Russ breaks down the NYPSS breakdown of this year's DNC, with discussion of Kamala Harris, the sad state of affairs for the Palestinian cause, the Obamas and more. Russ also talks about the New Yorker's release of photos from the 2005 Haditha Massacre in Iraq.

Russ is joined by a very special guest, the inimitable Will Sloan. Russ and Will reminisce about their days at Columbia Journalism School before breaking down the New Yorker Political Scene's breakdown of the 1993 documentary The War Room by D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus. The film took audiences behind the scenes of Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign, which gave rise to the media careers of people whose repugnant political views continue to plague us to this day. People like George Stephanopoulos, Paul Begala and James Carville. The NYPS braintrust is joined on their episode by Begala and Carville themselves, in all their loathsome glory, as they make parallels between Clinton '92 and Harris '24.

To get more Will Sloan in your life, check out his podcasts:

Michael and Us:

https://soundcloud.com/michael-and-us

The Important Cinema Club:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1QyTvDYIKaekYn7xD0ITV2

And follow him on Twitter:

https://x.com/WillSloanEsq

Russ breaks down the Political Scene's discussion of Donald Trump's historic conviction

This week, Susan Glasser, Jane Mayer and Evan Osnos discuss foreign affairs and how they aren't (???) playing a big enough role in the 2024 presidential campaigns.

Russ discusses the New Yorker Political Scene's take on the momentum behind the Harris campaign, as well as the role that the Gaza is likely to have it.

This week's episode analyzes the New Yorker Political Scene's reaction to the U.S. - Russia - Europe prisoner exchange, as well as the Harris campaign's messaging strategy. In addition to the regular NYPS hosts, we also hear from Jennifer Lawless, who is a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Virginia. We also get into the time machine to see the parallels between this race and those of Dukakis in '88 and Clinton in '92. Good times!

Russ breaks down the New Yorker Political Scene's ongoing hagiography of Joe Biden, and gets into questions about how Harris is rhetorically navigating the subject of Israel.

Russ goes back to his podcasting roots to check in with his dad (who he used to host a podcast with) to get his thoughts on the R.N.C. and the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Russ and Norm go over the New Yorker Political Scene's take on the convention and on the Trump candidacy.

I go over the NYPS's post-debate analysis, and it's a doozie. Lot's of good gems and nuggets about Joe Biden, the Democratic Party and who is responsible for the disaster that was the debate. Lots of good nuggets and gems for all the Political Scene heads out there, as well as my take on the SCOTUS presidential immunity ruling.

The New Yorker Political Scene hosts give a preview of what to expect out of Thursday's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Bottom line: they are all dreading this debate because they wouldn't know what fun was even if God allowed them be dolphins for a day. They have on Doris Kearns Goodwin to talk about her experiences adjacent to the John F. Kennedy campaign and specifically how he approached his debate with Richard Nixon, which was the first ever televised presidential debate. Doris hopes to hear a substantive, thoughtful debate where the candidates get their policy agendas on the record. Fat chance Doris!

The hosts of the political scene get into Hunter Biden's conviction on felony gun charges. Over the course of their conversation, Jane Mayer makes a stunning revelation: that she knows Hunter Biden personally because their daughters went to school together and rowed on the crew team. Lovely. And Evan Osnos talks about a conversation he had with a wealthy Republican donor and the threat he thinks Trump actually poses to the republic.

The NYPS ladies have a chat with conservative lobbyist / activist / strategist Sarah Longwell who gives Dems advice Biden's reelection campaign.

PREVIEW OF MICHAEL & US EPISODE FEATURING RUSS: https://soundcloud.com/michael-and-us/preview-555-the-love-guru-w-russ-finkelstein?si=14d2e1e11c9e40738b72e19744a7dfc7&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

WATCH LOOKING FOR LOVE ON VIMEO: https://vimeo.com/248504253?share=copy

WTF IS "LABOR DAY" ANYWAY? https://www.npr.org/2022/04/30/1095729592/what-is-may-day-history

Russ digs into Dana Bash and why pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted her recent book event. Spoiler: it's not because of antisemitism. Then Russ gives a quick look at the NYPS's preview of Tuesday's presidential debate.

