The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Rahm Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff under Barack Obama, for a discussion about the Democratic Party’s odds heading into the midterm elections. In 2006, as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Emanuel helped engineer his party’s sweeping electoral victories against an unpopular Republican President. Two decades later, he anticipates Democratic wins across the board, including in the Texas and Iowa Senate races. Emanuel lays out what he sees as an affirmative agenda for the Party, should they take control of Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term: ethics reform, a minimum-wage increase, an overhaul of the tax code, and a focus on corruption. “The way I talk about corruption is, He wants his ballroom and you’re getting the bill. He wants his arch, and you can’t afford a meal at the Golden Arches. He gets a $450 million plane from Qatar, and you get $4.50 a gallon of gas,” says Emanuel. “You gotta drive the…

A growing portion of the electorate appears to recognize the mayhem President Donald Trump has instigated since returning to the Oval Office. That segment includes some of the people who put him back into office, including Rich Baris, who goes by the People’s Pundit on social media. Baris runs Big Data Poll, and appears regularly on “The Charlie Kirk Show” and other right-wing outlets. But he concurs with nonpartisan pollsters that MAGA is fracturing, and he talks with David Remnick about how the President lost the trust of his base; the contempt MAGA voters have for the old Republican Party; and who might take the reins after Trump. Further reading: “The Week Republicans Finally Panicked About Trump,” by Susan B. Glasser “A Never Trumper and a Democrat on Beating MAGA for Good,” by Isaac Arnsdorf “How the Internet Fringe Infiltrated Republican Politics,” by Antonia Hitchens “Tucker Carlson’s Nationalist Crusade,” by Jason Zengerle “Does MAGA Have Ideas?,” by Joshua Rothman The Political Scene draws on the…

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning filmmaker, to discuss his new documentary, “Musk.” Since July, Elon Musk has poured more than a quarter of a billion dollars into Republican campaigns, more than any other donor in the midterms by a wide margin, and all in plain view. Jane Mayer, the New Yorker staff writer and the author of “Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right,” explains how Musk is bringing political financing by the ultra-wealthy out of the shadows: “He’s the coming-out party for the billionaires.” Gibney argues that Musk’s flagrant spending is less a matter of ideology than one of self-preservation—a way to forestall investigations, protect his companies, and keep the federal contracts coming. How did a single person come to wield this kind of power over our elections, our technology, and even a war on the other side of the world? “He sold us all a dream,” Gibney says, “and we fell for it.” Get Tickets to The…

The New Yorker staff writers Isaac Chotiner and Benjamin Wallace-Wells join Tyler Foggatt to discuss what Democrats might do after the midterms if they win a majority in the House or the Senate, and how Donald Trump might respond to attempts to check his power. If Trump has been willing to circumvent Congress on issues like military action and tariffs, how much difference would a Democratic majority make during the remainder of his second term? They also talk about how large a Democratic victory could be, and ask what the results might reveal about voters’ views of Donald Trump and the Republican Party. This conversation was recorded for a live video on Substack. Follow The New Yorker on Substack » Recommended reading: “Donald Trump After the Midterms,” by David Remnick “The Dumocrats Are Coming for Trump, and All He Can Do Is Call Them Names,” by Susan B. Glasser “Who Won the Redistricting War?,” by Jon Allsop “The Well-Funded Fight to Keep Latinos Voting Republican,” by Jesús Rodríguez “A Populist Revival…

The economic punishment and threats of aggression that Donald Trump has launched against Canada are so severe that its government has looked at how to prepare for U.S. military action. David Remnick sits down with a former senior Canadian politician, Chrystia Freeland, to talk about the disintegration of a rock-solid partnership. Freeland served as the Deputy Prime Minister under Justin Trudeau, and has also held the roles of Minister of International Trade and Minister of Foreign Affairs; she helped negotiate a trade deal in Trump’s first term, which he subsequently broke. Freeland’s new book about the U.S.-Canada relationship is called “Unreliable Boyfriend,” but that title may soft-pedal it. “The vast majority of Canadians see this as a rupture” that will be permanent, she tells Remnick. “They think America is toxic and broken and can never be trusted again. . . . I actually am an outlier, because I think we shouldn’t write America off quite yet.” Further reading: “What If Canada Joined the E.U.?,” by…

