The Political Scene | The New Yorker
The New Yorker
Join The New Yorker’s writers and editors for reporting, insight, and analysis of the most pressing political issues of our time. On Mondays, David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker, presents conversations and feature stories about current events. On Wednesdays, the senior editor Tyler Foggatt goes deep on a consequential political story via far-reaching interviews with staff writers and outside experts. And, on Fridays, the staff writers Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos discuss the latest developments in Washington and beyond, offering an encompassing understanding of this moment in American politics.
Episodes
Mentioned books
16 snips
May 11, 2026 • 26min
Barack Obama in the Trump Era
Peter Slevin, a reporter who covered Barack Obama’s post-presidency for The New Yorker, shares on-the-record reporting and interviews. He explores where Obama has been and why he is less visible. Short takes cover tensions at home over political involvement, limits Obama sees in his role, his shaken confidence since 2017, and the aims of the new Obama Presidential Center.
67 snips
May 9, 2026 • 43min
Have Billionaires Gone Too Far?
Brooke Harrington, a Dartmouth professor who trained as a wealth manager to study the ultra-rich, joins to unpack billionaire power. The conversation spotlights rising backlash: taxes on pied-à-terres, wealth-tax drives, Met Gala protests. They probe elite norms, how elites lose legitimacy, and the political stakes as inequality, AI, and visible excess reshape public opinion.
31 snips
May 7, 2026 • 40min
Kash Patel’s Strategic, Frivolous Lawsuit Against The Atlantic
Fabio Bertoni, The New Yorker’s general counsel and legal writer, breaks down Kash Patel’s $250M suit against The Atlantic. He walks through defamation law, the actual malice standard, and the risks of anonymous sources. He also discusses how such lawsuits could chill reporting and fit into a broader pattern of legal attacks on the press.
21 snips
May 4, 2026 • 22min
How a Trump-Endorsed Republican Could Become California’s Next Governor
Steve Hilton, a British-born political consultant and former Whitehall advisor turned media figure, is running for California governor. He discusses why he moved to California and his plan to tackle affordability and government waste. He explains his CalD0S waste-finding project and argues for decentralization and increased energy production. He also addresses his Trump endorsement and its impact in a blue state.
23 snips
Apr 30, 2026 • 28min
An Assassination Attempt and a Royal Visit to Washington
Antonia Hitchens, a New Yorker staff writer reporting from Washington, D.C., offers an on-the-ground account of the shooting attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. She contrasts that chaos with the state visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Short takes explore security reactions, presidential pageantry, diplomatic signaling, and what such surreal weeks reveal about covering politics today.
16 snips
Apr 27, 2026 • 29min
Why Senator Rand Paul Voted to Limit Donald Trump’s War Powers
Rand Paul, Kentucky senator and libertarian-leaning Republican and former ophthalmologist, explains why he pushed to curb presidential war powers. He warns that religious rhetoric harms diplomacy. He critiques tariffs, questions sanctions strategy, and previews how he might run in 2028 while stressing fiscal restraint and opposition to perpetual wars.
37 snips
Apr 25, 2026 • 44min
Donald Trump’s Economic Warfare Abroad Comes Home
Edward Fishman, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of Chokepoints, explains modern economic warfare and how choke points like the Strait of Hormuz reshape global power. He unpacks tariffs, Iran’s selective closures, the limits of U.S. leverage, risks of escalation, and how sanctions and trade moves ripple through markets and politics.
19 snips
Apr 23, 2026 • 47min
What Pro Wrestling Taught Linda McMahon About Politics
Zach Helfand, a New Yorker staff writer who profiled Linda McMahon, discusses how her WWE background shaped her political style. He covers her role in shrinking the Department of Education and the staffing and Office for Civil Rights cuts. He also traces the ties between professional wrestling and Trump’s instincts and how that shaped policy and personnel choices.
12 snips
Apr 20, 2026 • 39min
A Genocide Scholar Asks “What Went Wrong” in Israel
Omer Bartov, Israeli-born Holocaust and genocide scholar at Brown University and author of Israel: What Went Wrong?, reflects on his IDF service and moral awakening. He discusses warnings about genocide after October 7, the Rafah offensive as a turning point, the evolution of Zionism into an extremist state ideology, and the need for external limits on Israeli power.
73 snips
Apr 17, 2026 • 41min
Corruption Toppled Viktor Orbán. Could Donald Trump Be Next?
Kim Lane Scheppele, a Princeton professor who has lived in Hungary and studies democratic backsliding, explains how corruption became the key vulnerability for Viktor Orbán. She describes the zebra meme, foreign influence, and how Péter Magyar’s anti-fear, broad-tent campaign connected graft to daily hardship. They also consider what Hungary’s playbook might and might not mean for U.S. politics.
