The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The Washington Roundtable is joined by the New Yorker staff writer Jonathan Blitzer to discuss the Republican Party’s response to its historic midterm drubbing. With Stephen Miller’s promotion to White House chief of staff and Jim Jordan’s election as House Minority Leader, the Party seems to be doubling down on far-right ideology. Blitzer, who has reported deeply on both Miller and Jordan, explains how these two figures, once dismissed as fringe extremists, have risen to power, and why neither is likely to moderate their views now. The panel also considers what their elevation means for the Party’s future—in 2028 and beyond.

The Political Scene will be live onstage at Sixth & I in Washington, D.C., with the senator Reverend Raphael Warnock, on November 18th. Get tickets or watch online»

This week’s reading:

“How Stephen Miller Manipulates Donald Trump to Further His Immigration Obsession,” by Jonathan Blitzer (from 2023)

“Jim Jordan’s Conspiratorial Quest for Power,” by Jonathan Blitzer (from 2023)

“Can You Fire the Vice-President via Truth Social?,” by Susan B. Glasser

“Can American Socialism Survive Its Success?,” by Jill Lepore

“The Candidates Who Defeated the Politics of White Grievance,” by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

“Breaking the Decade-Long Trump Fever,” by David Remnick

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The New Yorker staff writer and historian Jill Lepore joins Tyler Foggatt for a conversation about how public feeling around artificial intelligence, and the backlash to the industry, affected the recent midterm elections. Lepore situates the rebuke to the industry in the history of technological advances, futurist visions in science fiction, and the idea of the “artificial state.” They discuss how voters rejected data centers in forty out of forty-one local ballot initiatives, whether the rising tide of fury at big tech will prompt the new Congress to pursue regulation of A.I., and what the scandal surrounding Nvidia’s C.E.O., Jensen Huang, could mean for the future of Silicon Valley.

This week’s reading:

“The New Left,” by Jill Lepore

“Is A.I. Above the Law?,” by Jill Lepore

“Is Jensen Huang’s Affair a Crisis for the A.I. Boom?,” by John Cassidy

“The Death Knell of Digital Search,” by Kyle Chapka

“A ‘Good Populism’ Rises in the United States,” by Ishaan Tharoor

Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts.
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Though Pete Buttigieg, the former Secretary of Transportation and Indiana mayor, wasn’t on the midterms ballot, he campaigned for Democrats across the country in this election. Buttigieg’s ability to hold his own with red-state audiences and right-leaning media has made him an important voice for the Democratic Party, and he is a likely contender for the 2028 Presidential nomination. He talks with David Remnick about the Democrats’ historic rout; their mandate for the past two years of Donald Trump’s Presidency; and what potential 2028 candidates need to focus on.

Further reading and listening:

“A Blue Wave Just Crashed on Trump,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells

“Donald Trump’s Repudiation, America’s Revenge,” by Susan B. Glasser

“Can Mayor Pete Be a Democratic Front-Runner?,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.
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The Washington Roundtable convenes after a historic midterm election—which amounted to a sweeping repudiation of Donald Trump and the Republican Party that the staff writer Susan B. Glasser says is “unlike any election that we’ve seen.” The panel discusses how the incoming Democratic Congress might balance its efforts to investigate the Administration with a legislative agenda focussed on affordability. They discuss the emerging civil war in the G.O.P. and whether this election marks a temporary backlash against Trump or the beginning of a lasting political realignment. If there’s a lesson that politicians from both parties might glean from the results, Evan Osnos says, it’s to “stay close to what people are actually feeling and asking for in their lives—stay close to what they’re complaining about, what matters to them, what gives them joy, what gives them sorrow—and you will probably do better than going off and building golden arches for yourself.”

The Political Scene will be live on stage at Sixth & I in Washington, D.C., with the senator Reverend Raphael Warnock, on November 18th. Get tickets »

This week’s reading:

“Donald Trump’s Repudiation, America’s Revenge,” by Susan B. Glasser

“Finally, the Beginning of Trump’s End,” by Susan B. Glasser

“Midterms Analysis: A Blue Wave Just Crashed on Trump,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells

“The Night That Texas’s Seemingly Unchangeable Republican Identity Vanished,” by Rachel Monroe

“ ‘Regime Change Came in Texas Before Tehran,’ ” by Ishaan Tharoor

“Washington Lawyers Up,” by Ruth Marcus

“The MAGA Faithful Eye the Exits,” by Antonia Hitchens

Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New Yorker’s editor, David Remnick, and the staff writers Vinson Cunningham and Benjamin Wallace-Wells join Tyler Foggatt to discuss the sweeping Democratic victories in the midterm elections and what the results reveal about the country’s changing political landscape. They talk about the issues that drove voters away from Donald Trump, the possibility of a lasting Democratic realignment in once reliable Republican strongholds like Texas, and what a Democratic majority could mean for the remainder of Trump’s Presidency and the 2028 Presidential primaries in both parties. After a decade in which Trump has defined the Republican Party, what would it take for the party to chart a different course?

This conversation was recorded for a live video on Substack. Follow The New Yorker on Substack »

Get Tickets to ⁠The Political Scene Live at Sixth & I in Washington D.C.⁠ on November 18th.

Recommended reading:

“Midterms Analysis: A Blue Wave Just Crashed on Trump,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells

“Donald Trump’s Repudiation, America’s Revenge,” by Susan B. Glasser

“The Night That Texas’s Seemingly Unchangeable Republican Identity Vanished,” by Rachel Monroe

“Washington Lawyers Up,” by Ruth Marcus

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices