The only reason that magic tricks actually work, according to the world famous magician and puzzle-maker David Kwong, is that “people want to believe.” The same theory applies to politics, fake news, and the entire tricks that Trump used to win the White House. Kwong joins us this week to share fascinating stories about magicians playing an integral role in war efforts, clandestine government operations, and yes, politics. In part two of this week’s show, Nick talks about his latest feature in Vanity Fair, about Russian, Chinese and domestic spies working in Silicon Valley.

The Magic Tricks to Beat Trump in 2020

Each week, Vanity Fair special correspondent Brian Stelter examines the powerful forces driving today’s news and politics. Through incisive conversations with newsmakers, journalists, politicians, and Vanity Fair’s own experts, Stelter reveals the story behind the story. Share your thoughts via our Listener Survey here: https://selfserve.decipherinc.com/survey/selfserve/222b/75187?pin=1&amp;uBRANDLINK=5&amp;uCHANNELLINK=2 For more from Inside the Hive, visit vanityfair.com/podcast/inside-the-hive

News

This is a preview episode of WIRED Politics Lab. Election deniers are mobilizing their supporters and rolling out new tech to disrupt the November election. These groups are already organizing on hyperlocal levels, and learning to monitor polling places, target election officials, and challenge voter rolls. And though their work was once fringe, its become mainstreamed in the Republican Party. Today, we focus on what these groups are doing, and what this means for voters and the election workers already facing threats and harassment.Listen to the full episode of WIRED Politics Lab here.Be sure to subscribe to the WIRED Politics Lab newsletter here.

From WIRED Politics Lab: How Election Deniers Are Weaponizing Tech To Disrupt November

Host Brian Stelter speaks with ESPN women's basketball reporter Alexa Philippou and Vanity Fair contributing editor Tom Kludt about a sport seemingly at an inflection point and surging in interest at both the college and pro levels. The group discusses stars who have helped drive enthusiasm for the game, including Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and coach Dawn Staley. They also reflect on challenges inside women's basketball and women's sports more broadly, particularly how record viewership still hasn't led to pay parity.

The Caitlin Clark Effect

Host Brian Stelter speaks with journalist Scott Nover about how Donald Trump, in the midst of legal and financial turmoil, just got a huge lifeline by way of Truth Social. No, the social media network for the MAGA crowd isn’t suddenly a raging success. But through a “meme stock media merger,” as Nover recently described it for Vanity Fair, the presumptive GOP nominee netted billions this week—at least on paper. Questions remain, though, as to how and when Trump can actually take this money out of the market?

Trump's Truth Social Is a Meme Stock—So What Happens Next?

Host Brian Stelter examines the many criminal charges against Donald Trump with Bess Levin, a politics correspondent at Vanity Fair, and Vanity Fair staff writer Dan Adler. They discuss the details of the four indictments, including whether the tone of the Manhattan "hush money" case featuring the contents of a 2005 Access Hollywood tape will come across as an embarrassing, scandalous tabloid story for the former president or a technical, financial case. They also reflect on Trump's decades-long go-to legal strategy of invoking delay tactics and avoiding legal repercussions and what that could mean for the 2024 election and beyond.

Delay, Delay, Delay: Will Trump Ever Be Held Accountable?

How reliable are political polls in an era when almost no one answers the phone? Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer tells Brian Stelter that he takes polls "seriously," if not literally, and says Democrats dismiss the data at their own peril. "We are living on the knife's edge," Pfeiffer says, with Donald Trump showing the "slightest of leads right now" over Joe Biden. Pfeiffer explains why he'd rather be the Biden campaign than the Trump campaign and gives tips about how to digest media coverage of the presidential campaign.

The Magic Tricks to Beat Trump in 2020

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