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Amid all the prognostication about which party will emerge triumphant during the midterms, there has also been increasing alarm: Will it be a free and fair election? As soon as Donald Trump returned to office, he began making moves to create disruption—demanding private voter data from states, threatening election officials with jail time, and even seizing ballots from prior elections to investigate alleged fraud. And although, so far, none of the White House’s efforts have threatened to significantly alter the results, the Department of Justice has hinted that there is more to come. The U.S. Attorney General, Todd Blanche, has not ruled out using the force of law to prevent election certifications. Furthermore, a lawsuit from the Trump Administration against the State of Alaska is already under way, before a single vote has even been counted. The reporter Barton Gellman and David Remnick discuss the threats to the midterm elections and Gellman’s new piece, “The State Officials Defending the Midterms from the President.”  Further reading:  “How ICE Is Targeting the 2026 Midterms,” by Jonathan Blitzer“What the Gerrymandering Wars Mean for the Midterms—and 2028,” by Isaac Chotiner“The G.O.P.’s Latest Voter-Suppression Plan,” by Sue Halpern“Donald Trump Already Knows the 2026 Election Is ‘Rigged,’ ” by Susan B. Glasser  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin has been relentlessly challenging the Trump Administration in his role as the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. He was the lead manager in the second impeachment of Donald Trump, after the January 6th insurrection. Throughout the past two years, Raskin and his fellow-Democrats have watched with horror as most of the efforts to secure accountability for conduct during the first Trump Administration have been wiped away. But that could all change if Democrats take back congressional control in the midterm elections. Raskin and David Remnick discuss the unprecedented depths of corruption in the current Administration, the possible avenues for accountability if the Democrats win, and how the Party can gain credibility with the electorate. As Raskin tells Remnick, “This has been a money-making operation from Day One. You got to look at this thing like ‘The Sopranos’—this is a family business. They’ve been making billions of dollars now. Trump, in his first year in office, declared openly 2.2 billion dollars that he made on the side. That’s more than a million dollars an hour, and his official Presidential salary is four hundred thousand dollars. That means that he made double his entire Presidential salary in one hour. And so, of course, the rest of his time he’s focussed on the corruption. That’s where the money is.”  Further listening: “The Political Scene Live with Jamie Raskin: January 6th and Accountability for Donald Trump,” an episode of The Political Scene“Congressman Jamie Raskin on Impeaching Donald Trump—Again,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This summer, an article came out in The Atlantic called “The End of Reading Is Here,” and it put forward statistics that seem to prove the persistent feeling that new technologies are the death knell of reading books. But, looking into the question, the staff writer Nathan Heller finds a more complicated picture, and he draws a different conclusion in “The New Age of Reading.” Heller talks with David Remnick about the surprising statistics on book sales and bookstores; the influence of BookTok on younger readers; and how the C.E.O. James Daunt turned around Barnes & Noble, a company that once looked bound for extinction.   Further reading:  “Why ‘Book-Shaming’ Won’t Solve the Children’s Literacy Crisis,” by Jessica Winter“The Battle for Attention,” by Nathan Heller“The End of the English Major,” by Nathan Heller  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Senate race between James Talarico and Ken Paxton dominates the news out of Texas, but, in the race for governor, a Democratic state legislator is also running neck and neck with the longtime Republican incumbent, Greg Abbott. Gina Hinojosa is likely leading among independents by as much as twenty-three per cent, according to one recent poll. She tells David Remnick that opposition to data centers and to Abbott’s school-voucher program could lead to a blue wave in Texas. “Nobody in 2026 in Texas has the luxury of fighting culture wars,” Hinojosa says. “We've been doing that for ten years, and we're all worse off.” But, Remnick notes, she seems to hold her fire when it comes to Donald Trump. “Listen, I have to win Trump voters to win this race,” she replies. “Latinos went for Trump in Texas. . . . I don't think it is helpful to rub their noses in his failures.” Further reading: “The Republicans Are Messing with Texas,” by Peter Slevin“The Astonishing Transformation of Austin,” by Lawrence WrightNew episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A Waymo offers a unique experience: you ride as a passenger behind or next to an empty driver’s seat, the steering wheel turning as though handled by a ghost. The New Yorker staff writer Molly Fischer has been reporting on Waymo, and she tells David Remnick that though the statistics are hard to parse, Waymos appear to be safer than cars driven by humans. Fans of Waymo prefer not putting themselves in the temporary custody of a stranger, but, Fischer says, this appeal is precisely what makes Waymos’ glitches scariest. Now that her reporting is done, Remnick wants to know: Would she take one of the robot taxis by choice? Further reading: “We’re Learning to Live with Waymos. It’s Going Weird,” by Molly Fischer“Waymo Cars, Honey Bears, and the Future of San Francisco,” by Anna Wiener   New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In California, progressives have crafted a ballot initiative that calls for a wealth tax—a one-time, five-per-cent tax on wealth above a billion dollars, earmarked to shore up the state’s health-care system after drastic federal cuts. Wealth inequality is a vast concern, especially among Democrats, and taxes on substantial wealth are broadly popular. Yet, as the New Yorker staff writer Nicholas Lemann reports in “The Battle to Pass a Billionaire Tax,” many prominent Democratic politicians, including Elizabeth Warren, have declined to support it publicly. Lemann talks with David Remnick about why this bellwether progressive issue faces such an uphill battle.  