The Powers That Be: Daily

Ian Krietzberg joins Peter to discuss the mounting controversies surrounding X’s A.I. assistant Grok, which has been accused of generating non-consensual sexualized images of women—and why lawsuits against Elon Musk’s A.I. ventures are all but inevitable at this point. Ian also charts the soaring popularity of Anthropic’s new coding tool, Claude Code, and whether software engineers should begin planning to make a career pivot as the user-friendly tool is sure to spark fresh fears about A.I.’s impact on real-life jobs.

Leigh Ann Caldwell joins Peter to break down a rare moment of Republican relief, as Trump signals a diplomatic exit from the Greenland standoff after weeks of saber-rattling toward NATO allies. They also discuss the growing talk of impeaching DHS secretary Kristi Noem over her management of ICE—and why the threat carries more weight than it might appear.

Dylan Byers joins Peter for a clear-eyed look at the scrutiny facing Bari Weiss’s leadership at CBS News—what her critics are getting right, what they’re missing, and whether she can recover from an increasingly rocky start. Then they game out the Politico succession, and why Axel Springer might favor an external hire to revitalize the business.

Abby Livingston joins Peter for a close look at Minnesota’s political landscape as the state once again lands at the center of the national drama—this time as ground zero for Trump’s immigration crackdown. They examine Tim Walz’s exit, Amy Klobuchar’s ambitions, and a suddenly fierce Democratic Senate primary now being reshaped by immigration politics.

Jon Kelly returns for a special episode to unpack the meaningful, if unsurprising, leadership change at Politico and contemplate what it suggests about parentco Axel Springer’s ambitions. Then he and Peter weigh in on the latest Bari Weiss discourse.

New York Times reporters Jessica Testa and Michael Grynbaum join Lauren for a very special episode about the current state of legacy publisher Condé Nast. (Remember, Michael wrote a book about Condé Nast. called The Empire of the Elite.) They discuss Will Welch’s exit from GQ (and potential replacements), if Mark Guiducci is doing a good job at Vanity Fair, and whether every Condé Nast editor is contractually obligated to thank H.R. lord Stan Duncan in their departure (or arrival).

Matt Belloni joins Peter, fresh off the Golden Globes last weekend, to game out the Oscar race ahead of next week’s Academy Award nominations. Matt identifies a handful of locks, flags a few surprises, and explains why Leo DiCaprio might have the edge over Timothée Chalamet for Best Actor.

Eriq Gardner joins Peter to break down the F.B.I.’s stunning raid on the home of a Washington Post journalist, a move tied to an alleged government leaker and one that’s almost without precedent. Eriq explains what the feds seized, what they may still be looking for, and what the raid says about the Trump administration’s escalating hostility toward the press—and what the Post could possibly do to fight back.

Julia Alexander joins Peter to explain why Facebook’s most viral content is now dominated by A.I.-generated slop—and what that means for advertisers weighing brand safety against reach. Then they dig into Google’s ballooning market cap and its new deal with Apple, as Google’s Gemini will power Siri’s long-overdue upgrade and Google’s monopolistic grip on smartphone software becomes even tighter.

Julia Ioffe joins Peter for a close examination of mass demonstrations and state killings in Iran—and whether Donald Trump, newly emboldened on the world stage after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, might press for regime change in the Islamic Republic. Then they turn to the latest Washington intrigue, and discuss the meme-worthy meltdown of Trump-appointed H.R. director Lew Olowski at his farewell party after learning he’d been passed over for a coveted assignment.