Inside the Hive

James Carville is not known for mincing words. Back in 2021, the legendary Democratic strategist ruffled quite a few feathers when he blamed “wokeness” for the party’s electoral defeats. He still hasn’t backed down from that belief—but he’s also willing to accept that Kamala Harris has a lot more to worry about than safe spaces and language policing when it comes to trouncing Donald Trump. One challenge in particular, he tells Brian Stelter on the latest episode of Inside the Hive, is presenting herself a bold persona with a bright new vision in a period of Trump-era malaise. "I think the best construct for her is ‘fresh versus stale,'" Carville says of Harris. "I've said the most thunderous sound in all of politics is the sound of a turning page."

With less than six weeks until Election Day, host Brian Stelter discusses the historically close race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump with Nate Silver, the renowned polling expert, statistician, and author of the “Silver Bulletin” Substack newsletter. Silver breaks down the latest numbers in swing states, warns against rapidly shifting media narratives, expresses frustration with his former site, and details the community of risk-takers at the center of his new book, "On the Edge."

Host Brian Stelter is joined by Barbara F. Walter, an expert on violent extremism and domestic terror, to examine what exactly political violence is and why it’s becoming more common, including factors that may have been at play in the two recent assassination attempts. Walter, a professor at the University of California, San Diego and the author of How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them, tells Stelter there’s a cancer growing in America because a subset of the population doesn’t think democracy serves them anymore.

Podcasts are hardly a new medium in American politics. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t disrupting the dynamics of the 2024 presidential race. Consider hotshot hosts like Theo Von, Ezra Klein, and Adin Ross; all of them have been able to give listeners an intimate glimpse at politicians from Donald Trump to Tim Walz, says Atlantic staff writer Helen Lewis on the latest episode of Inside the Hive. Lewis, who is joined by Bloomberg reporter Ashley Carman, contends that podcasts can offer the pols an unique opportunity to get up close and personal with their voters. However, as we’ve seen in the case of JD Vance—whose past audio appearances have come back to haunt him—the medium can cut both ways. “They do kind of lure people into this much more kind of confessional chatty mode,” Lewis says. “And I think that's why maybe they could become quite dangerous…politicians might not realize how that might look in the cold light of day to other people.”

Host Brian Stelter is joined by Amanda Becker, Washington correspondent for The 19th, to examine the battle over abortion rights in America, including the Florida ballot measure, former President Trump’s all-over-the-place messaging, and the Republican Party’s conflicting views about in vitro fertilization and fetal personhood. The two also discuss the origins of abortion politics and how it’s impossible to disentangle abortion bans from the history of patriarchy in this country. Becker is the author of the forthcoming book, You Must Stand Up: The Fight for Abortion Rights in Post-Dobbs America, and tells Stelter that it doesn’t matter if you aren't in Alabama–an abortion ban there or anywhere can impact you because of the legal pathway in which cases get decided.

On this episode, host Brian Stelter wraps up the exuberant finale of the Democratic National Convention with Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Radhika Jones and author and contributing editor Ta-Nehisi Coates, who has been reporting this week from Chicago. They discuss how this historic, four-day spectacle, which concluded with Kamala Harris’s stirring acceptance speech, showcased the party’s next generation of political stars, while also showing its limitations, with no Palestinian American getting a slot on stage.

Is all the hype real? It’s the uncomfortable question hanging over all the good vibes of the 2024 Democratic National Convention this week. And it’s one that Vanity Fair’s Claire Howorth and James Pogue, who is reporting from the ground, are more than willing to tackle on the latest episode of Inside the Hive. Pogue argues that while Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have electrified the party with a fresh new ticket, the event’s pomp and circumstance still feels “very produced,” with every Democrat in lockstep about how to communicate their message, avoiding any topic that might touch a nerve. Still, argues Howorth, there is an undeniable feeling that the party is getting its “swagger” back—and a sense that the Harris-Walz ticket might help Democrats “reclaim the idea of patriotism” from the GOP. “The Republicans have no problem being ultra-confident and cocky and smug,” she says, “and, you know, that’s not the worst stage direction for Democrats right now.”

As the 2024 Democratic National Convention rolls on, host Brian Stelter talks with Vanity Fair special correspondent Molly Jong-Fast, as she runs around Chicago, and Michael Calderone, editor of Vanity Fair’s the Hive, in New York. Jong-Fast describes the vibes around the United Center as Democrats appear both anxious about the election and pleased with their candidate. She notes the heavy police presence around the city and explains the difference between the fabulous convention parties (John Legend hosted by JB Pritzker) and the fake convention parties (read: panels). Calderone highlights the effectiveness of the programming so far, including the 2008 energy seen on night 2 as the Obamas take the stage. He remarks on how media coverage of the conventions and presidential candidates have changed, with the huge number of influencers and content creators present at this convention. The big question is whether Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can meet voters where they are, no matter the medium. Look out for special editions of Inside the Hive each morning this week.

As the Democratic National Convention kicks off, host Brian Stelter catches up with senior editor Maggie Coughlan, in New York, and special correspondent Joe Hagan, from the United Center in Chicago. Hagan finds attendees fired up on night one, which featured speeches from party stalwarts (Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton) and future stars (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett), as Coughlan highlights how internet culture is coming to life in the convention hall. While the early weeks of Kamala Harris’s campaign, as well as the start of the party’s convention, have been a rousing success, the big question is whether the good vibes will continue. Look out for special editions of Inside the Hive each morning as the DNC rolls on.

To say that there has been a “vibe shift” among Democrats is an understatement. Since taking Joe Biden’s mantle as the presumptive Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris has ushered in an unmistakable wave of positivity within the party. The joy and optimism suffusing her campaign have thus proven powerful antidotes to the fear and anger being sold by Donald Trump. That is, according to MSNBC analyst Anand Giridharadas, who has been writing extensively about the political potency of emotions in his popular newsletter, The Ink. In the latest episode of the Inside the Hive, Giridharadas discusses why everyone is picking up such “good vibes” from Harris and running mate Tim Walz—and how the duo pulled Democrats out of their anti-Trump doom loop. “You have to compete with authoritarianism by doing some of the things it does: by commanding attention, by catering to feeling, by making people feel like they can see a future,” he says. “The Harris campaign has somehow tapped into that.”