideological fissures within both parties.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-epa-rescinds-a-landmark-finding">The E.P.A. Rescinds a Landmark Finding</a>,” by Bill McKibben “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-chaos-of-an-ice-detention">The Chaos of an ICE Detention</a>,” by Jordan Salama “​<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/presidents-days-from-obama-to-trump">Presidents’ Days: From Obama to Trump</a>,” by David Remnick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/trump-is-still-deporting-people-wherever-he-wants">Trump Is Still Deporting People Wherever He Wants</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/the-jeffrey-epstein-files-are-peter-mandelsons-final-disgrace">The Jeffrey Epstein Files Are Peter Mandelson’s Final Disgrace</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/new-york-journal/zohran-mamdani-the-everywhere-mayor">Zohran Mamdani, the Everywhere Mayor</a>,” by Molly Fischer The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

In January, the Justice Department released over three million documents, including many redacted e-mails, related to Jeffrey Epstein. “Should we share the Julie Brown text with Alan [Dershowitz],” Epstein wrote in one note to a lawyer. “She is going to start trouble. Asking for victims etc.” Brown’s reporting on Epstein for the Miami Herald, and her revelations about the federal plea deal he received, had an enormous impact on public perception of Epstein and his ties to Trump. Brown joins David Remnick to discuss the latest tranche of redacted e-mails, which show, as she <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article314631578.html">reported</a>, that Trump knew about his friend’s crimes far earlier than he has admitted. Brown and Remnick also talk about Epstein’s relationship with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and why she does not believe that Epstein died by suicide.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses Donald Trump’s recent “explosion of the ego” and tendency toward megalomania, and they consider how the evolution of autocratic regimes in history can help us to predict how the rest of his Presidency may unfold. They are joined by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history and Italian studies at New York University, who is the author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Strongmen-Mussolini-Present-Ruth-Ben-Ghiat/dp/0393868419/">Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present</a>.” The group looks at how, as autocrats’ popularity decreases—as Trump’s has recently in the polls—these figures develop paranoia and entrench themselves in untenable positions, a phenomenon called “autocratic backfire.” “The key is that they end up constructing a kind of echo chamber. And so they overestimate their own abilities,” Ben-Ghiat says. “They start to believe their own propaganda.”  This week’s reading: “ ‘<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/if-we-dont-have-free-speech-then-we-just-dont-have-a-free-country">If We Don’t Have Free Speech, Then We Just Don’t Have a Free Country</a>,’ ” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/pam-bondis-contempt-for-congress">Pam Bondi’s Contempt for Congress</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/16/is-there-a-remedy-for-presidential-profiteering">Is There a Remedy for Presidential Profiteering?</a>,” by David D. Kirkpatrick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/what-does-xi-jinping-want">What Does Xi Jinping Want?</a>” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/2026-super-bowl-halftime-show-bad-bunny">Bad Bunny’s All-American Super Bowl Halftime Show</a>,” by Kelefa Sanneh “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/jeffrey-epsteins-bonfire-of-the-elites">Jeffrey Epstein’s Bonfire of the Élites</a>,” by John Cassidy  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Gideon Lewis-Kraus joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss his reporting on Anthropic, the artificial-intelligence company behind the large language model Claude. They talk about Lewis-Kraus’s visits to the company’s San Francisco headquarters, what drew him to its research on interpretability and model behavior, and how its founding by former OpenAI leaders reflects deeper fissures within the A.I. industry. They also examine what “A.I. safety” looks like in theory and in practice, the range of views among rank-and-file employees about the technology’s future, and whether the company’s commitment to building safe and ethical systems can endure amid the pressures to scale and compete.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/16/what-is-claude-anthropic-doesnt-know-either">What Is Claude? Anthropic Doesn’t Know, Either</a>,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/16/is-there-a-remedy-for-presidential-profiteering">Is There a Remedy for Presidential Profiteering?</a>,” by David D. Kirkpatrick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/2026-super-bowl-halftime-show-bad-bunny">Bad Bunny’s All-American Super Bowl Halftime Show</a>,” by Kelefa Sanneh “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/16/how-joe-rogan-became-the-most-powerful-podcaster-in-america">Listening to Joe Rogan</a>,” by David Remnick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/what-do-we-want-from-a-protest-song">What Do We Want from a Protest Song?</a>,” by Mitch Therieau  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

Ben Shapiro, the host of his eponymous podcast and the co-founder of the conservative website the Daily Wire, has lambasted the left and the Democratic Party for decades. Recently, though, Shapiro has taken to criticizing some of the loudest voices in the MAGA universe, including <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/02/tucker-carlsons-nationalist-crusade">Tucker Carlson</a> and Megyn Kelly. The rift is over the acceptance and promulgation of conspiracy theories and, in particular, the normalization of antisemitism. Shapiro discusses the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/trump-epstein-and-the-women">Epstein files</a> and what they show—and do not show—about the powerful people connected to Jeffrey Epstein. The belief in conspiracies of the élite reflects “people’s desire to abdicate control over their own lives,” Shapiro tells David Remnick. They discuss Shapiro’s adherence to the conservative value of personal responsibility, and how he squares that with MAGA and its champions.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses Donald Trump’s threats to “nationalize” elections in fifteen states, the recent F.B.I. raid to seize 2020 voting records at an election facility in Fulton County, Georgia, and the ways in which the Administration might meddle with a free and fair vote in 2026. Their guest, Richard Hasen, is the director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at U.C.L.A.’s School of Law. “I actually think that now is the time to be preparing for this,” Hasen says. “I think states and localities should think about getting injunctions from federal courts against Donald Trump to prevent him from interfering with the tabulation of ballots.” This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/donald-trump-already-knows-the-2026-election-is-rigged">Donald Trump Already Knows the 2026 Election Is ‘Rigged,’</a> ” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/dan-bonginos-podcast-homecoming">Dan Bongino’s Podcast Homecoming</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/09/why-the-dhs-disaster-in-minneapolis-was-predictable">Why the D.H.S. Disaster in Minneapolis Was Predictable</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/is-ice-leading-us-into-a-constitutional-crisis">Is ICE Leading Us Into a Constitutional Crisis?</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/how-jeff-bezos-brought-down-the-washington-post">How Jeff Bezos Brought Down the Washington Post</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “ ‘<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/melania-is-a-forty-million-dollar-journey-into-the-void">Melania’ Is a Forty-Million-Dollar Journey Into the Void</a>,” by Lauren Collins “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/how-trump-is-debasing-the-dollar-and-eroding-us-economic-dominance">How Trump Is Debasing the Dollar and Eroding U.S. Economic Dominance</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/newsletter/the-daily/russia-is-swarming-europe-with-young-agents">Russia Is Swarming Europe with Young Agents</a>,” by Ian Crouch The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Lauren Collins joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss a new documentary about Melania Trump, which chronicles her life during the twenty days leading up to Donald Trump’s second Inauguration. They talk about the film’s glossy yet superficial portrait of the First Lady, who served as an executive producer, as well as its troubled rollout and poor critical reception. They also explore Melania’s tenure as First Lady and the contradictions at the center of her political identity as an immigrant married to a President whose anti-immigration rhetoric and policies have come to define both his Administration and the moment of the film’s release.  This week’s reading: “ <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/melania-is-a-forty-million-dollar-journey-into-the-void">‘Melania’ Is a Forty-Million-Dollar Journey Into the Void</a>,” by Lauren Collins “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/q-and-a/what-a-melania-cinematographer-hoped-to-accomplish">What a ‘Melania’ Cinematographer Hoped to Accomplish</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/how-jeff-bezos-brought-down-the-washington-post">How Jeff Bezos Brought Down the Washington Post</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/09/why-the-dhs-disaster-in-minneapolis-was-predictable">Why the D.H.S. Disaster in Minneapolis Was Predictable</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/a-reporter-at-large/trumps-profiteering-hits-four-billion-dollars">Trump’s Profiteering Hits $4 Billion,</a>” by David Kirkpatrick The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The staff writers Emily Witt and Ruby Cramer discuss the situation in Minneapolis, a city effectively under siege by militaristic federal agents. “This is a city where there’s a police force of about six hundred officers [compared] to three thousand federal agents,” Witt points out. Cramer shares her interview with Mayor Jacob Frey, who talks about how Minneapolis was just beginning to recover from the trauma of George Floyd’s murder and its aftermath, and with the police chief Brian O’Hara, who critiques the lack of discipline he sees from immigration-enforcement officers. Witt shares her interviews with two U.S. citizens who were detained after following an ICE vehicle; one describes an interrogation in which he was encouraged to identify protest organizers and undocumented people, in exchange for favors from immigration authorities.  Ruby Cramer’s <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/the-mayor-of-an-occupied-city">“The Mayor of an Occupied City</a>” was published on January 23rd. Emily Witt’s “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-battle-for-minneapolis">The Battle for Minneapolis</a>” was published on January 25th.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable is joined by the journalist and historian Garrett Graff to trace how post-9/11 immigration policy, which led to a surge in Border Patrol hiring, set the stage for today’s crisis in Minneapolis. The panel examines how ICE and C.B.P., created to protect Americans from outside threats, have been unleashed in America’s cities as what Graff calls "a fascist secret police." “The Border Patrol has never been intended to be a force that is routinely interacting with American citizens,” Graff says. “Full stop, period, let alone routinely patrolling American cities.” This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/operation-trump-rehab">Operation Trump Rehab</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/border-patrol-the-green-monster-112220/">The Green Monster</a>,” by Garrett Graff for Politico, 2014 “<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/why-minnesota-cant-do-more-to-stop-ice/">Why Minnesota Can’t Do More to Stop ICE</a>,” by Garrett Graff for Wired  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/09/the-schoolchildren-of-minneapolis">The Schoolchildren of Minneapolis</a>,” by Emily Witt “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-ice-should-have-learned-from-the-fugitive-slave-act">What ICE Should Have Learned from the Fugitive Slave Act</a>,” by Jelani Cobb “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/do-federal-officials-really-have-absolute-immunity">Do Federal Officials Really Have ‘Absolute Immunity’?</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/witnessing-another-public-killing-in-minneapolis">Witnessing Another Public Killing in Minneapolis</a>,” by Vinson Cunningham “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-cruel-conditions-of-ices-mojave-desert-detention-center">The Cruel Conditions of ICE’s Mojave Desert Detention Center</a>,” by Oren Peleg “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/maybe-the-united-states-can-be-one-of-mark-carneys-middle-powers">Maybe the United States Can Be One of Mark Carney’s ‘Middle Powers,’</a> ” by Bill McKibben “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/02/trumps-greenland-fiasco">Trump’s Greenland Fiasco</a>,” by Joshua Yaffa “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/02/what-maga-can-teach-democrats-about-organizing-and-infighting">What MAGA Can Teach Democrats About Organizing—and Infighting</a>,” by Charles Duhigg The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Charles Duhigg joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss why Republicans have been more successful than Democrats at building durable political coalitions. They talk about the difference between short-term mobilization and long-term organizing, why large-scale protests often fail to translate into lasting power, and how conservative groups have quietly built local infrastructure that may sustain the MAGA movement beyond Donald Trump’s Presidency. They also examine how the left’s efforts are impeded by debates over ideological purity, and whether a renewed focus on community-based organizing and pragmatic coalition-building could reshape progressive politics in the coming years.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/02/02/what-maga-can-teach-democrats-about-organizing-and-infighting">What MAGA Can Teach Democrats About Organizing—and Infighting</a>,” by Charles Duhigg “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/witnessing-another-public-killing-in-minneapolis">Witnessing Another Public Killing in Minneapolis</a>,” by Vinson Cunningham “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/do-federal-officials-really-have-absolute-immunity">Do Federal Officials Really Have ‘Absolute Immunity’?</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-battle-for-minneapolis">The Battle for Minneapolis</a>,” by Emily Witt “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-cruel-conditions-of-ices-mojave-desert-detention-center">The Cruel Conditions of ICE’s Mojave Desert Detention Center</a>,” by Oren Peleg  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

