The New Yorker Radio Hour

The Senate race between James Talarico and Ken Paxton dominates the news out of Texas, but, in the race for governor, a Democratic state legislator is also running neck and neck with the longtime Republican incumbent, Greg Abbott. Gina Hinojosa is likely leading among independents by as much as twenty-three per cent, according to one recent poll. She tells David Remnick that opposition to data centers and to Abbott’s school-voucher program could lead to a blue wave in Texas. “Nobody in 2026 in Texas has the luxury of fighting culture wars,” Hinojosa says. “We've been doing that for ten years, and we're all worse off.” But, Remnick notes, she seems to hold her fire when it comes to Donald Trump. “Listen, I have to win Trump voters to win this race,” she replies. “Latinos went for Trump in Texas. . . . I don't think it is helpful to rub their noses in his failures.”
Further reading:
“The Republicans Are Messing with Texas,” by Peter Slevin
“The Astonishing Transformation of Austin,” by Lawrence Wright

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.

A Waymo offers a unique experience: you ride as a passenger behind or next to an empty driver’s seat, the steering wheel turning as though handled by a ghost. The New Yorker staff writer Molly Fischer has been reporting on Waymo, and she tells David Remnick that though the statistics are hard to parse, Waymos appear to be safer than cars driven by humans. Fans of Waymo prefer not putting themselves in the temporary custody of a stranger, but, Fischer says, this appeal is precisely what makes Waymos’ glitches scariest. Now that her reporting is done, Remnick wants to know: Would she take one of the robot taxis by choice?
Further reading:
“We’re Learning to Live with Waymos. It’s Going Weird,” by Molly Fischer
“Waymo Cars, Honey Bears, and the Future of San Francisco,” by Anna Wiener

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.

A growing portion of the electorate appears to recognize the mayhem President Donald Trump has instigated since returning to the Oval Office. That segment includes some of the people who put him back into office, including Rich Baris, who goes by the People’s Pundit on social media. Baris runs Big Data Poll, and appears regularly on “The Charlie Kirk Show” and other right-wing outlets. But he concurs with nonpartisan pollsters that MAGA is fracturing, and he talks with David Remnick about how the President lost the trust of his base; the contempt MAGA voters have for the old Republican Party; and who might take the reins after Trump.
Further reading:
“The Week Republicans Finally Panicked About Trump,” by Susan B. Glasser
“A Never Trumper and a Democrat on Beating MAGA for Good,” by Isaac Arnsdorf
“How the Internet Fringe Infiltrated Republican Politics,” by Antonia Hitchens
“Tucker Carlson’s Nationalist Crusade,” by Jason Zengerle
“Does MAGA Have Ideas?,” by Joshua Rothman

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.

In California, progressives have crafted a ballot initiative that calls for a wealth tax—a one-time, five-per-cent tax on wealth above a billion dollars, earmarked to shore up the state’s health-care system after drastic federal cuts. Wealth inequality is a vast concern, especially among Democrats, and taxes on substantial wealth are broadly popular. Yet, as the New Yorker staff writer Nicholas Lemann reports in “The Battle to Pass a Billionaire Tax,” many prominent Democratic politicians, including Elizabeth Warren, have declined to support it publicly. Lemann talks with David Remnick about why this bellwether progressive issue faces such an uphill battle.
Further reading and listening:
“On Not Being a Homeowner,” by Anna Holmes
“Can California Actually Make Billionaires Pay?,” an episode of The Political Scene
“How a Trump-Endorsed Republican Could Become California’s Next Governor,” 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.

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

The economic punishment and threats of aggression that Donald Trump has launched against Canada are so severe that its government has looked at how to prepare for U.S. military action. David Remnick sits down with a former senior Canadian politician, Chrystia Freeland, to talk about the disintegration of a rock-solid partnership. Freeland served as the Deputy Prime Minister under Justin Trudeau, and has also held the roles of Minister of International Trade and Minister of Foreign Affairs; she helped negotiate a trade deal in Trump’s first term, which he subsequently broke. Freeland’s new book about the U.S.-Canada relationship is called “Unreliable Boyfriend,” but that title may soft-pedal it. “The vast majority of Canadians see this as a rupture” that will be permanent, she tells Remnick. “They think America is toxic and broken and can never be trusted again. . . . I actually am an outlier, because I think we shouldn’t write America off quite yet.”
Further reading:
“What If Canada Joined the E.U.?,” by Ishaan Tharoor
“Canada, the Northern Outpost of Sanity,” by Bill McKibben
“The Historical Roots of Donald Trump’s Aggressive Nationalism,” by Isaac Chotiner

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.