Radio Atlantic

Recent weeks have seen unprecedented anti-abortion bills pass in states across the country. In Alabama, abortion is now banned under state law, without any exceptions for rape or incest. Georgia, Ohio, and Kentucky have all passed so-called ‘heartbeat’ bills making abortion illegal six to eight weeks into pregnancy. On Wednesday, Louisiana's legislature passed its own heartbeat bill without any exceptions for rape or incest. In Missouri, abortion has been outlawed after eight weeks. And on Friday, it may become the first state without any access to abortion, as a clinic may be pressured to close. These bills have been challenged in court as conflicting with Roe v. Wade, but of course, that conflict is the point. Will a conservative Supreme Court use one of these state laws to overturn Roe? And will this new attention to abortion change how Americans vote in 2020? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Privacy is now the most important idea on the internet—so what exactly is it? And if we care about our privacy, why aren’t we willing to pay to keep it? This week’s Radio Atlantic is a preview of the new season of Crazy/Genius, The Atlantic’s podcast about technology and culture. Staff writer Derek Thompson joins Isaac Dovere to discuss Season 3, which kicks off with an episode about privacy. Subscribe to Crazy/Genius: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump isn’t like most Republican presidents, but his views on trade have been an unusually firm departure from his party. Despite long championing free trade, the GOP is now led by a man who seems deeply skeptical of it. Last week, he upended trade negotiations with China by levying tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, carrying out a threat he’d issued just before a Chinese delegation visited the White House. On Monday, China retaliated with tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods. A trade war between the world’s two largest economies seems to be here. And the risks are dire. Financial institutions have warned that "a trade war could cause a global recession," but, as the president infamously tweeted last year, he thinks “trade wars are good, and easy to win.” On this week’s Radio Atlantic, staff writer Isaac Dovere sits down with Colin Grabow, a trade expert from the libertarian Cato Institute, to discuss the two trade battles at hand: one between the U.S. and China, and the other within the Republican party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Franklin Foer joins Isaac Dovere to discuss his story in the June issue of The Atlantic about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Orbán described his vision of Hungary as an "alternative to liberal democracy," and, in recent years, cemented his power by undermining civil society. When Orbán’s party won a majority last year, it rewrote parts of the constitution, redrew parliamentary districts, and stacked courts. Foer details how one of the last independent institutions—a university in Budapest founded by George Soros—has fought back on Orbán’s efforts to expel it from Hungary. These efforts have not been met with condemnation from the Trump administration. To the contrary, when he spoke with Foer, the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary said: "I can tell you, knowing the president for a good 25 or 30 years, that he would love to have the situation that Viktor Orbán has." Next week, President Trump will welcome Orbán to the White House. How has Hungary found itself losing its democracy? What does it mean for the future of Europe? And what role does the U.S. have in all of this? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner was the first one in years without a comedian. In the Trump era, comedians have struggled to adjust — are things too serious? Too biased? Too absurd? Is any of it funny anymore? Jordan Klepper has been on three very different political comedy shows in three years. He was a fake news correspondent on The Daily Show, then a parody conspiracy theorist on The Opposition, to now playing himself in a new documentary series called simply: Klepper. He joins staff writer Isaac Dovere to discuss the state of political comedy (and why he went from parodying Alex Jones to getting strip-searched in Georgia). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Atlantic Ideas Editor Yoni Appelbaum and Vox editor-at-large Ezra Klein have both deeply researched the question of impeachment — and each came to a different conclusion. Appelbaum argued in The Atlantic’s March cover story that the House of Representatives “must immediately open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump, and bring the debate out of the court of public opinion and into Congress, where it belongs.” Klein argues that “impeachment will be a partisan war over the president’s removal, and anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. The fact-finding potential within the process will be overwhelmed by the question of whether impeachment is merited.” With that question pressing in the wake of the Mueller report, they sit down with Isaac Dovere to discuss the history of impeachment and make their cases: should Congress move ahead with impeachment? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr ordered immigration judges to stop releasing asylum seekers on bail. The move signals an even fiercer immigration policy that could include the return of family separations. A few weeks ago, the president threatened to close the southern border. Days later, he fired his Homeland Security chief, who reportedly lost out to hardliners in the White House. Isaac Dovere interviews Taylor Levy, the Legal Coordinator at Annunciation House, a Catholic charity based in El Paso that provides shelter to immigrants on both sides of the southern border. El Paso has emerged as a hot spot for migration recently. It’s drawn national attention for the number of people crossing there and for the conditions in which those people have been held. Levy shares the harrowing stories of migrants she works with every day. What are these families escaping when they seek asylum in the U.S.? Why are they being held outside under bridges? And does the Trump administration’s new “Remain in Mexico” policy endanger them? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crowded race for the Democratic nomination includes both frontrunners and long-shots, but how do we know which is which? Some big names have trailed in fundraising and polls. And some written off early have found surprising support. On this week’s Radio Atlantic, Isaac Dovere is joined by one of the biggest long-shot successes in recent Democratic politics: Howard Dean. The former Vermont governor was an unlikely frontrunner for the presidency, but for a time in the 2004 race, he was the man to beat. Dean talks about what it was like to go from long-shot to frontrunner—and what it’s like to have it all fall apart. He recalls how his 2004 campaign was animated (and perhaps limited) by anger at President Bush. Now, Dean warns Democrats against falling into the same trap with Donald Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent days, three women have accused former Vice President Joe Biden of inappropriate contact. On Wednesday, Biden announced in a video that he is going to be “mindful” about personal space going forward, that he hears what these women are saying, and that he "gets it." While a number of prominent women have come to Biden's defense, there are plenty of critics who have said he has no place representing a diverse, empowered, progressive electorate in the coming presidential race. When it comes to gender, have the politics of the Democratic party passed Joe Biden by? What happens now to the Biden proto-candidacy? And what does it mean for the Democratic party of 2020? Alex Wagner sits down with Jennifer Palmieri, former Communications Director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign and for the Obama White House from 2013 to 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, the special counsel submitted his report to Attorney General Bill Barr. And this week, Barr shared his brief summary of the big conclusions: there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. As for obstruction of justice, Mueller left that question unresolved. In his letter, Barr said the DOJ had decided the evidence presented didn’t merit criminal charges. More could change with the release of the actual report. In fact, six House committee chairs have demanded it by next Tuesday. But the Mueller chapter of this presidency is now essentially closed. What does the post-Mueller landscape look like? Does the end of his investigation — with no bombshells detonated as yet — hurt Democrats in 2020? Or might it actually help them? Staff writers McKay Coppins and Isaac Dovere join Alex Wagner to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When elected, most presidents either sell their assets or put them in a blind trust. Isolating a president’s financial interests from their time in office has been a norm for decades: from Jimmy Carter giving up his peanut farm to Barack Obama liquidating his assets. But Donald Trump is not like most presidents. He’s said he won’t divest from his businesses, even though his real estate deals around the world open up countless opportunities for conflicts of interest. His unprecedented decision may violate the “emoluments clause” of the Constitution — a rule that’s existed longer than the American republic, but has never before faced scrutiny in the courts. On Tuesday, a panel of Fourth Circuit judges heard an emoluments case and their decision appears likely to send the fight to Supreme Court. Alex Wagner talks to Joshua Matz, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in that case, a Georgetown law professor, and co-author of the January 2017 Atlantic story: ”Why Trump Will Violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort will spend around seven years in federal prison — far less than the nineteen to twenty-four years recommended by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The sentences prompted a backlash when a federal judge in Virginia said Manafort deserved leniency for his “otherwise blameless life.” But it’s not just the punishment that has people talking. Manafort’s crimes only came to light after the unlikely events that led to the Mueller investigation. Manafort’s own lawyer said as much this week: “but for” the 2016 election, his client wouldn’t have been in court. The episode has renewed questions that have been asked — if not answered — since the the 2008 financial crisis: Why are white-collar criminals so rarely prosecuted? And when they are, why do they seem to get off with lighter punishment? Alex Wagner puts those questions to attorney and former federal prosecutor Ken White. White is the person behind @popehat on Twitter and the author of the recent Atlantic article: “6 Reasons Paul Manafort Got Off So Lightly.