Last October, Bari Weiss—best-known as a contrarian opinion writer who launched the right-leaning Free Press—was appointed the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. Donald Trump has called her new regime “the greatest thing that’s happened in a long time to a free and open and good press.” The New Yorker staff writer <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/clare-malone">Clare Malone</a> wrote about Weiss’s <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/26/inside-bari-weisss-hostile-takeover-of-cbs-news">hostile takeover of CBS</a> for the January 26, 2026, issue of the magazine. In a conversation with David Remnick, Malone discusses her reporting on Weiss: how resigning from the New York Times launched Weiss to prominence as a crusader against what she has characterized as woke groupthink; how Weiss gained the support of Silicon Valley titans who had their own political grievances; and the headlines about Weiss’s rocky beginning as head of a news network, including the on-air travails of her new anchor, Tony Dokoupil.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses President Trump’s threats to acquire Greenland and his subsequent retreat. At Davos this week, the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, characterized the episode as “a rupture in the world order.” To analyze how Trump’s rhetoric has heightened concerns about the durability of the transatlantic alliance, the Roundtable is joined by Carl Bildt, the co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations and the former Prime Minister of Sweden. “I think what we need to do as Europeans is to do our own thing,” Bildt says. “We now have a United States that, from our point of view, is unpredictable.”  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/its-time-to-talk-about-donald-trumps-logorrhea">It’s Time to Talk About Donald Trump’s Logorrhea</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/an-unhappy-anniversary-trumps-year-in-office">An Unhappy Anniversary: Trump’s Year in Office</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-overlooked-deaths-of-the-attack-on-venezuela">The Overlooked Deaths of the Attack on Venezuela</a>,” by Oriana van Praag “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/19/the-ice-curtain">The Ice Curtain</a>,” by Ian Frazier “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-europe-can-respond-to-trumps-greenland-imperialism">How Europe Can Respond to Trump’s Greenland Imperialism</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/26/lamonica-mciver-congress-ice-jail-visit-felony-charges">The Congresswoman Criminalized for Visiting ICE Detainees</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Jay Caspian Kang joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the role the church has played in sustaining protest movements—and whether effective political dissent in the United States is possible without involvement from religious institutions. They talk about how churches have historically provided moral authority, infrastructure, and community to movements for social change, why those qualities have been difficult to replicate in the age of social media and mass protest, and what is lost when dissent becomes sporadic or primarily digital. They also examine whether churches still have the widespread credibility and organizing capacity to anchor protest today, and what it would take for religious institutions to once again embrace a central place in modern political life.  This week’s reading: "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/can-american-churches-lead-a-protest-movement-under-trump">Can American Churches Lead a Protest Movement Under Trump?</a>," by Jay Caspian Kang "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/26/inside-bari-weisss-hostile-takeover-of-cbs-news">Inside Bari Weiss’s Hostile Takeover of CBS News</a>," by Clare Malone "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/an-unhappy-anniversary-trumps-year-in-office">An Unhappy Anniversary: Trump’s Year in Office</a>," by Amy Davidson Sorkin "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-overlooked-deaths-of-the-attack-on-venezuela">The Overlooked Deaths of the Attack on Venezuela</a>," by Oriana van Praag "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/26/why-trump-supports-protesters-in-tehran-but-not-in-minneapolis">Why Trump Supports Protesters in Tehran but Not in Minneapolis</a>," by Benjamin Wallace-Wells  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

Before becoming a podcaster, Jennifer Welch had a successful career as an interior designer and co-starred in a reality show on Bravo. But, since 2022, she and Angie Sullivan, her co-host on the podcast “I’ve Had It,” have gained millions of fans as a sounding board for left-leaning political frustrations. These aren’t only concerns about MAGA but also about the Democratic establishment that she views as captive to a corporate agenda. Welch talks with David Remnick about her contentious interviews with Cory Booker and Rahm Emanuel, her belief in “dark woke,” and how a white Oklahoma woman in her fifties emerged as one of the most provocative voices on today’s left.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Robert Kagan, a historian and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, for a conversation about the pressures facing American democracy, the security of elections, and how these domestic tensions interact with the collapse of international norms. Nearly a decade after his prescient 2016 column for the Washington Post, “This is How Fascism Comes to America,” Kagan contends that the U.S. has moved beyond the warning and into a full democratic crisis. “There is no chance in the world that Donald Trump is gonna allow himself to lose in the 2026 elections, because that will be the end of his ability to wield total power in the United States,” Kagan says. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/the-minnesota-war-zone-is-trumps-most-trumpian-accomplishment">The Minnesota War Zone Is Trump’s Most Trumpian Accomplishment</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/what-its-like-to-be-trumps-closest-ally-right-now">What It’s Like to Be Trump’s Closest Ally Right Now</a>,” by Sam Knight “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/a-dhs-shooting-puts-portland-back-under-the-microscope">A D.H.S. Shooting Puts Portland Back Under the Microscope</a>,” by James Ross Gardner  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/jay-powell-the-prepster-banker-who-is-standing-up-to-trump">Jay Powell, the Prepster Banker Who Is Standing Up to Trump</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/how-donald-trump-has-transformed-ice">How Donald Trump Has Transformed ICE</a>,” Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-colombias-president-reached-an-uneasy-detente-with-donald-trump">How Colombia’s President Reached an Uneasy Détente with Donald Trump</a>,” by Jon Lee Anderson  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/irans-regime-is-unsustainable">Iran’s Regime Is Unsustainable</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-supreme-court-gets-back-to-work">The Supreme Court Gets Back to Work</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/26/the-lights-are-still-on-in-venezuela">The Lights Are Still On in Venezuela</a>,” by Armando Ledezma “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/19/marco-rubio-profile">How Marco Rubio Went from “Little Marco” to Trump’s Foreign-Policy Enabler</a>,” by Dexter Filkins  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Dexter Filkins joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Marco Rubio’s reëmergence as one of the most powerful, and most transformed, figures in Donald Trump’s second term. They talk about Rubio’s <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/19/marco-rubio-profile">unlikely ascent</a> to the dual roles of Secretary of State and national-security adviser, his journey from outspoken Trump critic to loyal enforcer, and what that evolution reveals about how power operates inside the Administration. They also examine Rubio’s central role in the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tag/venezuela">U.S. abduction</a> of the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, the dismantling of the State Department’s foreign-aid infrastructure, and the department’s growing reliance on coercion over diplomacy.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/19/marco-rubio-profile">How Marco Rubio Went from “Little Marco” to Trump’s Foreign-Policy Enabler</a>,” by Dexter Filkins “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/19/denmark-is-sick-of-being-bullied-by-trump">Denmark Is Sick of Being Bullied by Trump</a>,” by Margaret Talbot “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/irans-regime-is-unsustainable">Iran’s Regime Is Unsustainable</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-supreme-court-gets-back-to-work">The Supreme Court Gets Back to Work</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/what-comes-after-the-protests">What Comes After the Protests</a>,” by Jay Caspian Kang  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

U.S. intervention in other countries, whether overt or covert, is by no means new, and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/daniel-immerwahr">Daniel Immerwahr</a> notes that the open embrace of expansionism by the President and associates such as Stephen Miller goes back to the nineteenth century. Immerwahr is a professor at Northwestern University and the author of the 2019 best-seller “<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250251091/howtohideanempire/">How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States</a>.” He discusses Trump’s disdain for international law; tensions between the U.S. and Russia and China; and the historical link between imperialism and appeals to masculine pride.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses Donald Trump’s use of force in Venezuela, his desire to take over Greenland, and the historical echoes of the Administration’s new imperialist projects. The panel also considers Trump’s brand of “narcissistic unilateralism” and the increased risks of global conflict when foreign policy is based on one man’s whims. “Donald Trump wants to write his name into history,” the staff writer Susan B. Glasser says. “He wants every single person in the world to have to exchange their map for one of the United States that looks different, that looks bigger, and that everybody for all eternity will say, ‘Donald Trump did this.’ ”  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/why-donald-trump-wants-greenland-and-everything-else">Why Donald Trump Wants Greenland (and Everything Else)</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/newsletter/the-daily/minneapolis-grieves-again">Minneapolis Grieves, Again</a>,” by E. Tammy Kim “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/new-york-journal/mr-mamdanis-new-neighborhood">Mr. Mamdani’s (New) Neighborhood</a>,” by Molly Fischer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-aggressive-ambitions-of-trumps-donroe-doctrine">The Aggressive Ambitions of Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine,’</a> ” by Robin Wright  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-will-become-of-venezuelas-political-prisoners">What Will Become of Venezuela’s Political Prisoners?</a>,” by Stephania Taladrid “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/j-d-vances-notable-absence-on-venezuela">J. D. Vance’s Notable Absence on Venezuela</a>,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-dramatic-arraignment-of-nicolas-maduro">The Dramatic Arraignment of Nicolás Maduro</a>,” by Cristian Farias “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-former-trump-skeptics-getting-behind-his-war-in-venezuela">The Former Trump Skeptics Getting Behind His War in Venezuela</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/jack-smiths-closing-argument">Jack Smith’s Closing Argument</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/12/marjorie-taylor-greenes-big-breakup">Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Big Breakup</a>,” by Charles Bethea  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Jon Lee Anderson joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face narco-terrorism charges. They talk about the unprecedented nature of the raid, the shaky intelligence and legal rationale behind it, and what the operation reveals about the Trump Administration’s increasingly coercive approach to the region. They also examine what “running” Venezuela could look like in practice—from leaving Maduro associates in power to exploiting the country’s oil reserves—and how the intervention may reverberate across Latin America.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/regime-change-in-americas-back-yard">Regime Change in America’s Back Yard</a>,” by Jon Lee Anderson “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/whos-running-venezuela-after-the-fall-of-maduro">Who’s Running Venezuela After the Fall of Maduro?</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/the-folly-of-trumps-oil-imperialism">The Folly of Trump’s Oil Imperialism</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-brazen-illegality-of-trumps-venezuela-operation">The Brazen Illegality of Trump’s Venezuela Operation</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/newsletter/the-daily/can-the-us-really-run-venezuela">Can the U.S. Really ‘Run’ Venezuela?</a>,” by Caroline Mimbs Nyce The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

