As control of the Senate hangs in the balance, many eyes are on Dan Osborn, of Nebraska. He’s a dream candidate for the Democrats: a mechanic in the food-processing industry, a former president of his local union, and a veteran of the Navy and the Army National Guard. But Osborn isn’t a Democrat; he’s running as an independent. Polls show a close or tied race with the Republican incumbent, Pete Ricketts, an heir to a financial fortune. David Remnick talks with Osborn about leading a strike at a Kellogg’s plant; how Donald Trump’s tariffs are affecting voters in an agricultural state; and Osborn’s decision to not caucus with either party if he wins the seat. Further reading: “Can the Democrats Take Back the Senate?,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Trump Administration has made little secret of its desire to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency and give states the responsibility to respond to all manner of natural disasters on their own. FEMA has endured tremendous internal strife over leadership, and reports have suggested its mission has been compromised by partisan decision-making: President Trump—the sole arbiter of who ultimately gets FEMA relief—has rejected aid for Democratic-led states at the highest rate in the agency’s history. This has led to accusations of emergency aid being used as a “political cudgel,” and has had a chilling effect on some of the rank-and-file staff at the agency. The New Yorker Radio Hour’s Adam Howard speaks to a longtime employee of FEMA about what’s going on behind the scenes, and whether it could have a negative impact on the agency’s ability to respond to the next emergency. The subject of this interview is currently working for FEMA, a federal agency, and he asked to remain anonymous. His voice has been digitally regenerated for the audio of this interview. Further reading and listening: “American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA,” by “On the Media” “Outrage and Paranoia After Hurricane Helene,” by Jessica Pishko “For the Victims of Florence, Trump Needs to Prove that He Can Get Hurricane Recovery Right,” by Doug Bock Clark and Charles Bethea “Inequality and Hurricane Harvey,” by Ben Taub New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There will be a variety of celebrations to honor America’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary this year. Much of it is to be expected: fireworks, red, white, and blue lights, even a military parade. But something else is happening, something that probably wouldn’t occur if anyone other than Donald Trump were President. The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the premier league for mixed martial arts, is staging a fight at the White House. The U.F.C. was founded in 1993, and exploded in popularity after Dana White took over as president of the company, in 2001. He’s also been friends with Donald Trump for a quarter century, and spoke on the President’s behalf at all three Republican National Conventions where Trump was the nominee. He’s stumped for him at rallies, and Trump even called him up to speak at his victory celebration on Election Night in 2024. David Remnick and White discuss his remarkable rise to prominence, and his relationship with the increasingly unpopular President. “He’s not a racist,” White tells Remnick. “He’s not a fascist. He loves this country. And if you’re an American—race, religion, whatever it is—President Trump is on your team, that I guarantee you.” Further reading: “Donald Trump’s U.F.C. Victory Party,” by Sam Eagan “Cage-Fighting During a Pandemic: Is This the Future of Sports?,” by Kelefa Sanneh “Fighting for Trump: The U.F.C. Comes to New York City,” by Kelefa Sanneh New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The staff writer and historian Jill Lepore is an admirer of the Federal Writers’ Project, and the man-on-the-street form of documentary it helped to pioneer. This type of journalism, she thinks, is integral to the democratic project. As part of a special episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour, Lepore collaborated with the audio-storytelling group Transom to create a new documentary on how Americans perceive their country on the eve of its two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary. Producers conducted interviews in Illinois, California, Louisiana, Vermont, and Utah, in gas stations, city parks, and malls, on street corners and dairy farms, asking people how they see themselves in the American story, how they feel about America at two hundred and fifty, and what they imagine the tricentennial of independence will be like. The New Yorker Radio Hour’s collaboration with Transom was produced by Sophie Crane. It was recorded by Eve Abrams, Scott Carrier, Erica Heilman, Yohance Lacour, and David Weinberg. Mixing and sound design by Josh Crane. Music by Jon Evans and Matthias Bossi at Stellwagen Symphonette. It was created as part of Transom’s Listeners Project, an experiment in hyperlocal documentary storytelling. New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence arrives during intense disputes about American history, as the Trump Administration demands a more glorifying view of the nation’s past at federally run historical sites and in federally funded projects. The staff writer Jill Lepore (who won the Pulitzer Prize in History this month for her book “We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution”) guest-hosts a special episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour about this fraught moment, reflecting on the responsibility of academic historians to shape the public debate. She compares our moment with the bicentennial—which fell in the wake of the Vietnam War and the scandals of Richard Nixon’s Presidency—in a conversation with the Yale historian Beverly Gage. Lepore looks at the nature of the country’s war over history with Jelani Cobb, the dean of Columbia Journalism School and a staff writer at The New Yorker. They discuss the Donald Trump-approved “Freedom 250” projection on the Washington Monument, and talk about how Americans can meaningfully participate in the semiquincentennial. If “we’re sitting around waiting for the occupant of the White House to tell us what American history means,” Lepore says, “you just kind of want to walk into traffic.” Further reading: America at 250, a special issue of The New Yorker “Was the Declaration of Independence Better Before the Edits?,” by Jill Lepore “Scandal, Protest, Goofiness, and Grandeur at the U.S. Bicentennial,” by Jill Lepore “Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Complicated Commemorations,” by Jelani Cobb “This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History,” by Beverly Gage New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Harriet Clark’s novel, “The Hill,” is one of the most anticipated works of fiction of the year. It’s a story of a girl growing up visiting her mother, who is serving a life sentence in prison for a politically motivated crime. And although “The Hill” is a work of fiction, it follows the contours of Clark’s own life closely: her mother is Judy Clark, who drove a getaway car after a robbery in which two police officers and a security guard were killed. One of “The Hill” ’s enthusiastic admirers is Rachel Aviv, a staff writer at The New Yorker. She spoke with Clark about the power of fiction, her mother’s life story, and the power of narrative when thinking about how to confront carceral systems. Further reading: “Harriet Clark’s Début Is a New Kind of Coming-of-Age Novel,” by James Wood “The Trial of Gisèle Pelicot’s Rapists United France and Fractured Her Family,” by Rachel Aviv New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The contributing writer Peter Slevin met with Barack Obama at the new Obama Presidential Center, which opens next month, in Chicago, and asked him the question on a lot of Democrats’ minds: Where is he, and why isn’t he doing more to help the country in a moment of crisis? Slevin shares excerpts from his interview, during which Obama explains the limits of his role, and why he should no longer be the figurehead for his party. Slevin also speaks with David Remnick about why the famously optimistic President has lost some of his confidence in the American prospect. “I would be dishonest if I didn’t acknowledge that,” Obama admitted. Further reading: “Barack Obama Considers His Role in the Age of Trump,” by Peter Slevin “Presidents’ Days: From Obama to Trump,” by David Remnick New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Most basketball fans first took note of Steve Kerr when he played for the Chicago Bulls in the nineteen-nineties, but it’s through coaching that Kerr really came to the fore in the N.B.A. For more than twelve years, he’s led the Golden State Warriors to four titles, and a record seventy-three-win season, in 2016. He also took home an Olympic gold medal as the coach of the U.S. men’s team in 2024. Kerr has used his platform, at times, to wade into politics. He’s spoken at the Democratic National Convention, and his name comes up in conversations about candidates for higher office. He’s also been vocal about President Donald Trump, which is not without some risk. “Calling the President a buffoon? I kind of regret that, even though I felt it in my heart, even though a lot of people agreed with me,” Kerr tells the staff writer Charles Bethea. Further reading: “Has Steve Kerr Had Enough?,” by Charles Bethea “U.S.A. Basketball Is Still an Awkward Fit at the Olympics,” by Louisa Thomas New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the governor’s race in California, the leading Republican candidate appears to be Steve Hilton, a British-born political consultant and former Fox News contributor. Hilton has been endorsed by Donald Trump, which may not help him in the heavily Democratic state. His lead may owe something to California’s unusual primary system, but it’s not the first time a Republican has had a strong showing in the state: former Republican governors include Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hilton is running on a platform emphasizing affordability, cutting waste in the government, and increasing oil and natural-gas production. He talks with David Remnick about how a Republican might win this election, and how he would govern with a minority of Californians supporting him. Further reading: “Gavin Newsom Is Playing the Long Game,” by Nathan Heller “California Strikes Back in the Redistricting War,” by Jon Allsop New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Emma Copley Eisenberg is the author of a new collection of short stories entitled “Fat Swim.” Her work questions body image and the suppression of fatness in contemporary culture; Eisenberg recently paid for a billboard over a busy highway in Philadelphia bearing the slogan “Your gut is a terrible thing to lose.” Eisenberg talked with The New Yorker’s Jennifer Wilson about using fiction to explore body image, and the fatphobia that she finds in literature by some of today’s acclaimed writers. Further reading: “Fat Swim,” by Emma Copley Eisenberg New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.