The Political Scene | The New Yorker podcast

23:41

With congressional Republicans unwilling to put any checks on an Administration breaking norms and issuing illegal orders, the focus has shifted to the Democratic opposition—or the lack thereof. Democrats like Chris Murphy, the junior senator from Connecticut, have vehemently disagreed with party leaders’ reversion to business as usual. Murphy opposed Senator Chuck Schumer’s negotiation to pass the Republican budget and keep the government running; he advocated for the Democrats to skip the President’s joint address to Congress en masse. Murphy believes that the Democrats have a winning formula if they stick to a populist, anti-big-money agenda. But, he concedes, some of his colleagues are playing normal politics, “where we try to become more popular than Republicans. People like me believe that it won’t matter if we’re more popular than them, because the rules won’t allow us to run a fair election.” By attacking democratic institutions, law firms, and other allies, he thinks, Republicans can insure that their party wins indefinitely, as in failed democracies around the world. “If you think that democracy is the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 story,” Murphy tells David Remnick, “then you have to act like it. You need to show that you’re willing to take a political risk.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
From “Inside the Hive”: Gavin Newsom’s Risky Podcast Gambit 38:29

5 days ago38:29

38:29

The Washington Roundtable is off today, and will be back next week. In the meantime, enjoy a conversation about the California governor’s new podcast venture, “This Is Gavin Newsom,” from Vanity Fair’s “Inside the Hive” podcast. Radhika Jones, the host and editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair , talks with the magazine’s executive editor, Claire Howorth, and the “Hive” editor Michael Calderone about why Newsom is taking time off from running the world’s fifth-largest economy to talk to people such as Steve Bannon. Is he effectively reaching right-wingers and countering the MAGA media machine? And will the show help or hinder his chances of leading the Democratic ticket one day? To discover more from “Inside the Hive” and other Vanity Fair podcasts, visit vanityfair.com/podcasts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Will Trump’s Obsession with Space Save NASA? 28:55

7 days ago28:55

28:55

The writer David W. Brown, who has long covered NASA and the space industry, joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Elon Musk’s takeover of NASA, the agency’s increasingly complicated relationship with SpaceX, and whether Donald Trump’s interest in sending people to Mars will spare the space program from DOGE’s downsizing. This week’s reading: “ Inside Trump and Musk’s Takeover of NASA ,” by David W. Brown “ Don’t Believe Trump’s Promises About Protecting the Social Safety Net ,” by John Cassidy “ The E.P.A. vs. the Environment ,” by Elizabeth Kolbert “ We’re Still Not Done with Jesus ,” by Adam Gopnik “ Is March Madness All Luck? ,” by Tyler Foggatt To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Kaitlan Collins Is Not “Nasty”; She’s Just Doing Her Job. 28:25

9 days ago28:25

28:25

Kaitlan Collins was only a couple years out of college when she became a White House correspondent for Tucker Carlson’s the Daily Caller. Collins stayed in the White House when she went over to CNN during Donald Trump’s first term, and she returned for his second. Trump has made his disdain for CNN clear—and he’s not a big fan of Collins, either. At one point during Trump’s first term, she was barred from a press conference; he called her a “nasty person” during a Presidential campaign interview. There’s never been a White House so overtly hostile to the press than the second Trump Administration, penalizing news organizations for not conforming to the President’s wishes. But, as Collins tells the staff writer Clare Malone , she believes that Trump is “someone who seeks the validation of the press as much as he criticizes them publicly. And so, you know, it doesn’t really bother me when he gets upset at my question.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Will Judges Stick Together to Face Trump’s Defiance? 37:33

12 days ago37:33

37:33

The Washington Roundtable speaks with with Michael Waldman, the president and C.E.O. of the Brennan Center for Justice, at N.Y.U. Law, to discuss the escalating attacks on the judiciary by President Trump and his allies. If the Administration ignores a legitimate order from a federal judge, as it has come close to doing, what can the courts do in response? This week’s reading: “ Donald Trump, Producer-in-Chief ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ Why ‘Constitutional Crisis’ Fails to Capture Trump’s Attack on the Rule of Law ,” by Isaac Chotiner “ The Trump Administration Nears Open Defiance of the Courts ,” by Ruth Marcus To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Can Donald Trump Deport Anyone He Wants? 39:14

14 days ago39:14

39:14

The veteran courts reporter Ruth Marcus joins the host Tyler Foggatt to discuss the Trump Administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, why flights of Venezuelan deportees were sent to El Salvador, and how the defiance of federal court orders has set off a constitutional crisis. This week’s reading: “ The Trump Administration Nears Open Defiance of the Courts ,” by Ruth Marcus “ The Case of Mahmoud Khalil ,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “ The Long Nap of the Lazy Bureaucrat ,” by Charlie Tyson “ Hundreds of Thousands Will Die ,” by David Remnick “ The Felling of the U.S. Forest Service ,” by Peter Slevin To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Atul Gawande on Elon Musk’s “Surgery with a Chainsaw” 26:29

16 days ago26:29

26:29

Two weeks after the Inauguration of Donald Trump, Elon Musk tweeted, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into a wood chipper.” Musk was referring to the Agency for International Development, an agency which supports global health and economic development, and which has saved millions of lives around the world. “A viper’s nest of radical-left lunatics,” Musk called it. U.S.A.I.D.’s funding is authorized by Congress, and its work is a crucial element of American soft power. DOGE has decimated the agency with cuts so sudden and precipitous that federal workers stationed in conflict zones were stranded without safe passage home, as their own government publicly maligned them for alleged fraud and corruption. Courts have blocked aspects of the federal purge of U.S.A.I.D., but it’s not clear if workers can be rehired and contracts restarted, or whether the damage is done. In January, 2022, Atul Gawande, a surgeon and leading public health expert who has written for The New Yorker since 1998, was sworn in as assistant administrator for global health at U.S.A.I.D. He resigned as the new administration came to power, and is watching in shock as Trump and Musk make U.S.A.I.D. a guinea pig for the government-wide purge now under way. U.S.A.I.D. was, he admits, a soft target for MAGA—helping people in faraway countries. Gawande calls U.S.A.I.D. “America at its best.” But with Trump and Musk, “there’s a different world view at play here,” he says. “Power is what matters, not impact.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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The “Cognitive Élite” Seize Washington 31:35

19 days ago31:35

31:35

The Washington Roundtable discusses the ideological underpinnings of Elon Musk’s DOGE with the former Democratic operative and San Francisco-based journalist Gil Duran. Duran writes about the so-called cognitive élite, the right-wing Silicon Valley technologists who want to use A.I. and cryptocurrency to unmake the federal government, on his newsletter The Nerd Reich . This week’s reading: “ The Most Powerful Crypto Bro in Washington Has Very Weird Beliefs ,” by Gil Duran (for The New Republic ) “ Uncertainty Is Trump’s Brand. But What if He Already Told Us Exactly What He’s Going to Do? ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ The Felling of the U.S. Forest Service ,” by Peter Slevin “ Trump Is Still Trying to Undermine Elections ,” by Sue Halpern “ Who Gets to Determine Greenland’s Future? ,” by Louise Bokkenheuser To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Will Trump’s Tariffs Trigger a Recession? 36:50

21 days ago36:50

36:50

The staff writer John Cassidy joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the recent meltdown of the U.S. stock market, Donald Trump’s long-standing support for tariffs, and what the potential death of an American-dominated free-trade system could mean for the global economy. This week’s reading: “ Will Trumpian Uncertainty Knock the Economy Into a Recession? ,” by John Cassidy “ Who Gets to Determine Greenland’s Future? ,” by Louise Bokkenheuser “ What’s Next for Ukraine? ,” by Joshua Yaffa “ Canada, the Northern Outpost of Sanity ,” by Bill McKibben “ Can Americans Still Be Convinced That Principle Is Worth Fighting For? ,” by Jay Caspian Kang “ Donald Trump's A.I. Propaganda ,” by Kyle Chayka To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
How Bob Menendez Came By His Gold Bars 23:21

23 days ago23:21

23:21

Recently, the former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was sentenced to eleven years in prison for accepting bribes in cash and gold worth more than half a million dollars. He is the first person sentenced to prison for crimes committed in the Senate in more than forty years. Menendez did favors for the government of Egypt while he was the senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and intervened in criminal cases against the businessmen who were bribing him. In New York, he broke down in tears before a federal judge, pleading for leniency. Upon emerging from the courtroom, he made a thinly veiled plea to the man he had once voted to impeach. “President Trump is right,” Menendez declared to news cameras. “This process is political, and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.” WNYC’s New Jersey reporter Nancy Solomon explores how the son of working-class immigrants from Cuba scaled the heights of American politics, and then fell dramatically. But will he serve the time? Solomon speaks with the constitutional-law professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, who says, “It’s hard to know who Trump will pardon next. One of the more recent pardons was for the former governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich. He was a Democrat. . . . [Trump] seems much more interested in undermining anti-corruption laws left, right, and center.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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America’s Founders Feared a Caesar. Has One Arrived? 34:05

26 days ago34:05

34:05

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 “ We the People ” podcast and is the author of “ The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America .” This week’s reading: “ Trump’s Golden Age of Bunk ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ Trump’s Disgrace, ” by David Remnick “ What Will Democratic Resistance Look Like? ,” by Jay Caspian Kang “ What Putin Wants Now ,” by Isaac Chotiner To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Eric Adams and Donald Trump’s Curious Alliance 27:25

28 days ago27:25

27:25

The staff writer Eric Lach joins the guest host Andrew Marantz to discuss the alleged quid pro quo between Mayor Eric Adams and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice. Plus, why the President keeps inserting himself into New York City politics and what to make of former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s bid for Gracie Mansion. This week’s reading: “ Donald Trump’s Golden Age of Bunk, ” by Susan B. Glasser “ Elon Musk Also Has a Problem with Wikipedia, ” by Margaret Talbot “ What Will Democratic Resistance Look Like? ,” by Jay Caspian Kang “ Trump’s E.P.A. Seeks to Deny Science That Americans Discovered ,” by Bill McKibben “ Growing Up U.S.A.I.D. ,” by Jon Lee Anderson “ A Ukrainian Family’s Three Years of War ,” by Louisa Thomas To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Does Tim Walz Have Any Regrets? 34:11

