Inside The Hive With Nick Bilton

Chris Hayes of MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes" joins Inside the Hive host Brian Stelter for a special episode—unplanned on a holiday break, but here we are. As President Biden's disastrous debate performance and the "catastrophe" of the SCOTUS immunity ruling converge in an existential question about America's future, Stelter and Hayes—who recently launched a series called The Stakes in his Why Is This Happening? podcast feed—parse the crush of headlines, and offer new behind-the-scenes details from the debate that has become an inflection point for the history books. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this recent episode of The Political Scene, hosts Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos discuss the unusual and dangerous aspects of Donald Trump’s reëlection campaign, from his quid-pro-quo offer to oil executives to his daughter-in-law Laura’s new leadership position on the Republican National Committee.To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker visit newyorker.com/podcastsThis episode originally aired on May 17th, 2024 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

We’re all feeling it: The exhaustion. The malaise. The discontent. The nagging suspicion that U.S. politics are futile. But if there is any year to resist the temptation of tuning out, say Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor, it’s 2024. The two co-hosts of their popular “no bullshit” podcast Pod Save America join Inside the Hive to discuss the enduring appeal of Donald Trump, the palliative power of seeing comedy in political tragedy, and why voters should view themselves as change agents come November. “Your vote is not about rewarding or punishing Joe Biden or Donald Trump or any candidate,” says Favreau. “Your vote is about yourself and your future and what kind of country you want…The only way forward is to be involved and to try to make things better.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s not easy to stay in Donald Trump’s good graces. But throughout the years, Steve Bannon, host of the popular right-wing War Room podcast, has continued to prove an indispensable voice for the former president, saturating the airwaves with pro-MAGA propaganda while galvanizing Trump’s base into action. On the latest episode of inside the Inside the Hive, Puck National Correspondent Tina Nguyen and Washington Post National Political Reporter Isaac Arnsdorf discuss how the infamous and canny GOP strategist helped Trump come out of his post-election hibernation, whether Bannon is more bark than bite, and why his impending time behind bars could burnish his MAGA bona fides. “It’s amazing clout,” Nyugen says of Bannon's prison sentence, “for someone in the MAGA world in these MAGA times with a MAGA audience.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ever since the rise of social media, news publishers have always been playing an unwinnable game of catch-up, chasing the changes in Big Tech’s byzantine algorithms to ensure the clicks keep coming. But with AI now in the picture, the playing field is about to get even more lopsided, according to Wired editor in chief Katie Drummond and Axios Senior Media Reporter Sara Fischer. Joining Brian Stelter on the latest episode of Inside the Hive, the two media mavens discuss how tech companies like OpenAI have painted outlets into a corner by offering lucrative licensing deals that could later come back to bite them. “If you strike a deal, you get to experiment with the top technology in generative AI while your competitors do not,” says Fischer, but you “don’t fully understand…the risk of what you're giving up and how valuable it could be.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Parsing fact from fiction is a requisite skill for any journalist. But for Steven Brill—the founder of Newsguard, a website dedicated to countering misinformation by ranking the reliability of news sources—it’s his life. Fresh on the heels of his new book, The Death of Truth, Brill joins host Brian Stelter to discuss Big Tech’s catastrophic moderation failures, how “pink slime” sites have infiltrated the news deserts, and why regaining public trust in the “referees” of real information is paramount for the 2024 election.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

In a special episode, host Brian Stelter discusses the Donald Trump guilty verdict with Mary Trump, a writer, psychologist, and niece of the former president and now-convicted felon. She describes how Trump has long tried to suppress feelings of humiliation and why she expects him to lash out even more after his conviction. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter is joined by veteran Democratic operative Lis Smith to examine the campaign inside the Democratic Party to stop Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from spoiling the presidential election. They discuss why the Democratic Party is "leaving nothing to chance" this election cycle and the motives behind implementing a war room to explicitly ensure that third-party candidates receive the same type of scrutiny that major-party candidates traditionally receive. They also reflect on Kennedy's affinity for conspiracy theories, his running mate Nicole Shanahan, and what it means that his rhetoric and policy positions have shifted to the far right. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

As the Trump hush money trial heads toward closing arguments, CNN's chief legal correspondent Paula Reid tells host Brian Stelter about the biggest surprises thus far and previews the range of possible outcomes from the jury. Reid also shares an inside look at day-to-day television news coverage of the trial. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

