Friends,

Good morning, and welcome back to my Saturday coffee klatch with Heather Lofthouse (executive director of Inequality Media Civic Action), where we examine the highs, lows, and even lower points of the previous week. Please pull up a chair, grab a cup, and join us.

This week, Heather and I zoom in on:

— The war in Gaza. Why not a humanitarian pause? Why is Mike Johnson, the new speaker of the House, conditioning aid to Israel on cutting IRS funding? And why is he not moving forward with aid for Ukraine?

— Sam Bankman-Fried’s comeuppance. What happened to him? How could so many big investors have been taken in? Does his downfall mark the end of crypto?

— Our culture of hype, of which Donald Trump is the major exemplar. The civil fraud trial in New York accusing the Trump organization of inflating the value of its assets for the purpose of getting bank loans and minimizing the value for the purpose of minimizing taxes. Why is Trump taking this trial more seriously than any other he’s now involved in?

— The October jobs report. The Fed is “succeeding” in slowing the economy and creating fewer jobs. Why is this considered a good thing? What’s the economic outlook?

— Heather’s “bestie” is in town.

Our thanks to Michael Lahanas-Calderón and Tom Lofthouse for technical assistance.

P.S. If you didn’t know already, you can also listen to our klatch on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whatever your favorite podcast app is.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe