Home Podcasts The New Yorker Radio Hour
The New Yorker Radio Hour

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker 1033 Episodes Aug 21, 2026

Profiles, storytelling and insightful conversations, hosted by David Remnick. The New Yorker Radio Hour brings the magazine's journalism to life with interviews, features, and commentary. Each episode offers a mix of cultural criticism, political analysis, and human interest stories. It is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.

Episodes

Jon Lovett Answers Your Questions
Jon Lovett Answers Your Questions Aug 21, 2026 00:28:21 In the 2026 midterm elections, close finishes in crucial swing states have put a spotlight on the divide between the Democratic Party’s moderate and progressive wings. Jon Lovett straddles that divide. He was a longtime speechwriter for Hillary Clinton and then for Barack Obama, but, as a host of the podcasts “Pod Save America” and “Lovett or Leave It,” he’s been critical of the Party’s establishm
Erin Brockovich Takes on Data Centers
Erin Brockovich Takes on Data Centers Aug 18, 2026 00:23:36 Since a famous case against a California utility, the name Erin Brockovich has become synonymous with a fighter taking on big polluters. Earlier this year, Brockovich began receiving e-mails from people worried about the construction of A.I. data centers, which is happening at a frenetic rate all over the country. People expressed concerns about the loss of farmland and natural areas; disruptions
Bernie Sanders Takes on Data Centers
Bernie Sanders Takes on Data Centers Aug 14, 2026 00:26:27 The data centers that power artificial intelligence are being built at a rampant pace, and are spurring resistance all over the country. Apart from public concerns about A.I.’s impact on jobs, privacy, and other aspects of life, data centers consume vast amounts of electricity and water. New York has passed a moratorium on new data centers; fourteen other states have considered restrictions. The V
Sam Smith on Their New Album, “Hazel Eyes”
Sam Smith on Their New Album, “Hazel Eyes” Aug 11, 2026 00:28:15 Sam Smith burst onto the music scene in 2014 with their début album, “In the Lonely Hour.” It was one of the best-selling albums of the decade and won Smith three Grammys, for Best Pop Vocal Album and both Record and Song of the Year, for the massive hit “Stay With Me.” Smith’s early hits were ballads of heartbreak and unrequited love, so their new album marks something of a change: it’s an album
How Socialist Is the D.S.A.? Megan Romer Explains
How Socialist Is the D.S.A.? Megan Romer Explains Aug 7, 2026 00:33:21 One of the biggest stories of this election cycle is the emergence, for the first time in a long time, of socialism as a force on the national stage. Inspired perhaps by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani, D.S.A. candidates are running in congressional and state-level races all over the country. But some of those candidates, David Remnick thinks, talk more like F.D.R. Democrats than like
The Democratic Socialist Running for Mayor of Los Angeles
The Democratic Socialist Running for Mayor of Los Angeles Aug 3, 2026 00:15:02 An incumbent mayor of Los Angeles normally faces smooth sailing for reëlection, but for the Democrat Karen Bass her term has been marked by criticism of her handling of last year’s devastating wildfires and the city’s ongoing homelessness crisis. The city-council member Nithya Raman was a former ally of Bass who now faces her in a November runoff election. Raman is aligned with the Democratic Soci
Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed Is “Not a Burn-It-Down Kind” of Candidate
Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed Is “Not a Burn-It-Down Kind” of Candidate Jul 31, 2026 00:35:12 Michigan’s Senate seat is a must-win for Democrats hoping to take control of the Senate in 2026. The midterms are reflecting a surge of energy behind left-leaning Democratic candidates—sometimes known as the Mamdani effect—challenging their party’s establishment and its tarnished image. Abdul El-Sayed, a former health official, firmly supports Medicare for All and the abolition of ICE. He’s ahead
A Democrat and a Republican in Congress on the Blowback from Mass Detention
A Democrat and a Republican in Congress on the Blowback from Mass Detention Jul 28, 2026 00:16:29 Though President Donald Trump came back to the White House with broad support for his border policies, his Administration’s immigration crackdown has been broadly unpopular. The staff writer Jonathan Blitzer spoke with two representatives in Congress about the blowback: Jason Crow, of Colorado, and María Salazar, of Florida. Crow is one of the Democratic Party’s recruitment co-chairs for the midte
One Refugee’s Journey Through ICE Detention
One Refugee’s Journey Through ICE Detention Jul 24, 2026 00:34:01 In 2025, as ICE was struggling to meet an impossible goal of three thousand immigration arrests per day, the agency took an unprecedented step: picking people up when they arrived at immigration court. These were immigrants seeking legal status through appropriate channels. The staff writer Jonathan Blitzer, who has been reporting on immigration for over a decade, tells the story of one man detain
Pick Three: Richard Brody on “The Odyssey” and Other Summer Films
Pick Three: Richard Brody on “The Odyssey” and Other Summer Films Jul 21, 2026 00:13:58 The film critic Richard Brody talks with David Remnick about three notable films this summer: Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” an epic adaptation of Homer’s poem, arriving amid buzz and huge advance ticket sales; the shoplifting comedy “I Love Boosters,” the second film from the sci-fi-inflected director Boots Riley; and “Remake,” the latest from the documentary legend Ross McElwee, in which he
Rahm Emanuel Says Israel’s Path Is “Not Sustainable Politically”
Rahm Emanuel Says Israel’s Path Is “Not Sustainable Politically” Jul 17, 2026 00:36:18 Rahm Emanuel is a Democratic Party elder, having served in the Clinton and Obama Administrations and as mayor of his native Chicago for two terms. He’s a centrist known for valuing political wins over ideology, making it especially notable that Emanuel recently gave a blistering speech in Israel, calling the country’s path “not sustainable politically.” He says that the United States should no lon
How an Estimated Seven Hundred Thousand People Have Died from DOGE’s U.S.A.I.D. Cuts
How an Estimated Seven Hundred Thousand People Have Died from DOGE’s U.S.A.I.D. Cuts Jul 12, 2026 00:31:47 The Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE, has officially been terminated. Its July 4th sunset date was part of Donald Trump’s original executive order that created the agency, which Elon Musk ran. During his tenure, Musk oversaw the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D., which used to provide life-saving medical and nutritional programs around the world. Musk, who recently became the worl

Recommended