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Democratic party is in a battle with itself. After devastating losses in 2016, the party was resurgent in 2018, but the lessons from both elections remain unclear: should the Democratic party be one of progressive grassroots activism or should it try to win back suburban and moderate voters? Dan Pfeiffer — former senior advisor to President Obama and co-host of Pod Save America — thinks the choice is a false one. He joins Alex Wagner to discuss what lessons Democrats should carry into 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee, Michael Cohen called the president a racist, a conman, and a cheat. He also brought documents. Trump’s onetime confidant testified for seven hours. He laid a trail of legal breadcrumbs that are likely to be followed by House Democrats and federal investigators, among others—long after Robert Mueller hands in his report to the Attorney General. Fordham Law Professor Jed Shugerman joins Alex Wagner to explain the legal problems President Trump now faces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, President Trump declared a national emergency to get funding for the wall. The move gave him elevated power to move money around, but it was immediately met with lawsuits from 16 states. What exactly is a national emergency? Why is this one different? And just how far do a president’s emergency powers really go? Alex Wagner speaks with Liza Goitein, Co-Director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center. Months before the president’s announcement, Goitein looked into what powers presidents have in a national emergency. She wrote about her research in The Atlantic magazine, describing over 100 emergency powers she said were “ripe for abuse” and that “this edifice of extraordinary powers has historically rested on the assumption that the president will act in the country’s best interest when using them.” What could happen in the hands of a president less concerned with norms? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently accused the National Enquirer of “extortion and blackmail” over private photos of him obtained by the tabloid. In a Medium post, Bezos shared emails from the Enquirer that threaten to publish those photos unless he accedes to their demands. How did a celebrity magazine get into the rough and tumble world of extortion? Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker staff writer and CNN’s Chief Legal Analyst, joins Alex Wagner to share insights from his 2017 profile of the man who runs the tabloid. How did the National Enquirer become what it is today? Why does it pay to silence stories about Donald Trump? And why is it at war with Jeff Bezos? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, news broke that Virginia’s Democratic governor and attorney general both wore blackface in the 1980s. The controversy now enveloping the state has seemed all too familiar, as blackface photos of even more politicians have come out in recent years. Alex Wagner sits down with staff writers Vann R. Newkirk II and Adam Serwer to ask: how does this keep happening? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator Kamala Harris has drawn criticism for beginning her 2020 campaign by pitching herself as a ‘progressive prosecutor’ despite a more mixed record. Alex Wagner sits down with two people who have thought deeply about the power of prosecutors in America: Georgetown Law Professor Paul Butler and New York Times Magazine staff writer Emily Bazelon. What exactly is Harris’s record? How does race inform the debate about prosecutorial power? And what does it all mean for the broader conversation in 2020 about criminal justice? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history, but President Trump seems no closer to a deal to resolve it. Why does the “master dealmaker” -- as he sold himself on the campaign trail -- seem at a loss in his first negotiation with a Democratic House? New York Times White House Correspondent and ‘Trump whisperer’ Maggie Haberman joins Alex Wagner to explain how his business career actually predicted his performance during the shutdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Friday, the New York Times published a startling story: In 2017, days after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, the bureau opened an inquiry into whether the president was secretly working on behalf of Russia. It was an explosive development in an already major story. Since this news came out, it’s informed how we see two other very big new stories: On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that Trump has gone to “extraordinary lengths” to conceal details of his conversations with Vladimir Putin. And on Monday, the Times reported that Trump had discussed withdrawing the United States from NATO. Trump claims he has been tougher on Russia “than any other President,” while also proposing that “getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing.” Over the years, people have speculated about Trump’s ties to Russia. But this week’s news raises the question very clearly: Is the President of the United States a Russian asset? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social media platforms once promised to connect the world. Today’s digital communities, though, often feel like forces for disunity. Anger and discord in 2018 seemed only amplified by the social media institutions that now dictate our conversations. Executive editor Matt Thompson sits down with staff writer Alexis Madrigal to find out how we got to this point and whether we can do anything to solve it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Observing antidemocratic ‘power grabs’ by state Republicans, Atlantic staff writer George Packer writes that “the corruption of the Republican Party in the Trump era seemed to set in with breathtaking speed. In fact, it took more than a half century to reach the point where faced with a choice between democracy and power, the party chose the latter.” To understand how the party of Lincoln became the party of Trump, Alex Wagner spoke with Packer on this week’s episode of Radio Atlantic. Listen to hear Packer describe the three ‘insurgencies’ that explain the transformation of the GOP over the last half-century. An ideological revolution that began with Barry Goldwater became a coup for power with Newt Gingrich (A.K.A. “The Man Who Broke Politics”). Afterwards, moderate Republicans became an endangered species, the Tea Party emerged as a major force, and Trump’s brand of corrosive politics became, Packer says, “inevitable.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Thursday, Maria Butina became the first Russian national convicted of seeking to influence the 2016 election. As part of Russia’s years-long effort to cozy up to the American right, Butina gained access to conservative circles through the National Rifle Association. And as the NRA is under scrutiny for ties to Russian operatives, it appears the organization illegally coordinated with the Trump campaign. Alex Wagner catches up on the week’s developments with Atlantic staff writer Natasha Bertrand. Then, to make sense of how the NRA, Russia, and the Trump campaign connect to one another, she’s joined by Mike Spies, a staff writer for The Trace who covers the gun lobby. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Chinese researcher recently touched off a global controversy when he announced the birth of the world’s first genetically edited babies. The claims remain unverified, but the news shocked and dismayed scientists around the world. Atlantic staff writers Ed Yong and Sarah Zhang join Matt Thompson to discuss the news and what it means for the future of genetic editing. Links - The CRISPR Baby Scandal Gets Worse by the Day (Ed Yong, December 3, 2018) - Chinese Scientists Are Outraged by Reports of Gene-Edited Babies (Sarah Zhang, November 27, 2018) -A Reckless and Needless Use of Gene Editing on Human Embryos (Ed Yong, November 26, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Manafort’s cooperation with the Mueller probe has collapsed. In a Monday filing, the special counsel’s office said he repeatedly lied to federal investigators, nullifying the plea agreement and exposing him to new charges. Not soon after, news stories broke reporting that Manafort had met with Julian Assange in 2016, that a meeting between Manafort and Ecuador’s then-president was under scrutiny by Mueller, and that Manafort’s lawyer was briefing Trump’s attorneys. All this comes as the investigation appears to be reaching a crescendo. What does Mueller know? What did Manafort lie about? And what will President Trump do next? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The midterms were over a week ago, but a number of races have yet to be called. In Florida, the senate and governor elections have both come down to a recount, and accusations of vote-tampering are flying. Alex Wagner talks with Atlantic staff writer Isaac Dovere to understand what’s going on, and then turns to two veterans of the last such debacle: Mark McKinnon, chief media adviser for George W. Bush's 2000 campaign and Jeremy Bash, national security issues director for the Gore campaign. They discuss winning the narrative, butterfly ballots, and landing to a “cloud of chads.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Executive Editor Matt Thompson interviews Atlantic reporters on what lessons they drew from the midterm elections, speaking in turn with: Vann Newkirk, Emma Green, Ron Brownstein, Adam Harris, and David Graham. Links - “The Democrats’ Deep-South Strategy Was a Winner After All”(Vann R. Newkirk II, November 8, 2018) - ”Tuesday Showed the Drawbacks of Trump's Electoral Bargain” (Ronald Brownstein, November 7, 2018) - “The Year of the Woman Still Leaves Women With Terrible Representation in Government” (Emma Green, November 7, 2018) - “The Democrats Are Back, and Ready to Take On Trump” (David A. Graham, November 7, 2018) - “America Is Divided by Education” (Adam Harris, November 7, 2018) - “The Georgia Governor’s Race Has Brought Voter Suppression Into Full View” (Vann R. Newkirk II, November 6, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The upcoming midterms mark the first nationwide referendum on the Trump presidency and the GOP-led Congress. Coming amid a shocking spree of political violence and an ugly showdown over voting rights, Tuesday’s election will have massive ramifications. What conclusions can we draw from the vote? Links - “The Jews of Pittsburgh Bury Their Dead” (Emma Green, October 30, 2018) - “Trump Shut Programs to Counter Violent Extremism” (Peter Beinart, October 29, 2018) - “Trump’s Caravan Hysteria Led to This” (Adam Serwer, October 28, 2018) - “A Broken Jewish Community” (Emma Green, October 28, 2018) - “Voter Suppression Is the New Old Normal” (Vann R. Newkirk II, October 24, 2018) - “The 2018 Midterms Are All About Trump” (Ronald Brownstein, October 18, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On October 2nd, Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, never to be seen again. Details of the journalist’s brutal killing and dismemberment have since emerged, prompting an international crisis for the kingdom and its de-facto ruler, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. This week, The Atlantic’s Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg sits down with Fred Hiatt, the Washington Post’s editorial page editor and Jamal Khashoggi’s former boss, to discuss the man Khashoggi was and what justice may come after his death. Links - “This is the first step to recalibrating U.S.