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Former FBI agent Séamus McElearney, author of Flipping Capo: How the FBI Dismantled the Real Sopranos, walks through the case that shattered the DeCavalcante crime family. He explains the mob's quiet tax on regular people via unions—no-show jobs, pension skims, and an asbestos local run by guys who couldn't pass the test (so they had someone take it for them). He also gets into the overlap with The Sopranos and contrasts real life with the one premise he says flatly wouldn't happen: a boss talking mob business to a shrink. Plus, the Renee Good shooting and the way "objectively reasonable" ends up riding on an officer's story; and in the Spiel, Iran's protests and "semi-official" media; and how the fake Fed investigation is Trump's own attempt at an autocrat-like crackdown.
Produced by Corey Wara
Coordinated by Lya Yanne
Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig
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Grandpa Trump looked like he was losing the pep in his step at the end of the year. But with him threatening the independence of the Fed, justifying the killing of an American in cold blood for teasing a federal agent, and toying with the idea of taking an ownership stake in oil companies, he's now dramatically ratcheting up his authoritarian tendencies. At the same time, he's losing sight of America First through his Venezuela distraction—and opening the door to challenges from MAGA true believers like Steve Bannon. Plus, Dems are playing a good hand in Alaska with Mary Peltola, Bill is a resist lib, and the heartwarming desire for freedom from the Iranian people.
Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
show notes
So much of what's been going on in this country seems performative and almost cinematic that we might need to consider how much Hollywood and pop-culture fantasy in general is leaching into our reality. Give a listen.
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Founding director of the Critical Theory Workshop and professor at Villanova University Gabriel Rockhill is out with a new book that calls out many of the intellectual fathers of the academic left as insufficiently imperialist and often funded by the CIA. How have we been mislead by the "compatible left" -- a cohort of leftists that support marxism only in theory while inveighing against actually existing socialism? Where do Slavoj Zizek & Noam Chomsky fall in this analysis? How do we identify the contemporary "compatible left" in our media and political environment, and if the deep state is so effective at coopting left movements, what can we possibly do to evade them and achieve revolutionary change? This is a sprawling, three-hour episode you wont want to miss.
Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).
Produced by Armand Aviram.
Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).
Warning: This episode contains strong language.
Just hours before a federal immigration officer killed Renee Good in her car, Brian O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, warned that a tragedy involving ICE seemed inevitable.
In an interview, Chief O’Hara discusses his experience with ICE in Minneapolis and why, in his mind, President Trump’s campaign of mass deportation is undermining faith in police departments.
Guest: Brian O’Hara, chief of the Minneapolis Police Department
Background reading:
Photo: Ryan Murphy for The New York Times
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
What is the purpose of the Arts? Can music, literature and visual art change our lives physically and socially, as well as personally? Adam Rutherford explores the power of the arts and how it might be defined and explained.
Engaging with the arts is one of our most powerful tools for unlocking health and happiness argues Daisy Fancourt. She is is Professor of Psychobiology and Epidemiology at University College London and Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health. In her new book, Art Cure, she shows how songs support the development of children's brains; how dance can build neural pathways; how theatre and exhibitions can decrease pain, stress and depression and how the arts can improve the functioning of every major organ system in the body. Drawing on the latest research research in a range of scientific fields, she traces a connection between the arts and human flourishing.
Earliest Stories: Stories, Novellas, Humoresques, 1880-1882 is a collection of the Russian writer Anton Chekhov's work while he was still a student of medicine. In his juvenilia we see flashes of insight alongside comedy, compassion and a developing narrative voice. Rosamund Bartlett, translator, biographer and cultural historian writes about how stories have long been dismissed, but written as his family faced financial crisis, reveal much about the threads that connect together in his life and work.
BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom Service explores how music transports and defines us in his new book. In A History of the World in 50 Pieces, he examines how classical music reflects our changing politics, society and technological advances - and how composers, musicians and listeners have shaped history. From Bach to Beethoven via the Happy birthday song, he explores the power of music to connect and and challenge us.
Producer: Ruth Watts
On January 7, 2025, the Palisades and Eaton Fires erupted, eventually burning down more than 16,000 structures and killing at least 31 people, becoming among the most destructive and deadly wildfires in California’s history.
Two Wirecutter writers, Gregory Han and Mike Cohen, lived through the Eaton fire. Both lived in Altadena, just outside Los Angeles. Gregory’s home was damaged, while Mike’s burned to the ground. They collaborated on an article sharing their biggest lessons of recovery, which Wirecutter published last July, as part of our emergency preparation coverage.
Now, in a special podcast series, they are sharing the biggest lessons they’ve learned from the past year–—and what they can teach you about how to prepare for a disaster.
Unfortunately, climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent, more intense, and more unpredictable. In the last year alone, we’ve seen cataclysmic floods in the Texas Hill Country, deadly tornadoes in many parts of the U.S., and increasing flash floods across the country, just to name a few. No one is completely insulated from these types of events.
In this first episode, we’ll introduce you to Gregory and Mike, and why they think it’s imperative to invest in your community before a disaster.
You can listen to parts two and three of this series here. Part three will be published on Jan. 12.
Actionable steps you can take from this episode:
You can find out more about Gregory Han on his website and on Instagram @typefiend
Additional reading:
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The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel.Engineering support from Maddy Masiello and Nick Pitman. Episodes are mixed by Catherine Anderson, Efim Shapiro, Rowan Niemisto, Sophia Lanman, and Sonia Herrero. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Diane Wong. Wirecutter’s deputy publisher and general manager is Cliff Levy. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter’s editor-in-chief. Hosted by Rosie Guerin, Caira Blackwell and Christine Cyr Clisset.
Find edited transcripts for each episode here: The Wirecutter Show Podcast
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.