The Washington Roundtable weighs in on how Donald Trump’s rampant corruption will play out at the polls. Although conventional wisdom in Washington suggests that graft doesn’t move voters, Democrats have nonetheless spent more than three hundred million dollars on ads that portray the President’s self-enrichment as a tax on everyone else. They are joined by a former commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, Rebecca Slaughter, who discusses what, if anything, can be done about corruption in the federal government, and why criminal prosecution may not be the most effective tool to combat it. Slaughter argues that officials must find ways to make corruption costly for those who engage in it. And though few Americans expect the powerful to face consequences, Slaughter says, “the only way to change that impression . . . is to start making people pay.” Get Tickets to ⁠The Political Scene Live at The New Yorker Festival⁠ on October 24th Get Tickets to ⁠The Political Scene Live at Sith & I in Washington D.C.⁠ on…

The New Yorker staff writer Jonathan Blitzer joins Tyler Foggatt to talk about Donald Trump’s decision to delay the cancellation of Temporary Protected Status for Salvadoran immigrants. They discuss why the Administration, which has already terminated the T.P.S. designations of fourteen other countries, effectively opening up those communities to deportations, has yet to follow through on its promise to do the same for immigrants from El Salvador, and whether the decision was influenced by lobbyists from industries that rely on immigrant labor. They also discuss the tensions between the nativist wing of the Trump Administration and the pro-industry wing, and what Trump’s handling of T.P.S. reveals about how he makes decisions and exercises power in his second term. Does Trump’s unpredictability—and his susceptibility to being influenced even on his most deeply held beliefs—make his agenda more vulnerable to challenge? Recommended reading: “Why Trump Delayed Cancelling Legal Status for Salvadorans,” by…

In 2023, Evan Gershkovich was working as a young reporter in Moscow for the Wall Street Journal, when he was arrested by Russian authorities. He was eventually convicted on blatantly false charges of espionage and spent nearly five hundred days in imprisonment. Gershkovich recounts the experience in a new memoir, “This Cursed Beautiful Land,” and in an essay in The New Yorker. He spoke with David Remnick about life inside a Russian prison, the international prisoner swap that freed him, and why the difficult process of reacclimating to his former life complicated how he viewed his incarceration. Further reading and listening: “The Russian Prisoner Who Didn’t Want to Be Freed,” by Joshua Yaffa “Evan Gershkovich Is Finally Coming Home,” by Joshua Yaffa “The Unimaginable Horror of a Friend’s Arrest in Moscow,” by Joshua Yaffa This segment was recorded live at the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Centers, in New York City. The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively…

The Washington Roundtable is joined by the Polish Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, to discuss the war in Ukraine and Russia’s brazen tests of the NATO alliance, including drone incursions in Poland and a campaign of gray-zone tactics. “They are boiling the frog and watching what we will do,” Sikorski says. He weighs how much Europe can still count on the United States under President Trump, and whether the trust between America and its allies can be restored. The panel also reflects on how Poland pulled back from its own authoritarian slide, and what that history might say for Americans worried about the future of our democracy. This week’s reading: “Pete Hegseth Just Declared Victory in the Wrong War,” by Susan B. Glasser “Why the War in Iran Is Likely to Heat Up Again,” by Isaac Chotiner “Why Trump Delayed Cancelling Legal Status for Salvadorans,” by Jonathan Blitzer “The President vs. the Press,” by Jelani Cobb The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively…

The New Yorker staff writer Emma Green joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the Senate race in Maine, where the Republican Susan Collins, who has served in the Senate for nearly thirty years, is facing off against the former state senator Troy Jackson. They discuss how Collins has leveraged her seniority—and her chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee—to bring considerable federal funding to Maine, helping her fend off Democratic challengers in the purple state. They also explore Collins’s reputation as a moderate Republican willing to break with her party on high-profile votes, despite siding with President Donald Trump roughly ninety-five per cent of the time, and ask what the results of the Maine race may suggest about two competing visions of a senator’s job. Will Collins’s focus on Maine-specific projects and bringing federal money home win out over Jackson’s focus on national issues such as abolishing ICE, Medicare for All, and protecting national abortion rights? This week’s reading: “Susan…

