Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

The Epstein files and the Michael Wolff ethics mess. Then Brad Carson (Americans for Responsible Innovation) and Charles Lehman (Manhattan Institute / City Journal) dig into the shutdown endgame, Schumer's calculus, 2026 vibes, and why data centers might be a sleeper issue. They argue affordability vs. "afford to dream," culture vs. policy, and whether legalization waves for pot, NIL, and sports betting were built to fail. Plus: AI guardrails, why adding friction to vices works, and Goat Grinders on EST vs. EDT, reclining your plane seat, and off-leash dogs. Bonus Q&A about Brad's Senate race in the Not Even Mad feed.

Produced by Corey Wara

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• Alex's new podcast, "Runaway Country"
• The Atlantic's piece, "The Limits of the Democrats’ Big Tent"

Ravi sits down with Tim Wu, author of The Age of Extraction, to unpack how America’s biggest tech empires rose—and why they might be due for a breakup. From Teddy Roosevelt’s railroad wars to Amazon’s pay-to-play marketplace, Wu traces how antitrust battles have shaped innovation for more than a century. He explains how Amazon’s tactics—copycat products, buried listings, and punishing sellers—mirror the monopolies of the past, and what the FTC is trying to change. The episode ends on AI, asking whether Big Tech’s wild spending is fueling progress—or just building smarter walls around its power.

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Ravi’s Analog Writer’s Group: https://www.ravimgupta.com/analog

Tim Wu’s The Age of Extraction

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Thousands of pages of newly released emails between Jeffrey Epstein and his associates have put the convicted sex offender’s relationship with President Trump back in the spotlight.

David Enrich and Michael Gold, who have been covering the story, explain what the new documents tell us and discuss whether they could prompt the release of the rest of the Epstein files.

Guest: 

• David Enrich, a deputy investigations editor for The New York Times.
• Michael Gold, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Mr. Trump said the Democrats were bringing up the Epstein “hoax” to deflect from the government shutdown.
• House Republicans asserted that the emails revealed little information.

Photo: Doug Mills/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.

Paris Marx is joined by Nathan Grayson to discuss how Saudi Arabia is buying its way into the sports, comedy, and video game industries in order to broaden its investment portfolio and launder its international reputation.

Nathan Grayson is a cofounder of Aftermath and the author of Stream Big: The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behind the Screen.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Aftermath launched a refreshed website. Check it out!

• Nathan wrote about the problems with the Saudi-EA deal.

• GeoGuessr users made their maps unplayable in protest against the game’s announced participation in the Esports World Cup.

• Here’s a more comprehensive list of Saudi Arabia’s game investments.

• And here’s a history of Saudi Arabia’s investments in sports.