4 weeks ago34:11

34:11

Democrats in Washington have seemed almost paralyzed by the onslaught of far-right appointments and draconian executive orders coming from the Trump White House. But some state governors seem more willing to oppose the federal government than congressional Democrats are. In January, Governor Tim Walz, of Minnesota, tweeted, “President Trump just shut off funding for law enforcement, farmers, schools, veterans, and health care. . . . Minnesota needs answers. We’ll see Trump in court.” He’s only one of many Democratic governors challenging the federal government. Walz joins David Remnick to offer his analysis of why Democrats lost the 2024 election, why the Party has been losing support from men, and what Democrats need to do now that Donald Trump is back in the White House. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Trump’s Putin-Like Cull of the White House Press Pool 34:15

5 weeks ago34:15

34:15

The Washington Roundtable discusses the Trump Administration’s decision to bar the Associated Press from Presidential events, Jeff Bezos’s dramatic makeover of the Washington Post’s opinion section, and why freedom of the press matters. Plus, what journalists can do to meet this moment. This week’s reading: “ Why Aren’t We in the Streets? ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ What Will Democratic Resistance Look Like? ,” by Jay Caspian Kang “ The Peril Donald Trump Poses to Ukraine ,” by Keith Gessen “ Growing Up U.S.A.I.D. ,” by Jon Lee Anderson “ Trump’s E.P.A. Seeks to Deny Science That Americans Discovered ,” by Bill McKibben To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Is America Destined for a Future Without Children? 38:52

5 weeks ago38:52

38:52

The staff writer Gideon Lewis-Kraus joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss why people around the world are having fewer and fewer children and how the issue of birth rates has become a rallying cry for the American right. Plus, the lack of political will on the left to contend with the issue; and the societal effects on South Korea, which has the lowest birth rates in the world. This week’s reading: “ The End of Children ,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus The Chaos of Trump’s Guantánamo Plan ,” by Jonathan Blitzer “ The New Trump-Family Megaphone ,” by Jon Allsop “ Month One of Donald Trump’s “Golden Age,” by Antonia Hitchens “ Team Canada’s Revenge, Served Ice-Cold ,” by Louisa Thomas Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
John Fetterman on Trump’s “Raw Sewage,” and What the Democrats Get Wrong 34:02

5 weeks ago34:02

34:02

Since the election, Senator John Fetterman—once a great hope of progressives—has conspicuously blamed Democrats for the electoral loss. Fetterman tells David Remnick that the Democratic Party discouraged male voters, particularly white men. He has pursued a lonely course of bipartisanship by meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago before his Inauguration, joining Truth Social, and voting to confirm Pam Bondi as Attorney General—the only Democrat to do so. But, despite Trump’s relatively high approval ratings, he lambasts the Administration for the “chaos” it is currently sowing in America. Fetterman sympathizes with voters’ widespread disgust with contemporary politicking. “Unlimited money has turned all of us in some way into all OnlyFans models,” he says. “We’re all just online hustling for money.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
What Stops Democracy from Backsliding? 30:33

6 weeks ago30:33

30:33

The Washington Roundtable discusses with the Stanford University political scientist Larry Diamond about President Trump’s attempts to claim broad powers, why most Republican lawmakers have fallen into line out of fear, and whether the United States has already tipped over into authoritarian territory. Plus, how the courts, Congress, and ordinary citizens might course-correct American democracy. This week’s reading: “ The Crisis of Democracy Is Here ,” by Larry Diamond “ Trump’s Putinization of America ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ Pulling Our Politics Back from the Brink ,” by Evan Osnos (2020) “ Month One of Donald Trump’s ‘Golden Age,’ ” by Antonia Hitchens “ We’d Never Had a King Until This Week ,” by Bill McKibben “ The Trump Administration Trashes Europe and NATO ,” by Dexter Filkins “ The Second Trump Administration’s New Forms of Distraction ,” by Kyle Chayka To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Elon Musk’s A.I.-Driven Government Coup 38:35

6 weeks ago38:35

38:35

The New Yorker staff writer Kyle Chayka joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Elon Musk’s seizure of power within the U.S. government, the tech industry’s slide into right-wing politics, and how the ideology of techno-fascism is taking root in Silicon Valley. Can the populists and the technologists coexist in Donald Trump’s Washington? This week’s reading: “ Elon Musk’s A.I.-Fuelled War on Human Agency ,” by Kyle Chayka “ The Second Trump Administration’s New Forms of Distraction ,” by Kyle Chayka “ Make South Africa Great Again? ,” by Isaac Chotiner “ Elizabeth Warren Fights to Defend the Consumer Protection Agency She Helped Create ,” by John Cassidy “ A Fistfight Over Donald Trump at the Evangelical Version of Harvard ,” by Emma Green To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
The A.C.L.U. v. Trump 2.0 32:48

6 weeks ago32:48

32:48

In Donald Trump’s first term in office, the American Civil Liberties Union filed four hundred and thirty-four lawsuits against the Administration. Since Trump’s second Inauguration, the A.C.L.U. has filed cases to block executive orders ending birthright citizenship, defunding gender-affirming health care, and more. If the Administration defies a judge’s order to fully reinstate government funds frozen by executive order, Anthony Romero, the A.C.L.U.’s executive director, says, we will have arrived at a constitutional crisis. “We’re at the Rubicon,” Romero says. “Whether we’ve crossed it remains to be seen.” Romero has held the job since 2001—he started just days before September 11, 2001—and has done the job under four Presidents. He tells David Remnick that it’s nothing new for Presidents to chafe at judicial obstacles to implement their agendas; Romero mentions Bill Clinton’s attempts to strip courts of certain powers as notably aggressive. But, “if Trump decides to flagrantly defy a judicial order, then I think . . . we’ve got to take to the streets in a different way. We’ve got to shut down this country.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
What Does It Mean to Resist Trump in 2025? 37:36

7 weeks ago37:36

37:36

The essayist and cultural critic Brady Brickner-Wood talks with Tyler Foggatt about the opposition Donald Trump encountered in his first Presidential term, why many liberals are feeling a sense of resignation, and the Democratic Party’s struggle to present a unifying message. Plus, the political commentary embedded in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show. This week’s reading: “ What Happened to the Trump Resistance? ,” by Brady Brickner-Wood “ The War on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ,” by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor “ The Fears of the Undocumented ,” by Geraldo Cadava “ The Madness of Donald Trump ,” by David Remnick “ Elon Musk and Donald Trump Are Not Fixing U.S. Foreign Aid but Destroying It ,” by John Cassidy “ Elon Musk’s A.I.-Fuelled War on Human Agency ,” by Kyle Chayka “ What Happens if Trump Defies the Courts ,” by Isaac Chotiner To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I. 25:59

7 weeks ago25:59

25:59

Many of the most draconian measures implemented in the first couple weeks of the new Trump Administration have been justified as emergency actions to root out D.E.I.—diversity, equity, and inclusion—including the freeze (currently rescinded) of trillions of dollars in federal grants. The tragic plane crash in Washington, the President baselessly suggested, might also be the result of D.E.I. Typically, D.E.I. describes policies at large companies or institutions to encourage more diverse workplaces. In the Administration’s rhetoric, D.E.I. is discrimination pure and simple, and the root of much of what ails the nation. “D.E.I. is the boogeyman for anything,” Jelani Cobb tells David Remnick. Cobb is a longtime staff writer, and the dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. “If there’s a terrible tragedy . . . if there is something going wrong in any part of your life, if there are fires happening in California, then you can bet that, somehow, another D.E.I. is there.” Although affirmative-action policies in university admissions were found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, D.E.I. describes a broad array of actions without a specific definition. “It’s that malleability,” Cobb reflects, that makes D.E.I. a useful target, “one source that you can use to blame every single failing or shortcoming or difficulty in life on.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Why Trump Is Targeting Foreign Aid, with Atul Gawande 30:05

8 weeks ago30:05

30:05

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Atul Gawande, the former head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, to discuss Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s rapid-fire dismantling of the agency . They explore the life-and-death implications of the Trump Administration ending foreign aid, why the agency was targeted, and which federal agencies might be next. This week’s reading: “ Behind the Chaotic Attempt to Freeze Federal Assistance ,” by Atul Gawande “ Elon Musk’s Revolutionary Terror ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ Donald Trump’s Madness on Gaza ,” by David Remnick “ How Donald Trump Is Transforming Executive Power ,” by Isaac Chotiner “ What Happened to the Trump Resistance? ” by Brady Brickner-Wood “ Donald Trump’s Anti-Woke Wrecking Ball ,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “ Trump’s Trade War Is Only Getting Going ,” by John Cassidy To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Is Flying Actually Becoming Less Safe? 32:57

8 weeks ago32:57

32:57

Matthew L. Wald joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the political aftermath of last week’s horrific collision between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk military helicopter. They look at the current state of airline safety, the changes afoot at the Federal Aviation Administration, and President Trump’s wild pronouncements that somehow diversity initiatives were to blame for the crash that claimed sixty-seven lives. “The culture warriors, with such a vengeance, are now turning to the F.A.A.—it’s something new and it’s not healthy,” Wald says. This week’s reading: “ How to Understand the Reagan Airport Crash ,” by Matthew L. Wald “ How Donald Trump Is Transforming Executive Power ,” by Isaac Chotiner “ The U.S. Military’s Recruiting Crisis ,” by Dexter Filkins “ Donald Trump’s Anti-Woke Wrecking Ball ,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “ Kash Patel’s Political-Persecution Fantasies ,” by Tess Owen To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Bill Gates on His New Memoir and Dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago 31:45

8 weeks ago31:45

31:45

In the nineteen-eighties and nineties, Bill Gates was the best known of a new breed: the tech mogul—a coder who had figured out how to run a business, and who then seemed to be running the world. Gates was ranked the richest person in the world for many years. In a new memoir, “ Source Code, ” he explains how he got there. The book focusses on Gates’s early life, and just through the founding of Microsoft. Since stepping away from the company, Gates has devoted himself to his foundation, which is one of the largest nonprofits working on public health around the globe. That has made him the target of conspiracy theories by anti-vaxxers, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has asserted that Gates and Anthony Fauci are together responsible for millions of deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gates views the rise of conspiracy thinking as symptomatic of larger trends in American society exacerbated by technology. “The fact that outrage is rewarded because it’s more engaging, that’s kind of a human weakness,” he tells David Remnick. “And the fact that I thought everybody would be doing deep analysis of facts and seeking out the actual studies on vaccine safety—boy, was that naïve. When the pandemic came, people wanted some evil genius to be behind it. Not some bat biology. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on What Democrats Should Do Next 36:14

9 weeks ago36:14

36:14

The Washington Roundtable discusses the fallout of the White House releasing, and then rescinding, a memo intended to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans. The incident, as well as this week’s Senate confirmation hearings for controversial Cabinet nominees such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Kash Patel, offers Democrats an opportunity to seize control of the narrative—if they can get organized, Sheldon Whitehouse, the Democratic senator from Rhode Island, says. “If what Democrats are doing is running around calling them chaotic and incompetent, that’s not going to win the day unless those charges are connected to actual harms happening to regular people.” This week’s reading: “ Donald Trump’s Cabinet of Revenge ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ Trump’s Orders Sow Chaos Inside the Nation’s Enforcer of Equal Opportunity ,” by E. Tammy Kim “ Kash Patel’s Political-Persecution Fantasies ,” by Tess Owen “ Behind the Chaotic Attempt to Freeze Federal Assistance ,” by Atul Gawande “ The Junk Science of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. ,” by Clare Malone “ How Donald Trump Seizes the Primal Power of Naming ,” by Jessica Winter “ Trump’s Attempt to Redefine America ,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells Tune in wherever you get your podcasts . To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
How Trump’s Federal-Aid Fiasco Is Testing the Separation of Power 29:34

9 weeks ago29:34

29:34

On Tuesday, the Trump Administration sent out a memo attempting to put a blanket pause on most federal funding, sowing confusion about financing for student loans, SNAP benefits, nonprofits, and more. The next day, after a backlash, the Administration rescinded the memo, while maintaining that a freeze remains in “full force and effect.” The order created chaos across the federal government, threatening a power struggle between the President, Congress, and the courts. The New Yorker contributor and Harvard Law professor Jeannie Suk Gersen joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how Trump’s directives are testing how far a President can go. This week’s reading: “ Trump's Attempt to Redefine America ,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “ The Unchecked Authority of Trump's Immigration Orders ,” by Jonathan Blitzer “ Donald Trump Throws the Doors to the Patriot Wing Open ,” by Antonia Hitchens “ Trump Is Already Drowning Us in Outrages ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ Britain’s Foreign Secretary Braces for the Second Trump Age ,” by Sam Knight To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
A Spirit of Vengeance in Trump’s First Week 45:06

10 weeks ago45:06

45:06

The Washington Roundtable discusses President Trump’s first week in office, during which he broke a record for the most executive orders any modern-day President has signed on Day One. The President’s inaugural address and barrage of orders seemed driven by a sense of grievance, accrued in the course of four years out of office, four criminal prosecutions, and a deep desire for revenge. Will an apparatus of rage, taking form as vengeance, ultimately inhibit the government from performing its functions? Plus, they discuss the Episcopal Bishop Marianne Buddy’s remarks at the interfaith prayer service, and the importance of speaking truth to power. This week’s reading: “ Trump Is Already Drowning Us in Outrages ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ The Unchecked Authority of Trump’s Immigration Orders ,” by Jonathan Blitzer “ The Big Tech Takeover of American Politics ,” by Jay Caspian Kang “ Why Is the Mastermind of Trump’s Tariff Plan Still Sitting at Home in Florida? ,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “ How Much Power Does President Trump Have? ,” by Jeannie Suk Gersen “ Donald Trump Invents an Energy Emergency ,” by Bill McKibben “ What Trump 2.0 Means for Ukraine and the World ,” by Isaac Chotiner To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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David Remnick on the Dawn of Trump’s Second Term 35:12

10 weeks ago35:12

35:12

Within hours of his Inauguration, and shortly after proclaiming that his victory had been preordained by God, Donald Trump signed dozens of executive orders. These included exiting the World Health Organization, attempting to end birthright citizenship in the United States, and renaming the Gulf of Mexico. He also issued pardons for hundreds of the January 6th convicts. David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker , joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss what Trump’s first days back in office portend for the next four years. “[Trump] hasn’t changed one iota,” Remnick says, “except that his confidence has increased, and his base has increased, and the obedience of the Republican Party leadership is absolute.” This week’s reading: “ Donald Trump’s Inaugural Day of Vindication ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ Donald Trump Plays Church ,” by Vinson Cunningham. “ ‘An Oligarchy Is Taking Shape,’ ” by David Remnick “ What Trump 2.0 Means for Ukraine and the World ,” by Isaac Chotiner “Donald Trump Returns to Washington ,” by Antonia Hitchens “Donald Trump Invents an Energy Emergency ,” by Bill McKibben To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Big Money and Trump’s New Cabinet 36:15

11 weeks ago36:15

36:15

The Washington Roundtable discusses this week’s confirmation hearings for Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense and Pam Bondi as Attorney General, and the potential for a “shock and awe” campaign in the first days of Donald Trump’s second term. Plus, as billionaires from many industries gather around the dais on Inauguration Day, what should we make of President Biden’s warning, in the waning days of his Administration, about “an oligarchy taking shape in America”? This week’s reading: “ “The Trump Effect”: On Deal-Making and Credit-Claiming in Trump 2.0 ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ The Pressure Campaign to Get Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Defense Secretary ,” by Jane Mayer “ Why the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Is Happening Now ,” by Isaac Chotiner “ ‘An Oligarchy Is Taking Shape,’ ” by David Remnick “ How Much of the Government Can Donald Trump Dismantle? ” by Jeannie Suk Gersen “ The Shock of a Gaza Ceasefire Deal ,” by Ruth Margalit To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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How the Blazes in L.A. Got Swept Into the Culture War 30:01

11 weeks ago30:01

30:01

The Eaton and Palisades fires continue to wreak destruction across Los Angeles. They are predicted to become the most expensive fire recovery in American history. As the fires have burned, a torrent of right-wing rage has emerged online. Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and Charlie Kirk have attacked liberal mismanagement and blamed D.E.I. programs and “woke” politics for the destruction. Meanwhile, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has expressed concerns that the future Trump Administration may add conditions to federal financial-assistance relief for California, something that Republican Congress members have already floated. The New Yorker staff writer Jay Caspian Kang joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss what happens when disaster relief is swept up in the culture war. This week’s reading: “ The Insurance Crisis That Will Follow the California Fires ,” by Elizabeth Kolbert “ On the Ground During L.A.’s Wildfire Emergency ,” by Emily Witt “ An Arson Attack in Puerto Rico ,” by Graciela Mochkofsky “ Elon Musk’s Latest Terrifying Foray Into British Politics ,” By Sam Knight “ The Pressure Campaign to Get Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Defense Secretary ,” by Jane Mayer To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Representative Ro Khanna on Elon Musk and the Tech Oligarchy 34:51

11 weeks ago34:51

34:51

Representative Ro Khanna of California is in the Democrats’ Congressional Progressive Caucus. And although his district is in the heart of Silicon Valley—and he once worked as a lawyer for tech companies—Khanna is focussed on how Democrats can regain the trust of working-class voters. He knows tech moguls, he talks with them regularly, and he thinks that they are forming a dangerous oligarchy, to the detriment of everyone else. “This is more dangerous than petty corruption. This is more dangerous than, ‘Hey, they just want to maximize their corporation's wealth,’ ”he tells David Remnick. “This is an ideology amongst some that rejects the role of the state.” Although he’s an ally of Bernie Sanders, such as advocating for Medicare for All and free public college, Khanna is not a democratic socialist. He calls himself a progressive capitalist. Real economic growth, he says, requires “a belief in entrepreneurship and technology and in business leaders being part of the solution.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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What the End of Meta’s Fact-Checking Program Means for the Future of Free Speech 32:40

12 weeks ago32:40

32:40

The Washington Roundtable discusses Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end its fact-checking program across Meta’s social-media sites. Instead, Meta will release a tool that allows readers to add context and corrections to posts, similar to the way one can leave a “community note” on X. What does this choice mean for truth online in the coming Trump Administration, and have “alternative facts,” as they were dubbed by Kellyanne Conway in 2017, won out? Plus, free speech in the era of Donald Trump, lawsuits brought against the mainstream media, and how journalists will cover President Trump’s second Administration. This week’s reading: “ King Donald and the Presidents at the National Cathedral ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ Why the MAGA Fight Over H-1B Visas Is Crossing Party Lines ,” by John Cassidy “ Lauren Boebert’s Survival Instincts ,” by Peter Hessler Tune in wherever you get your podcasts . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Will Justin Trudeau’s Resignation Lead to the MAGA-fication of Canada? 28:47

12 weeks ago28:47

28:47

After nearly a decade as Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has resigned from office. His stepping down follows a years-long decline in popularity, which stands in sharp contrast to his meteoric rise in 2015. It now seems likely that the Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, whose far-right populist support some have likened to Trump’s MAGA movement, will attain Canada’s highest office. The New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik joins the show to discuss Trudeau’s descent, Poilievre’s ascent, expectations for the upcoming parliamentary election, and what the future of Canadian politics may hold. This week’s reading: “ Why Justin Trudeau Had to Step Down ,” by Adam Gopnik “ How Much Do Democrats Need to Change? ,” by Peter Slevin “ Bourbon Street After the Terror ,” by Paige Williams “ How Sheriffs Might Power Trump’s Deportation Machine ,” by Jessica Pishko “ New Mexico’s Nuclear-Weapons Boom ,” by Abe Streep To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts . To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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From Critics at Large: The Modern-Day Fight for Ancient Rome 44:10

13 weeks ago44:10

44:10

The Political Scene will be back next week. In the meantime, enjoy a recent episode from The New Yorker’s Critics at Large podcast. Artists owe a great debt to ancient Rome. Over the years, it’s provided a backdrop for countless films and novels, each of which has put forward its own vision of the Empire and what it stood for. The hosts Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss the latest entry in that canon, Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” which has drawn massive audiences and made hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. The hosts also consider other texts that use the same setting, from the religious epic “Ben-Hur” to Sondheim’s farcical swords-and-sandals parody, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Recently, figures from across the political spectrum have leapt to lay claim to antiquity, even as new translations have underscored how little we really understand about these civilizations. “Make ancient Rome strange again. Take away the analogies,” Schwartz says. “Maybe that’s the appeal of the classics: to try to keep returning and understanding, even as we can’t help holding them up as a mirror.” Read, watch, and listen with the critics: “Gladiator II” (2024) “I, Claudius” (1976) “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (1966) “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988) “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” (1979) “Cleopatra” (1963) “Spartacus” (1960) “Ben-Hur” (1959) “ Gladiator ” (2000) “The End of History and the Last Man,” by Francis Fukuyama “I, Claudius,” by Robert Graves “ I Hate to Say This, But Men Deserve Better Than Gladiator II, ” by Alison Willmore (Vulture) “On Creating a Usable Past,” by Van Wyck Brook (The Dial) Emily Wilson’s translations of the Odyssey and the Iliad New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Why Banning TikTok Could Violate the First Amendment 34:25