Across the country, data centers that run A.I. programs are being constructed at a record pace. A large percentage of them use chips built by the tech colossus Nvidia. The company has nearly cornered the market on the hardware that runs much of A.I., and has been named the most valuable company in the world, by market capitalization. But Nvidia’s is not just a business story; it’s a story about the geopolitical and technological competition between the United States and China, about what the future will look like. In April, David Remnick spoke with Stephen Witt, who writes about technology for The New Yorker, about how Nvidia came to dominate the market, and about its co-founder and C.E.O., Jensen Huang.  Witt’s book “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/757558/the-thinking-machine-by-stephen-witt/">The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip</a>” came out this year.    This segment originally aired on April 4, 2025. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The writers Charles Duhigg, Cal Newport, and Anna Wiener join Tyler Foggatt for a conversation about artificial intelligence and the promises, myths, and anxieties surrounding it. The discussion was recorded before a live audience at The New Yorker Festival this fall. They explore the gap between Silicon Valley’s sweeping claims and what generative A.I. can actually do today, how people are using the technology for work, creativity, and emotional support, and why the tech’s most immediate political consequences may be the hardest to grapple with.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/trump-dishonors-the-kennedy-center">Trump Dishonors the Kennedy Center</a>,” by David Remnick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/the-biggest-threat-to-the-2026-economy-is-still-donald-trump">The Biggest Threat to the 2026 Economy Is Still Donald Trump</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-right-wing-rises-in-latin-america">The Right Wing Rises in Latin America</a>,” by Jon Lee Anderson “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/29/peter-navarro-profile">Peter Navarro, Trump’s Ultimate Yes-Man</a>,” by Ian Parker “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/americans-wont-ban-kids-from-social-media-what-can-we-do-instead">Americans Won’t Ban Kids from Social Media. What Can We Do Instead?</a>,” by Jay Caspian Kang  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Republican Susan Collins has held one of Maine’s Senate seats for nearly thirty years, and Democrats, in trying to take it away from her, have a lot at stake. <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/can-a-maine-oyster-farmer-defeat-a-five-term-republican-senator">Graham Platner</a>, a combat veteran, political activist, and small-business owner who has never served in office, seemed to check many boxes for a progressive upstart. Platner, who says he and his wife earn sixty thousand dollars a year, has spoken passionately about affordability, and has called universal health care a  “moral imperative.” He seemed like a rising star, but then some of his past comments online directed against police, L.G.B.T.Q. people, sexual-assault survivors, Black people, and rural whites surfaced. A photo was published of a tattoo that he got in the Marines, which resembles a Nazi symbol, though Platner says he didn’t realize it. He apologized, but will Democrats embrace him, despite ugly views in his past? “As uncomfortable as it is, and personally unenjoyable, to have to talk about stupid things I said on the internet,” he told David Remnick, “it also allows me to publicly model something I think is really important. . . . You can change your language, change the way you think about stuff.” In fact, he frames his candidacy in a way that might appeal to disappointed Trump voters: “You should be able to be proud of the fact that you can turn into a different kind of person. You can think about the world in a different way.”  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Isaac Chotiner joins Tyler Foggatt to reflect on several of the most notable interviews he conducted in 2025. They discuss competing theories about the origins of <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/where-political-violence-comes-from">political violence</a> over the past year, how to understand <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-trumps-tariffs-fit-the-autocrats-playbook">President Trump’s approach to power</a> in his second term, and the challenges of covering an Administration that rarely appears to be driven by a coherent ideological framework. They also revisit two high-profile interviews: one with the former White House press secretary <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-bidens-white-house-press-secretary-is-leaving-the-democratic-party">Karine Jean-Pierre</a>, about her decision to leave the Democratic Party, and another with the legal scholar <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/can-liberalism-be-saved">Cass Sunstein</a>, on the limits of “big tent” politics and his curious friendship with Henry Kissinger.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/in-the-wake-of-australias-hanukkah-beach-massacre">In the Wake of Australia’s Hanukkah Beach Massacre</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-federal-judge-at-the-trump-rally">The Federal Judge at the Trump Rally</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/the-year-in-trump-cashing-in">The Year in Trump Cashing In</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-party-politics-of-sovereign-house">The Party Politics of Sovereign House</a>,” by Emma Green “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/want-to-talk-to-zohran-mamdani-get-in-line">Want to Talk to Zohran Mamdani? Get in Line</a>,” by Eric Lach The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

In the course of his long career, Leon Panetta was a lieutenant in the Army, a congressman from California, Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff, Barack Obama’s director of the C.I.A., and later, his Secretary of Defense. David Remnick talks with Panetta about the current Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, the legality of the ongoing Navy strikes targeting civilian boats off the coast of Venezuela, and the problem with using the military as “the President’s personal toy.”  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The Washington Roundtable discusses what surprised them in 2025, reflecting on the major shock-and-awe events that defined the first year of <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tag/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>’s second term: the capitulation of major <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-donald-trump-throttled-big-law">law firms</a>, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/20/inside-the-trump-administrations-assault-on-higher-education">universities</a>, and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/can-public-media-survive-trump">media companies</a>; the evisceration of <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/atul-gawande-on-elon-musks-surgery-with-a-chainsaw">foreign aid</a>; the sudden threats of war against <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-real-target-of-trumps-war-on-drug-boats">Venezuela</a>; and much more. The panel also considers the shape and state of resistance to Trumpism in 2025. “There is this tug-of-war going on about what kind of country we will be by the end of this process,” the staff writer Evan Osnos says. “It’s not just about how the big institutions will behave—it’s also about how regular people behave every day when they see things that are unbearable.” This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/the-curse-of-trump-20">The Curse of Trump 2.0</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/will-trump-torpedo-north-american-trade">Will Trump Torpedo North American Trade?</a>” by Stephania Taladrid “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/how-the-kennedy-center-has-been-transformed-by-trumpism">How the Kennedy Center Has Been Transformed by Trumpism</a>,” by Katy Waldman “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/the-trump-administrations-chaos-in-the-caribbean">The Trump Administration’s Chaos in the Caribbean</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-the-supreme-court-unsure-about-birthright-citizenship">Is the Supreme Court Unsure About Birthright Citizenship?</a>” by Amy Davidson Sorkin To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to <a href="mailto:themail@newyorker.com">themail@newyorker.com</a> with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz is joined by the political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, who teach at Harvard, and Lucan A. Way, who teaches at the University of Toronto, for an installment of “How Bad Is It?,” a monthly series on the health of American democracy. In a new essay for the journal Foreign Affairs, “<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/american-authoritarianism-levitsky-way-ziblatt">The Price of American Authoritarianism,</a>” the scholars of government assert that President Trump’s rapid consolidation of power in the first year of his second term has tipped the United States into authoritarianism—specifically, into competitive authoritarianism, in which elections persist but the ruling party rigs the system in its favor. The panel discusses how they arrived at their conclusions and suggests that not all is lost: America’s authoritarian moment could be temporary. “The United States is in a very good place to resist,” Levitsky says. “Civil society is very robust and so there is a very high likelihood that Trump will fail.”  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Katy Waldman joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how the Kennedy Center, the premier performing-arts hub in Washington, D.C., has been transformed under President Trump’s second term—and under his chaotic and unprecedented chairmanship of the organization. They talk about this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, which featured a group of honorees that reflect the President’s personal tastes, as well as the past year of mass firings, boycotts, and programming changes that have followed the Trump-led upheaval inside the institution. They also examine Trump’s relationship to arts and culture, and how the planned White House ballroom reflects the kind of cultural legacy he hopes to leave behind.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/how-the-kennedy-center-has-been-transformed-by-trumpism">How the Kennedy Center Has Been Transformed by Trumpism</a>,” by Katy Waldman “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/the-trump-administrations-chaos-in-the-caribbean">The Trump Administration’s Chaos in the Caribbean</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/how-to-leave-the-usa">How to Leave the U.S.A.</a>,” by Atossa Araxia Abrahamian “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/the-weird-spectacle-of-the-world-cup-draw">The Weird Spectacle of the World Cup Draw</a>,” by Louisa Thomas “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-the-supreme-court-unsure-about-birthright-citizenship">Is the Supreme Court Unsure About Birthright Citizenship?</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

As a California congressman, Adam Schiff was the lead manager during the first impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. He later served on the January 6th committee. Trump has castigated him as “Shifty Schiff” and demanded that the Justice Department investigate him. In a conversation with David Remnick, Schiff discusses the current inquiry into his mortgage by federal authorities; the Supreme Court’s primary role in enabling this Administration; and why he thinks the rule of law in America is “hanging by a thread.” Unlike some Democrats, Schiff is not sanguine that the release of the Epstein files will damage Trump politically. “If there are ruinous things in the files . . . Bondi and company will make sure they never reach the public eye,” Schiff says. But also, “I think he’s almost impervious to dirt.”  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

The Washington Roundtable discusses President Donald Trump’s health and the signs of his age-related decline: a noticeably reduced work schedule, fewer public appearances, and more rambling, profanity-laden outbursts. The panel examines how this undermines Trump’s self-styled image of strength and vigor, what lessons about aging Presidents can be drawn from the Biden and Reagan Administrations, and why America may be facing what scholars refer to as the “Bad Emperor” problem in Chinese history. “When strongmen get weak, watch out,” the staff writer Jane Mayer says.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/war-is-peace-the-dozing-don-edition">War Is Peace, the Dozing Don Edition</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-dishonorable-strikes-on-venezuelan-boats">The Dishonorable Strikes on Venezuelan Boats</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/mikie-sherrill-intends-to-move-fast">Mikie Sherrill Intends to Move Fast</a>,” by Gabriel Debenedetti “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/08/the-undermining-of-the-cdc">The Undermining of the C.D.C.</a>,” by Dhruv Khullar “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-legal-consequences-of-pete-hegseths-kill-them-all-order">The Legal Consequences of Pete Hegseth’s ‘Kill Them All’ Order</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/08/in-the-line-of-fire">In the Line of Fire</a>,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/what-can-economists-agree-on-these-days">What Can Economists Agree on These Days?</a> ” by John Cassidy  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.

The New Yorker staff writer Jon Lee Anderson joins Tyler Foggatt to talk about the Trump Administration’s military strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean. They discuss the questionable intelligence and rationale behind the operation, the legal concerns raised by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s alleged order to leave no survivors in a September strike, and whether the attacks feels more performative than strategic. They also explore how Trump’s framing of the issue as a drug war intersects with his broader ambitions—from pressuring the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, to reasserting American dominance in the hemisphere—and how other Latin American countries may respond to further military action in the region. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/01/can-trumps-peace-initiative-stop-the-congos-thirty-year-war">Can Trump’s Peace Initiative Stop the Congo’s Thirty-Year War?</a>,” by Jon Lee Anderson “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-dishonorable-strikes-on-venezuelan-boats">The Dishonorable Strikes on Venezuelan Boats</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-legal-consequences-of-pete-hegseths-kill-them-all-order">The Legal Consequences of Pete Hegseth’s ‘Kill Them All’ Order</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/08/the-undermining-of-the-cdc">The Undermining of the C.D.C.</a>,” by Dhruv Khullar “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/08/in-the-line-of-fire">In the Line of Fire</a>,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. 