Ari Emanuel is the executive chairman of W.M.E., one of the biggest talent agencies in Hollywood. He has overseen the careers of Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, Meghan Markle, Martin Scorsese, Dwayne (the Rock) Johnson, and Donald Trump. His entertainment machine now includes the W.W.E., the U.F.C., live theatres, ticketing operations, and more. In a new memoir, “Roll the Calls,” Emanuel charts his rise from working in the mailroom to global power. He talks with David Remnick about his disappointment with Donald Trump’s self-enrichment during his Presidency; his close relationship with Elon Musk, whom he calls an “incredible human being”; and doing business within “shades of gray” with the de-facto Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman. Further reading: “Ari Emanuel Takes on the World,” by Connie Bruck 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 Washington Roundtable travels to Madison, Wisconsin, for a conversation about the politics of artificial intelligence before a live audience at the Cap Times Idea Fest. The group discusses the stakes of Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, D.C.; the potential for coöperation between the U.S. and China on A.I., which the staff writer Evan Osnos likens to “private nuclear weapons”; and whether American policymakers can even agree amongst themselves on how to approach regulating the technology. “The executive branch is approaching this not as an existential-level threat to our society,” the staff writer Susan B. Glasser says, “but as a pot of gold that our wealthy business leaders, and presumably the politicians who support them, win if they get to the end of the race first.” This week's reading: “Our A.I. Problem,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus “Is A.I. Above the Law?,” by Jill Lepore “There Is No A.I. ‘Race,’” by Chang Che “What China’s Vibe-Coding Capital Can Tell Us About the A.I. Boom,” by Afra Wang The Political…

The New Yorker staff writer Ruby Cramer joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how the Make America Healthy Again movement is influencing debates within families over vaccines and medical care. They talk about the rise of vaccine skepticism, fuelled by Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and how measles cases have surged across the country, reaching their highest level in three decades. They also explore what happens when parents disagree over their children’s medical care, especially as concerns about parental rights and America’s worsening health, alongside growing distrust of the medical and pharmaceutical establishments, draw more people into the MAHA movement. This week’s reading: “The MAHA Custody Battle,” by Ruby Cramer “Is R.F.K., Jr., Winning or Losing?,” by Dhruv Khullar “One Vaccine-Schedule Change That Actually Makes Sense,” by Rivka Galchen Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Malcolm Gladwell, a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, often uses ideas from the social sciences and epidemiology and applies them to surprising topics. But his new book tackles an issue that’s in the headlines every day. The book is called “The American Way of Killing,” and the subject is America’s unique association with gun violence. Death statistics, he says, fail to convey the scale of the problem because advances in medical care save countless lives that are nevertheless scarred by violence. Gladwell talks with David Remnick about how gun-control advocates have got the problem wrong, and why he thinks that a persistent dynamic of under-policing and over-incarcerating is at the root of America’s problem. “I can’t even utter the phrase ‘defund the police,’ ” Gladwell says, “without nearly blowing a gasket.” Further reading: “What We Get Wrong About Violent Crime,” by Malcolm Gladwell “Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden, and the Modern Whistle-Blower,” by Malcolm Gladwell “Thresholds of Violence,” by…

The Washington Roundtable will be back next week. In the meantime, we would like to introduce “The Journey,” an audio investigation hosted by our colleague Ava Kofman. Throughout five episodes, it unravels the mystery of how Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang, a wealthy Los Angeles couple, obtained dozens of children through nearly as many surrogates—and exposes a scandal that threatens to undermine the entire surrogacy industry. In Episode 1, “Gifts,” a woman in Texas agrees to carry a child for the couple. She thinks she’s helping a family in need. Then she becomes a whistle-blower. In the Dark is an acclaimed investigative-journalism podcast that launched in 2016. Its third season won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for audio. To keep listening to “The Journey,” search for In the Dark wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New Yorker staff writer Joshua Rothman joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss recent calls from industry leaders to slow the development of A.I. technology for safety reasons. They talk about an industry-wide fear that A.I. could disrupt or even end human life within a decade, what an A.I.-related extinction event might look like, and whether the people developing the technology can be trusted to play a role in regulating it. They also explore recent incidents involving A.I. models going “rogue” and the difficulty of making increasingly capable autonomous systems trustworthy and controllable. This week’s reading: “The Long Doomsday of A.I.,” by Joshua Rothman “My Weekend with an A.I. Agent,” by Brady Brickner-Wood 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…

Colin Kaepernick had a stunning rise as an N.F.L. quarterback after becoming a full-time starter, in 2012. He was a legitimate dual threat—as effective running the ball as he was throwing it. And, to this day, Kaepernick still holds the record for rushing yards by an N.F.L. quarterback in a playoff game. But his formidable skills as a player were quickly overshadowed by his decision—quiet at first—to engage in protest for social justice a decade ago. He knelt during the national anthem at games, and that generated an enormous amount of controversy, with everyone from his fellow-players to a future President weighing in on his decision. In the aftermath of his demonstrations, the San Francisco 49ers told him that they were going to cut him, and no other team would sign him. In his new memoir, “The Perilous Fight,” Kaepernick describes how this wasn’t even the full extent of the league’s efforts to punish him. He and David Remnick discuss his new book and the consequences of his political activism. “I had…

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Amy Walter, the editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report and a political analyst for PBS NewsHour, to take stock of the midterms map. With Donald Trump’s approval rating at a historic low and economic issues squeezing voters nationwide, conventional wisdom suggests that a decisive Democratic blue wave is coming. But the margins are razor-thin. “The odds are definitely with Democrats here because of how few seats they need to actually flip,” Walter says. “They just don’t have a lot of room for error.” Plus, the hosts reflect on the quarter century since 9/11, and share their memories of that day. This week’s reading: “Troy Jackson Is Still Surprised That He’s Running for Senate,” by Jesús Rodríguez “Is the Democratic Party Still Too Woke?,” by Jason Zengerle “Has the A.I. Job Apocalypse Been Postponed?,” by John Cassidy “The U.S. Was Never Going to Win the ‘War on Terror,’” by Robin Wright Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more…

The New Yorker staff writer Jennifer Wilson joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how the right’s embrace of lingerie and cleavage signals the changing politics of sexuality. They talk about how the actress Sydney Sweeney’s appearance and political affiliation became a cause célèbre for a segment of the conservative movement, and how it reflects a broader right-wing backlash against more inclusive notions of beauty and body positivity. They also examine the rise of the magazine Evie, which has billed itself as the “conservative Cosmo,” and explore how the left has been grappling with the politics of sexuality and sex appeal in the wake of the #MeToo movement. This week’s reading: “Have Conservatives Taken Sexy Back?,” by Jennifer Wilson “The Warning Benjamin Netanyahu Ignored,” by Ruth Margalit “Remembrance of September 11th,” by Adam Gopnik “The America That 9/11 Made,” by Jill Lepore The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in…

The political consultant Sarah Longwell runs focus groups of voters, and she has a lot of advice for Democrats seeking to wrest control of the government from MAGA. Longwell, a former Republican disaffected from Donald Trump’s party, presents her playbook to the New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos: go on the offensive talking about corruption; make a positive case for immigration; and adapt to a podcast-driven media environment. “You can go on ‘Joe Rogan’ or not go on ‘Joe Rogan,’ ” she says. “The question is: can you sit for a long period of time and talk to someone who doesn’t know that much about politics and have an engaging conversation? . . . This is how trust is built now, in this screen-to-screen environment.” Longwell’s new book is called “How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time.” Further listening: “Can Trump Voters Still Change Their Minds?,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour “A G.O.P. Strategist on the Republican Voters Who Could Abandon Trump,” an episode of The Political Scene The…

The Washington Roundtable explores how Donald Trump’s wars of choice abroad, whether using tariffs or bombs, are dragging down his popularity at home. The panel looks at the baffling trade fight with Canada, the deepening quagmire in Iran, and the President’s recent embrace of data centers—all of which, they argue, could cost Republicans in the midterms. “He is seen as so toxic that a number of Republican candidates in districts that Trump won significantly before are saying, ‘Don’t send him here. We don’t wanna campaign with him,’ ” the staff writer Jane Mayer observes. “That, in politics, is the ultimate kiss-off. Goodbye.” This week’s reading: “Donald Trump’s Capital Makeover,” by Antonia Hitchens “How Donald Trump Outmaneuvers the Supreme Court,” by Ruth Marcus “How Much Is the Iran War Costing Americans?,” by John Cassidy “What If Canada Joined the E.U.?,” by Ishaan Tharoor “Was ‘Defund the Police’ Crazy?,” by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The…

During the height of Roy Cohn’s friendship with Donald Trump, according to the historian Kai Bird, “they were on the phone with each other a dozen times a day.” Bird’s new book, “American Scoundrel,” details Cohn’s profound influence on Trump—whom he met as a young real-estate heir in the nineteen-seventies—and how Cohn is “haunting” politics in our time. “I had written about Roy Cohn in [previous biographies] as this nefarious, minor, awful figure who was disruptive and divisive and unethical. And I suddenly realized that the establishment that I’d been writing about for forty years is gone. Their values and culture, the politics, the bipartisanship . . . that’s all gone,” he tells David Remnick. “Roy Cohn explains something about the dark side of America that I just didn’t understand.” They discuss Cohn’s early career as a prosecutor and his role as the “mastermind” of the McCarthy purges; his service as a lawyer and fixer for Mafia members, politicians, and celebrities; and an allegation of being involved…