13 weeks ago34:25

34:25

The New Yorker staff writer Jay Caspian Kang joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss efforts by the U.S. government to rein in social media, including the latest attempt to ban TikTok. While Kang agrees that society should be more conscientious about how we, especially children, use social media, he argues that efforts to ban these apps also violate the First Amendment. “Social media has become the public square, even if it is privately owned,” he says. This episode was originally published in March, 2024. This week’s reading: “ The Misguided Attempt to Control Tiktok ,” by Jay Caspian Kang To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Remembering Jimmy Carter, a “President Out of Time” 45:08

13 weeks ago45:08

45:08

President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of one-hundred. He is remembered as a man of paradoxes: an evangelical-Christian Democrat, a white Southern champion of civil rights and solar energy, and a one-term President whose policies have come to seem prescient. Carter was unpopular when he departed the White House, in 1981, but, more than any other President, he saw his reputation improve after he left office. What does the evolution of Carter’s legacy tell us about American politics, and about ourselves? Lawrence Wright spent significant time with Carter and even wrote a play about the Camp David Accords, the peace deal that only Carter, Wright argues, could have brokered between Israel and Egypt. He joins Tyler Foggatt to remember Carter as a man and leader. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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How Henry Kissinger Accumulated and Wielded Power 39:23

14 weeks ago39:23

39:23

The Washington Roundtable revisits an episode recorded after Henry Kissinger’s death, in November, 2023. Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer and Evan Osnos evaluate Kissinger’s controversial legacy, share anecdotes from his time in and around Washington, and discuss how he continued to shape U.S. foreign policy long after leaving the State Department. “There are not that many hundred-year-olds who insist upon their own relevance and actually are relevant,” Glasser says. This week’s reading: “ Henry Kissinger’s Hard Compromises ,” by Evan Osnos “ Why Washington Couldn’t Quit Kissinger ,” by Isaac Chotiner This episode was originally published in December, 2023. To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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We Have Some Questions for Isaac Chotiner About 2024 26:44

15 weeks ago26:44

26:44

From the conflict in Gaza and the war in Ukraine to political chaos across Europe and the reëlection of Donald Trump, 2024 has been among the most tumultuous years in recent memory. Isaac Chotiner, the primary contributor to The New Yorker’s Q. & A. segment, has been following it all. He joins the show to reflect on his favorite interviews of the year, and to discuss 2024’s two biggest stories: the violence in Gaza and the reëlection of Donald Trump. Chotiner also talks about Joe Biden’s legacy, and his view on how Biden’s Presidency will be regarded by history. This week’s reading: “ The Year in Brain Rot ,” by Jessica Winter “ Luigi Mangione and the Making of a Modern Antihero ,” by Jessica Winter “ Syria After Assad ,” by Robin Wright “ In South Korea, a Blueprint for Resisting Autocracy? ,” by E. Tammy Kim Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Rashid Khalidi on the Palestinian Cause in a Volatile Middle East, and the Meaning of Settler Colonialism 51:51

15 weeks ago51:51

51:51

Power dynamics in the Middle East shifted dramatically this year. In Lebanon, Israel dealt a severe blow toHezbollah, and another crucial ally of Iran—Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria—was toppled by insurgents. But the historian Rashid Khalidi is skeptical that these changes will set back the Palestinian cause, as it relates to Israel. “This idea that the Palestinians are bereft of allies assumes that they had people who were doing things for their interest,” Khalidi tells David Remnick, “which I don’t think was true.” The limited responses to the war in Gaza by Iran and Hezbollah, Khalidi believes, clearly demonstrate that Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance “was designed by Iran to protect the Iranian regime. . . . It wasn’t designed to protect Palestine.” Khalidi, a professor emeritus at Columbia University, is the author of a number of books on Palestinian history; among them, “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine” has been particularly influential. The book helped bring the term “settler colonialism” into common parlance, at least on the left, to describe Israel’s relationship to historic Palestine. Sometimes invoked as a term of opprobrium, “settler colonialism” is strongly disputed by supporters of Israel. Khalidi asserts that the description is historically specific and accurate. The early Zionists, he says, understood their effort as colonization. “That’s not some antisemitic slur,” he says. “That’s the description they gave themselves.” The concept of settler colonialism has been applied, on the political left, to describe Israel’s founding, and to its settlement of the Palestinian-occupied territories. This usage has been disputed by supporters of Israel and by thinkers including Adam Kirsch, an editor at the Wall Street Journal, who has also written about philosophy for The New Yorker. “Settler colonialism is . . . a zero-sum way of looking at the conflict,” Kirsch tells David Remnick. “In the classic examples, it involves the destruction of one people by another and their replacement over a large territory, really a continent-wide territory. That’s not at all the history of Israel and Palestine.” Kirsch made his case in a recent book, “On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Why Luigi Mangione Is Being Treated as a Folk Hero 28:32