-Saudi relations” (The Editorial Board, Washington Post, October 22, 2018) - “The U.S. Loved the Saudi Crown Prince. Not Anymore.” (Krishnadev Calamur, October 22, 2018) - “There can be no coverup of this act of pure evil” (The Editorial Board, Washington Post, October 19, 2018) - “Trump Sees Khashoggi’s Disappearance Mostly as a PR Problem” (David A. Graham, October 19, 2018) - “Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression” (Jamal Khashoggi, Washington Post, October 17, 2018) - “Saudi Crown Prince: Iran's Supreme Leader 'Makes Hitler Look Good'” (Jeffrey Goldberg, April 2, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator Elizabeth Warren recently shared results of a genetic analysis to back up her family’s story of Cherokee ancestry, hoping to blunt a favorite Republican attack line. The move backfired. A DNA result does not confer a Cherokee heritage. And in general, efforts to link our genetics with our ethnic or cultural identities have a long and sordid history. So what’s more revealing: the results of DNA tests like Warren’s? Or what we try to find in them? Links - “The First DNA Test as Political Stunt” (Sarah Zhang, October 15, 2018) - “Trump, Warren, and America's Racial Essentialism” (Vann R. Newkirk II, October 16, 2018) - “Your DNA Is Not Your Culture” (Sarah Zhang, September 25, 2018) - “When White Nationalists Get DNA Tests That Reveal African Ancestry” (Sarah Zhang, August 17, 2017) - "Radio Atlantic: Becoming White in America" (Kevin Townsend, April 13, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A college education has become a key asset towards success in the American economy, but for many Americans, access to higher education—especially at a prestigious university—feels increasingly out of reach. With its capricious admissions and massive debt loads, the system is struggling. So we’re sitting down this week with two members of our Education team—editor Alia Wong and staff writer Adam Harris—to ask the question: is U.S. higher education sustainable? Links - “Harvard Admissions on Trial” (Alia Wong, October 5, 2018) - “America Wakes Up From Its Dream of Free College” (Adam Harris, September 11, 2018) - “George Washington’s Broken Dream of a National University” (Adam Harris, September 21, 2018) - “Lotteries May Be the Fairest Way to Fix Elite-College Admissions” (Alia Wong, August 1, 2018) - “Why the Ivy League Needs to Admit More Students” (Alia Wong, September 28, 2018) - “Here’s How Higher Education Dies” (Adam Harris, June 5, 2018) - “The Era of Affirmative Action May Not Last Much Longer” (Adam Harris, July 3, 2018) - “The College-Graduation Problem All States Have” (Adam Harris, June 16, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four years ago, after a police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, protestors took to the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. Among them was a school administrator, always clad in a trademark blue vest. DeRay Mckesson, now a face of what became the Black Lives Matter movement, spoke in Washington this week at The Atlantic Festival. Mckesson recently authored a memoir: On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope. Links - On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope (DeRay Mckesson, 2018) - “DeRay McKesson Talks About the Hardest Job He's Ever Had” (Lola Fadulu, June 2, 2018) - “Hashtag Activism Isn't a Cop-Out” (Noah Berlatsky, January 7, 2015) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a news week that’s felt more like a news month, Matt Thompson sits down with two experienced editors to ask how people manage to make and consume news in today’s environment. Adrienne LaFrance is the editor of TheAtlantic.com. Franklin Foer is a national correspondent for The Atlantic and the author of World Without Mind. Links - “The Death of the Public Square” (Franklin Foer, July 6, 2018) - “The Most Powerful Publishers in the World Don’t Give a Damn” (Adrienne LaFrance, August 8, 2018) - “Mark Zuckerberg Doesn’t Understand Journalism” (Adrienne LaFrance, May 1, 2018) - “The Era of Fake Video Begins” (Franklin Foer, May 2018 Issue) - “When Silicon Valley Took Over Journalism” (Franklin Foer, September 2017 Issue) - “It’s Time to Regulate the Internet” (Franklin Foer, March 21, 2018) - “Social Media in 1857” (Adrienne LaFrance, November 1, 2017) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh faces assault allegations, the #MeToo movement reaches its first anniversary. Beyond a potential hearing reminiscent of the Anita Hill testimony 27 years ago, recent days have seen the head of CBS toppled, the editor of The New York Review of Books gone, and even a glacier renamed. What’s changed since the start of the #MeToo movement and what hasn’t? Links - “The Logical Fallacy of Christine Blasey Ford’s ‘Choice’” (Megan Garber, September 20, 2018) - “The Phantom Reckoning” (Megan Garber, September 16, 2018) - “Brett Kavanaugh and the Revealing Logic of ‘Boys Will Be Boys’” (Megan Garber, September 17, 2018) - “I Believe Her” (Caitlin Flanagan, September 17, 2018) - “Why the Les Moonves