Only thirty per cent of the American public identifies with the MAGA movement, according to a recent NBC poll, but that coalition remains intensely loyal to Donald Trump in the face of scandals and authoritarian measures. Defections seem rare and come with the risk of reprisal, even from the President himself. Rich Logis is trying to make them less rare with his advocacy organization, Leaving MAGA. The nonprofit’s  website features testimonials from former adherents, and offers advice for how friends and family can reconnect after ruptures over politics. Logis himself had been a true believer: he worked on Trump’s campaign, wrote articles, released a podcast, and called Democrats “the most dangerous group in the history of our Republic, foreign or domestic—more than Islamic supremacists, more than the Nazis.” He didn’t view MAGA as reactionary, but “very progressive and forward facing.” But somewhere along the way, Logis hung up his red hat. “Even today, talking about my past, the feelings are conjured—those feelings of being welcomed and feeling like you’re part of something, and the exhilaration that comes from that,” he tells the New Yorker Radio Hour’s Adam Howard. Logis emphasizes that leaving MAGA is difficult because, as much as it’s a political ideology, it’s also an identity that meets emotional needs. “I think that there’s a lot of trauma within the MAGA base, whether it’s political or economic. . . . I’m not qualified to make any kind of diagnosis. I’m not a therapist or a clinician, but there’s a lot of pain within MAGA. And I think that a better question [instead] of asking ‘What’s wrong with you?’ is ‘What happened to you?’”  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The “Jeopardy!” host and former contestant Ken Jennings joins Tyler Foggatt to talk about America’s favorite game show. The wide-ranging conversation took place before a live audience onstage at the annual New Yorker Festival, on October 25th. Jennings discussed his historic seventy-four-game winning streak, how contestants’ game strategies have changed over the years, his relationship with the former longtime host Alex Trebek, and why a political career was not for him.  Related reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/ken-jennings-has-some-questions-about-death">Ken Jennings Has Some Questions About Death</a>,” by Sarah Larson “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/postscript/the-rare-authority-of-alex-trebek">The Rare Authority of Alex Trebek</a>,” by Doreen St. Félix “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-hidden-depths-of-alex-trebeks-banter-with-jeopardy-contestants">The Hidden Depths of Alex Trebek’s Banter with ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestants</a>,” by Beth Blum Tune in to The Political Scene <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Both major parties are experiencing a crisis of leadership in Washington. President Trump’s flip-flopping on the Epstein files acknowledges that, on this issue, at least, he has lost control of MAGA. For the Democrats, the collapse of their consensus on the government shutdown deepens a sense that the current leadership is ineffective. For all the talk of unity, the Party is profoundly divided on what message to convey to voters. “Some people argue that we should just—no matter what Donald Trump does or says—just always come back to the economy and prices,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, tells David Remnick. “And, of course, we should be very focussed on the economy and prices and rising health-care costs, as we have been. But to suggest that we should look the other way in the face of all these other outrages is, I think, a mistake, because I think the American people are tiring of Donald Trump. I think the polls indicate that.” Van Hollen is trying to pave a path between his party’s left and the establishment. He’s used the word “spineless” to describe colleagues in Congress who refused to endorse Zohran Mamdani in his mayoral campaign, but he has not called for Chuck Schumer to step down from leadership, as others have. Van Hollen wants “to be very much part of the debate as to where the Democratic Party goes.” Would that extend, Remnick wonders, to running for President? “My goal at this moment really is to stiffen the spine of the Democratic Party. But that means not just resistance to Trump. It also means taking on very powerful special interests that I think have had too much sway in both the Republican Party for sure, but also in the Democratic Party.” Remnick replies, “I’ve heard firmer nos in my time.”  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable reflects on the first year since Donald Trump’s second win before a live audience at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, on November 20th. The panel considers how cracks in the MAGA firmament may shape what’s next for the President and the Republican party. “American politics the last ten years have been dominated by this very singular disruptive figure of Donald Trump,” the staff writer Susan B. Glasser. “So what we define as the new abnormal, for a whole generation of Americans is, in fact, the new normal.”  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/dick-cheneys-long-strange-goodbye">Dick Cheney’s Long, Strange Goodbye</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-darkest-thread-in-the-epstein-e-mails">The Darkest Thread in the Epstein E-mails</a>,” by Jessica Winter “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/24/the-meaning-of-trumps-presidential-pardons">The Meaning of Trump’s Presidential Pardons</a>,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/24/kash-patels-acts-of-service">Kash Patel’s Acts of Service</a>,” by Marc Fisher “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-saudi-arabia-won-back-washington">How M.B.S. Won Back Washington</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/donald-trump-cant-dodge-the-costly-k-shaped-economy">Donald Trump Can’t Dodge the Costly K-Shaped Economy</a>,” by John Cassidy  Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker contributing writer Anna Russell joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the rise of family estrangement in mainstream culture. Recent studies have found that more than a quarter of all Americans are currently estranged from a relative. They talk about how the idea of going “no contact” has gained traction in mainstream culture, the personal and generational shifts that can lead people to distance themselves from relatives, and why family bonds feel less inviolable than they once did. They also look at the political disagreements that can lead to decisions to cut off contact, whether close family relationships can survive deep ideological divides, and what therapists and researchers say about the prospects for reconciliation following estrangement.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/why-so-many-people-are-going-no-contact-with-their-parents">Why So Many People Are Going ‘No Contact’ with Their Parents</a>,” by Anna Russell “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/24/the-meaning-of-trumps-presidential-pardons">The Meaning of Trump’s Presidential Pardons</a>,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/nick-fuentes-is-not-just-another-alt-right-boogeyman">Nick Fuentes Is Not Just Another Alt-Right Boogeyman</a>,” by Jay Caspian Kang “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-darkest-thread-in-the-epstein-e-mails">The Darkest Thread in the Epstein E-mails</a>,” by Jessica Winter “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/24/kash-patels-acts-of-service">Kash Patel’s Acts of Service</a>,” by Marc Fisher  Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

When President <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tag/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> began his tariff rollout, the business world predicted that his unprecedented attempt to reshape the economy would lead to a major recession, if Trump went through with it all. But the markets stabilized and, in recent months, have continued to surge. That has some people worried about an even bigger threat: that overinvestment in artificial intelligence is creating a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/is-the-ai-boom-turning-into-an-ai-bubble">bubble</a>. Andrew Ross Sorkin, one of today’s preëminent financial journalists, is well versed in what’s happening; his début book, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/305559/too-big-to-fail-by-andrew-ross-sorkin/">Too Big to Fail</a>,” was an account of the 2008 financial crash, and this year he released “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/665634/1929-by-andrew-ross-sorkin/">1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation</a>.” He tells David Remnick that <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/the-ai-boom-and-the-spectre-of-1929">the concern</a> lies in the massive borrowing to build the infrastructure for a future A.I. economy, without the sufficient revenue, currently, to pay off the loans. “If I learned anything from covering 1929, [and] covering 2008, it is leverage,” Sorkin says, “people borrowing to make all of this happen. And right now we are beginning to see a remarkable period of borrowing to make the economics of A.I. work.” Sorkin is the co-anchor of “Squawk Box” on CNBC, and he also founded the New York Times’ business section, DealBook.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable discusses the trove of Jeffrey Epstein correspondence released by Congress this week, the fractures it has caused in the Republican Party, and the potential political ramifications for President Trump. Their guest is the investigative reporter Michael Isikoff, who has spent decades reporting on major scandals in American politics, including the affair between President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, and Russian interference in the 2016 election. The panel considers the factors that made other scandals in the past, such as Watergate, break through the public consciousness and change the course of Presidencies.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/the-epstein-scandal-is-now-a-chronic-disease-of-the-trump-presidency">The Epstein Scandal Is Now a Chronic Disease of the Trump Presidency</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/did-democrats-win-the-shutdown-after-all">Did Democrats Win the Shutdown After All?</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/socialism-but-make-it-trump">Socialism, But Make It Trump</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/governments-and-billionaires-retreat-ahead-of-cop30-climate-talks">Governments and Billionaires Retreat Ahead of COP30 Climate Talks</a>,” by Elizabeth Kolbert “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/17/laura-loomers-endless-payback">Laura Loomer’s Endless Payback</a>,” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/what-resistance-means-to-governor-j-b-pritzker">J. B. Pritzker Sounds the Alarm</a>,” by Peter Slevin  Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker staff writer Eric Lach joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral race, and what his time in office might look like. They talk about some of his early appointments to his administration and how his ambitious agenda may be at odds with other wings of the Democratic Party. They also look at how members of both parties are interpreting Mamdani’s win, and how the new mayor might respond to President Donald Trump’s threats to withhold federal funds from the city.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-mamdani-era-begins">The Mamdani Era Begins</a>,” by Eric Lach “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/did-democrats-win-the-shutdown-after-all">Did Democrats Win the Shutdown After All?</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/17/laura-loomers-endless-payback">Laura Loomer’s Endless Payback</a>,” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/as-told-to/the-war-in-gaza-has-paused-but-home-is-still-gone">In Gaza, Home Is Just a Memory</a>,” by Mohammed R. Mhawish “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/the-mess-at-the-bbc-will-never-end">The Mess at the BBC Will Never End</a>,” by Sam Knight Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Few Democratic officials have been more outspoken in opposition to the Trump Administration than J. B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois. He seems almost to relish antagonizing Trump, who has suggested Pritzker should be in jail. Meanwhile, ICE and Border Patrol have targeted Chicago, and elsewhere in Illinois, with immigration sweeps more aggressive than what Los Angeles experienced earlier this year; they refused to pause the raids even on Halloween. The President has called Chicago a “hell hole,” but, in Pritzker’s view, immigration sweeps do nothing to reduce crime. “He’s literally taking F.B.I., D.E.A., and A.T.F.—which we work with all the time—he’s taking them out of their departments and moving them over to ICE, and they’re not . . .  helping us catch bad guys,” Pritzker says in an interview with the reporter <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/peter-slevin">Peter Slevin</a>. “He’s creating mayhem on the ground because you know what he wants? He wants troops on the ground in American cities, and the only way he can get that done is by proving that there’s some sort of insurrection or revolution or rebellion.” And yet, as Slevin tells David Remnick, a governor’s power to resist the federal government depends largely on the courts. Thus far, “the district courts have acted quite favorably toward the plaintiffs in various lawsuits against these actions by the federal government.”  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable kicks off the 2026 election season by answering  questions from listeners about the forces most likely to shape next year’s midterm elections. They discuss the ascendancy of Zohran Mamdani in New York City, bitter redistricting battles in the states, the high number of elected officials retiring, and much more. Plus, the hosts reflect on the legacy of former Vice-President Dick Cheney, who died on Monday.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/america-begins-clapping-back-at-donald-trump">America Begins Clapping Back at Donald Trump</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/california-strikes-back-in-the-redistricting-war">California Strikes Back in the Redistricting War</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-far-can-donald-trump-take-emergency-power">How Far Can Donald Trump Take Emergency Power?</a>,” by Jeannie Suk Gersen “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/a-next-generation-victory-for-democrats">A Next-Generation Victory for Democrats</a>,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/political-anxiety-is-running-new-yorks-mayoral-race">The N.Y.C. Mayoral Election, as Processed in Therapy</a>,” by Tyler Foggatt “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-zohran-mamdanis-bid-for-mayor-reveals-about-being-muslim-in-america">What Zohran Mamdani’s Bid for Mayor Reveals About Being Muslim in America</a>,” by Rozina Ali “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/10/voting-rights-and-immigration-under-attack">Voting Rights and Immigration Under Attack</a>,” by Jelani Cobb Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker staff writer Benjamin Wallace-Wells joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Democrats’ sweeping victories in the first major elections of Donald Trump’s second term. They talk about what the results—from Zohran Mamdani’s record-turnout win in New York City to victories in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races—reveal about Trump’s weakening hold on voters and a generational shift inside the Democratic Party. They also explore how a focus on affordability and economic anxiety fuelled Democrats’ success, and how these outcomes may shape the strategies of both parties heading into next year’s midterms.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/a-next-generation-victory-for-democrats">A Next-Generation Victory for Democrats</a>,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/what-the-democrats-good-night-means-for-2026-and-beyond">What the Democrats’ Good Night Means for 2026 and Beyond</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/california-strikes-back-in-the-redistricting-war">California Strikes Back in the Redistricting War</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-mamdani-era-begins">The Mamdani Era Begins</a>,” by Eric Lach “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/political-anxiety-is-running-new-yorks-mayoral-race">The N.Y.C. Mayoral Election, as Processed in Therapy</a>,” by Tyler Foggatt Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Jon Stewart has been a leading figure in political comedy since before the turn of the millennium. But compared to his early years on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show”—when Stewart was merciless in his attacks on George W. Bush’s Administration—these are much more challenging times for late-night comedians. Jimmy Kimmel nearly lost his job over a remark about MAGA supporters of Charlie Kirk, after the head of the F.C.C. threatened ABC. CBS recently announced the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s program. And Stewart now finds himself very near the hot seat: Comedy Central is controlled by David Ellison, the Trump-friendly C.E.O. of the recently merged Paramount Skydance. Stewart’s contract comes up in December. “You’re going to sign another one?” David Remnick asked him, in a live interview at The New Yorker Festival. “We’re working on staying,” Stewart said. “You don’t compromise on what you do. You do it till they tell you to leave. That’s all you can do.”  Stewart, moreover, doesn’t blame solely Donald Trump for recent attacks on the independence of the media, universities, and other institutions. “This is the hardest truth for us to get at, is that [these] institutions . . . have problems. They do. And, if we don’t address those problems in a forthright way, then those institutions become vulnerable to this kind of assault. Credibility is not something that was just taken. It was also lost.” In fact, Stewart also directs his ire at “the Democratic Party, [which] thinks it’s O.K. for their Senate to be an assisted-living facility.” “In the general-populace mind, government no longer serves the interests of the people it purports to represent. That’s a broad-based, deep feeling. And that helps when someone comes along and goes, ‘The system is rigged,’ and people go, ‘Yeah, it is rigged.’ Now, he’s a good diagnostician. I don’t particularly care for his remedy.” This episode was recorded live at The New Yorker Festival, on October 26, 2025.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

On August 7, 1985, five family members were shot dead in their English country manor, Whitehouse Farm. It looked like an open-and-shut case. But the New Yorker staff writer Heidi Blake finds that almost nothing about this story is as it seems.  New Yorker subscribers get early, ad-free access to “Blood Relatives.” In Apple Podcasts, tap the link at the top of the feed to subscribe or link an existing subscription. Or visit newyorker.com/dark to subscribe and listen in the New Yorker app. 

The New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz joins Tyler Foggatt for the latest installment of “How Bad Is It?,” a regular checkup on the health of American democracy. Their guests are the Rutgers historians Mark Bray and Yesenia Barragan, a married couple who recently left the United States after Bray became the target of a right-wing doxing campaign. Bray and Barragan share the events leading up to their decision to leave the country with their family, including the death threats that followed Bray’s addition to a right-wing “professor watch list” and the portrayal of his work in conservative media as promoting political violence. Bray, who is the author of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” also speaks with Tyler and Andrew about his research into militant antifascism and how those ideas resonate in Donald Trump’s second Presidential term. They discuss the debates his work has sparked over political violence, free speech, and how his arguments about antifascism challenge conventional ideas of liberalism and academic freedom.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/when-the-government-stops-defending-civil-rights">When the Government Stops Defending Civil Rights</a>,” by Eyal Press “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-if-the-big-law-firms-had-not-caved-to-trump">What if the Big Law Firms Hadn’t Caved to Trump?</a>,” by Fabio Bertoni  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/how-the-president-talks-to-the-people">Trump and the Presidency That Wouldn’t Shut Up</a>,” by Jill Lepore “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-bidens-white-house-press-secretary-is-leaving-the-democratic-party">Why Biden’s White House Press Secretary Is Leaving the Democratic Party</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/why-trump-tore-down-the-east-wing">Why Trump Tore Down the East Wing</a>,” by Adam Gopnik Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Since Zadie Smith published her début novel, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/169680/white-teeth-by-zadie-smith/9780375703867/readers-guide/">White Teeth</a>,” twenty-five years ago, she has been a bold and original voice in literature. But those who aren’t familiar with Smith’s work outside of fiction are missing out. As an essayist, in <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/zadie-smith">The New Yorker</a> and other publications, Smith writes with great nuance about culture, technology, gentrification, politics; “There’s really not a topic that wouldn’t benefit from her insight,” David Remnick says. He spoke with Smith about her new collection of essays, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/774274/dead-and-alive-by-zadie-smith/">Dead and Alive</a>.” “The one thing about talking about essays,” she notes, ruefully, “is you find yourself saying the same thing, but worse—without the commas.” One of the concerns in the book is the role of our devices, and social media in particular, in shaping our thoughts and our political discourse. “Everybody has a different emphasis on [Donald] Trump and what’s going on. My emphasis has been on, to put it baldly, mind control. I think what’s been interesting about the manipulations of a digital age is that it is absolutely natural and normal for people to be offended at the idea that they are being manipulated. None of us like to feel that way. And I think we wasted about—whatever it’s been since the invention of the Iphone—trying to bat away that idea, calling it a moral panic, blaming each other, [and] talking about it as if it were an individual act of will.” In fact, she notes, “we are all being manipulated. Me, too. . . . Once we can all admit that, on the left and the right, then we can direct our attention to who’s been doing this and to what advantage.”  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The swiftness and severity with which the Trump Administration has tried to impose its will on higher education came as a shock to many, not least university presidents and faculties from Harvard to U.C.L.A. But for conservatives this arena of cultural conflict has been a long time coming. The staff writer <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/emma-green">Emma Green</a> has been speaking with influential figures in the current Administration as well as in the larger conservative movement about how they mapped out this battle for Donald Trump’s return to power. “There’s a recognition among the people that I interviewed,” Green tells David Remnick, “that the Administration cannot come in and script to universities: this is what you will teach and this is the degrees that you will offer, and just script it from top to bottom. First of all, that would be not legally possible. And it also, I think in some ways, violates core instincts that conservatives have around academic freedom, because a lot of these people have been on élite campuses and had the experience of being told that their views weren’t acceptable.” Green also speaks with James Kvaal, an education official who served in both the Biden and Obama Administrations, and May Mailman, a conservative education-policy activist who worked in the Trump White House and coördinated its attacks against universities. “When you have federal grants, you do not need to be funding racism and racial hierarchies and violence and harassment,” Mailman told Green. “I think that line is: do what you wanna do, but we don’t want to have to fund it.”  Emma Green’s “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/20/inside-the-trump-administrations-assault-on-higher-education">Inside the Trump Administration’s Assault on Higher Education</a>” was published on October 13, 2025.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable examines the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire and the uncertain road ahead, asking to what degree the Trump family’s business interests in the Middle East are shaping American foreign policy. The panel discusses the financial relationships between Qatar, the U.A.E., and Jared Kushner’s private-equity firm, and analyzes the intertwinement of personal profit and global dealmaking in the President’s approach. “The cliché about Trump is that he’s a transactional President,” the staff writer Evan Osnos says. “He’s basically putting that at the center of the diplomatic discussion.”  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-end-of-israels-hostage-ordeal">The End of Israel’s Hostage Ordeal</a>,” by Ruth Margalit “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/donald-trumps-dream-palace-of-puffery">Donald Trump’s Dream Palace of Puffery</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/how-will-americans-remember-the-war-in-gaza">How Will Americans Remember the War in Gaza?</a>,” by Jay Caspian Kang “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/27/russell-vought-profile-donald-trump">Donald Trump’s Deep-State Wrecking Ball</a>,” by Andy Kroll “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-last-columbia-protester-in-ice-detention">The Last Columbia Protester in ICE Detention</a>,” by Aida Alami Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker staff writer E. Tammy Kim joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how the government shutdown is affecting the federal workforce. They talk about how the shutdown began and what it means for hundreds of thousands of civil servants who have been furloughed, laid off, or required to work without pay. They also examine the Administration’s new “reductions in force,” or mass layoffs across key agencies, and how those cuts are being used in the effort to shrink and politicize federal agencies—and how those efforts could weaken not just essential public services but the long-term stability and nonpartisan functioning of the federal government itself.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/20/inside-the-trump-administrations-assault-on-higher-education">Inside the Trump Administration’s Assault on Higher Education</a>,” by Emma Green “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-indictment-of-letitia-james-and-the-collapse-of-impartial-justice">The Indictment of Letitia James and the Collapse of Impartial Justice</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/20/the-real-problem-is-how-trump-can-legally-use-the-national-guard">The Real Problem Is How Trump Can Legally Use the Military</a>,” by Jeannie Suk Gersen “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-end-of-israels-hostage-ordeal">The End of Israel’s Hostage Ordeal</a>,” by Ruth Margalit “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/20/zohran-mamdani-profile">What Zohran Mamdani Knows About Power</a>,” by Eric Lach Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Next month, New York City may elect as its next mayor a man who was pretty much unknown to the broader public a year ago. Zohran Mamdan, who is currently thirty-three years old and a member of the State Assembly, is a democratic socialist who won a primary upset against the current mayor, Eric Adams, and the former governor Andrew Cuomo, who was trying to stage a political comeback. Mamdani now leads the race by around twenty percentage points in most polls. His run for mayor is a remarkable story, but it has not been an easy one. His campaign message of affordability—his ads widely tout a rent freeze in the city—resonates with voters, but his call for further taxing the top one per cent of earners has concerned the state’s governor, Kathy Hochul.  In Congress, Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries have yet to even endorse him. “There are many people who will say housing is a human right, and yet it oftentimes seems as if it is relegated simply to the use of it as a slogan,” Mamdani tells David Remnick at his campaign headquarters, in midtown Manhattan. “It often comes back to whether you’re willing to fight for these ideals that you hold.” Donald Trump, for his part, dubs Mamdani a Communist, and has threatened to withhold federal funds from New York if he’s elected, calling such a vote “a rebellion.” An attack by the President “will be an inevitability,” Mamdani says, noting that the city’s legal department is understaffed for what may be an epic battle to come. “This is an Administration that looks at the flourishing of city life wherever it may be across this country as a threat to their entire political agenda. And New York City looms large in their imagination.”  Zohran Mamdani’s campaign was <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/20/zohran-mamdani-profile">chronicled</a> by Eric Lach, a staff writer covering New York politics and life for The New Yorker. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable discusses the President’s use of the military for political ends, and the “almost unlimited” powers he would unlock by invoking the Insurrection Act, with Kori Schake, the director of foreign-and-defense-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Donald Trump’s decisions—sending the National Guard into American cities over the objections of local leaders and firing Judge Advocate General’s Corps lawyers who help determine if an order is legal—send a message to the historically apolitical armed forces. “What he’s trying to do is circumvent the disciplined senior leadership and appeal for personal loyalty to the younger, noncommissioned and enlisted soldiers,” Schake says. “The pressure from this Administration—there’s been nothing like it since at least the constitutional crisis of 1866-68.” Schake is the author of the forthcoming book “The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States.”  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trump-the-self-styled-president-of-peace-abroad-makes-war-at-home">Trump, the Self-Styled ‘President of PEACE’ Abroad, Makes War at Home</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/13/donald-trump-pete-hegseth-and-the-war-from-within">Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and the ‘War from Within</a>,’ ” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/nixon-now-looks-restrained">Nixon Now Looks Restrained</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/hope-and-grief-in-israel-after-the-gaza-ceasefire-deal">Hope and Grief in Israel After the Gaza Ceasefire Deal</a>,” by Ruth Margalit “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-volunteers-tracking-ice-in-los-angeles">The Volunteers Tracking ICE in Los Angeles</a>,” by Oren Peleg Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker contributing writer Ruth Marcus joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Donald Trump’s “revenge tour”—his effort to use the levers of government to settle personal and political scores. They talk about the indictment of the former F.B.I. director James Comey, why legal experts see the case against Comey as alarmingly weak, and how Trump’s campaign of retribution has expanded to include prosecutors, lawmakers, and even the families of his critics. They also consider how Trump’s quest for vengeance is testing the limits of American law, and whether the country can avoid a permanent cycle of political retaliation and lawfare. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-flimsy-dangerous-indictment-of-james-comey">The Flimsy, Dangerous Indictment of James Comey</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-will-bari-weiss-do-to-cbs-news">What Will Bari Weiss Do to CBS News?</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/who-can-lead-the-democrats">Who Can Lead the Democrats?</a>,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-volunteers-tracking-ice-in-los-angeles">The Volunteers Tracking ICE in Los Angeles</a>,” by Oren Peleg “<a href="http://newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-israel-and-hamas-might-finally-have-a-deal">Why Israel and Hamas Might Finally Have a Deal</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Robert P. George is not a passive observer of the proverbial culture wars; he’s been a very active participant. As a Catholic legal scholar and philosopher at Princeton University, he was an influential opponent of Roe v. Wade and same-sex marriage, receiving a Presidential medal from President George W. Bush. George decries the “decadence” of secular culture, and, in 2016, he co-wrote an op-ed declaring <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tag/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> “manifestly unfit” to serve as President. Although George disagrees with the Administration’s tactics to change universities’ policies by punishment, he agrees with its contention that campuses have become hotbeds of leftism that stifle debate. He regards this not as a particular evil of the left but as “human nature”: “If conservatives had the kind of monopoly that liberals had,” George tells David Remnick, “I suspect we’d have the same situation, but just in reverse.” His recent book, “<a href="https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/seeking-truth-speaking-truth/?srsltid=AfmBOoodSrFsclPKrsK7_MDf4HHaao4zz-NzkoqcTbekAqAC7e_bh-kA">Seeking Truth and Speaking Truth: Law and Morality in Our Cultural Moment</a>,” tries to chart a course back toward civil, functioning debate in a polarized society. “I encourage my students to take courses from people who disagree with me, like Cornel West and Peter Singer,” the latter of whom is a controversial philosopher of ethics. “Cornel and I teach together for this same reason. Peter invites his students to take my courses. That’s the way it should be.”  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable discusses how this week’s government shutdown can be best understood by looking at the background and influence of Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Vought is a Christian nationalist who served in the first Trump Administration. He was a chief architect of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, and has written that the country is in a “post constitutional moment.” Amid the shutdown, Vought has threatened to lay off federal workers en masse and to withhold funds from Democratic-leaning states. The panel considers whether these moves are not just an expansion of Presidential power but a fiscal “partitioning” of America.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/donald-trumps-shutdown-power-play">Donald Trump’s Shutdown Power Play</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/can-the-democrats-take-free-speech-back-from-the-right">Can the Democrats Take Free Speech Back from the Right?</a>,” by Jay Caspian Kang “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/why-democrats-shut-down-the-government">Why Democrats Shut Down the Government</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-donald-trumps-sweeping-gaza-peace-plan-really-viable">Is Donald Trump’s Sweeping Gaza Peace Plan Really Viable?</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/eric-adams-slips-out-the-side-door">Eric Adams Slips Out the Side Door</a>,” by Eric Lach “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-politics-of-faith-after-charlie-kirk">The Politics of Faith After Charlie Kirk</a>,” by Michael Luo “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/grace-and-disgrace">Grace and Disgrace</a>,” by David Remnick  Tune in to The Political Scene <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker contributing writer Jeannie Suk Gersen joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the Supreme Court’s new term and the cases that could test the boundaries of executive authority and separation of powers. They talk about challenges to Presidential power under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, disputes over voting rights and racial gerrymandering, and a First Amendment fight over state bans on conversion therapy. They also consider the Court’s increasing reliance on its emergency docket and what John Roberts’s twenty years as Chief Justice reveals about the conservative legal movement’s influence on the Court. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/harvards-mixed-victory">Harvard’s Mixed Victory</a>,” by Jeannie Suk Gersen “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-donald-trumps-sweeping-gaza-peace-plan-really-viable">Is Donald Trump’s Sweeping Gaza Peace Plan Really Viable?</a>,” by Robin Wright “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/why-democrats-shut-down-the-government">Why Democrats Shut Down the Government</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/a-cuban-exodus-faces-trumps-america">Have Cubans Fled One Authoritarian State for Another?</a>,” by Jon Lee Anderson “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-age-of-enshittification">The Age of Enshittification</a>,” by Kyle Chayka Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The author and podcaster Ezra Klein may be only forty-one years old, but he’s been part of the political-culture conversation for a long time. He was a blogger, then a Washington Post columnist and editor, a co-founder of Vox, and is now a writer and podcast host for the New York Times. He’s also the co-author of the recent best-selling book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1806158965">Abundance</a>”.  Most recently, Klein has drawn the ire of progressives for a column he wrote about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, in which he praised the late conservative activist for practicing politics “the right way.” He’s also been making a case for how the Democrats can reëmerge from the political wilderness. But some of his other ideas have also invited their share of detractors.  Klein tells David Remnick, “I try to take seriously questions that I don’t love. I don’t try to insist the world works the way I want it to work. I try to be honest with myself about the way it’s working.” In response to criticism that his recent work has indicated a rightward shift in his thinking, Klein says, “One thing I’ve been saying about the big tent of the Democratic Party is the theory of having a big tent doesn’t just mean moving to the right; it also means accepting in the left.” The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable discusses how, in the wake of the reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel’s show, public resistance has a chance to turn the tide against autocratic impulses in today’s politics. They are joined by Hardy Merriman, an expert on the history and practice of civil resistance, to discuss what kinds of coördinated actions—protests, boycotts, “buycotts,” strikes, and other nonviolent approaches—are most effective in a fight against democratic backsliding. “Acts of non-coöperation are very powerful,” Merriman, the former president of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, says. “Non-coöperation is very much about numbers. You don’t necessarily need people doing things that are high risk. You just need large numbers of people doing them.”  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/donald-trump-keeps-finding-new-ways-to-shock-the-world">Donald Trump Keeps Finding New Ways to Shock the World</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-trumps-attack-on-the-media-following-putins-playbook">Is Trump’s Attack on the Media Following Putin’s Playbook?</a>,” by Joshua Yaffa “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/where-should-the-democrats-go-from-here">Where Should the Democrats Go from Here?</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/donald-trumps-firing-of-a-federal-prosecutor-crosses-the-reddest-of-lines">Donald Trump’s Firing of a Federal Prosecutor Crosses the Reddest of Lines</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/29/seeing-enemies-everywhere">Seeing Enemies Everywhere</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/can-progressive-mayors-redeem-the-democratic-party">Can Progressive Mayors Redeem the Democratic Party?</a>,” by Bill McKibben Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker contributing writer Dhruv Khullar joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how Donald Trump is transforming the nation’s approach to vaccines and immunization during his second term. They talk about the repopulating of federal agencies and advisory panels with skeptics, the politicization of once technical debates under the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, and what happens when people distrustful of the medical establishment end up running American public-health policy. They also examine how states are stepping in to fill the vacuum left by Washington, creating a patchwork of approaches to vaccines across the country. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/a-new-era-of-vaccine-federalism">A New Era of Vaccine Federalism</a>,” by Dhruv Khullar “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/can-progressive-mayors-redeem-the-democratic-party">Can Progressive Mayors Redeem the Democratic Party?</a>,” by Bill McKibben “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/donald-trumps-firing-of-a-federal-prosecutor-crosses-the-reddest-of-lines">Donald Trump’s Firing of a Federal Prosecutor Crosses the Reddest of Lines</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-trump-wants-from-a-tiktok-deal-with-china">What Trump Wants from a TikTok Deal with China</a>,” by Clare Malone “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/can-liberalism-be-saved">Can Liberalism Be Saved?</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

