The Powers That Be: Daily

Jon Kelly joins Julia Alexander, who is moonlighting for an under-the-weather Peter, to plot out the endgame of the NFL’s forthcoming media partner negotiations. Will one of the networks get left out this time around? And will that throw them into an existential crisis, like when WBD lost the NBA? Or is there somehow enough expensive football for everyone to share?

Lauren’s guest is Kyle Smith, fashion editor of the NFL and stylist to many of the league’s biggest stars, including Joe Burrow. They discuss the deepening relationship between American football and fashion, the GQ Bowl, Thom Browne, the halftime show, and Oscar de la Renta’s game night party with Puck, as well as Pieter Mulier’s appointment at Alaïa, the Margot Robbie Wuthering Heights press tour, and plenty more.

John Ourand joins Peter to take the temperature of the NBA as All-Star Weekend descends on Los Angeles and league insiders toast to a season they consider a success so far. Then they dig into the NHL’s—and other leagues’—strategic scramble to renegotiate their TV rights with ESPN and TNT before the NFL blows up the market by opting out of its own rights deals later this year.

Julia Alexander joins Peter to slice through the final, official Super Bowl ratings across the various platforms the game aired on—and consider whether Turning Point USA’s halftime counter-programming on YouTube could inspire copycats in future tentpole events. Then they weigh into the NFL’s growing international ambitions and spotlight the one country primed to become the league’s next major growth engine.

Dylan Byers joins Peter to help make sense of the latest chapter of dysfunction at the Washington Post, where owner Jeff Bezos just forced out the embattled and aloof C.E.O. Will Lewis following massive layoffs and months of internal unrest. Then they turn to the bigger questions: can the Post finally crack the code on growth—and what kind of leadership will it take to make the paper relevant and competitive again?

Abby Livingston joins Peter to assess whether Washington is barreling toward another partial government shutdown, as Democrats and Republicans remain locked in a standoff over ICE and Department of Homeland Security funding. They also discuss Michigan’s pivotal Senate race and how the three-way primary could potentially jeopardize the party’s chances come November.

Besties Jon Kelly and Peter Hamby reunite to chop up the Will Lewis tragedy at the Post—what went wrong, what went wronger, and whether it’s too late to fix this nightmare.

In this special episode, Leigh Ann Caldwell sits down with Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio to discuss the stalled market structure bill governing stablecoins and the broader crypto industry. Moreno argues for a clearer, pro-innovation regulatory framework while pushing back on resistance from banks and what he sees as misconceptions about digital assets. He also weighs in on the ethics of Trump family business dealings and the political challenges of extending Affordable Care Act subsidies.

John Ourand joins Peter with an inside look from Super Bowl week in the Bay Area, where NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is facing renewed scrutiny over the league’s lack of minority head coaches and media companies like NBC and Fox are sizing up the NFL as it enters a new partnership with ESPN. John also weighs into the unraveling of regional sports networks and the uncertain future facing small-market franchises in a streaming-first world.

Ian Krietzberg joins Peter to cut through the fog around ICE’s use of A.I. tools to target illegal immigrants and U.S. citizens, as questions about oversight and accuracy remain unanswered. Then they dissect a new poll that reveals how college students are increasingly relying on A.I. chatbots for everything from mental health, to course work—and even romance.