Departure Is Not Enough” (Megan Garber, September 10, 2018) - “Shame and Survival” (Monica Lewinsky, Vanity Fair, June 2014) - “Nanette Is a Radical, Transformative Work of Comedy” (Sophie Gilbert, June 27, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With authoritarianism and populism on the rise around the world, The Atlantic examines the fate of democracy in its October issue. Anne Applebaum writes that Poland shows how quickly things can fall apart and Jeffrey Rosen writes that the state of American politics is one Founder’s worst nightmare. They join Jeffrey Goldberg and Alex Wagner to discuss this precarious moment in history. Links - “Is Democracy Dying?” (October 2018 Issue) - “America Is Living James Madison’s Nightmare” (Jeffrey Rosen, October 2018) - “A Warning From Europe: The Worst Is Yet to Come” (Anne Applebaum, October 2018) - “The Threat of Tribalism” (Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld, October 2018) - “Americans Aren’t Practicing Democracy Anymore” (Yoni Appelbaum, October 2018) - “Twitter’s Flawed Solution to Political Polarization” (Christopher A. Bail, New York Times, September 8, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Leibovich has a day job covering the reality show of politics as the New York Times Magazine’s Chief National Correspondent, but he’s spent the spent the last few years reporting a book on America’s other biggest reality show: football. The new season begins with Colin Kaepernick the face of Nike, Donald Trump the NFL’s biggest commentator, and America’s most popular sport facing a myriad of problems. How does football survive both CTE and declining ratings? Which is the bigger swamp – Washington, DC, or an NFL owner’s box? Links - Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times (Mark Leibovich, 2018) - “The Absurdist Spectacle of the Nike Boycotts” (Hannah Giorgis, September 5, 2018) - “Colin Kaepernick, Nike, and the Myth of Good and Bad Companies” (Joshua Hunt, September 5, 2018) - “Taking a Blowtorch to Debate” (Alex Wagner, September 5, 2018) - “Trump’s Divisive and Relentless Politicization of the NFL” (Ben Strauss, September 1, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the most rigorous estimate yet of deaths caused by Hurricane Maria was published, marking a grim milestone: the hurricane season of 2017 was one of the deadliest in North America in a century. A year after Puerto Rico, Houston, and other communities were devastated by storms, they’re still counting the victims and trying to rebuild. Because of climate change, these types of extreme disasters may only grow more common. In this episode, The Atlantic’s staff writers Vann Newkirk and Elaina Plott join Matt Thompson to discuss their reporting on Puerto Rico and Houston. How are they doing a year later? And what should we learn from their recovery efforts? Links - “A New Death Toll for Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria” (Vann R. Newkirk II, August 28, 2018) - “Hurricane Harvey Is Houston’s Unending Nightmare” (Elaina Plott, August 26, 2018) - “A Look Back at Hurricane Harvey: One Year Since Landfall” (Alan Taylor, August 26, 2018) - “Researchers Are Still Counting the Dead From Hurricane Maria” (Vann R. Newkirk II, August 2, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt and Gillian discuss Paul Manafort’s guilty verdict and Michael Cohen’s guilty plea with Franklin Foer and David A. Graham. Was Tuesday a turning point for the Trump administration? Links - “The Day That Everything Changed for Trump” (David A. Graham, August 22, 2018) - “Trump’s Victory Was a Disaster for Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort” (David A. Graham, August 23, 2018) - “Blind Confidence Couldn’t Save Paul Manafort” (Franklin Foer, August 21, 2018) - “The Plot Against America” (Franklin Foer, March 2018 Issue) - “Will Trump Be Meeting With His Counterpart — Or His Handler?” (Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine, July 8, 2018) - “All Eyes on the Presidency” (Adam Serwer, August 22, 2018) - Corruption in America (Zephyr Teachout, 2016) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With movies like Crazy Rich Asians, BlacKkKlansman, and Sorry To Bother You out in theaters, Hollywood is trying to mute the complaint that it lacks racial and ethnic diversity, to avoid another #OscarsSoWhite. But depicting people of color onscreen was always the easy part. Next comes a harder question: how authentically are minority experiences being represented? Matt sits down with senior editor Gillian White and culture writer Hannah Giorgis to discuss. Links - “What Does It Mean to ‘Sound’ Black?” (Hannah Giorgis, August 15, 2018) - “There’s Nothing Wrong With Black English” (John McWhorter, August 6, 2018) - “With BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee Sounds the Alarm About America’s Past and Present” (David Sims, August 8, 2018) - “Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal on Blindspotting and the Power of Poetry” (Hannah Giorgis, July 21, 2018) - “Blindspotting Is a Boldly Sincere Love Letter to Oakland” (David Sims, July 20, 2018) - “The Oscars’ Terrible Idea” (David Sims, August 9, 2018) - “Yet Another Reason the New ‘Popular Film’ Oscar Is a Terrible Idea” (Christopher Orr, August 11, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been a year since the violence of the “Unite the Right” rally and the political turmoil of its aftermath. How did Charlottesville change the country? Has the alt-right withered under the new scrutiny or grown amidst