Inside the Hive

Is American retail about to go through its most apocalyptic change since the invention of Main Street, U.S.A.? Larry Ingrassia, a former editor at The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, joins Nick to talk about his new book, "Billion Dollar Brand Club," to discuss how the country’s corporate giants are finally getting what they deserve, how the Razor Wars, Mattress Wars, and Eyeglass Wars are a sign of what's to come for businesses everywhere, and why Trump's economic upswing will inevitably eventually fall.

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It’s finally here! No, the impeachment—we’re talking about the Iowa Caucus. After what feels like 30 years of speculation (but has really been three), Jordan Brown, a political consultant and fundraiser who has spent time on the ground with almost all of the Democratic nominees, joins Nick to explain how the Democratic primary could play out from Iowa to New Hampshire to Super Tuesday, why the country is at its biggest crossroads in history, and whether impeachment, which likely won’t end in Trump’s removal, will help or hinder his prospects of winning a second term.

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Are you about to lose your job to a robot? Adam Davidson, creator of NPR's "Planet Money," joins Nick to talk about his new book, "The Passion Economy: The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century," where he argues that capitalism isn't dead, a (coming) recession won't destroy America, and the world isn't in as terrible shape as we've all been led to believe—although, in order to survive the coming job apocalypse, you might need to become Amish. Stick around when Adam and Nick get meta-meta-meta as they talk about the future of media and the business of podcasting.

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Is the Iran skirmish over? Or is this the beginning of something bigger? Gabriel Sherman, special correspondent for Vanity Fair, joins Nick to explain how this all went down inside the Trump White House, why anti-immigration scribe Steven Miller still has a job, why Don Jr. will go on to run for office, but Ivanka won't, and—perhaps most importantly—what Donald J. Trump told a Republican pollster last week when asked what the "J" in his middle name stood for.

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Thanks to the rise of the smartphone, the last decade saw the most dramatic technological change in centuries. Over the next ten years, the same thing will happen to science, healthcare, and space travel. D.A. Wallach, a former rockstar turned biotech investor, joins Nick to kick off the year by debating the scientific predictions for the next decade, including whether we will soon be able to print human organs, if healthcare will become so advanced that living past 100 will become routine, or if only the rich will be afforded such advancements, and whether humans will live on Mars by 2030.

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Is the American prison system the most broken part of this country? Believe it or not, prison reform might be the one issue Republicans and Democrats can agree on. Scott Budnick, the producer behind The Hangover and Just Mercy, joins Nick to elucidate the many pitfalls of the U.S. incarceration system, why over 6 million Americans are under correctional supervision, why America is the only country that jails kids for life, and why we need to start giving people a second chance.

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As the #MeToo movement continues to roil corporate boardrooms and Hollywood studios, the New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow has been at its forefront. The author of Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, joins Nick to take listeners behind the scenes of his years-long reporting on Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, and Les Moonves, among others. The two also discuss Jeffrey Epstein’s death, why Donald Trump and Bill Clinton still haven’t gone down, and why cancel culture sometimes misses the point.

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Does the $120,000 sale of a banana duct-taped to a wall at Art Basel signify the decline of capitalism, or is just really clever P.R.? Stefan Simchowitz, the notorious art dealer, joins Nick to not only defend the banana, but to (genuinely) argue that it may be the greatest work of art since the Mona Lisa. Stick around to hear Nick and Stefan discuss an egg, consumerism, and the collective banality of social media.

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Should we shut down the media complex in order to save democracy? Dylan Byers, senior media reporter at NBC News and MSNBC, joins Nick to talk about why news has become so divisive, why Bloomberg isn’t just another annoying billionaire, how to get Trump out of our heads, and why he thinks Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg aren’t as bad as the rest of America does.

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Will 2020 be “The Battle of the Mayors,” in which former Mayor Mike Bloomberg takes on Mayor Pete Buttigieg to be the 2020 Democratic nominee? Senior Hive correspondent Emily Jane Fox joins Nick to talk about why the Democrats hate each other, if impeachment will hurt or hinder Trump’s reelection bid, and if the other former Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, really has an insurance policy on Trump. Stick around until the end of the show to talk turkeys and what we’re all grateful for this year.

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