The 1600

Carlo is joined by Dylan Ratigan to tackle one of the left's favorite questions: Should billionaires exist? The two break down the distinctions between creative and extractive qualities of extreme wealth, explore the revolutionary potential of AI and investigate the weirdest economy we've had in decades.

Follow Dylan: https://x.com/DylanRatigan?lang=en

Ask Dylan: https://dylanratigan.substack.com

00:00:00 Intro

00:00:42 Stock Market Highs vs. Real Economic Pain

00:01:35 The K-Shaped Economy and Political Backlash

00:04:19 Jeff Bezos Proposes Zero Taxes for Bottom Half

00:06:29 Are Billionaires Creating or Extracting Value?

00:10:26 Government Waste and Why Cutting Spending Is Impossible

00:17:20 The Defense Contractor Cartel, Explained

00:24:25 Governing Institutions Serve Themselves, Not the Public

00:30:26 Tech Monopolies Are the Real Problem in America

00:35:50 AI and the Coming White Collar Job Apocalypse

00:40:18 The 2008 Cover-Up and the Rotting Dollar

00:44:23 Bond Market Revolt and Rising Cost of Borrowing

00:56:34 Robot Tax and UBI

00:57:54 What's Up With The Tech Grads?

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In this episode of The 1600, Newsweek's Carlo Versano sits down with Christopher Hale, publisher of “Letters From Leo,” to break down Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical. Urging caution against the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”) brings a new moral language to one of the most controversial and consequential issues of our time—but in a secular world, will his words be heard? 

You can read more from Christopher Hale here: https://www.thelettersfromleo.com/

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Behold, Carlo's commencement address (and apology) to the Class of 2026.

Carlo deconstructs the tone-deafness of viral commencement speeches lauding AI to graduates entering a volatile workforce as tech executives promise to upend the labor market.

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Get more Carlo by subscribing to The 1600 newsletter, with fresh columns on the latest news in your inbox every Monday through Friday: https://the-1600.beehiiv.com/ 

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SCOTUSblog Editor Sarah Isgur joins Carlo to talk her new book "Last Branch Standing," and argues our conventional wisdom of a 6-3 divided court is far from reality.

Last Brand Standing: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/776620/last-branch-standing-by-sarah-isgur/

SCTOUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/author/sarah-isgur/

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:44 - Is the Supreme Court Trump's puppet?

00:04:02 - Trump's grip on the base

00:05:16 - Rule by executive order

00:08:22 - Should Republicans kill the filibuster?

00:10:32 - The court isn't 6-3

00:14:25 - Breaking down the Callais gerrymandering ruling

00:21:23 - How Trump moves the Overton window via the court

00:29:31 - Alito, Thomas retirements & Supreme Court term limits

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Get more Carlo by subscribing to The 1600 newsletter, with fresh columns on the latest news in your inbox every Monday through Friday: https://the-1600.beehiiv.com/ 

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1LOS84PQRRWwDKEQ2zHYHe 

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Lanny Davis wants to bring civility back. The lawyer, lobbyist, author and political insider tells Carlo the lessons he learned in the Clinton White House, how to manage a crisis and the secret to Democrats' midterms success.

Finding the Third Way: https://lannyjdavis.com/book/

00:00:00 – Intro

00:02:10 – What is the "Third Way" thesis?

00:03:17 – Fiscal conservatism and the national debt problem

00:05:08 – Democrats, tolerance and the cultural wars

00:06:35 – Could 1992 Bill Clinton win today?

00:08:49 – Is centrist politics "mushy"?

00:13:34 – Political corruption asymmetry

00:15:08 – Who could carry the "Third Way" torch in 2028?

00:29:42 – Crisis communications from the Clinton White House

00:37:11 – Lanny's controversial lobbying history addressed

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Get more Carlo by subscribing to The 1600 newsletter, with fresh columns on the latest news in your inbox every Monday through Friday: https://the-1600.beehiiv.com/

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Sports betting has exploded since the Supreme Court's 2018 PASPA ruling. But at what cost?

Carlo Versano sits down with Tyler Ransom, professor of economics at the University of Oklahoma, whose viral paper "The Sports Gambling Experiment Has Failed" lays out the mounting evidence of harm. They explain why the odds are always against you and what it would actually take to rein this industry in.

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Journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin joins Carlo Versano to discuss her new film Earth's Greatest Enemy, an investigation into the U.S. military's environmental footprint. The Pentagon consumes nearly 270,000 barrels of oil a day and produces more CO2 annually than 150 countries combined, yet military emissions have been exempt from every major climate treaty since Kyoto.

The duo dig into the early-2000s political awakening shared by many elder millennials, the promise and corruption of the early internet, Steve Bannon's media strategy, and what's driving the anti-war and climate movements apart.

Watch Earth's Greatest Enemy: EarthsGreatestEnemy.com

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Get more Carlo by subscribing to The 1600 newsletter, with fresh columns on the latest news in your inbox every Monday through Friday: https://the-1600.beehiiv.com/ 

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San Francisco's most consequential congressional race in decades just got a lot more interesting. Saikat Chakrabarti — the man who helped build AOC's political machine — is running for Nancy Pelosi's seat in CA-11, and Silicon Valley is spending millions to stop him.

Chakrabarti isn't running a normal campaign. He's self-funded nearly $5 million, rallied with Hasan Piker, and is openly calling out Democratic Party leadership. Carlo sat down with Chakrabarti to find out why AI lobbies are terrified of him making it to Congress.

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The Lever's David Sirota joins Carlo to reexamine one of Democrats' most beloved presidents, Barack Obama. On the eve of his Chicago presidential center opening, David and Carlo chronicle how Obama's failure to fulfill his mandate led to the rise of Donald Trump and fascism.

The Lever: https://www.levernews.com/

Master Plan podcast: https://the.levernews.com/master-plan/

00:00:00 – Intro

00:02:13 – Obama's squandered mandate and broken promises

00:03:26 – Wall Street bailouts and donor capture

00:05:27 – ACA: Heritage Foundation plan, not real reform

00:07:04 – Obama's insurance industry excuse

00:10:25 – Sandy Hook and the bully pulpit failure

00:15:17 – What Trump teaches about presidential power

00:18:04 – Biden vs. Obama: who used power better?

00:21:39 – Donor capture vs. cash corruption explained

00:26:14 – How Obama set the stage for Trump

00:46:28 – Why criticizing Obama matters for the future

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Get more Carlo by subscribing to The 1600 newsletter, with fresh columns on the latest news in your inbox every Monday through Friday: https://the-1600.beehiiv.com/ 

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We wade through the depths of Carlo's overflowing inbox to answer your burning political questions once again. This time: Putin's bunker, the Democrats' mythical missing podcaster, keeping kids safe online, Trump's beef with the media, and much more.

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Get more Carlo by subscribing to The 1600 newsletter, with fresh columns on the latest news in your inbox every Monday through Friday: https://the-1600.beehiiv.com/

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1LOS84PQRRWwDKEQ2zHYHe

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-1600/id1860634203

If you enjoy The 1600, consider rating us five stars on your favorite podcast platform, giving us a like or subscribing on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2a35q7eyzkfoIusBzdH4Hw

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