Episodes
Russ breaks down the NYPS's analysis of Trump's victory, AKA Kamala Harris' stunning loss.
Published 11/13/24
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...
Published 11/04/24
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.
Published 10/25/24
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.
Published 10/17/24
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...
Published 10/03/24
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.
Published 09/26/24
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.
Published 09/10/24
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
Published 09/02/24
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.
Published 08/29/24
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...
Published 08/20/24
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.
Published 08/14/24
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!
Published 08/08/24
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.
Published 07/31/24
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.
Published 07/23/24
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.
Published 07/02/24
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...
Published 06/24/24
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.
Published 06/19/24
The NYPS ladies have a chat with conservative lobbyist / activist / strategist Sarah Longwell who gives Dems advice Biden's reelection campaign.
Published 06/11/24
Russ breaks down the Political Scene's discussion of Donald Trump's historic conviction
Published 06/04/24
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.
Published 05/28/24