Russ has an in-depth conversation with his good friend, the Lebanese journalist Dalal Mawad. He also follows up on Ta Nehisi Coates' goings on, including an unhinged "interview" by CBS anchor Tony Dekoupil which you can watch in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgWt-QcPYMo&ab_channel=CBSMornings

But most importantly, Dalal and Russ get into Lebanon's political system, it's modern history and previous and present wars between Hezbollah and Israel.

This is Dalal's recent article about martyred Hezbollah fighters and the mothers they leave behind: https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/hezbollah-fighters-stories-as-told-by-their-mothers/

Dalal's book on the 2020 Beirut blast and the toll it's taken on women. Dalal reads the audio book herself: https://www.amazon.com/All-She-Lost-Explosion-Collapse/dp/1399406256?asc_campaign=ded1ba29e9767f0f6b1bed48903c12c8&asc_source=01H1P39M5ZSG9J6WR6B1HBK9M0&tag=namespacebran492-20

Follow Dalal on X: https://x.com/dalalmawad

And on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dalalmawad/

Russ checks in on the Israel discourse, touching on the return of Ta-Nehisi Coates as well as CNN's smearing of Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib over completely invented accusations of antisemitism.

He then gets to the Political Scene's episode on the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, featuring surprisingly pedestrian analysis from former Mr. Kellyanne Conway, George Conway.

My friend Tomos Lewis joins me to discuss the election and it's relationship with journalism. A stranger in a strange land, this intrepid Welshman is in Wisconsin, trying to explain our presidential election to listeners of the BBC's Welsh service and of Monocle radio.

You can keep up with Tom's goings on on Elon Musk's app X:

https://x.com/tomosdlewis

As well as on Monocle Radio: https://monocle.com/radio/shows/the-monocle-daily/

Welsh speakers can also see and hear his reporting on the BBC's Welsh Language Service.

The hosts of the political scene delve in to Susan Glasser's latest article about the small group of billionaires pouring large sums of money into Donald Trump's campaign.

Russ covers the past two weeks of NYPS episodes + David Remnick's interview with Evan Osnos about Harris on the New Yorker Radio Hour. It had seemed that the NYPS hosts were sort of phoning it in these past couple of months, but they are finally back with some real humdingers. Did you know Kamala Harris was a Brahmin? As in, India's caste system. Find out that and more about Osnos' hagiography of Harris.

Russ breaks down the NYPS's analysis of Trump's victory, AKA Kamala Harris' stunning loss.

It's been a minute, and I've been busy, but this week's episode of the New Yorker Political Scene was just too crazy to not get in on.

Susan Glasser interviews her old pal Fiona Hill, who you might remember because she's the former national security official with an English accent who testified against Trump during his first impeachment trial. The New Yorker Political Scene appears to be on a summer hiatus, so they've apparently pre-recorded this and other interviews to roll out around their favorite subjects while Glasser, Evan Osnos and Jane Mayer soak up the sun at their respective beach homes.

Russ goes over how Zohran won and what happens now in the New York City mayors race

The hosts of the political scene explore the motivations behind Israel's decision to launch strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and how Iran and the U.S. might respond. We also travel back in time to 2023 to hear the crew's reflections on the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2023 to see any possible indication that the lessons they have learned from covering that atrocity are making their way into their contemporary analysis of U.S. foreign policy (don't get your hopes up).

I am joined by my friend Sabri for a wide-ranging conversation about his life in art, music, Palestine advocacy and a little bit of good old New Yorker Political Scene shenanigans.

Check out his deal on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabri/?hl=en

And get a copy of his book here: https://www.aventuresltd.com/shop/p/sabri-sundos-generations-removed-bloom

As always, thanks for tuning in.

Russ talks to his pal and fellow soldier in Zohran's canvassing army Gino Raidy about Mamdani's big victory, what made it happen and what it means for the U.S. and for the world.

Check out Gino's writing, videos and podcasts at his Substack Gino's Blog

As well as on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/ginoraidy

https://x.com/GinoRaidy

I was on the German podcast Was Tun? with Inken Behrmann and Valentin Ihßen talking about the Zohran campaign in the final stretch of the NYC mayor's race. It was such a great conversation I thought I'd post it here as well so you can all get your Russ fill while the getting is good. Check them out, especially if you sprechen sie Deutsch: https://linktr.ee/wastun?utm_source=linktree_profile_share

Enjoy!