We're back to discuss Charlie Kirk and the reaction to his assassination, Jimmy Kimmel's suspension, and a few other things we missed while we were away. Tune in!
Bradley Gorski, a literary and culture scholar, examines the breakneck commercialization of Russian book publishing and of Russian literature more broadly – in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the early 1990s, thousands of new publishers emerged, up from a mere two hundred at the Soviet Union’s end. The notion of the “bestseller” quickly came to dominate the new market, fueling he rise of immensely popular genres such as detective novels, including its zhenskii variety (detective novels written by women and featuring female sleuths. Gorski artfully weaves together the evolution of the book market - from the chaos of the early post-Communist years to the near-monopoly in the 2000s - with literary analysis of some of the most prominent post-Soviet authors. At early stages, post-Soviet literature often reflected a degree of optimism about the Western ideal of personal liberty and embraced what sociologist Boris Dubin called a Russian version of the “American success story”. In recent years, however, the Russian literary market has taken a distinctly illiberal turn, exemplified by the writer Zakhar Prilepin, a bestselling author turned jingoistic patriot who fought in the Donbas region of Ukraine and inspired many of his admirers to join the front.
There’s more reaction on both sides of the decision to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air—and how it could be just the start of a widespread government crackdown against American media.
Also, the CDC’s new vaccine panel is now advising against a standard childhood shot for young kids. We’ll tell you about that decision, and another controversial one expected today.
Plus: how a viral video led to a major university shakeup, why the largest company in the world is now investing billions of dollars into one of its top rivals, and a big announcement from one of MLB’s most legendary left-handed pitchers.
Those stories and even more news to know in about 10 minutes!
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TikTok—which was supposed to be banned again on Wednesday but, again, isn’t—may be legal once more. The Trump administration says it’s meeting with Xi Jinping Friday to finalize the agreement, which may involve—get this—a wealthy Trump-supporting tech mogul.
Guest: Nitish Pahwa, staff writer for business and tech at Slate.
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Democrats on the Hill are hitting back after ABC suspended "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" indefinitely. They’ve introduced the No Political Enemies (or NOPE) Act, a bill that would protect people targeted for political speech, and called for the resignation of Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr, whose comments targeting Kimmel came just hours before ABC pulled the show. To learn more about what Democrats are doing to protect free speech amid President Trump's crackdown — while working to avoid a potential government shutdown — we spoke to Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin.
And in headlines, the Senate confirms a whopping 48 of Trump's nominees all at once, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s handpicked vaccine advisory council makes a change to the childhood vaccine schedule, and Trump disagrees with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer — while standing next to him.
Caving to a pressure campaign from Donald Trump's FCC, Disney pulls Jimmy Kimmel's show off the air. Jon and Dan are joined by newly minted Crooked contributor Alex Wagner to discuss Trump's attacks on Kimmel and his new lawsuit against The New York Times, the impending takeover of TikTok by MAGA-aligned billionaires, and new details from the White House about the coming crackdown on left-leaning nonprofits and organizations. Then they react to the CDC's dangerous new recommendations on childhood vaccinations, excerpts from Kamala Harris's forthcoming tell-all book about the 2024 election, and Trump's bracing candor about when plane crashes are okay.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
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Music service Spotify has been waging war against Apple’s App Store “tax,” significantly weakening Apple’s grip on the mobile world. Bold Names co-host and WSJ columnist Tim Higgins joins us to discuss. Plus, YouTube is giving its creators access to AI tools, and potentially introducing a lot more AI-generated content into users’ feeds. Belle Lin hosts.
Lucy Smith just aged out of the foster care system but finds she needs to protect herself and her family against persistent threats from her past. She relies on the survival skills she’s learned the hard way: a lack of trust in others and a readiness to run. Along the way she connects with her own Anishinaabe identity. “Sisters in the Wind” is the third mystery by author Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians). She weaves together themes of Indigenous identity, justice, and family through compelling characters and in a way that fans of her two previous novels, “Firekeeper’s Daughter” and “Warrior Girl Unearthed”, will recognize. “Sisters in the Wind” is on our Native Bookshelf.
It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
On today’s show: A rate cut and drama at the Federal Reserve, the average American gets a little less creditworthy, and those giant check sweepstakes winners? Well, they might have to get a job soon.