The New Yorker contributing writer Eren Orbey joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the trial of Lindsay Clancy, who is accused of murdering her three children during a period of severe postpartum mental-health struggles. They talk about the tragedy at the center of the trial and the question of whether Clancy’s mental state at the time meets the legal standard for a lack of criminal responsibility. They also discuss Eren’s experience reporting on the case in 2024, including his extensive conversations with Clancy’s now ex-husband, Patrick; the intense public reaction to the case and the proliferation of conspiracy theories surrounding it; and how cultural understanding—and misunderstanding—of women’s mental health and postpartum psychosis have shaped the coverage and discourse. This week’s reading: “The Lindsay Clancy Conspiracy Spiral,” by Eren Orbey “Why People Want to Believe the Lindsay Clancy Conspiracy Theories,” by Jessica Winter “Is R.F.K., Jr., Winning or Losing?,” by Dhruv Khullar “Adam Hamilton and…

In the 2026 midterm elections, close finishes in crucial swing states have put a spotlight on the divide between the Democratic Party’s moderate and progressive wings. Jon Lovett straddles that divide. He was a longtime speechwriter for Hillary Clinton and then for Barack Obama, but, as a host of the podcasts “Pod Save America” and “Lovett or Leave It,” he’s been critical of the Party’s establishment. Lovett sat down with David Remnick to answer listeners’ questions about the midterms and what they suggest about the 2028 Presidential election. In a “broad trend,” Lovett says, centrist Democrats “put up candidates, and they say, ‘Vote for us, or else.’ And [voters] just keep picking ‘or else.’ . . . Across the board, I don’t know what this establishment of the Democratic Party stands for, and neither does the country.” Further listening: “ ‘Pod Save America’ ’s Jon Lovett on Trump: ‘The Threat of Jail Time Sharpens the Mind,’ ” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour The Political Scene draws on the reporting…

The Washington Roundtable’s Susan B. Glasser interviews General David Petraeus about where the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine might be headed and what they can tell us about the future of warfare. They discuss the fleets of inexpensive drones which have upended traditional combat, how the impending arrival of A.I.-powered automated systems might “revolutionize” the battlefield, and what institutional overhauls Petraeus believes are urgently needed at the Pentagon in order to respond. “We need to do a lot to catch up,” Petraeus says. “But there are vested interests in the military-industrial-congressional-complex that are gonna fight tooth and nail for any actions that change force structure, reduce the aircraft they have on their ramp in their congressional district, or production of manned ships, manned tanks, or whatever else it is, and this is gonna be a fight.” This week’s reading: “After Six Months of War, Trump Is Still Losing to Iran,” by Ishaan Tharoor “Is the Smithsonian Really Trying to Destroy…

The New Yorker contributing writer Jon Allsop joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the shifting meaning of the word “moderate” in the 2026 election season. They talk about recent primary results in Michigan and Wisconsin, and what the contests reveal about Democratic voters’ appetite for establishment candidates versus the Party’s progressive insurgency. They also explore how labels like “moderate” and “centrist” map onto mainstream American opinion on issues such as ICE, U.S. support for Israel, and universal health care, as well as how the progressive wing might adjust its messaging ahead of the midterms—and what the outcome could mean for the Party’s direction as it looks toward the 2028 Presidential race. This week’s reading: “What Does It Even Mean to Be a Moderate?,” by Jon Allsop “Donald Trump Is Still Trying to Make It Harder to Vote,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “How Far Will the Trump Administration Go to Deport Mahmoud Khalil?,” by Andrew Marantz “Nayib Bukele’s Content Machine Is Reshaping Latin America,”…

1. The data centers that power artificial intelligence are being built at a rampant pace, and are spurring resistance all over the country. Apart from public concerns about A.I.’s impact on jobs, privacy, and other aspects of life, data centers consume vast amounts of electricity and water. New York has passed a moratorium on new data centers; fourteen other states have considered restrictions. The Vermont senator Bernie Sanders is taking this fight to the national level. He and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have introduced legislation that calls for a nationwide moratorium on data centers to allow time for more research and public input on the issue. The furor, Sanders tells David Remnick, cuts across political divisions. The opponents “are conservatives, they are progressives, they are moderates,” he adds. “They’re saying, What the hell are we doing? What is this gonna contribute to? Is this gonna result in my kid not being able to have a job? Is this gonna result in my not having any privacy?…

The Washington Roundtable’s Evan Osnos interviews the former Commerce Secretary and Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo about a problem she’s been working on since she left the Biden Administration: how to make sure that the A.I. revolution does not leave American workers behind. Drawing on her father’s experience of losing his factory job in the wake of outsourcing to China, Raimondo warns against repeating the mistakes of the past and argues that the U.S. needs a plan to help workers navigate the A.I. transition. “We can’t put the toothpaste back in the bottle. A.I. is out there,” Raimondo says. “We want to harness the good, but be intentional about having a plan and safeguards for the bad.” She also discusses why Democrats should focus not just on affordability but on the politics and promise of prosperity and the American Dream. This week’s reading: “A.I. Is Now a Major Election Issue,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “If A.I. Takes the Jobs of Young People, How Will They React?,” by Jay Caspian Kang “What…

The journalist Michelle Lhooq joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss her reporting on ibogaine, a psychedelic that has recently been embraced by the right—including President Donald Trump. They talk about the movement to promote research into ibogaine as a treatment for mental illness; the unlikely coalition of drug advocates, Republican politicians, and veterans who helped bring the drug into the political mainstream; and Trump’s executive order expediting the F.D.A. approval of psychedelic therapies. They also discuss how the politics of psychedelics have shifted over the years, and whether the success of the ibogaine initiative could signal a broader shift toward the acceptance and legalization of more psychedelics and other drugs. This week’s reading: “Are Psychedelics Right-Wing Now?,” by Michelle Lhooq “The Delusions of John Roberts,” by Margaret Talbot “The Great Delegalization,” by Dara Lind “A.I. Is Now a Major Election Issue,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “An Israeli Satirist’s Bid to Save His Country’s…

One of the biggest stories of this election cycle is the emergence, for the first time in a long time, of socialism as a force on the national stage. Inspired perhaps by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani, D.S.A. candidates are running in congressional and state-level races all over the country. But some of those candidates, David Remnick thinks, talk more like F.D.R. Democrats than like students of Marx. How socialist is democratic socialism, and how does it square with the future of the Democratic Party? Remnick talks with a co-chair of the D.S.A., Megan Romer, who recently went viral for a lightning round of questions pitched at her on Fox News. Romer defends controversial D.S.A. positions on workers’ ownership of the means of production, U.S. support of Israel, the war in Ukraine, and defunding the police. Further reading: “Will Left-Wing Democrats Reinvent the Party or Hurt Its Chances in November?,” by Isaac Chotiner “Which Way Should the Democratic Party Go Now?,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells…

The Washington Roundtable’s Jane Mayer interviews Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor for the Department of Justice who served as a lead member of the Mueller investigation, about what meaningful legal accountability in the Trump Administration looks like. He points to a fix that would raise the bar for federal grand-jury indictments, and explains why he believes that Donald Trump’s disputed I.R.S. settlement may not survive legal scrutiny. He also makes the case, drawn from his new book, “Liar’s Kingdom: How to Stop Trump’s Deceit and Save America,” for treating political lying itself as a problem that the law can address. “We have to be thinking about big, bold ideas,” Weissmann says. This week’s reading: “The Future, Made in China,” by Evan Osnos “How Roy Cohn Taught Donald Trump Everything,” by Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark “Why Donald Trump Talks So Much About Foreign Election Interference,” by David D. Kirkpatrick “The Electability of Abdul El-Sayed,” by Jason Zengerle Tune in to The Political Scene…

Michigan’s Senate seat is a must-win for Democrats hoping to take control of the Senate in 2026. The midterms are reflecting a surge of energy behind left-leaning Democratic candidates—sometimes known as the Mamdani effect—challenging their party’s establishment and its tarnished image. Abdul El-Sayed, a former health official, firmly supports Medicare for All and the abolition of ICE. He’s ahead of his moderate Democratic rival, Haley Stevens, in most polls. But that has some Democrats worried that El-Sayed is too radical to win the general election in a state that narrowly voted for Trump in 2024. El-Sayed talks with David Remnick about being “radicalized in medical school,” the trap of expressing righteous anger as an Arab candidate, how Robert F. Kennedy’s anti-science views have taken such a hold on the public, and why AIPAC and other lobbying groups have spent sixty million dollars opposing him in this election. Further reading and listening: “Michigan Is the Next Big Test for the Democratic Party,” by…

