The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The Washington Roundtable discusses how this week’s government shutdown can be best understood by looking at the background and influence of Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Vought is a Christian nationalist who served in the first Trump Administration. He was a chief architect of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, and has written that the country is in a “post constitutional moment.” Amid the shutdown, Vought has threatened to lay off federal workers en masse and to withhold funds from Democratic-leaning states. The panel considers whether these moves are not just an expansion of Presidential power but a fiscal “partitioning” of America.  This week’s reading: “Donald Trump’s Shutdown Power Play [https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/donald-trumps-shutdown-power-play],” by Susan B. Glasser “Can the Democrats Take Free Speech Back from the Right? [https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/can-the-democrats-take-free-speech-back-from-the-right],” by Jay Caspian Kang “Why Democrats Shut Down the Government [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/why-democrats-shut-down-the-government],” by Jon Allsop “Is Donald Trump’s Sweeping Gaza Peace Plan Really Viable? [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-donald-trumps-sweeping-gaza-peace-plan-really-viable],” by Robin Wright “Eric Adams Slips Out the Side Door [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/eric-adams-slips-out-the-side-door],” by Eric Lach “The Politics of Faith After Charlie Kirk [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-politics-of-faith-after-charlie-kirk],” by Michael Luo “Grace and Disgrace [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/grace-and-disgrace],” by David Remnick  Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts [http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref].  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices [https://dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices]

The New Yorker contributing writer Jeannie Suk Gersen joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the Supreme Court’s new term and the cases that could test the boundaries of executive authority and separation of powers. They talk about challenges to Presidential power under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, disputes over voting rights and racial gerrymandering, and a First Amendment fight over state bans on conversion therapy. They also consider the Court’s increasing reliance on its emergency docket and what John Roberts’s twenty years as Chief Justice reveals about the conservative legal movement’s influence on the Court. This week’s reading: * “Harvard’s Mixed Victory [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/harvards-mixed-victory],” by Jeannie Suk Gersen * “Is Donald Trump’s Sweeping Gaza Peace Plan Really Viable? [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-donald-trumps-sweeping-gaza-peace-plan-really-viable],” by Robin Wright * “Why Democrats Shut Down the Government [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/why-democrats-shut-down-the-government],” by Jon Allsop * “Have Cubans Fled One Authoritarian State for Another? [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/a-cuban-exodus-faces-trumps-america],” by Jon Lee Anderson * “The Age of Enshittification [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-age-of-enshittification],” by Kyle Chayka Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts [http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref]. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices [https://dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices]

The author and podcaster Ezra Klein may be only forty-one years old, but he’s been part of the political-culture conversation for a long time. He was a blogger, then a Washington Post columnist and editor, a co-founder of Vox, and is now a writer and podcast host for the New York Times. He’s also the co-author of the recent best-selling book “Abundance [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1806158965]”.  Most recently, Klein has drawn the ire of progressives for a column he wrote about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, in which he praised the late conservative activist for practicing politics “the right way.” He’s also been making a case for how the Democrats can reëmerge from the political wilderness. But some of his other ideas have also invited their share of detractors.  Klein tells David Remnick, “I try to take seriously questions that I don’t love. I don’t try to insist the world works the way I want it to work. I try to be honest with myself about the way it’s working.” In response to criticism that his recent work has indicated a rightward shift in his thinking, Klein says, “One thing I’ve been saying about the big tent of the Democratic Party is the theory of having a big tent doesn’t just mean moving to the right; it also means accepting in the left.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices [https://dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices]

The Washington Roundtable discusses how, in the wake of the reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel’s show, public resistance has a chance to turn the tide against autocratic impulses in today’s politics. They are joined by Hardy Merriman, an expert on the history and practice of civil resistance, to discuss what kinds of coördinated actions—protests, boycotts, “buycotts,” strikes, and other nonviolent approaches—are most effective in a fight against democratic backsliding. “Acts of non-coöperation are very powerful,” Merriman, the former president of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, says. “Non-coöperation is very much about numbers. You don’t necessarily need people doing things that are high risk. You just need large numbers of people doing them.”  This week’s reading: * “Donald Trump Keeps Finding New Ways to Shock the World [https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/donald-trump-keeps-finding-new-ways-to-shock-the-world],” by Susan B. Glasser * “Is Trump’s Attack on the Media Following Putin’s Playbook? [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-trumps-attack-on-the-media-following-putins-playbook],” by Joshua Yaffa * “Where Should the Democrats Go from Here? [https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/where-should-the-democrats-go-from-here],” by Jon Allsop * “Donald Trump’s Firing of a Federal Prosecutor Crosses the Reddest of Lines [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/donald-trumps-firing-of-a-federal-prosecutor-crosses-the-reddest-of-lines],” by Ruth Marcus * “Seeing Enemies Everywhere [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/29/seeing-enemies-everywhere],” by Jonathan Blitzer * “Can Progressive Mayors Redeem the Democratic Party? [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/can-progressive-mayors-redeem-the-democratic-party],” by Bill McKibben Tune in wherever you get your podcasts [https://link.chtbl.com/p7tKbZe1]. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices [https://dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices]

The New Yorker contributing writer Dhruv Khullar joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how Donald Trump is transforming the nation’s approach to vaccines and immunization during his second term. They talk about the repopulating of federal agencies and advisory panels with skeptics, the politicization of once technical debates under the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, and what happens when people distrustful of the medical establishment end up running American public-health policy. They also examine how states are stepping in to fill the vacuum left by Washington, creating a patchwork of approaches to vaccines across the country. This week’s reading: * “A New Era of Vaccine Federalism [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/a-new-era-of-vaccine-federalism],” by Dhruv Khullar * “Can Progressive Mayors Redeem the Democratic Party? [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/can-progressive-mayors-redeem-the-democratic-party],” by Bill McKibben * “Donald Trump’s Firing of a Federal Prosecutor Crosses the Reddest of Lines [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/donald-trumps-firing-of-a-federal-prosecutor-crosses-the-reddest-of-lines],” by Ruth Marcus * “What Trump Wants from a TikTok Deal with China [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-trump-wants-from-a-tiktok-deal-with-china],” by Clare Malone * “Can Liberalism Be Saved? [https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/can-liberalism-be-saved],” by Isaac Chotiner Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts [http://swap.fm/l/tny-tps-extref].  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices [https://dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices]