The Political Scene | The New Yorker

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What Is Ibogaine and Why Is Trump Talking About It? Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

The journalist Michelle Lhooq joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss her reporting on ibogaine, a psychedelic that has recently been embraced by the right—including President Donald Trump. They talk about the movement to promote research into ibogaine as a treatment for mental illness; the unlikely coalition of drug advocates, Republican politicians, and veterans who helped bring the drug into the political mainstream; and Trump’s executive order expediting the F.D.A. approval of psychedelic therapies. They also discuss how the politics of psychedelics have shifted over the years, and whether the success of the ibogaine initiative could signal a broader shift toward the acceptance and legalization of more psychedelics and other drugs.

This week’s reading:

“Are Psychedelics Right-Wing Now?,” by Michelle Lhooq
“The Delusions of John Roberts,” by Margaret Talbot
“The Great Delegalization,” by Dara Lind
“A.I. Is Now a Major Election Issue,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells
“An Israeli Satirist’s Bid to Save His Country’s Democracy,” by Bernard Avishai

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.

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How Socialist Is the D.S.A.? Megan Romer Explains Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

One of the biggest stories of this election cycle is the emergence, for the first time in a long time, of socialism as a force on the national stage. Inspired perhaps by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani, D.S.A. candidates are running in congressional and state-level races all over the country. But some of those candidates, David Remnick thinks, talk more like F.D.R. Democrats than like students of Marx. How socialist is democratic socialism, and how does it square with the future of the Democratic Party? Remnick talks with a co-chair of the D.S.A., Megan Romer, who recently went viral for a lightning round of questions pitched at her on Fox News. Romer defends controversial D.S.A. positions on workers’ ownership of the means of production, U.S. support of Israel, the war in Ukraine, and defunding the police.

Further reading:

“Will Left-Wing Democrats Reinvent the Party or Hurt Its Chances in November?,” by Isaac Chotiner
“Which Way Should the Democratic Party Go Now?,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells
“An Idea for Democrats to Keep It Together in 2028,” by Bill McKibben
“Can Zohran Mamdani Sway the Commie Corridor’s ‘Civil War’?,” by Naaman Zhou
“The Woman Who Made the Machine That Made Zohran Mamdani,” by Molly Fischer

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Andrew Weissmann Thinks Donald Trump Can Be Held to Account Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

The Washington Roundtable’s Jane Mayer interviews Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor for the Department of Justice who served as a lead member of the Mueller investigation, about what meaningful legal accountability in the Trump Administration looks like. He points to a fix that would raise the bar for federal grand-jury indictments, and explains why he believes that Donald Trump’s disputed I.R.S. settlement may not survive legal scrutiny. He also makes the case, drawn from his new book, “Liar’s Kingdom: How to Stop Trump’s Deceit and Save America,” for treating political lying itself as a problem that the law can address. “We have to be thinking about big, bold ideas,” Weissmann says.

This week’s reading:

“The Future, Made in China,” by Evan Osnos
“How Roy Cohn Taught Donald Trump Everything,” by Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark
“Why Donald Trump Talks So Much About Foreign Election Interference,” by David D. Kirkpatrick
“The Electability of Abdul El-Sayed,” by Jason Zengerle

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Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed Is “Not a Burn-It-Down Kind” of Candidate Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

Michigan’s Senate seat is a must-win for Democrats hoping to take control of the Senate in 2026. The midterms are reflecting a surge of energy behind left-leaning Democratic candidates—sometimes known as the Mamdani effect—challenging their party’s establishment and its tarnished image. Abdul El-Sayed, a former health official, firmly supports Medicare for All and the abolition of ICE. He’s ahead of his moderate Democratic rival, Haley Stevens, in most polls. But that has some Democrats worried that El-Sayed is too radical to win the general election in a state that narrowly voted for Trump in 2024. El-Sayed talks with David Remnick about being “radicalized in medical school,” the trap of expressing righteous anger as an Arab candidate, how Robert F. Kennedy’s anti-science views have taken such a hold on the public, and why AIPAC and other lobbying groups have spent sixty million dollars opposing him in this election.

Further reading and listening:

“Michigan Is the Next Big Test for the Democratic Party,” by Jason Zengerle
“Can the Democrats Get It Together?,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin
“Governor Gretchen Whitmer on COVID-19, Trump, and the Accusations Against Joe Biden,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour

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Obsession-Worthy Stories: A Washington Summer Roundtable Aug 01, 2026

Show notes

The Washington Roundtable reflects on the stories they’ve been following this summer, touching on the “power mourners” at Lindsey Graham’s funeral, Anthony Fauci’s diaries and Senate hearing, and China’s usurping of the U.S. in global power. Plus, the hosts share what books they’re reading.