“The Constitution gives the states the power to set the time, place, and manner of elections,” the election lawyer Marc Elias points out. “It gives the President no [such] power.” Yet, almost one year before the midterms, Donald Trump has called for a nationwide prohibition on mail-in voting, an option favored by Democrats, as well as restrictions on voting machines. The Justice Department has demanded sensitive voter information from at least thirty-four states so far, with little explanation as to how the information will be used. Will we have free and fair congressional elections in 2026? “I am very worried that we could have elections that do not reflect the desires and the voting preferences of everyone who wishes they could vote and have their vote tabulated accurately,” Elias tells David Remnick. “That may sound very lawyerly and very technical, but I think it would be a historic rollback.” Elias’s firm fought and ultimately won almost every case that Trump and Republican allies brought against the 2020 election, and Elias continues to fight the latest round of incursions in court. And while he rues what he calls “re-gerrymandering” in Texas—designed to squeeze Texas’s Democratic representatives out of Congress—Elias thinks states run by Democrats have no choice but to copy the tactic. “Before Gavin Newsom announced what he was doing, I came out publicly and said Democrats should gerrymander nine seats out of California, which would mean there’d be no Republicans left in the delegation. . . . At the end of the day, if there’s no disincentive structure for Republicans to jump off this path, [then] it just continues.”  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable is joined by the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Keren Yarhi-Milo, the dean of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, to discuss why interpreting the psychology of world leaders such as Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping is essential to understanding global crises. Clinton also shares her thoughts on Gavin Newsom’s plan for redistricting in California, the Trump Administration’s free-speech crackdown in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, and ABC’s decision to pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air. “Jimmy Kimmel and all of the late-night comedians have certainly said a lot of things about me that I found painful, offensive, outraging. It never crossed my mind that I could call up and say, ‘Hey, get rid of this guy,’ ” Clinton says. “It’s all at the behest of the President, who wants to stifle and remove any opposition, and certainly anyone who makes fun of him.” Clinton and Yarhi-Milo’s new book, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Situation-Room-Practice-Decision-Making/dp/019779100X">Inside the Situation Room: The Theory and Practice of Crisis Decision-Making</a>,” was published this week. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-grave-threat-posed-by-donald-trumps-attack-on-jimmy-kimmel">The Grave Threat Posed by Donald Trump’s Attack on Jimmy Kimmel</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/israels-new-occupation">Israel’s New Occupation</a>,” by Ruth Margalit “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/j-d-vance-charlie-kirk-and-the-politics-as-talk-show-singularity">J. D. Vance, Charlie Kirk, and the Politics-as-Talk Show Singularity</a>,” by Andrew Marantz “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-the-video-of-charlie-kirks-murder-might-do">What the Video of Charlie Kirk’s Murder Might Do</a>,” by Jay Caspian King Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz joins Tyler Foggatt for the latest installment of “How Bad Is It?,” a monthly series on the health of American democracy. Their guest is the Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa, whose documentaries explore the country’s democratic backsliding. They discuss what the United States can learn from Brazil’s struggles with political violence and the rise of authoritarianism, and they respond to the recent conviction of Jair Bolsonaro for his role in a coup attempt. Tyler and Andrew also consider the possible ramifications of the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, including the Trump Administration’s threats to target liberal groups. This week’s reading: <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/charlie-kirk-and-tyler-robinson-came-from-the-same-warped-online-worlds">“Charlie Kirk and Tyler Robinson Came from the Same Warped Online Worlds</a>,” by Kyle Chayka “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-the-video-of-charlie-kirks-murder-might-do">What the Video of Charlie Kirk’s Murder Might Do</a>,” by Jay Caspian King “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-us-governments-extraordinary-pursuit-of-kilmar-abrego-garcia">The U.S. Government’s Extraordinary Pursuit of Kilmar Ábrego García</a>,” by Cristian Fairas “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/#:~:text=Donald%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20Assault%20on%20Disability%20Rights">Donald Trump’s Assault on Disability Rights</a>,” by E. Tammy Kim “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/22/how-jessica-reed-kraus-went-from-mommy-blogger-to-maha-maven">How Jessica Reed Kraus Went from Mommy Blogger to MAHA Maven</a>,” by Clare Malone Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable discusses the fatal shooting of the right-wing activist and Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk, who was killed on Wednesday during a speech on a college campus. The panel considers whether the United States risks tumbling into a spiral of political violence, and how the Administration might use this moment to justify a crackdown on political opponents. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/did-trump-just-declare-war-on-the-american-left">Did Trump Just Declare War on the American Left?</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/maga-reacts-to-the-assassination-of-charlie-kirk">MAGA Reacts to the Assassination of Charlie Kirk</a>,” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/22/charlie-kirk-murder-and-the-crisis-of-political-violence">Charlie Kirk’s Murder and the Crisis of Political Violence</a>,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-epstein-birthday-book-is-even-worse-than-you-might-realize">The Epstein Birthday Book Is Even Worse Than You Might Realize</a>,” by Jessica Winter Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Fergus McIntosh, the head research editor at The New Yorker, joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how the magazine is approaching fact -checking in the second Trump era. They talk about how the spread of disinformation and deepfakes has changed the work of verifying facts; why Trump has been more aggressive, in his second term, about restricting the release of government data; and what makes his particular style of spreading falsehoods so difficult to counter. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-latest-phase-in-trumps-war-on-data">The Latest Phase in Trump’s War on Data</a>,” by Fergus McIntosh “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/inside-the-chaos-at-the-cdc">Inside the Chaos at the C.D.C.</a>,” by Charles Bethea “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/social-media-is-navigating-its-sectarian-phase">Social Media Is Navigating Its Sectarian Phase</a>,”by Kyle Chayka  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/brazil-braces-for-a-verdict-on-its-ex-president-and-on-its-democracy">Brazil Braces for a Verdict on Its Ex-President—and on Its Democracy</a>,” by Jon Lee Anderson “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/does-society-have-too-many-rules">Does Society Have Too Many Rules?</a>,” by Joshua Rothman Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Speculation, analysis, and commentary circulated all summer, after the announcement, in June, that Anna Wintour would step back from her role as the editor-in-chief of American Vogue. This changing of the guard is uniquely fraught, because Wintour’s name has become nearly inextricable from the magazine, to a degree almost unknown today. And, as New York Fashion Week was set to begin, Wintour spoke with David Remnick about choosing her successor, the Vogue.com editor Chloe Malle. “It felt like this was the right time,” she says. With an unusual number of new creative directors in positions at major fashion houses, “It seemed like a good moment to bring in someone with a different perspective and a different generation who could look at things in a new way.” Wintour was appointed editor-in-chief in 1988, and generations of designers have come up under her famously acute and decisive judgments. She comes from a publishing family; her brother is a well-known journalist, and her father was the editor of the London Evening Standard. She credits him with steering her into a career in fashion, even suggesting that the teen-age Anna write down “editor of Vogue” as her career aspiration on a school form. “Working my first jobs in London, there [was] no money, there’s no staff, there’s no teams, so that you have to learn how to do everything,” Wintour says. “So, when I came to the States and there was a shoe editor and an underwear editor and a fabric editor, it was all so siloed. I felt very confident because I sort of knew how to do everything.” Wintour is also known for bringing politics to Vogue; she’s a noted Democratic supporter and donor. “I’ve been impressed by Governor Newsom, I think he’s certainly making a stand, and obviously I’m sure there’ll be many other candidates that will emerge, hopefully soon.” But, in this political environment, Remnick asks, “How do you make a case that fashion is important?” Fashion, she replies, “is always important. It’s a question of self-expression and a statement about yourself. . . . And, forgive me, David, but how boring would it be if everybody was just wearing a dark suit and a white shirt all the time?” New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Follow the show wherever <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/XL9LVVAk">you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable, hosted by the staff writers Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos, is back in season. The co-hosts reflect on the news of this summer, discussing President Trump’s imposition of tariffs on nearly every major U.S. trading partner; his deployment of the National Guard on the streets of the capital; and his purges of agencies including the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They also discuss what Trump might use emergency powers to do in the near future. “You don’t acquire all this power, and go to all this effort, and then not start to use it,” Glasser says. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/how-many-court-cases-can-trump-lose-in-a-single-week">How Many Court Cases Can Trump Lose in a Single Week?</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/trumps-department-of-energy-gets-scienced">Trump’s Department of Energy Gets Scienced</a>,” by Bill McKibben “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/texas-democrats-weapons-of-the-weak">Texas Democrats’ Weapons of the Weak</a>,” by Rachel Monroe “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/do-state-referendums-on-abortion-work">Do State Referendums on Abortion Work?</a>,” by Peter Slevin Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker contributing writer Ruth Marcus joins the guest host and staff writer Clare Malone to discuss Marcus’s recent profile of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. They talk about Bondi’s political origins and her unprecedented reshaping of the Justice Department, and how she delivers on President Trump’s desire to use the legal system for revenge and retribution. They also touch on Bondi’s mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, which has drawn the ire of both Democratic politicians and core parts of the President’s base.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/25/pam-bondi-profile">Pam Bondi’s Power Play</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/texas-democrats-weapons-of-the-weak">Texas Democrats’ Weapons of the Weak</a>,” by Rachel Monroe “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/do-state-referendums-on-abortion-work">Do State Referendums on Abortion Work?</a>,” by Peter Slevin “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/why-dont-we-take-nuclear-weapons-seriously">Why Don’t We Take Nuclear Weapons Seriously?</a>,” by Rivka Galchen “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/robert-f-kennedy-jrs-anti-vax-agenda-is-infecting-our-public-health-system">How Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,’s Anti-Vax Agenda Is Infecting America</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The term “culture wars” is most often associated with issues of sexuality, race, religion, and gender. But, as recent months have made plain, when Donald Trump refers to the culture wars, he also means the arts. He fired the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which Republicans want to rename for him. His Administration fired the national archivist and the Librarian of Congress, and pressured the director of the National Portrait Gallery to resign; it is reviewing the entire Smithsonian Institution, looking for what the President calls “improper ideology.” Some view these moves as low-hanging fruit for Trump, and a distraction from bad press about Jeffrey Epstein, the Putin meeting, and tariffs. But Adam Gopnik believes that interpretation is a misreading. The loyalty purge at institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery is a key part of his agenda. “Pluralism is the key principle of a democratic culture,” Gopnik tells David Remnick. Could we be following the path of Stalinist Russia, where a head of state dictated reviews of concerts, Remnick asks? “I pray and believe that we are not. But that is certainly the direction in which one inevitably heads when the political boss takes over key cultural institutions, and dictates who’s acceptable and who is not.” Gopnik recalls saying after the election that “Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert would be next.” “You would see them disappear,” he added. “Each time, we find a rationale for it or a rationale is offered. And it’s much easier for us to swallow the rationale than to face the reality.” The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Democratic strategist Lis Smith joins the guest host Clare Malone, a New Yorker staff writer, to discuss the state of the Democratic Party, and how a decade of reliance on anti-Trump rhetoric has left Democrats reactive and directionless. They consider why groups that Democrats once counted on—from young people to communities of color—are shifting rightward, and what new strategies politicians from Gavin Newsom to Zohran Mamdani are testing to prove that the Democratic Party stands for more than opposition to Trump. This week’s reading “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/01/the-trump-administrations-efforts-to-reshape-americas-past">The Trump Administration’s Efforts to Reshape America’s Past</a>,” by Jill Lepore “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-former-biden-officials-defend-their-gaza-policy">How Former Biden Officials Defend Their Gaza Policy</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-endless-august-recess">The Endless August Recess</a>,” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/the-enormous-stakes-of-trumps-effort-to-fire-the-fed-governor-lisa-cook">The Enormous Stakes of Trump’s Effort to Fire the Fed Governor Lisa Cook</a>,” by John Cassidy “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/whats-life-like-in-washington-dc-during-trumps-takeover">What’s Life Like in Washington, D.C., During Trump’s Takeover?</a>,” by Margaret Talbot Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Since the end of the Cold War, most Americans have taken U.S. military supremacy for granted. We can no longer afford to do so, according to <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/07/21/is-the-us-ready-for-the-next-war">reporting</a> by the staff writer Dexter Filkins. China has developed advanced weapons that rival or surpass America’s; and at the same time, drone warfare has fundamentally changed calculations of the battlefield. Ukraine’s ability to hold off the massive Russian Army depends largely on a startup industry that has provided millions of drones—small, highly accurate, and as cheap as five hundred dollars each—to inflict enormous casualties on invading forces. In some other conflict, could the U.S. be in the position of Russia? “The nightmare scenario” at the Pentagon, Filkins tells David Remnick, is, “we’ve got an eighteen-billion-dollar aircraft carrier steaming its way toward the western Pacific, and [an enemy could] fire drones at these things, and they’re highly, highly accurate, and they move at incredible speeds. . . . To give [Secretary of Defense Pete] Hegseth credit, and the people around him . . . they say, ‘O.K., we get it. We’re going to change the Pentagon procurement process,’ ” spending less on aircraft carriers and more on small technology like drones. But “the Pentagon is so slow, and people have been talking about these things for years. . . . Nobody has been able to do it.” Read Filkins’s “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/07/21/is-the-us-ready-for-the-next-war">Is the U.S. Ready for the Next War</a>?” New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Follow the show wherever <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-radiohour-eBFv3Y">you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable speaks with Jeffrey Rosen, the president and C.E.O. of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit, about how America’s founders tried to tyrant-proof their constitutional system, how Donald Trump’s whim-based decision-making resembles that of the dictator Julius Caesar, and what we can learn from the fall of the Roman Republic. Plus, how the Supreme Court is responding to the Trump Administration’s broad claims of executive power.  Rosen, a professor at George Washington University Law School, hosts the “<a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/podcasts">We the People</a>” podcast and is the author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668002477">The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America</a>.”  This episode originally aired on March 7th, 2025 The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz joins Tyler Foggatt for the latest installment of “How Bad Is It?,” a monthly series on the health of American democracy. Their guest is David D. Kirkpatrick, whose <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/18/the-number">new investigation</a> details the many ways President Donald Trump has profited during his second term—from a reported private jet gifted by Qatar to soaring valuations of Trump Media and a flood of crypto ventures. They discuss whether these attempts at self-enrichment amount to ordinary political corruption or whether they represent tools for consolidating power which could accelerate democratic backsliding in the United States, much like in kleptocracies and oligarchies abroad. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/18/the-number">How Much Is Trump Profiting Off the Presidency?</a>,” by David D. Kirkpatrick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/can-donald-trump-police-the-united-states">Can Donald Trump Police the United States?</a>,” by Christian Fairas  “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/25/pam-bondi-profile">Pam Bondi’s Power Play</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-troubling-lines-that-columbia-is-drawing">The Troubling Lines That Columbia Is Drawing</a>,” by Eyal Press “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-texas-democrats-remote-resistance">The Texas Democrats’ Remote Resistance</a>” by Peter Slevin Tune in to The Political Scene<a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref"> wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Mohammed R. Mhawish was living in Gaza City during Israel’s invasion, in the immediate aftermath of the October 7th attack. He witnessed the invasion for months and reported on its devastating consequences for Al Jazeera, The Nation, and other outlets. After his home was targeted in an Israeli strike, which nearly killed him, he fled Gaza. In The New Yorker, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/treating-gazas-collective-trauma">he’s written</a> about mental-health workers who are trying to treat a deeply traumatized population, while themselves suffering from starvation, the loss of loved ones, their own injuries—and the constant, remorseless death toll around them. “They were telling me, ‘We cannot wait for the war to stop to start healing—or for ourselves to heal—to start healing others,’” Mhawish relates to David Remnick. “I understood they were trying to heal by helping others heal.” New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Follow the show wherever <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/XL9LVVAk">you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker staff writer Jonathan Blitzer joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how Donald Trump’s second-term immigration agenda has shifted from border enforcement to an unprecedented campaign of interior deportations. They talk about the expansion of detention through military bases and state-run facilities, the changes to long-standing arrest protocols, and the strategic transfers designed to separate detainees from their families and lawyers. Plus, they examine how these tactics have eroded due-process protections, why Democrats have struggled to mount an effective response, and whether public outrage could slow the Administration’s most aggressive deportation measures. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/18/can-democrats-fight-back-against-trumps-redistricting-scheme">Can Democrats Fight Back Against Trump’s Redistricting Scheme?</a>,” by Jonathan Blitzer “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/18/the-number">How Much Is Trump Profiting Off the Presidency?</a>,” by David D. Kirkpatrick “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/can-president-trump-run-a-mile">Can Donald Trump Run a Mile?</a>,” by Zach Helfand “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-happens-to-public-media-now">What Happens to Public Media Now?</a>,” by Oliver Whang “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/what-if-ai-doesnt-get-much-better-than-this">What If A.I. Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This?</a>,” by Cal Newport Tune in to The Political Scene <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>. To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit <a href="http://newyorker.com/podcasts">newyorker.com/podcasts</a>. To send feedback on this episode, write to <a href="mailto:themail@newyorker.com">themail@newyorker.com</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