The Washington Roundtable reflects on the stories they’ve been following this summer, touching on the “power mourners” at Lindsey Graham’s funeral, Anthony Fauci’s diaries and Senate hearing, and China’s usurping of the U.S. in global power. Plus, the hosts share what books they’re reading. This week’s reading: “The Outlandish Case Against James Comey,” by Ruth Marcus “Which Way Should the Democratic Party Go Now?,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “Will Left-Wing Democrats Reinvent the Party or Hurt Its Chances in November?,” by Isaac Chotiner “How Donald Trump Silenced the Voice of America,” by Marc Fisher Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New Yorker contributor Mike Spies joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the story of a woman who lost two partners to suicide by firearm and then spent years in a legal battle with the National Rifle Association over her late partner’s retirement savings. They talk about the role that gun ownership and decades of messaging from the N.R.A. played in her second partner’s descent into paranoia, extremism, and abuse. They also explore the link between firearm access and suicide, how gun-rights organizations have sought to cast doubt on research connecting the two, and the current state of the debate over gun rights and gun safety. This episode mentions suicide and suicidal thoughts. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 or chat at 988Lifeline.org. This week’s reading: “A Woman Lost Two Partners to Guns—Then the N.R.A. Came to Collect,” by Mike Spies “Trump’s Isolationism Is Losing the Great E.V. Race,” by Bill McKibben “The Department of Labored Content,” by Brady Brickner-Wood “How Netanyahu’s…

In 2025, as ICE was struggling to meet an impossible goal of three thousand immigration arrests per day, the agency took an unprecedented step: picking people up when they arrived at immigration court. These were immigrants seeking legal status through appropriate channels. The staff writer Jonathan Blitzer, who has been reporting on immigration for over a decade, tells the story of one man detained this way, a Guinean refugee who was seeking asylum after a severe beating and death threats by his government. His first name is Alsainy, and his story exemplifies the ways that the Trump Administration is sabotaging the system of legal immigration. Though President Donald Trump came back to the White House with broad support for his border policies, his Administration’s immigration crackdown has been broadly unpopular. The staff writer Jonathan Blitzer spoke with two representatives in Congress about the blowback: Jason Crow, of Colorado, and María Salazar, of Florida. Crow is one of the Democratic Party’s…

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Carl Hulse, the New York Times’ chief Washington correspondent, to discuss Congress’s dwindling role in the American political system. Why are Congress members passing fewer bills than their predecessors? Why can the institution no longer complete basic tasks of governing, such as passing a budget on time? Are representatives more interested in being social-media stars than crafting legislation? The panel analyzes why Congress has increasingly surrendered its power to the President, in areas as diverse as tariffs and the war in Iran. “Once you give up power, you never get it back in Washington,” Hulse says. This week’s reading: “The White House Press Corps in the Second Trump Era,” by Katy Waldman “The Complications of Graham Platner’s Veteran Identity,” by Jasper Craven “Maine’s Mad Scramble to Replace Graham Platner,” by Jason Zengerle “Trump’s War on Journalists,” by Ruth Marcus The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for…

The New Yorker staff writer David D. Kirkpatrick joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the Biden Administration’s failure to restrain Israel during its military campaign in Gaza. They talk about what Kirkpatrick has learned from former senior members of Biden’s national-security team—some of whom spoke on the record about key decisions during the conflict for the first time—and how previously undisclosed documents and revelations point to the Administration’s failure to rein in the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and to reduce Palestinian civilian casualties. They also explore why the former officials are now speaking candidly about their missteps, and whether the Administration’s approach to Israel helped shape the conditions that led to the current war with Iran. This week’s reading: “How Biden Enabled Israel’s Aggression Toward Gaza—and Iran,” by David D. Kirkpatrick “María Corina Machado’s Opposition in Exile,” by Stephania Taladrid “Donald Trump’s Election-Fraud Bait and Switch,” by Ruth Marcus…

Rahm Emanuel is a Democratic Party elder, having served in the Clinton and Obama Administrations and as mayor of his native Chicago for two terms. He’s a centrist known for valuing political wins over ideology, making it especially notable that Emanuel recently gave a blistering speech in Israel, calling the country’s path “not sustainable politically.” He says that the United States should no longer grant Israel unconditional military support, and explains his own plan for a diplomatic Middle East solution that he calls a “twenty-three-state solution.” Emanuel, who hasn’t formally announced but appears to have embarked on a campaign for the 2028 Presidency, defends his position on trans rights, which has angered many on the left, and his contention that the Democratic Party is overly concerned with identity politics. Further reading: “Trump and Rahm Emanuel Both Love a Fight, Especially Against Each Other,” by Susan B. Glasser. “Rahm Emanuel’s Lessons for Hilary Clinton,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells “The…