From ‘Scandal’ to social justice, Black Twitter has dominated digital discourse, a phenomenon Prentice Penny explores in his new Hulu docuseries, “Black Twitter: A People's History,” based on Jason Parham's 2021 feature for Wired. Penny and Parham, along with J Wortham of the New York Times Magazine, join host Brian Stelter to discuss Black Twitter's cultural impact, and its future. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter examines the media circus surrounding Donald Trump's hush money trial with Olivia Nuzzi, Washington correspondent for New York magazine, and Vanity Fair staff writer Dan Adler. They discuss what it's like to cover the criminal trial today while it seemingly feels like 2016 and why it's essential for journalists in the courtroom to shout every detail and talk about every aspect. They also reflect on the personalities in the room amid the controlled environment and what's to come, as the trial hasn't even touched on the alleged crime yet. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week’s Inside the Hive with Brian Stelter, Vanity Fair writer Dan Adler and Hollywood Reporter special correspondent Lachlan Cartwright examine Donald Trump’s sordid relationship with David Pecker, the former National Enquirer executive at the center of the ex-president’s criminal hush money trial in Manhattan. Adler and Cartwight, both reporting from inside the courtroom, describe the “surreal” dynamics of this week's proceedings, and reveal how the back-scratching world of tabloid media ended up creating a monster. “You can’t believe this happened. You can’t believe it’s being litigated,” says Adler. “It all still is sort of like, a decade later, a little bit hard to process.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter checks in with Vanity Fair’s Dan Adler, who describes the strange scene at Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Then Stelter speaks with “Columbine” author Dave Cullen about the 25th anniversary of the Colorado school shooting. Cullen discusses what changed, and what didn't, about American culture, police practices and gun laws. He also reflects on his personal connection with the families intricately linked through an unending American tragedy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This is a preview episode of WIRED Politics Lab. Election deniers are mobilizing their supporters and rolling out new tech to disrupt the November election. These groups are already organizing on hyperlocal levels, and learning to monitor polling places, target election officials, and challenge voter rolls. And though their work was once fringe, its become mainstreamed in the Republican Party. Today, we focus on what these groups are doing, and what this means for voters and the election workers already facing threats and harassment.Listen to the full episode of WIRED Politics Lab here.Be sure to subscribe to the WIRED Politics Lab newsletter here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter speaks with ESPN women's basketball reporter Alexa Philippou and Vanity Fair contributing editor Tom Kludt about a sport seemingly at an inflection point and surging in interest at both the college and pro levels. The group discusses stars who have helped drive enthusiasm for the game, including Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and coach Dawn Staley. They also reflect on challenges inside women's basketball and women's sports more broadly, particularly how record viewership still hasn't led to pay parity. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter speaks with journalist Scott Nover about how Donald Trump, in the midst of legal and financial turmoil, just got a huge lifeline by way of Truth Social. No, the social media network for the MAGA crowd isn’t suddenly a raging success. But through a “meme stock media merger,” as Nover recently described it for Vanity Fair, the presumptive GOP nominee netted billions this week—at least on paper. Questions remain, though, as to how and when Trump can actually take this money out of the market? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter examines the many criminal charges against Donald Trump with Bess Levin, a politics correspondent at Vanity Fair, and Vanity Fair staff writer Dan Adler. They discuss the details of the four indictments, including whether the tone of the Manhattan "hush money" case featuring the contents of a 2005 Access Hollywood tape will come across as an embarrassing, scandalous tabloid story for the former president or a technical, financial case. They also reflect on Trump's decades-long go-to legal strategy of invoking delay tactics and avoiding legal repercussions and what that could mean for the 2024 election and beyond. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

How reliable are political polls in an era when almost no one answers the phone? Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer tells Brian Stelter that he takes polls "seriously," if not literally, and says Democrats dismiss the data at their own peril. "We are living on the knife's edge," Pfeiffer says, with Donald Trump showing the "slightest of leads right now" over Joe Biden. Pfeiffer explains why he'd rather be the Biden campaign than the Trump campaign and gives tips about how to digest media coverage of the presidential campaign. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter talks with Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz about the challenge of getting anything accomplished in Congress amid GOP dysfunction and Donald Trump’s demands, with a bipartisan border-security being the latest casualty. Schatz doesn’t mince words about Trump’s “fascist” tendencies, warns that democracy can be overthrown under a legalistic veneer, and chides the news media for failing to meet the moment. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week’s Inside the Hive explores the recent IVF ruling in Alabama and the very personal fight for reproductive rights in America. Host Brian Stelter talks with Amanda Zurawski, who is suing the state of Texas after being denied an abortion, about nearly dying during her difficult family planning journey. He also speaks with Washington Post reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell about Republicans’ complicated relationship with IVF that has involved a lot of misunderstanding of both the science and the political consequences of the ruling. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices