Full Disclosure with Roben Farzad

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Holly Dagres on the United States' stop-and-go / stick-and-carrot impasse with Iran. What started 2026 with grand talk of regime change has lately turned into a staredown over the flow of crude oil through Hormuz. Dagres curates The Iranist, a newsletter widely followed by Iranians and the diaspora.

NPR critic-at-large Eric Deggans -- newly announced as professor of journalism and media ethics at Washington and Lee University -- on Paramount's contested, politicized buyout of Warner Bros. (and CNN); NPR's talent flight; how his students consume news vs. noise; and moving to Virginia to join a university that still carries the name of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Impersonation machine Mattie Conaghan -- a lapsed ad writer -- on comedy as business development in the age of social media. Gary Belsky, former editor in chief of ESPN The Magazine, on everything from the network's lean(er) years to sober investing to making an impact in 2026's troubled media world. Plus, surreal stories throughout.

Kristen Kelly and Jen Saarbach, best friends since the second grade, on surviving the investment banking grind and Global Financial Crisis to launch The Wall Street Skinny. The millennial-moms-with-mics are now HUGE on the socials...

Gray Montrose -- attorney, activist, small-batch farmer, social-media phenom -- on Virginia vs. data centers; utility mega-mergers; affordable housing; environmental justice....lots more.