Dorothy Wickenden hosted the first episode of The New Yorker’s politics podcast in 2007, at the beginning of Barack Obama’s first Presidential campaign. The Obama Administration oversaw the recovery from the financial crisis, multiple foreign wars, health-care reform, and the Paris climate agreement. In Donald Trump’s first year, he has vowed to overturn Obama’s legacy on virtually every front.
On its tenth anniversary, “The Political Scene” examines how the country arrived at this unprecedented moment in its history. Ryan Lizza assesses how the Republican and Democratic Parties arrived at their existential crises, Evan Osnos discusses the emergence of white nationalism in the mainstream of American politics, Jeffrey Toobin considers the landmark cases of Chief Justice John Roberts’s Supreme Court, Elizabeth Kolbert talks about climate-change denialism, Jelani Cobb looks at how the war on truth has deepened political divides, Jia Tolentino talks about Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016 and recent revelations about sexual misconduct by powerful men, John Cassidy explains the economics of the “lost decade” and the perverse politics behind income inequality, and Dexter Filkins describes how the Trump Administration’s retreat from diplomacy exacerbates tensions around the world.
Suggested Reading
Ryan Lizza
“The Duel” (February 1, 2016): The Trump and Cruz campaigns embody opposite views of politics and of the future of the G.O.P.
“A House Divided” (December 14, 2015): How a radical group of Republicans pushed Congress to the right.
“Getting to Maybe” (June 24, 2014): Inside the Gang of Eight’s immigration deal.
“The Obama Memos” (January 30, 2012): The making of a post-post-partisan Presidency.
“Making It” (July 21, 2008): How Chicago shaped Obama.
Evan Osnos
“President Trump’s First Term” (September 26, 2016): His campaign tells us a lot about what kind of Commander-in-Chief he would be.
“Little America: The Birth of a New Republican Party” (July 22, 2016): Donald Trump’s message is one of surrender.
“The Fearful and the Frustrated” (August 31, 2015): Donald Trump’s nationalist coalition takes shape—for now.
Jeffrey Toobin
“The Conservative Pipeline to the Supreme Court” (April 17, 2017): With the Federalist Society, Leonard Leo has reared a generation of originalist élites. The selection of Neil Gorsuch is just his latest achievement.
“To Have and to Hold” (May 25, 2015): Reproduction, marriage, and the Constitution.
“The Obama Brief” (October 27, 2014): The President considers his judicial legacy.
“Money Unlimited” (May 21, 2012): How Chief Justice John Roberts orchestrated the Citizens United decision.
Elizabeth Kolbert
“Can Carbon-Dioxide Removal Save the World?” (November 20, 2017): CO2 could soon reach levels that, it’s widely agreed, will lead to catastrophe.
“Letter from Florida” (December 21 & 28, 2015): As temperatures climb, so, too, will sea levels.
“The Sixth Extinction?” (May 25, 2009): There have been five great die-offs in history. This time, the cataclysm is us.
“The Climate of Man—I” (April 25, 2005); “The Climate of Man—II” (May 2, 2005); “The Climate of Man—III” (May 9, 2005): Disappearing islands, thawing permafrost, melting polar ice. How the earth is changing.
Jelani Cobb
“John Kelly’s Bizarre Mythology of the Civil War” (November 1, 2017): By parting ways with annoyances like facts and history, John Kelly can help President Trump make white America feel good again.
“Inside the Trial of Dylann Roof” (February 6, 2017): The complicated moral calculations that followed a horrific crime.
“Protecting Journalism from Donald Trump” (November 29, 2016): There’s a reason authoritarians typically begin by assailing the press.
“Trump and the Truth: Black Outreach as Campaign Ploy” (September 23, 2016): Trump’s undisguised bigotry led many black voters to the conclusion that anti-black bigotry couldn’t be far behind.
“The Matter of Black Lives” (March 14, 2016): A new kind of movement found its moment. What will its future be?
John Cassidy
“Forces of Divergence” (March 31, 2014): Is surging inequality endemic to capitalism?
“The Demand Doctor” (October 10, 2011): What would John Maynard Keynes tell us to do now—and should we listen?
“What Good Is Wall Street?” (November 29, 2010): Much of what investment bankers do is socially worthless.
“Anatomy of a Meltdown” (December 1, 2008): Ben Bernanke and the financial crisis.
Jia Tolentino
“Gloria Allred’s Crusade” (October 2, 2017): The attorney takes on Bill Cosby, rape law, and Donald Trump.
“The Case Against Contemporary Feminism” (February 8, 2017): Two arguments against contemporary feminism have emerged in near-exact opposition to each other.
“The Somehow Controversial Women’s March on Washington” (January 18, 2017): The Women’s March on Washington has produced fracture as well as inspiration—but that’s precisely why it feels so vital.
“Trump and the Truth: The Sexual-Assault Allegations” (October 20, 2016): Twenty women have come forward with firsthand stories about Trump’s predatory behavior. Yet he remains his own most prolific accuser.
“How Men Like Harvey Weinstein Implicate Their Victims in Their Acts” (October 11, 2017): The allegations against Harvey Weinstein are a reminder that, when a young woman is treated like an object, she is placed within an old and sickening script, one that is incredibly difficult to escape.
Dexter Filkins
“The Breaking Point” (October 16, 2017): Will Donald Trump let the Secretary of State do his job?
“James Mattis, a Warrior in Washington” (May 29, 2017): The former Marine Corps general spent four decades on the front lines. How will he lead the Department of Defense?
“What We Left Behind” (April 28, 2014): An increasingly authoritarian leader, a return of sectarian violence, and a nation worried for its future.
“The Shadow Commander” (September 30, 2013): Qassem Suleimani is the Iranian operative who has been reshaping the Middle East. Now he’s directing Assad’s war in Syria.
