We’re now in the second year of Donald Trump’s second term. And there’s a lot to be concerned about as it relates to the future of American democracy. How can everyday people push back against authoritarianism and antidemocratic forces? Zack Beauchamp is a senior correspondent at Vox. He’s also the author of “The Reactionary Spirit,” a book about this topic. Beauchamp joins WITHpod to discuss Democratic backsliding, the role of protests in stopping dictators and lessons that can be learned from Brazil, South Korea and Poland.

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There’s no question that we’re in the midst of one of the most intense periods of AI focus and hype. A lot of key players exist in the space and one of the biggest is Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company known for Claude, its collection of large language models. And the company’s recent feud with the Pentagon has created even more buzz. But what exactly is Claude and why is it often seen as so difficult to understand that question? Gideon Lewis-Kraus is a staff writer at The New Yorker. He joins WITHpod to discuss how Claude works, automation’s threat to knowledge work and more.

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The United States is pretty intertwined with Latin America. So why has it historically been seen as more of a European outpost than a nation in the Western hemisphere that is part of the broader Americas? Our guest this week points out that there are other ways to understand the history and identity of the U.S. aside from the narrative that is so often a part of contemporary discourse. Greg Grandin is the C. Vann Woodard Professor of History at Yale and the author of “America, América: A New History of the New World.” He joins WITHpod to discuss a revolutionary concept of the “New World,” democratic backsliding in the U.S., why he says we should rethink hemispheric history, and more. 

Note: this episode was recorded on 4/17/25. 

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We are years into uncovering new details about Jeffrey Epstein. And now we’re making sense of all of the files that have been disclosed and grappling with the fact that there are tons of redactions. Does this moment represent a MeToo 2.0? Rebecca Traister is writer at large for New York magazine.  She is the author of numerous books including “Good and Mad” and “All the Single Ladies,” both New York Times best-sellers. She joins WITHpod to discuss the trajectory of MeToo, how this moment represents a recapitulation of the first MeToo movement and more.

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“MS NOW Presents: Clock It” is an invitation to the liveliest and most informed groupchat in your feed. Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels are long-time political powerhouses. And they understand more than most how culture influences politics, and the role politics plays in culture. On “Clock It,” they’re helping you put your finger on the pulse of the hottest political gossip and their off-air conversations too colorful for TV.

In the first episode of their new show, “Clock It,” they’re joined by actors Tony Goldwyn and Myles Frost for a conversation about making thought-provoking art when political tensions are at their highest. And they dig in on the Super Bowl halftime show, why cuts to The Washington Post matter for democracy, and the race to the Senate in Texas.

Stay here to get a sneak peek. Then search and follow the show to get new episodes every Thursday.

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Chris’ book, “The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource” is out in paperback now. As part of the release of the paperback, Chris sat down with author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt to discuss the attention economy in this moment. We're thrilled to share the event, which was held at The Strand bookstore in NYC, with you. 
 

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Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels were once at odds as White House staffer and White House reporter. Now they’re friends and colleagues—each co-hosting their own shows at MS NOW. But their off-air conversations are where the real action is. Their new show, “MS NOW Presents: Clock It” is an invitation to their groupchat, the liveliest—and most informative—in news. Whether it’s ICE getting dispatched to the Super Bowl because Bad Bunny’s doing the halftime show, or Nicolás Maduro’s Nike Tech fit, or Michael B. Jordan’s sole Oscar nomination despite playing three roles in Sinners, there is no collision between culture and politics that this show won’t document and decipher. Symone and Eugene see exactly what’s going on—and they want you to clock it, too. 

New episodes drop every Thursday, starting February 12th. Search for “MS NOW Presents: Clock It” and hit “follow” so you don’t miss an episode.

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So much has unfolded in Minneapolis over the past few weeks following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. There’s a lot to unpack in the aftermath. Jacob Soboroff, MS NOW senior political and national reporter and Alex Wagner, MS NOW senior political analyst, discuss on the ground reporting in Minneapolis, the implications of what has happened and more.

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Almost every aspect of our life from the likes we get on social media to the professional metrics we receive have been in some ways gamified. Games are basically everywhere. What impact does this gamification have on our lives? C. Thi Nguyen is a philosophy professor at the University of Utah and the author of “The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game.” He joins WITHpod to discuss why we’ve gamified so many things, why we are so drawn to keeping score, recapturing value that can’t be obtained from data and more.

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It was only a year ago that Los Angeles was devastated by some of the worst wildfires in recent recorded history. Jacob Soboroff is the Senior Political and National Reporter for MS NOW and the New York Times best-selling author of "Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster.” He joins WITHpod to discuss his own personal connection and story with his childhood home burning down, the politics of rebuilding and more.

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