The Washington Roundtable discusses Donald Trump’s latest attempt to relitigate the 2020 election. In a prime-time speech on Thursday, he argued that newly declassified documents suggest that U.S. election systems are vulnerable. “He described interference in the election in alarming terms,” the staff writer Jane Mayer says. “But there was absolutely no final bottom line where he was able to prove that a single vote was stolen.” The panel explores how false claims about past elections could serve as a pretext for federal intervention in the midterms, especially if issues like the war with Iran continue to depress the President’s approval rating and hurt Republicans’ chances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave Regan, the president of the prominent California union S.E.I.U.-United Healthcare Workers West, joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss Proposition 40, a ballot measure that would impose a one-time, five-per-cent tax on the net worth of the state’s billionaires. They talk about the origins of the initiative—which came in response to cuts to health care from Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act—and how the political fight over the proposition fits into the broader wave of populist politics and a growing appetite for challenging the wealthy. They also explore the opposition from a handful of wealthy Silicon Valley figures, who have spent more than a hundred million dollars to defeat the measure. California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, and some health-care organizations have expressed concerns that the tax could drive the ultra-wealthy out of the state and would fail to provide a long-term funding solution for public services. Whether the ballot measure fails or passes, does the fight over Proposition 40 signal a…

The Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE, has officially been terminated. Its July 4th sunset date was part of Donald Trump’s original executive order that created the agency, which Elon Musk ran. During his tenure, Musk oversaw the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D., which used to provide life-saving medical and nutritional programs around the world. Musk, who recently became the world’s first trillionaire, claims that there is no evidence that a single person died after DOGE cancelled more than eighty per cent of U.S.A.I.D.’s programs, cutting basic health-care access to some ninety-five million people. Atul Gawande disagrees. He was the assistant administrator for global health at U.S.A.I.D. until he stepped down, the same week Trump ended U.S. foreign assistance. Gawande says an estimated seven hundred thousand people have already died as a result of the cuts. David Remnick speaks with the longtime New Yorker contributor about the profound effects of ending U.S.A.I.D.’s work abroad, Musk’s…

The Washington Roundtable digs into the stunning collapse of Graham Platner’s Senate campaign in Maine, and what it means for the Democratic Party’s performance in the upcoming midterms. The hosts are joined by Neera Tanden, the president and C.E.O. of the Center for American Progress and a former adviser to President Joe Biden. The panel grapples with the pressing question of how the Party might resolve some of its ideological divisions and position itself to attract voters looking for an alternative to Donald Trump. Across the board, Americans are seeking a break from the status quo, Tanden argues—regardless of where a given candidate falls on the political spectrum. “People want action,” she says. “It’s not ideological as much as people are hungry for ideas.” This week’s reading: “Graham Platner’s Point of No Return,” by Jon Allsop “Michigan Is the Next Big Test for the Democratic Party,” by Jason Zengerle “Trump and NATO Court Erdoğan, Turkey’s Strongman,” by Ishaan Tharoor “How Political Is This Supreme…

The New Yorker contributing writer Ruth Marcus joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the Supreme Court’s now concluded term and what some of the recent decisions indicate about the bench’s willingness to check President Trump’s use of executive power. They talk about the Court’s rulings on immigration, transgender athletes, the President’s authority to fire heads of independent federal agencies, and what various opinions reveal about the Republican-appointed justices’ tendency to side with the Trump Administration. They also explore the Court’s rejection of Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, and whether the ruling should be seen as a reassuring defense of settled law or a warning that even long-established constitutional protections may be more vulnerable than they once appeared. This week’s reading: “The Supreme Court Enables Trump’s Cruel Immigration Agenda,” by Ruth Marcus “The Supreme Court’s Check on Trump’s Power Was Too Close for Comfort,” by Ruth Marcus “How Political Is This Supreme…

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 here. 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…

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 : “Was the Declaration of Independence…

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 Washington Post investigation that raised new questions about the outgoing director, Tulsi Gabbard, and her alleged ties to a religious cult. This week’s reading: “Everyone Wants to Touch the Blue Coating in the Reflecting Pool,” by Jesús Rodríguez “Chronicle of a Disaster Foretold,” by David Remnick “The Difference Between the Knicks and the White House Cage Fight,” by Adam Gopnik “How the Trump Administration Pushed Judges to Deport Children,” by E. Tammy Kim “Do Netanyahu’s Domestic Opponents Offer…

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: “Chronicle of a Disaster Foretold,” by David Remnick “The Torture Chamber of British Politics Crushes Its Latest Prime Minister,”…

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: “Hillary Clinton on the Psychology of Autocrats,” an episode of…

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 wherever you get your podcasts. This week’s reading: “Fight Night at the White House,” by Naomi Fry “Will Americans…

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, “When We See You Again,” 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…