16 weeks ago28:32

28:32

After a five-day manhunt, Luigi Mangione, a twenty-six-year-old Ivy League graduate, was arrested and charged on Monday with the widely publicized assassination of the UnitedHealthcare C.E.O. Brian Thompson. The case seized public imagination, and there has been a torrent of commentary celebrating Mangione and denigrating Thompson, including fan edits of the alleged shooter to posts sharing personal anecdotes of denied health-insurance claims. “Mangione is going to be seen as a folk hero across the aisle,” the New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino tells Tyler Foggatt. What does the lionization of a suspected murderer say about the health of our society? This week’s reading: “ How Daniel Penny Was Found Not Guilty in a Subway Killing That Divided New York ,” by Adam Iscoe “ A Man Was Murdered in Cold Blood and You’re Laughing? ,” by Jia Tolentino “ What Will Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy Accomplish with Doge? ,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells“ The Fall of Assad’s Syria ,” by Rania Abouzeid To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Inside Donald Trump’s Mass-Deportation Plans 29:23

16 weeks ago29:23

29:23

Immigration has been the cornerstone of Donald Trump’s political career, and in his second successful Presidential campaign he promised to execute the largest deportation in history. Stephen Miller, Trump’s key advisor on hard-line immigration policy, said that the incoming Administration would “unleash the vast arsenal of federal powers to implement the most spectacular migration crackdown,” possibly involving the use of the military. “I do think they’re going to strain the outer limits of the law on that,” the staff writer Jonathan Blitzer tells David Remnick. “We’re entering unprecedented territory.” Blitzer unpacks some of the anti-immigrant rhetoric, and explains measures that the new Administration is likely to take. “I.C.E. has a policy that discourages arrests at schools, hospitals, places of worship, courts,” he says. That policy can change and, he believes, will. “You’re going to see arrest operations in very scary and upsetting places.” The aim, he thinks, will be “to create a sense of terror. That is going to be the modus operandi of the Administration.” Blitzer is the author of “ Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here ,” a definitive account of the immigration crisis. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Is Trump’s “Shock and Awe” Transition Working? 40:22

17 weeks ago40:22

40:22

The Washington Roundtable discusses Donald Trump’s transition back into the White House, the world he will inherit in 2025, and his provocative nomination of Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense. In their final Roundtable episode of 2024, Susan B. Glasser , Jane Mayer , and Evan Osnos also reflect on the twists and turns of the past year in politics, including what to make of President Joe Biden’s legacy. This week’s reading: “ The Scandal of Trump’s Cabinet Picks Isn’t Just Their Personal Failings ,” by Susan B. Glasser “ Pete Hegseth’s Secret History ,” by Jane Mayer “ The Demise and Afterlife of Donald Trump’s Criminal Cases ,” by Jeannie Suk Gersen “ Biden’s Pardon of Hunter Further Undermines His Legacy ,” by Isaac Chotiner “ Stopping the Press ,” by David Remnick “ The Immigrants Most Vulnerable to Trump’s Mass Deportation Plans Entered the Country Legally ,” by Jonathan Blitzer To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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How the Trump Indictments Backfired 39:15

17 weeks ago39:15

39:15

A year ago, Donald Trump was facing four separate criminal indictments, and had become the first President to be charged with and convicted of a felony. Now that Trump is President-elect, and with the Supreme Court having granted sitting Presidents broad immunity, the Justice Department’s efforts to hold Trump accountable appear to be over. Even so, Trump’s legal saga has radically changed American law and politics, the New Yorker staff writer Jeannie Suk Gersen argues. “These prosecutions forced the Supreme Court to at least answer the question [of Presidential immunity],” Gersen says. “It will affect the kind of people who run for President, and it will affect how they think of their jobs.” This week’s reading: “ Pete Hegseth’s Secret History ,” by Jane Mayer “ Stopping The Press ,” by David Remnick “ The Fundamental Problem with R.F.K., Jr.,’s Nomination to H.H.S. ,” by Dhruv Khullar “ Did the Opioid Epidemic Fuel Donald Trump’s Return to the White House? ,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “ Biden’s Pardon of Hunter Further Undermines His Legacy ,” by Isaac Chotiner. “ A Coup, Almost, in South Korea, ” by E. Tammy Kim. To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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Ketanji Brown Jackson on Ethics, Trust, and Keeping It Collegial at the Supreme Court 25:59

18 weeks ago25:59

25:59

Since the founding of the nation, just 116 people have served as Supreme Court Justices; the 116th is Ketanji Brown Jackson, appointed by President Biden in 2022. Jackson joined a Court with six conservative Justices setting a new era of jurisprudence. She took her seat just days after the Dobbs decision, when Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion overturned Roe v. Wade. She wrote a blistering dissent to the Harvard decision, which ended affirmative action in college admissions, in which she accused the majority of a “let-them-eat-cake obliviousness” to the reality of race in America. She also dissented in the landmark Presidential-immunity case. Immunity might “incentivize an office holder to push the envelope, with respect to the exercise of their authority,” she tells David Remnick. “It was certainly a concern, and one that I did not perceive the Constitution to permit.” They also discussed the widely reported ethical questions surrounding the Court, and whether the ethical code it adopted ought to have some method of enforcement. But Jackson stressed that whatever the public perception, the nine Justices maintain old traditions of collegiality (no legal talk at lunch, period), and that she sometimes writes majority opinions as well as vigorous dissents. Jackson’s recent memoir is titled “Lovely One,” about her family, youth, and how she got to the highest position in American law. To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker , visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

1
How to Prepare for Trump 2.0 39:53

19 weeks ago39:53