The News Items Podcast

John Ellis talks with The New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about their book, Regime Change, an account of Donald Trump’s second presidency. They discuss how power operates inside a White House built around speed, instinct, and direct access to the president, often with little traditional process. The conversation covers Stephen Miller’s influence, Trump’s tariff decisions, the role of tech executives, the administration’s handling of the Epstein files, and the path to war with Iran. Haberman and Swan also describe the unusual figures who shape Trump’s information flow, the limits of internal dissent, and the tension between his visible stamina and questions about his age and health. It is a detailed look at an administration moving quickly, personally, and with few institutional brakes.

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Hosted by John Ellis

Produced by Dale Eisinger

John Ellis talks with Richard Rushfield, founder of The Ankler, about a Hollywood business model under stress. Rushfield traces the industry’s troubles back to the end of fin-syn rules, the rise of Netflix, and a wave of consolidation that has left studios bigger, safer, and more risk-averse. They discuss Disney’s parks-first future, Paramount’s high-stakes tie-up with Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox’s Roku bet, YouTube’s dominance, AI anxiety, China’s fading promise, and why horror still works while comedy has nearly disappeared. It’s a tour through Hollywood’s money, politics, technology, and creative exhaustion.

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The Ankler

Hosted by John Ellis

Produced by Dale Eisinger

John Ellis talks with historian David Blackbourn, author of Germany in the World: A Global History, 1500-2000, about five centuries of German history viewed through a global lens. They discuss Germany before there was a German state; the role of merchants, soldiers, missionaries, commodities and culture; the rupture of 1914; the rise of Nazism and the Holocaust’s international machinery; and the country’s postwar rebuilding, division and reunification. The conversation then turns to the German model today: dependence on America, Russia and China, Merkel’s legacy, Ukraine, the AfD, Europe’s economic sclerosis, and whether Germany can still attract talent and reinvent itself.

News-Items.com

Hosted by John Ellis

Produced by Dale Eisinger

John Ellis talks with retired Brigadier General Russ Howard about the wars in Iran and Ukraine, why modern warfare is changing faster than most militaries can adapt, and a much bigger problem that could be coming down the road. Howard argues that food, fertilizer, water, and supply chains are becoming national security issues in their own right. They discuss the real-world effects of conflict on agriculture, growing concerns over global water shortages, and a project at Arizona State University that asks what the world might look like in 2040 if current trends continue. A conversation about the risks that sit just beneath the headlines. 

News-Items.com

Hosted by John Ellis

Produced by Dale Eisinger

California's primaries may be local elections, but Jeff Greenfield argues they're offering an early glimpse of the political battles that could define the next presidential cycle. Joining John Ellis, the veteran political analyst breaks down the chaotic races for governor and mayor of Los Angeles, the surprising rise of reality-TV candidate Spencer Pratt, and why vast campaign spending isn't always enough to buy momentum. The conversation then widens to the national landscape, from the emerging Democratic field, to the Republican succession fight that could follow Donald Trump. Along the way, Greenfield and Ellis explore why figures like Rahm Emanuel and Gina Raimondo may be better positioned than conventional wisdom suggests. The episode closes with a deep dive into artificial intelligence as a political issue. As Silicon Valley leaders openly discuss building a "machine god," Greenfield and Ellis examine whether public anxiety over AI could become the defining fault line of the 2028 election.

News-Items.com

Hosted by John Ellis

Produced by Dale Eisinger

In this episode of the News Items podcast, Josh Tyrangiel joins John Ellis for a wide-ranging conversation about the promises, dangers, and strange human realities of artificial intelligence. Drawing from his new book, AI for Good, Tyrangiel argues that the most important breakthroughs in AI are not happening inside Silicon Valley boardrooms, but among stubborn doctors, educators, and public servants quietly trying to solve impossible problems. The discussion moves from Palantir Technologies and Operation Warp Speed to the modernization of the IRS, AI tutors in classrooms, and new tools helping doctors reduce burnout and improve patient care. Along the way, Tyrangiel explores the political future of AI, the collapse of public trust in institutions, and why the next generation of leaders may be judged less on ideology than on whether they can understand (and govern) the most powerful technology of the century.

News-Items.com

Hosted by John Ellis

Produced by Dale Eisinger

In this episode of News Items, John Ellis sits down with author and Council on Foreign Relations fellow Sebastian Mallaby to unpack the astonishing rise of Demis Hassabis and the race to build artificial general intelligence. From Hassabis’s childhood as a chess prodigy to the creation of Google DeepMind, the conversation traces how a London-born gamer and coder became one of the most consequential scientists alive. Mallaby explains the breakthroughs behind AlphaGo and AlphaFold, why AI may soon revolutionize medicine faster than the human genome project transformed biology, and why the technology’s dangers are no longer theoretical. The discussion moves from Hassabi’s Nobel Prizes to rogue states, AI arms races, cyberwarfare, and the unsettling possibility that machines may soon improve themselves faster than humans can understand them. It is a fascinating, occasionally terrifying portrait of a future arriving far sooner than most people realize.

News-Items.com

Hosted by John Ellis

Produced by Dale Eisinger

On this episode of the News Items Podcast, John Ellis sits down with economist and longtime China watcher Stephen Roach for a sweeping conversation about the uneasy future of the U.S.-China relationship. Roach reflects on three decades of watching China evolve from an open, fast-rising economic experiment into a far more centralized and controlled superpower under Xi Jinping. The discussion ranges from AI, semiconductors, and electric vehicles to Taiwan, Evergrande, COVID lockdowns, and the mounting global debt crisis. Roach argues that China’s technological rise is real and underestimated, but warns that both Beijing and Washington are trapped in a cycle of suspicion that makes meaningful cooperation increasingly difficult. Along the way, he offers rare firsthand insight into China’s political culture, the collapse of open debate inside the country, and why he still believes some form of U.S.-China collaboration remains possible before economic rivalry hardens into something far more dangerous

News-Items.com

Hosted by John Ellis

Produced by Dale Eisinger

In this episode of the News Items podcast, John Ellis sits down with Taegan Goddard, the founder of Political Wire, for a sprawling conversation about the chaos engine that is modern American politics. Goddard traces the unlikely origins of Political Wire, from downloading newspaper front pages at 4 a.m. on a commuter train, to building one of the internet’s earliest and most influential political blogs. From there, the discussion turns to Trump’s collapsing approval numbers, Democratic momentum heading into the midterms, and the Senate races that could decide control of Washington. They dissect everything from AI data-center revolts in rural America to the future of MAGA after Trump, while gaming out whether figures like Gavin Newsom, JD Vance, or a dark horse nobody sees coming will dominate 2028. It’s equal parts campaign autopsy, media criticism, and insider shop talk from two veteran political obsessives.

News-Items.com

Hosted by John Ellis

Produced by Dale Eisinger

In this episode of the News Items Podcast, John Ellis speaks with venture capitalist Daniel Adamson about investing at the cutting edge of global innovation. Adamson explains his “network model,” partnering with elite investors worldwide to access breakthroughs across AI, biotech, robotics, and even fashion. The conversation cuts through AI hype, arguing for a more nuanced view of its strengths, particularly in solving complex, data-heavy, rule-based problems like drug discovery. Adamson highlights transformative opportunities, from automated science labs to humanitarian applications, while warning of disruption across sectors like infrastructure and real estate. Ultimately, the episode explores how rapid technological change is reshaping markets, portfolios, and even our understanding of what it means to be human.

Daniel Adamson operates as a network-driven investor rather than a traditional venture capitalist. Instead of selecting individual startups, he invests in leading venture capital firms and partners with major global institutions such as pensions and sovereign funds. His approach centers on identifying top investors across industries like biotech, fintech, and energy, then aligning with them by taking stakes in their firms and co-investing in their strongest opportunities.

This model provides access to high-quality deals, diversified exposure, and a steady flow of insight from experienced managers. By connecting capital with specialized expertise, it leverages collective knowledge rather than relying on a single viewpoint.

The advantage is early access to innovation and efficient deployment of capital. Rather than trying to outperform specialists directly, his role is to build and manage a system that consistently directs investment toward the most promising opportunities worldwide.

News-Items.com

Hosted by John Ellis

Produced by Dale Eisinger