From the attempt to end birthright citizenship to the gutting of congressionally authorized agencies, the Trump Administration has created an enormous number of legal controversies. The Radio Hour asked for listeners’ questions about President Trump and the courts. To answer them, David Remnick speaks with two regular contributors: <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/ruth-marcus">Ruth Marcus</a>, who writes about legal issues and the Supreme Court, and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/jeannie-suk">Jeannie Suk Gersen</a>, who teaches constitutional law at Harvard Law School. While the writers disagree on some significant questions—such as the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Trump v. CASA, which struck down the use of nationwide injunctions—both acknowledge the unprecedented nature of some of the questions from listeners. “They never taught you these things in law school, because he’s pushing on areas of the law that are not normally pushed on,” Marcus tells Remnick. New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Follow the show wherever <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/XL9LVVAk">you get your podcasts</a>.  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz joins Tyler Foggatt for the latest installment of “How Bad Is It?,” a monthly series on the health of American democracy. Their guest is Roy Wood, Jr., the host of the satirical program “Have I Got News for You,” on CNN. The group discusses the significance of CBS’s cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” a recent episode of “South Park” that is searingly critical of Donald Trump, and the President’s deployment of lawsuits and the administrative state to try to intimidate his critics in the media and entertainment industries. “There's always going to be these petty, ticky-tack battles that the Administration fights,” says Wood. “But I don't think that's gonna stop the comedians from doing what Trump hopes this would do, which is silence them.” This week’s reading: “‘<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/south-park-skewers-a-satire-proof-president">South Park” Skewers a Satire-Proof President</a>,’ by Tyler Foggatt “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/what-the-cancellation-of-stephen-colberts-late-show-means">What the Cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Means</a>,” by Vinson Cunningham “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-the-israeli-right-explains-the-aid-disaster-it-created">How the Israeli Right Explains the Aid Disaster It Created</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/should-police-officers-be-more-like-ufc-fighters">Should Police Officers Be More Like U.F.C. Fighters?</a>,” by Sam Eagan “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/will-trump-push-brazils-underdog-era-to-an-end">Is Brazil’s Underdog Era Coming to an End?</a>,” by Shannon Sims Tune in to The Political Scene <a href="http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref">wherever you get your podcasts</a>. To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit <a href="http://newyorker.com/podcasts">newyorker.com/podcasts</a>. To send feedback on this episode, write to <a href="mailto:themail@newyorker.com">themail@newyorker.com</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The city of Los Angeles has declared itself a sanctuary city, where local authorities do not share information with federal immigration enforcement. But L.A.—where nearly forty per cent of residents are foreign-born—became ground zero for controversial arrests and deportations by ICE. The Trump Administration deployed marines and the National Guard to the city, purportedly to quell protests against the operation, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, spoke of the government’s intention to “liberate” Los Angeles from its elected officials. This week, David Remnick talks with the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, a former congressional representative, about the recent withdrawal of some troops, and a lawsuit the city has joined arguing that the Trump Administration’s immigration raids and detentions are unconstitutional. (A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the government.)  “I’ve described L.A. as a petri dish,” Bass says. The Administration “wanted to . . . show that they could come in and do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and however they wanted. They were putting every other city in America on notice: ‘mess with us will come for you.’ ” The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable’s Evan Osnos interviews Katie Drummond, the global editorial director of Wired, about the publication’s scoop-filled coverage of DOGE, and what Elon Musk’s experience in Washington taught Silicon Valley leaders. “They know that they can operate with relative impunity, and they are now lining themselves up next to a President who will allow that to continue to happen,” Drummond says. Plus, a discussion of how artificial intelligence will shape our society and democracy, and transform the workforce in the years to come. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trump-redefines-the-washington-scandal">Trump Redefines the Washington Scandal</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/07/28/donald-trumps-tariff-dealmaker-in-chief">Donald Trump’s Tariff DealmMaker-In-Chief</a>” by Antonia Hitchens “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/are-the-democrats-getting-better-at-the-internet">Are the Democrats Getting Better at the Internet?</a>,” by Jon Allsop To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to <a href="mailto:themail@newyorker.com">themail@newyorker.com</a> with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The New Yorker contributor Jon Allsop joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how President Trump’s refusal to release the Epstein files has fractured his base, and how the Democratic Party has increasingly weaponized the Epstein conspiracy theory in its attempt to combat the MAGA movement. How do we proceed given that our country’s politics are increasingly defined by conspiratorial thinking? This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-and-three-conspiracy-theory-theories">Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Three Conspiracy-Theory Theories</a>,” by Jon Allsop “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/07/28/behind-trumps-jeffrey-epstein-problem">Behind Trump’s Jeffrey Epstein Problem</a>,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/what-the-cancellation-of-stephen-colberts-late-show-means">What the Cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Means</a>,” by Vinson Cunningham “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/coldplaygate-is-a-reminder-that-theres-no-escaping-going-viral">Coldplaygate Is a Reminder That There’s No Escaping Going Viral</a>,” by Kyle Chayka “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/07/28/in-an-age-of-climate-change-how-do-we-cope-with-floods">In an Age of Climate Change, How Do We Cope with Floods?</a>,” by John Seabrook To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit <a href="http://newyorker.com/podcasts">newyorker.com/podcasts</a>. To send feedback on this episode, write to <a href="mailto:themail@newyorker.com">themail@newyorker.com</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The sense that the White House is covering something up about Jeffrey Epstein has led to backlash from some of Trump’s most ardent supporters. Even after the financier was convicted for hiring an underage prostitute, for which he served a brief and extraordinarily lenient sentence, Epstein remained a playboy, a top political donor, and a very good friend of the very powerful—“a sybarite,” in the words of the journalist Michael Wolff, “in that old -fashioned sense [that] ‘my identity comes from breaking all norms.’ ”  Wolff got to know Epstein and recorded, he estimates, a hundred hours of interviews with him. After Epstein was arrested again, in 2019, and was later found dead in his jail cell in what was ruled a suicide, it has been an article of faith within MAGA that his death was a conspiracy or a coverup, and the Trump campaign promised a reveal. Attorney General Pam Bondi initially asserted that she had Epstein’s so-called “client list” on her desk and was reviewing it, but now claims that there is nothing to share. Do the Epstein files have something incriminating about the President?  “The central point from which this grew is the [Bill] Clinton relationship with Epstein,” Wolff tells David Remnick. But the MAGA believers “seem to have overlooked the Trump relationship [with Epstein], which was deeper and longer.”  The men were “probably the closest friend either of them ever had,” until they reportedly fell out over real estate in 2004. Now Trump is frantically trying to control the narrative, pretending that he barely knew Epstein. This, Wolff thinks, “may be the beginning of Donald Trump’s lame-duck years.” The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable’s Jane Mayer interviews Leah Litman, a law professor at the University of Michigan, a co-host of the “<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strict-scrutiny/id1469168641">Strict Scrutiny</a>” podcast, and the author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668054620">Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes</a>.” Litman analyzes the wave of victories that the Court has given President Trump’s second Administration—on both its regular docket and its so-called shadow docket—and how outside influence seeps into the Court’s decision-making. Plus, how to parse the dissenting Justices’ language to understand what is happening behind closed doors at the Court. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trump-has-a-bad-case-of-biden-on-the-brain">Trump Has a Bad Case of Biden on the Brain</a>,” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/can-trump-deport-people-to-any-country-that-will-take-them">Can Trump Deport People to Any Country That Will Take Them?</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/sick-children-will-be-among-the-victims-of-trumps-big-bill">Sick Children Will Be Among the Victims of Trump’s Big Bill</a>,” by Rachel Pearson “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-and-three-conspiracy-theory-theories">Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Three Conspiracy-Theory Theories</a>,” by Jon Allsop  To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to <a href="mailto:themail@newyorker.com">themail@newyorker.com</a> with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