the new visibility? And what responsibility do tech platforms have to stop the spread of hateful ideologies? Links - "The White Nationalists Are Winning" (Adam Serwer, August 10, 2018) - “White threat in a browning America” (Ezra Klein, Vox, July 30, 2018) - “The Hate Report: The alt-right is down, but not out” (Will Carless and Aaron Sankin, Reveal, June 1, 2018) - “The Defense That Failed White Nationalists” (Adam Serwer, May 10, 2018) - “The Lost Boys” (Angela Nagle, December 2017 Issue) - “The Hoods Are Off” (Matt Thompson, August 12, 2017) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first anniversary of Radio Atlantic this week coincides with one of the newsiest weeks of 2018. So we’ve decided to take the opportunity to lift our sights above the fog of news for a few minutes, and discuss the things that are most important to remember—the Keepers of the Year. We revisit some of the most memorable keepers of the show’s earliest months, and share reflections from our Atlantic colleagues. Links - “Nanette Is a Radical, Transformative Work of Comedy” (Sophie Gilbert, June 27, 2018) - Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (Neil Postman, 1985) - “My Family's Slave” (Alex Tizon, June 2017 Issue) - “Complicating the Narratives” (Amanda Ripley, Medium, June 27, 2018) - “how to do nothing” (Jenny Odell, Medium, June 29, 2017) - “Philip Roth's final interview: 'Life can stop on a dime'” (Charles Mcgrath, Irish Times, January 22, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As President Trump meets with other western leaders in Europe, the spirit of democratic cooperation we’re used to in NATO summits is gone. But it’s not just Trump. Populist movements around Europe are agitating against the cooperation that has bound the continent since World War II. Where is the West headed? Is this a short-term fever brought on by unique stresses? Or does it herald a re-fracturing of the continent? Are the ‘member states’ of Europe becoming ‘nation states’ again? Links - “Angela Merkel, Escape Artist” (Yasmeen Serhan, July 3, 2018) - “What If Russia Invaded the Baltics—and Donald Trump Was President?” (Uri Friedman, July 27, 2016) - “England’s Unfamiliar Emotion: Hope” (Sophie Gilbert, July 10, 2018) - “Why Didn't Boris Johnson Get Fired Before He Quit?” (Yasmeen Serhan, July 9, 2018) - “The End of the Brexit Illusion” (David Frum, July 9, 2018) - “Trump’s Plan to End Europe” (David Frum, May 2017 Issue) - Educated (Tara Westover, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Humanity is now in the midst of its fastest-ever period of change,” writes Ed Yong in the July/August issue of The Atlantic. Urbanization and globalization mean pathogens can spread and become drug-resistant more quickly than ever. Yong joins executive editor Matt Thompson and fellow science writer Sarah Zhang to discuss what vulnerabilities exist a century after the 1918 pandemic, and how our sharpest risks might be societal and psychological. Links - “The Next Plague Is Coming. Is America Ready?” (Ed Yong, July/August 2018 Issue) - “VIDEO: Is Trump Ready for a Global Outbreak?” (Ed Yong, Jun 14, 2018) - “China Is Genetically Engineering Monkeys With Brain Disorders” (Sarah Zhang, June 8, 2018) - “The Perfect Storm Behind This Year's Nasty Flu Season” (Sarah Zhang, January 13, 2018) - “Trees That Have Lived for Millennia Are Suddenly Dying” (Ed Yong, Jun 11, 2018) - @sarahzhang on Twitter; @-mention her if you’ve read Audrey Schulman’s A Theory of Bastards - 160 Years of Atlantic Stories - “How Bad Is the Flu?” (Justina Hill, March 1944 Issue) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Outrage over families separated at the border has reached a fever pitch. Social media is awash with images of undocumented migrants held in cages, sounds of children crying for their parents, and viral videos of a callous administration response. On Wednesday, President Trump caved to immense political pressure and signed an executive order meant to end family separation at the border. But what effect will it actually have? Video producer Jeremy Raff has been in McAllen, Texas, attending "mass trials" of immigrants—many of whom have been separated from their children with no certainty on when, or if, they will be reunited. Raff shares what's happening along the border, then staff writer Priscilla Alvarez joins to discuss what the news in Washington means for separated families. Links - "Purgatory at the Border" (Jeremy Raff, June 19, 2018) - "'So What? Maybe It Is a Concentration Camp'" (Jeremy Raff, February 23, 2018) - "Extinguishing the Beacon of America" (Alex Wagner, June 15, 2018) - "Trump Says He Will End the Family Separations He Imposed" (David A. Graham, June 20, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nationwide, black Americans live three years less than white Americans. In places with a history of segregation, that life-expectancy gap can be as much as twenty years. Staff writer Olga Khazan joins Matt Thompson, Alex Wagner, and Vann Newkirk to share the story of Kiarra Boulware, a young black woman from Baltimore whose struggles shed a light on how people living only a few miles apart have such disparate health prospects Links - “Being Black in America Can Be Hazardous to Your Health” (Olga Khazan, July/August 2018 Issue - “The 'Horrifying' Consequence of Lead Poisoning” (Olga Khazan, November 8, 2017) - “The Lead-Poisoned Generation in New Orleans” (Vann R. Newkirk II, May 21, 2017) - “How Income Affects the Brain” (Olga Khazan, May 15, 2018) - “The Obesity Cure Is Out of Reach