Further reading and listening:  “On Not Being a Homeowner,” by Anna Holmes “Can California Actually Make Billionaires Pay?,” an episode of The Political Scene“How a Trump-Endorsed Republican Could Become California’s Next Governor,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Ishaan Tharoor“Canada, the Northern Outpost of Sanity,” by Bill McKibben“The Historical Roots of Donald Trump’s Aggressive Nationalism,” by Isaac Chotiner  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 YaffaThis segment was recorded live at the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Centers, in New York City.     New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Follow the show wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In Aaron Sorkin’s latest film, “The Social Reckoning,” the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg deals with multiple federal investigations and a whistle-blower’s revelations about the damage that the company was causing young people. It’s a dark sequel to the 2010 film, “The Social Network,” and, this time around, Zuckerberg is played by Jeremy Strong, who’s best known as Kendall Roy on “Succession” and as Roy Cohn in “The Apprentice.” Strong undergoes an unusually intense level of preparation to inhabit his roles; he tells David Remnick that he would send Sorkin e-mails, while in character as Zuckerberg, at night after shooting. They discuss why Strong was rankled by The New Yorker’s 2021 Profile of him, and his interest in playing characters who are “right on the fault line of everything that’s going on in our world right now.”  Further reading: “On ‘Succession,’ Jeremy Strong Doesn’t Get the Joke,” by Michael Schulman“ ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’ Tamps the Boss Down,” by Richard Brody“ ‘The Apprentice,’ Reviewed: The Immoral Makings of Donald Trump,” by Richard Brody“Masterstroke Casting in ‘An Enemy of the People,’ ” by Vinson Cunningham“Farewell, Kendall Roy,” by Michael Schulman  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Min Jin Lee gave up climbing the ladder of conventional success by quitting her corporate-law job and then spending more than a decade working on her début novel, “Free Food for Millionaires.” Ten years later, in 2017, she published “Pachinko,” a historical epic that was translated into more than thirty languages. Nearly another decade later, she released “American Hagwon,” which follows a family as they move from Seoul to Sydney to Southern California in pursuit of the best possible education for their children. Lee talks with David Remnick about the institution of the hagwon, her love of research, and making Korean experiences legible to readers around the world. “It’s my job to make everybody Korean, David,” she says. “I think Koreans are awesome. I want you to be Korean.”  Further reading and listening:  “Min Jin Lee Reads Wendy Kaufman,” an episode of the Fiction Podcast“Testing,” by Min Jin Lee“Min Jin Lee on Exams and Hagwons,” by Deborah Treisman“What Min Jin Lee Wants Us to See,” by Michael Luo“Stonehenge,” by Min Jin Lee“After the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Healing the Deepest Fracture,” by Min Jin Lee  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Grandmaster Flash has been an innovator in the art of d.j.’ing since he was practically a child growing up in the Bronx. As a young man named Joseph Saddler, he spent his days trying to figure out how to make the drum breaks in his favorite songs last longer and longer. Now in his late sixties, Flash remains as devoted to the art of the turntable as ever. In a new memoir, “Birth of a Culture,” he looks at hip-hop’s earliest days, as the music made its way from outdoor parties to huge venues like the Audubon Ballroom. He tells David Remnick how his creative innovations were born of an obsession with electronics, and why he views his group’s biggest hit, “The Message,” as the beginning of the end of a glorious moment in hip-hop culture.  Further reading:  “Grandmaster Flash’s Remix of Hip-Hop History,” by Vinson Cunningham  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 Malcolm Gladwell  New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A woman who acts as a surrogate, carrying a child for someone else, is said to be going on a “journey.” Kayla Elliott started her surrogacy journey at the age of twenty-six. She gave birth to a baby girl for a wealthy couple living in a mansion in L.A. County. The couple told her that they already had one child, who desperately wanted a sibling. But nothing about the situation was as it appeared. Kayla soon learned that the couple already had twenty other children, most of them under the age of three, who had also been carried by surrogates. After one of the children was taken to an emergency room with head injuries, the police got involved, and then the F.B.I. As the scandal unfolded, the surrogates for the couple began to find one another. Who was this mysterious couple, and why had they collected so many children? “The Journey,” a five-part audio series, unravels what was going on inside the couple’s mansion and exposes a scheme that threatens the surrogacy industry.   New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Follow the show wherever you get your podcasts.    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.