In conservative economics, cuts to social services are often seen as necessary to shrink the expanding deficit. Donald Trump’s budget bill is something altogether different: it cuts Medicaid while slashing tax rates for the wealthiest Americans, adding $6 trillion to the national debt, according to the Cato Institute. Janet Yellen, a former Treasury Secretary and former chair of the Federal Reserve, sees severe impacts in store for average Americans: “What this is going to do is to raise interest rates even more. And so housing will become less affordable, car loans less affordable,” she tells David Remnick. “This bill also contains changes that raise the burdens of anyone who has already taken on student debt. And with higher interest rates, further education—college [and] professional school—becomes less affordable. It may also curtail investment spending, which has a negative impact on growth.” This, she believes, is why the President is desperate to lower interest rates; he has spoken of firing his appointed chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, whom he has called a “numbskull” and a “stupid person,” and installing a more compliant chair. But lowering interest rates to further political goals, Yellen says, “are the words one expects from the head of a banana republic that is about to start printing money to fund fiscal deficits. … And then you get very high inflation or hyperinflation.” The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

The Washington Roundtable’s Susan B. Glasser interviews the Russia expert Fiona Hill about Vladimir Putin’s long reign and Trump’s dismantling of American institutions. Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, previously served in the National Security Council and National Intelligence Council. She gained national attention as a star witness during the first impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump, in 2019. Additionally, Hill, who is also a member of Harvard’s Board of Overseers, talks with Glasser about the Trump Administration’s war on academic institutions. This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/did-donald-trump-really-just-break-up-with-vladimir-putin">Did Trump Really Just Break Up with Putin?</a>” by Susan B. Glasser “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/why-a-devoted-justice-department-lawyer-became-a-whistle-blower">Why a Devoted Justice Department Lawyer Became a Whistle-Blower</a>,” by Ruth Marcus “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/sheldon-whitehouses-three-hundredth-climate-warning">Sheldon Whitehouse’s Three-Hundredth Climate Warning</a>,” by Elizabeth Kolbert “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-supreme-court-sides-with-trump-against-the-judiciary">The Supreme Court Sides with Trump Against the Judiciary</a>,” by Ruth Marcus Tune in <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1">wherever you get your podcasts</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Andy Beshear, the governor of Kentucky, joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the damage that President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” will cause in rural America. Beshear paints a picture of how Democrats can win back voters without compromising on issues such as abortion or trans rights, what the party can learn from Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral primary, and the importance of communicating with the public using everyday language.  This week’s reading: “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/donald-trump-zohran-mamdani-and-posting-as-politics">Donald Trump, Zohran Mamdani, and Posting as Politics</a>” by Kyle Chayka “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-texas-floods-and-the-lives-lost-at-camp-mystic">The Texas Floods and the Lives Lost at Camp Mystic</a>,” by Jessica Winter “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-there-still-time-to-be-hopeful-about-the-climate">Is There Still Time to Be Hopeful About the Climate?</a>,” by Daniel A. Gross “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-war-on-gazas-children">The War on Gaza’s Children</a>,” by Isaac Chotiner “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/46-billion-years-on-the-sun-is-having-a-moment">4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment</a>,” by Bill McKibben To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit <a href="http://newyorker.com/podcasts">newyorker.com/podcasts</a>. To send feedback on this episode, write to <a href="mailto:themail@newyorker.com">themail@newyorker.com</a>. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.