in the Heaviest States” (Olga Khazan, May 7, 2018) - “Trump's EPA Concludes Environmental Racism Is Real” (Vann R. Newkirk II, February 28, 2018) - “Food Swamps Are the New Food Deserts” (Olga Khazan, December 28, 2017) - “What the 'Crack Baby' Panic Reveals About The Opioid Epidemic” (Vann R. Newkirk II, July 16, 2017) - “The Fight for Health Care Has Always Been About Civil Rights” (Vann R. Newkirk II, June 27, 2017) - “VIDEO: Environmental Racism Is the New Jim Crow” (Vann R. Newkirk II, June 5, 2017) - “When You Can't Afford Sleep” (Olga Khazan, September 15, 2014) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two of the world’s most volatile heads of state—Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump—have moved in the span of a year from trading insults to trading fawning letters. Now, they're days away from the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. Between Kim's nuclear ambitions and Trump's political pressures, the stakes of this exchange couldn’t be higher. Are we headed toward the world’s most unlikely match? Or its worst diplomatic divorce? Links - “The Threat to Kim Jong Un Within North Korea” (Uri Friedman, June 4, 2018) - “So Is the North Korea Summit Back On, or What?” (Uri Friedman, May 31, 2018) - “How South Korea Pulled Trump and Kim Back From the Brink” (Uri Friedman, May 27, 2018) - “South Korea’s President Moon is the man in the (very precarious) middle” (Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Washington Post, May 28, 2018) - “Former South Korean National-Security Adviser: The U.S. May Have to Withdraw Some Troops” (Uri Friedman, May 23, 2018) - “Trumpism: Speak Loudly and Carry a Big Stick" (Uri Friedman, April 6, 2018) - “The Man Behind the North Korea Negotiations” (S. Nathan Park, March 12, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new generation of political activists have grown up more interested in provoking outrage from their fellow citizens than in winning them over. Among the most influential exemplars of the genre is Stephen Miller, a senior policy adviser to President Trump. What happens when the trolls run politics? What happens when they run the White House? Links - “Trump’s Right-Hand Troll” (McKay Coppins, May 28, 2018) - “How an Aspiring It-Girl Tricked New York's Party People - and Its Biggest Banks” (Jessica Pressler, New York Magazine, May 28, 2018) - “Review: 'Children of Blood and Bone,' by Tomi Adeyemi” (Vann R. Newkirk II, April 2018 Issue) - “This Is The Daily Stormer’s Playbook” (Ashley Feinberg, Huffington Post, December 13, 2017) - “Watch: Young Stephen Miller jokes “torture is a celebration of life”” (Noah Kulwin, Vice, May 30, 2017) - “The Future of Trumpism Is on Campus” (Elaine Godfrey, January 2, 2018) - “Is Free Speech Really Challenged on Campus?” (Julian E. Zelizer and Morton Keller, September 15, 2017) - “Trolls Are Winning the Internet, Technologists Say” (Adrienne LaFrance, March 29, 2017) - “The First Troll” (James Parker, December 2016 Issue) - “Should We Feed the Trolls?” (Adrienne LaFrance, April 28, 2016) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The decades-old dispute between Israelis and Palestinians seems to be at a new low these days. Two American-born writers – an Israeli author and a Muslim journalist – join editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg and global editor Kathy Gilsinan to grapple with the bleak state of affairs. Yossi Klein Halevi is the author of the new book Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor. Wajahat Ali recently traveled to the West Bank to write “A Muslim Among Israeli Settlers” for the June 2018 issue of The Atlantic. The four discuss how we got here and what paths forward remain. Links - “A Muslim Among Israeli Settlers” (Wajahat Ali, June 2018 Issue) - "Settlers in the 'Most Contentious Place on Earth'" (Wajahat Ali, May 10, 2018) - “The Real Dispute Driving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” (Yossi Klein Halevi, May 14, 2018) - Yossi Klein Halevi joined Jeffrey Goldberg on The Atlantic Interview (May 1, 2018) - “Jerusalem’s Ramadan Is Different This Year” (Emma Green, May 18, 2018) - “The Coming Storm in Israel” (Neri Zilber, May 11, 2018) - “Iran vs. Israel: Is a Major War Ahead?” (Avi Issacharoff, May 11, 2018) - “Celebration in Jerusalem, Bloodshed in Gaza” (Emma Green, May 14, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has been the focus of headlines and cable news for a full year now. Despite his seemingly leak-proof team, speculation and anxiety swirl around the inquiry. What do we actually know about the investigation? How much deeper does the iceberg go? And where is it heading next? Links - "The Lingering Mysteries of a Trump-Russia Conspiracy" (Natasha Bertrand, May 16, 2018) - "Trump Finally Fesses Up to Reimbursing Michael Cohen" (David A. Graham, May 16, 2018) - “What Exactly Is Rudy Giuliani's Role?” (David A. Graham, May 7, 2018) - "Trump Goes to War With Mueller" (David A. Graham, May 2, 2018) - "Mueller's Probe Is Even More Expansive Than It Seems" (Natasha Bertrand, May 14, 2018) - "'These Are Very Dangerous Questions for the President'" (Adam Serwer, May 1, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's Radio Atlantic brings you the first episode of our new show Crazy/Genius, hosted by Atlantic staff writer (and past Radio Atlantic guest) Derek Thompson. In this episode, two guests debate whether Facebook is fixable, or whether its business model is designed to sell us lies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices