The New Yorker Radio Hour

The political consultant Sarah Longwell runs focus groups of voters, and she has a lot of advice for Democrats seeking to wrest control of the government from MAGA. Longwell, a former Republican disaffected from Donald Trump’s party, presents her playbook to the New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos: go on the offensive talking about corruption; make a positive case for immigration; and adapt to a podcast-driven media environment. “You can go on ‘Joe Rogan’ or not go on ‘Joe Rogan,’ ” she says. “The question is: can you sit for a long period of time and talk to someone who doesn’t know that much about politics and have an engaging conversation? . . . This is how trust is built now, in this screen-to-screen environment.” Longwell’s new book is called “How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time.”
Further listening:
“Can Trump Voters Still Change Their Minds?,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour
“A G.O.P. Strategist on the Republican Voters Who Could Abandon Trump,” an episode of The Political Scene

New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.

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Gloria Steinem, who died on September 2nd, at the age of ninety-two, was one of the most influential figures of our time in politics and feminism. Her work shaped the ideas of generations of Americans. Steinem was one of David Remnick’s very first guests after The New Yorker Radio Hour launched, in 2015; her autobiography, “My Life on the Road,” had just come out.
Further reading and viewing:
“A Feminist Fractal in ‘The Glorias,’ ” by Anthony Lane from 2020
“Road Warrior,” by Jane Kramer from 2015
“Glora Steinem Doesn’t Drive,” a short film by The New Yorker from 2015
“Feminism 101,” by Rebecca Mead from 2013
“Cover Woman,” by Hendrik Hertzberg from 1974
“Liberation,” by Anthony Hiss, Jane Boutwell, and Hendrik Hertzberg from 1970

New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.



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In the film “Coyote vs. Acme,” which was released this week, the ingenious but unlucky Wile E. Coyote sues the Acme Corporation for damages caused by its malfunctioning merchandise. That is also the premise of the New Yorker staff writer Ian Frazier’s original piece, which inspired the film. The screenwriter Samy Burch reimagined Frazier’s premise as a satire of legal thrillers. “What if Wile E. was actually like a Dustin Hoffman character?” Burch wondered. “This guy out in the desert, working on something obsessively, addicted. . . . If this were humans, would the plot make any sense?” The film features actors such as Will Forte alongside Coyote, Foghorn Leghorn, and other “Looney Tunes” characters. Frazier talks with Burch, who was nominated for an Academy Award for “May December,” a drama starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore.

Further reading:

“Coyote V. Acme,” by Ian Frazier

“Toons Have Seldom Been Loonier Than in ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ ” by Justin Chang

New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

During the height of Roy Cohn’s friendship with Donald Trump, according to the historian Kai Bird, “they were on the phone with each other a dozen times a day.” Bird’s new book, “American Scoundrel,” details Cohn’s profound influence on Trump—whom he met as a young real-estate heir in the nineteen-seventies—and how Cohn is “haunting” politics in our time. “I had written about Roy Cohn in [previous biographies] as this nefarious, minor, awful figure who was disruptive and divisive and unethical. And I suddenly realized that the establishment that I’d been writing about for forty years is gone. Their values and culture, the politics, the bipartisanship . . . that’s all gone,” he tells David Remnick. “Roy Cohn explains something about the dark side of America that I just didn’t understand.” They discuss Cohn’s early career as a prosecutor and his role as the “mastermind” of the McCarthy purges; his service as a lawyer and fixer for Mafia members, politicians, and celebrities; and an allegation of being involved in sex trafficking.

Further reading and listening:

“How Roy Cohn Taught Donald Trump Everything,” by Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark

“The Mobster Cosplay of Donald Trump,” by David Remnick

“Adapting Oppenheimer’s Life Story to Film, with Biographer Kai Bird,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour

“Roy Cohn and the Making of a Winner-Take-All America,” by Naomi Fry

New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Fox News’ “The Five” is the most-watched program on cable news. So there are millions of eyes on Jessica Tarlov, who occupies the liberal hot seat (alternating with Harold Ford, Jr.) on a panel featuring the diehard conservatives Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, and Jesse Watters. Her exchanges with fellow-panellists tend to get heated, but Tarlov is constantly aware of how she represents liberal views in front of a largely hostile audience—and of how liberal viewers may misunderstand her colleagues. Her new book, largely inspired by her work on Fox, is called “I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends.” 

Further listening:

“Bret Baier on Trump’s Love-Hate Relationship with Fox News,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour

 

New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.

The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC and The New Yorker.

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