The New Yorker Political Scene Scene

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=CBSMorningsBut 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=namespacebran492-20Follow Dalal on X: https://x.com/dalalmawadAnd on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dalalmawad/

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 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-usThe Important Cinema Club:https://open.spotify.com/show/1QyTvDYIKaekYn7xD0ITV2And follow him on Twitter:https://x.com/WillSloanEsq

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 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.

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