This week’s reading:

“The Outlandish Case Against James Comey,” by Ruth Marcus
“Which Way Should the Democratic Party Go Now?,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells
“Will Left-Wing Democrats Reinvent the Party or Hurt Its Chances in November?,” by Isaac Chotiner
“How Donald Trump Silenced the Voice of America,” by Marc Fisher

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The Woman Who Took On the N.R.A. After Two Gun Suicides Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

The New Yorker contributor Mike Spies joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the story of a woman who lost two partners to suicide by firearm and then spent years in a legal battle with the National Rifle Association over her late partner’s retirement savings. They talk about the role that gun ownership and decades of messaging from the N.R.A. played in her second partner’s descent into paranoia, extremism, and abuse. They also explore the link between firearm access and suicide, how gun-rights organizations have sought to cast doubt on research connecting the two, and the current state of the debate over gun rights and gun safety.

This episode mentions suicide and suicidal thoughts. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 or chat at 988Lifeline.org.

This week’s reading:

“A Woman Lost Two Partners to Guns—Then the N.R.A. Came to Collect,” by Mike Spies
“Trump’s Isolationism Is Losing the Great E.V. Race,” by Bill McKibben
“The Department of Labored Content,” by Brady Brickner-Wood
“How Netanyahu’s Top General Became His Strongest Challenger,” by David Remnick
“Which Way Should the Democratic Party Go Now?,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells

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One Refugee’s Journey Through ICE Detention Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

In 2025, as ICE was struggling to meet an impossible goal of three thousand immigration arrests per day, the agency took an unprecedented step: picking people up when they arrived at immigration court. These were immigrants seeking legal status through appropriate channels. The staff writer Jonathan Blitzer, who has been reporting on immigration for over a decade, tells the story of one man detained this way, a Guinean refugee who was seeking asylum after a severe beating and death threats by his government. His first name is Alsainy, and his story exemplifies the ways that the Trump Administration is sabotaging the system of legal immigration.
Though President Donald Trump came back to the White House with broad support for his border policies, his Administration’s immigration crackdown has been broadly unpopular. The staff writer Jonathan Blitzer spoke with two representatives in Congress about the blowback: Jason Crow, of Colorado, and María Salazar, of Florida. Crow is one of the Democratic Party’s recruitment co-chairs for the midterm elections, a role that entails helping candidates figure out what to say about issues that have proved controversial for their party. Salazar, whose district includes much of Miami, is a diehard Trump supporter, but many of her Republican constituents are outraged at how ICE has been operating, and she remains hopeful that the Administration might make a sharp turn. “Mr. President, you’ve got to change the way when it comes to immigration,” she’d like to tell him. “Otherwise, we’re not going to have a Republican Party.”

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Congress Used to Work. What Happened? Jul 25, 2026

Show notes

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Carl Hulse, the New York Times’ chief Washington correspondent, to discuss Congress’s dwindling role in the American political system. Why are Congress members passing fewer bills than their predecessors? Why can the institution no longer complete basic tasks of governing, such as passing a budget on time? Are representatives more interested in being social-media stars than crafting legislation? The panel analyzes why Congress has increasingly surrendered its power to the President, in areas as diverse as tariffs and the war in Iran. “Once you give up power, you never get it back in Washington,” Hulse says.

This week’s reading:

“The White House Press Corps in the Second Trump Era,” by Katy Waldman
“The Complications of Graham Platner’s Veteran Identity,” by Jasper Craven
“Maine’s Mad Scramble to Replace Graham Platner,” by Jason Zengerle
“Trump’s War on Journalists,” by Ruth Marcus

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What Biden Officials Wish They Had Done Differently in Gaza Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

The New Yorker staff writer David D. Kirkpatrick joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the Biden Administration’s failure to restrain Israel during its military campaign in Gaza. They talk about what Kirkpatrick has learned from former senior members of Biden’s national-security team—some of whom spoke on the record about key decisions during the conflict for the first time—and how previously undisclosed documents and revelations point to the Administration’s failure to rein in the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and to reduce Palestinian civilian casualties. They also explore why the former officials are now speaking candidly about their missteps, and whether the Administration’s approach to Israel helped shape the conditions that led to the current war with Iran.

This week’s reading:

“How Biden Enabled Israel’s Aggression Toward Gaza—and Iran,” by David D. Kirkpatrick
“María Corina Machado’s Opposition in Exile,” by Stephania Taladrid
“Donald Trump’s Election-Fraud Bait and Switch,” by Ruth Marcus
“Can Andy Burnham’s Manchesterism Save the U.K.’s Center Left?,” by John Cassidy
“Donald Trump’s Ad-Lib Strategy on Iran,” by Robin Wright

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Rahm Emanuel Says Israel’s Path Is “Not Sustainable Politically” Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

Rahm Emanuel is a Democratic Party elder, having served in the Clinton and Obama Administrations and as mayor of his native Chicago for two terms. He’s a centrist known for valuing political wins over ideology, making it especially notable that Emanuel recently gave a blistering speech in Israel, calling the country’s path “not sustainable politically.” He says that the United States should no longer grant Israel unconditional military support, and explains his own plan for a diplomatic Middle East solution that he calls a “twenty-three-state solution.” Emanuel, who hasn’t formally announced but appears to have embarked on a campaign for the 2028 Presidency, defends his position on trans rights, which has angered many on the left, and his contention that the Democratic Party is overly concerned with identity politics.

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