Marco Rubio was supposed to be one of the only adults in the room, and now he's become a shell of himself executing Trump's unwinding of the US role in the world. Meanwhile, Pam Bondi just can't keep her blubbering sycophancy under wraps. Plus, Mike Waltz's ouster at NSA, our shakedown of Ukraine with a minerals deal, Trump's pettiness is getting lost in the firehose of his revenge, and even the president of El Salvador doubts the criminality of the people ICE is sending to CECOT.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and surfer William Finnegan joins Ravi for a wide-ranging conversation on surfing, storytelling, and the pursuit of mastery. They unpack Barbarian Days and how a lifetime of chasing waves has shaped Bill’s understanding of fear, discipline, and identity. They then turn to the tension between purity and accessibility in surfing and how innovations like wave pools can reflect broader social shifts. They also dig into what it means to be an adult learner in a youth-dominated sport and whether surfing’s soul can survive its growing commercialization.
Bill and Ravi then turn to Bill’s storied career at The New Yorker and discuss the evolving economics of journalism and the practical realities of building a writing life in today’s digital world. They explore how a new generation of writers and athletes, who’ve never seen the world before the internet, can still find meaning off the beaten path. Finally, they reflect on what it means to fully commit to a craft.
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The signing of a mineral deal with Ukraine represents a new turn in the Trump administration's handling of the war there and Russia's recalcitrance—is it a good turn or a bad turn? And we examine the media misreporting of the circumstances around the attempted deportation of an anti-Israel and anti-Semitic green-card holder. Give a listen.
Today we’re talking about a new essay in the New Yorker that asks how we might think about knowledge, learning, and the meaning of life in a world where Chat GPT replaces a lot of our core knowledge functions. To discuss this piece and its implications (and to argue back on it) we brought on Zena Hitz, a philosopher, a tutor at St. John’s College, and a founder of the Catherine Project. We talked about great books, luddism, overblown AI doomerism and how to think. We really enjoyed this conversation and honestly was hoping it would never end bc Zena was such a fun and compelling guest. Enjoy!
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President Donald Trump has been in office for 100 days. Israel has been at war with Hamas in Gaza for 570, and Russia and Ukraine have been at war for over 1,000.
Douglas Murray has had a front-row seat to all three of these unfolding stories, bringing us reportage and analysis that have illuminated the most urgent issues of our time.
His reporting and willingness to call out bad actors across the world and the political spectrum has earned him his fair share of adversaries. Earlier this month, Douglas went on The Joe Rogan Experience—the most popular podcast in America—to debate both Rogan and comedian-turned-pundit Dave Smith. They sparred for some three hours, with the debate earning millions of views and becoming its own viral news story.
The interview became popular in large part because Douglas refused to pull a punch. In this case that meant fighting back against antisemitism—the people that spew it and the people who fail to confront it. In this case, the kind of antisemitism rising on the online right.
George Orwell famously wrote that “to see what’s in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” Nobody knows that better than Douglas who, unlike many of his contemporaries, never gets lost in excuse-making and needless ideological abstraction. He sees the world clearly and reports it back to us, which is a big reason why he’s such a unique and valuable voice in our era of dishonesty.
That gift is on full display in his new and best-selling book, On Democracies and Death Cults, where he writes: “The story of the suffering and the heroism of October 7 and its aftermath is one that spells not just the divide between good and evil, peace and war, but between democracies and death cults.”
We get into all that and much on this episode of Honestly, which was originally filmed live for our subscribers. As an aside, if you want to start participating and asking questions in my live interviews with people like Douglas, head over to TheFP.com now to subscribe.
The Free Press earns a commission from any purchases made through all book links in this article.
Semifor editor-in-chief and former EIC of Buzzfeed News Ben Smith joins Bad Faith to discuss his recent exposé on the private group chats in which tech billionaires like Marc Andreessen & Mark Cuban build consensus and debate ideas with handpicked "smart" men who are ideologically right-of-center -- all hidden from public eyes and public pushback. In theory, these chats were designed to be 'safe spaces' in which the Richard Hananias, Christopher Rufos, and even Thomas Chatterton Williamses could discuss ideas without censorship on liberal-leaning social media apps. But what purpose do they serve once Williams is booted for ideological consistency on free speech issues and even Hanania is outed for his willingness to question Trump denialism? The conversation broadens to a critique of mainstream media's handling of left politics, and Smith's editorial role as the head of several major media outlets.
The next pope will be chosen through a ritualized process involving secret ballots, smoke signals, and a lock-in at the Sistine Chapel. Nate and Maria talk about how the papal conclave works, and what it has to teach us about group decision-making and the dynamics of secrecy. They also discuss the studio deal for the new movie Sinners, and share their own top negotiating tips. Plus, they play a game of Would You Rather.
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Sadie Dingfelder returns to investigate the cult of “mewing” — the viral tongue-posture technique that promises to chisel your jaw and change your life, or IS THAT BS? Then we turn to the rarest development of all: Trump, on Day 100 of his second term, strikes a deal with Zelensky but not the big one. Plus, we salute a scrappy little government agency that thrived on efficiency… until Trump and Musk disbanded it anyway.
For 80 years, the United States built strong economic, military, and political alliances around the world. But in just 100 days, that trust has been dismantled, and our friends are now working without us to forge new relationships. Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken joins Tim to discuss how hard it will be to rebuild after what Trump has done—plus the Biden administration's response to the Gaza protests, and the continuing questions over why Biden did not step aside earlier. And, Alex Wagner joins from Hungary to discuss the mass protests there.
Tony Blinken and Alex Wagner join Tim Miller. show notes
