The Powers That Be: Daily

Bill Cohan joins Peter to chew over the aftershocks from last weekend’s White House Correspondents' Dinner, where the chaos inside the ballroom is still reverberating through the nation’s power corners. Then Bill turns to his latest reporting on Sam Bankman-Fried, who's still angling for a way out of prison—and how the staggering scale of his financial losses could factor into his legal battle. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leigh Ann Caldwell joins Peter to break down the Supreme Court’s recent blow to the Voting Rights Act, ruling that Louisiana must eliminate a majority-Black congressional district—which was quickly followed by Florida passing a new congressional map that could wipe out four sitting Democrats before the year is out. Then Leigh Ann weighs in on the escalating tension between John Thune and Mike Johnson, where the friction between the two chambers appears to have reached a new low. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julia Ioffe joins Peter to dig into the power struggle reshaping the Pentagon, where Pete Hegseth’s promotion of Christopher LaNeve to Army Chief of Staff is raising serious questions. Julia explains how LaNeve’s swift ascent from obscurity—and the purge of popular generals that made room for it—has fueled growing suspicions that he’s become Hegseth’s instrument of choice in Hegesth’s campaign to consolidate control over the military. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dylan Byers joins Peter to assess the state of political media in the wake of the attempted Trump assassination at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner—and the perplexing normalization of political violence in the Trump era. Then Dylan previews looming changes at 60 Minutes and weighs into Bari Weiss’s ambition to franchise the most-watched news show on television. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After an unexpectedly off-script night at The Hilton in D.C., Jon Kelly and Peter trade their WHCA reflections and observations before turning their attention to the NFL’s Capitol Hill charm offensive and the final micro-dramas of the WBD journey. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leigh Ann Caldwell sits down with Indiana Sen. Jim Banks to discuss the red lines for any ceasefire agreement with Iran, before getting into whether the ongoing war is a political liability for Republicans heading into the midterms, what rising gas prices mean for Trump, and the redistricting battles reshaping the electoral map. This special episode of The Powers That Be is brought to you by Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eriq Gardner joins Peter to dig into the whispers around Washington that Netflix is quietly working to torpedo the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. Then they consider whether state attorneys general, including California’s Rob Bonta, have the legal muscle to block the merger—which is exactly what a lot of powerful people in Hollywood are demanding. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dylan Byers joins Peter to preview this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where Donald Trump’s first-ever attendance is already rattling the media class. And the guest list isn’t helping: Bari Weiss has tapped Stephen Miller and Pete Hegseth to attend with CBS News. But Dylan explains, amid the outrage, the cocktail circuit rolls on—arguably as busy as ever. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bill Cohan joins Peter to make sense of Wall Street’s latest head-scratcher—big banks posting record profits, even as an Iran-driven energy shock accelerates inflation and sends gas prices climbing. What’s driving the disconnect between economic anxiety on the ground and seemingly unshakeable optimism on Wall Street? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julia Ioffe joins Peter as the clock runs down on Wednesday’s deadline to reach a deal with Iran and end the conflict. Julia explains why a resolution seems increasingly unlikely—and parses Trump’s narrowing options as public opposition to the conflict continues to grow. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jon Kelly and Peter Hamby pick over the lingering threads of the Diana Russini scandalette and why it's driving some people at the Times nuts. Then the duo turn their attention to David Ellison's aborted Warners victory lap, and all the stars trying to undo his mega-deal. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from Washington, Leigh Ann Caldwell sits down with Republican Senator Todd Young to discuss Trump’s “little excursion” in the Middle East: why he’s against any attempts to rein in the president, his beefs with various loud-mouthed colleagues, and what America misunderstands about the nature of sacrifice. This special episode of The Powers That Be is brought to you by the Association of American Railroads To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julia Alexander joins Peter to discuss YouTube’s exclusive Coachella deal and what it signals about the future of live entertainment. They also dig into the smart glasses arms race at Meta and Snap, and why putting cameras on fans at concerts and stadiums raises some genuinely thorny copyright questions. Plus, Julia dishes on the Hasan Piker phenomenon—and what his audience loyalty on Twitch reveals about everything linear TV is getting wrong. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leigh Ann Caldwell joins Peter to examine the fallout from Eric Swalwell’s resignation from Congress and the collapse of his gubernatorial campaign amid a cascade of assault allegations. Then they consider whether the scandal could widen, potentially drawing in other figures on Capitol Hill. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ian Krietzberg joins Peter to size up Anthropic’s mysterious new model—one the company claims is too powerful to release—and whether that’s genuine caution or savvy marketing. Ian also recaps the HumanX conference in San Francisco, where thousands of A.I. insiders gathered amid a noticeably more anxious mood about what comes next. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julia Ioffe joins Peter with fresh intel on Pete Hegseth’s simmering vendetta against Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, a well-liked Washington figure with close ties to Vice President J.D. Vance. Julia explains why Hegseth views Driscoll as a professional threat and how he's been quietly making his life difficult inside the Pentagon. Julia also critiques J.D. Vance’s diplomacy skills—or lack thereof—coming off two fruitless trips in Hungary and Pakistan. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peter Hamby phones in from the Puck Coachella satellite office for a scintillating conversation with Jon Kelly about the big idea behind Politico’s major executive reshuffling: Has the pivot to video finally descended in Rosslyn? Then the duo turn their attention to the Democrats’ attempt to belatedly dominate YouTube during the midterms. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NBC Sports’s Mike Florio joins John to tackle the most pressing questions facing the NFL as it stares down a highly consequential offseason—from looming media rights negotiations and the potential loss of its antitrust exemption to referee labor talks, the continued push for an 18-game schedule, the league’s expanding appetite for marquee midweek games, and much more. This show is brought to you by the Sports Betting Alliance, advocating forregulated, responsible, and legal online sports betting. Learn more atsportsbettingalliance.org. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Malique Morris joins Peter to discuss Lululemon’s slide from category king to just another player in an increasingly crowded activewear market—and whether the brand can actually engineer a sustainable comeback. Malique also explores the rise of A.I. stylists, as a well-funded startup bets it can fundamentally reshape how consumers shop for clothes. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Ourand joins Peter to break down ESPN’s looming layoffs amid the lingering financial fallout from Disney’s carriage dispute with YouTube TV last fall—and whether new C.E.O. Josh D’Amaro would actually consider spinning the network off. Then John explains why the Masters is still TV’s gold-standard rights deal, and why CBS doesn’t appear to be letting go anytime soon. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices