Ah, what a grab-bag episode, with one throughline: When Republicans stop paying any heed to the Washington consensus, they can really get things done. And the miracle of Jaws, now 50 years old. Give a listen.
Tech millionaire, co-founder of Justice Democrats, and former chief of staff to AOC Saikat Chakrabarti joins Bad Faith to explain why he's running to oust Nancy Pelosi from the San Francisco congressional seat she has held for almost as long as he has been alive. Saikat offers his takeaways from Zohran Mamdani's success, and evaluates the replicability of Zohran's approach when it comes to social media, his "toxic positivity," and his army of volunteers. Saikat also addresses concerns from the left that he is not a DSA candidate and has, in fact, donated to opponents of DSA candidates in the past. Can Saikat do what former Bad Faith guest Shahid Buttar couldn't quite manage? Will Pelosi also ignore Saikat? Or can he capitalize on normie Democrat frustration with an establishment that's all talk and no action when it comes to fighting back against Trump?
During an Oval Office meeting with congressional Republicans a few days ago, President Trump showed off the draft of a letter that would fire Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve.
It’s the latest chapter in a dysfunctional relationship that has major implications for the global economy.
Guest: Colby Smith, whocovers the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for The Times.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Photo: Tom Brenner/The New York Times
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
MAGA has been infighting over the Jeffrey Epstein files. And that’s because the conspiracy theories around Epstein hit at the very core of MAGA’s whole worldview.
In this conversation, we discuss the rise of QAnon, Donald Trump’s slippery relationship to the more conspiracy-minded factions of his base and how the intrigue around the Epstein files has challenged his credibility as an outsider taking on the “corrupt elites.”
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin and Jack McCordick. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, Mary Marge Locker, Jack McCordick and Kristin Lin. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota and Isaac Jones. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Rollin Hu, Elias Isquith, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Mia Bloom and Sophia Moskalenko.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Paris Marx is joined by Nathan Grayson to discuss the latest round of Microsoft layoffs and how the company’s ambition to remake the video game industry around its streaming service has had significant consequences.
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:
An Xbox producer told laid off staff to use AI to help cope with unemployment.
Nate and Maria share some updates from the final days of the World Series of Poker, and reflect on the importance of making peace with randomness. Then: the Trump administration’s sudden about face on the Epstein Files is ruffling feathers in his usually unruffle-able base. Will he be able to convince the true believers that there is, in fact, nothing to see here? And, how should we think about conspiracy theories in a world where conspiracies are sometimes real?
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Sadie Dingfelder returns to assess the national stomp-fest against lantern flies and asks: did it do anything, or was it all buggage and bluster? Then, a deep dive into the Supreme Court’s CASA ruling on nationwide injunctions, and how a seemingly dramatic limitation on judicial power proved to be less than world-shifting in practice. Finally, Trump disavows Epstein file disclosure demands, setting off a civil war within MAGA media as conspiratorial cracks widen and cranks rage. Produced by Corey Wara
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Ravi unpacks a chaotic week in politics, with Trump’s Epstein scandal spiraling into an unprecedented crisis for his MAGA coalition. He explores how conspiracy thinking fuels Trump’s base and why this case feels different.
Next, is America’s crisis infrastructure at risk? Ravi reviews FEMA’s botched disaster response in Texas. He then turns to the president’s recent erratic shifts on Ukraine and the economy and why they may signal a looming economic storm, linking Trump’s tariff threats, service sector pressure, and politicized debt policy to potential stagflation.
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In addition to eviscerating the top leadership at the Bureau, Kash Patel has assigned whole squads of agents to immigration enforcement. Seasoned FBI veterans who used to focus on national security or run RICO investigations are now doing perimeter security during ICE round-ups of kids and grandmas. The administration's purge is draining the Bureau of expertise and apolitical people who did real work defending the rule of law and protecting the country. Plus, do four GOP senators care one iota about the whistleblower allegations against Emil Bove? And will Ukraine finally get badly-needed air defense weapons?
Ben Wittes and Mike Feinberg—a former top deputy at the Bureau who was targeted by Dan Bongino—join Tim Miller. show notes