The Powers That Be: Daily

Besties Jon Kelly and Peter Hamby reunite to chew over Ted Sarandos' media crusade to win the WBD deal. Then the duo contemplate the latest twist in the NFL's manifest destiny (and why the MLBPA is screwing the pooch). To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NBC Sports president Rick Cordella joins Dylan to discuss a pivotal month for the network, from the Super Bowl to the Winter Olympics and the NBA All-Star Game. Cordella explains how live sports fuel subscriber growth for Peacock, often driving audiences to other programming, and reflects on the enduring value of broadcast television, the challenges of media fragmentation, the strategic importance of retaining premium sports rights, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lauren Sherman joins Peter to break down Les Wexner’s testimony for the House Oversight Committee, in which the former Victoria’s Secret mogul confronted his long, shadowy ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Then they discuss the biggest trends emerging from New York Fashion Week and what it all signals about the immediate future in luxury. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dylan Byers joins Peter to break down what really happened at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where an interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico was shunted to YouTube amid accusations that F.C.C. chair Brendan Carr pressured CBS to block the appearance. Then they discuss Anderson Cooper’s decision to leave 60 Minutes after two decades—and whether Bari Weiss is playing with fire by meddling with one of television’s most revered broadcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leigh Ann Caldwell joins Peter to explain why Democrats are content to let the partial government shutdown drag on, convinced they’ve got the public on their side in the fight over ICE. Then they discuss the rise of Senator Katie Britt—and how her bright future in the G.O.P. could be endangered by Trump. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julia Ioffe joins Peter for an inside look at the Munich Security Conference and the anxiety over the future of the transatlantic alliance after Trump set off a crisis over Greenland. Julia reflects on Marco Rubio’s superficially reassuring speech promising a shared future with Europe—and the lingering unease that Washington has abandoned the liberal world order. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jon Kelly joins Julia Alexander, who is moonlighting for an under-the-weather Peter, to plot out the endgame of the NFL’s forthcoming media partner negotiations. Will one of the networks get left out this time around? And will that throw them into an existential crisis, like when WBD lost the NBA? Or is there somehow enough expensive football for everyone to share? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lauren’s guest is Kyle Smith, fashion editor of the NFL and stylist to many of the league’s biggest stars, including Joe Burrow. They discuss the deepening relationship between American football and fashion, the GQ Bowl, Thom Browne, the halftime show, and Oscar de la Renta’s game night party with Puck, as well as Pieter Mulier’s appointment at Alaïa, the Margot Robbie Wuthering Heights press tour, and plenty more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Ourand joins Peter to take the temperature of the NBA as All-Star Weekend descends on Los Angeles and league insiders toast to a season they consider a success so far. Then they dig into the NHL’s—and other leagues’—strategic scramble to renegotiate their TV rights with ESPN and TNT before the NFL blows up the market by opting out of its own rights deals later this year. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julia Alexander joins Peter to slice through the final, official Super Bowl ratings across the various platforms the game aired on—and consider whether Turning Point USA’s halftime counter-programming on YouTube could inspire copycats in future tentpole events. Then they weigh into the NFL’s growing international ambitions and spotlight the one country primed to become the league’s next major growth engine. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dylan Byers joins Peter to help make sense of the latest chapter of dysfunction at the Washington Post, where owner Jeff Bezos just forced out the embattled and aloof C.E.O. Will Lewis following massive layoffs and months of internal unrest. Then they turn to the bigger questions: can the Post finally crack the code on growth—and what kind of leadership will it take to make the paper relevant and competitive again? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Abby Livingston joins Peter to assess whether Washington is barreling toward another partial government shutdown, as Democrats and Republicans remain locked in a standoff over ICE and Department of Homeland Security funding. They also discuss Michigan’s pivotal Senate race and how the three-way primary could potentially jeopardize the party’s chances come November. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Besties Jon Kelly and Peter Hamby reunite to chop up the Will Lewis tragedy at the Post—what went wrong, what went wronger, and whether it’s too late to fix this nightmare. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this special episode, Leigh Ann Caldwell sits down with Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio to discuss the stalled market structure bill governing stablecoins and the broader crypto industry. Moreno argues for a clearer, pro-innovation regulatory framework while pushing back on resistance from banks and what he sees as misconceptions about digital assets. He also weighs in on the ethics of Trump family business dealings and the political challenges of extending Affordable Care Act subsidies. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Ourand joins Peter with an inside look from Super Bowl week in the Bay Area, where NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is facing renewed scrutiny over the league’s lack of minority head coaches and media companies like NBC and Fox are sizing up the NFL as it enters a new partnership with ESPN. John also weighs into the unraveling of regional sports networks and the uncertain future facing small-market franchises in a streaming-first world. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ian Krietzberg joins Peter to cut through the fog around ICE’s use of A.I. tools to target illegal immigrants and U.S. citizens, as questions about oversight and accuracy remain unanswered. Then they dissect a new poll that reveals how college students are increasingly relying on A.I. chatbots for everything from mental health, to course work—and even romance. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Heilemann joins Peter to handicap California Governor Gavin Newsom as the Democrats’ early 2028 frontrunner. John lays out Newsom’s unique advantages—youth, charisma, and strong support among non-white voters—and also examines the liabilities that could dog him on the national stage, starting with his record in California. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leigh Ann Caldwell joins Peter to break down the escalating ICE fight on Capitol Hill and the procedural maneuvering tied to reopening the government from its partial shutdown. She also shares how Republicans are privately assessing Stephen Miller’s outsized influence within the G.O.P., and why some worry that his deportation strategy could become a midterm liability. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a chilling week, Jon Kelly returns to discuss the lessons from Don Lemon’s stunning arrest in Los Angeles. Then Jon and Peter highlight the similarities between Bari Weiss’s suddenly entrenched tenure and Will Lewis’ early missteps at The Post. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Barstool Sports C.E.O. and Food52 chief executive Erika Ayers Badan joins Dylan to reflect on navigating bankruptcy at Food52, a onetime $300 million company that ultimately collapsed under roughly $25 million in debt. She breaks down what went wrong, the dangers of undisciplined growth, and why diversified revenue streams matter now more than ever. She also discusses what kind of buyers might be circling, what industry peers can learn from Food52’s downturn, her take on the state of media writ large—and much more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices