New Yorker: Political Scene

Jeffrey Toobin and John Cassidy on Ferguson

“I think it would have been very difficult, maybe even ...

“I think it would have been very difficult, maybe even impossible, to get a criminal conviction,” Jeffrey Toobin says of the grand-jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown. Toobin, who wrote this week about the prosecutor Robert McCulloch’s “document-dump” approach to the case, joins John Cassidy and host Dorothy Wickenden on this week’s Political Scene to discuss the investigation, and how the issue of race plays out in the criminal-justice system. Of Darren Wilson’s testimony, Cassidy says, “He wasn’t challenged at any point … we don’t know how he would have held up on a witness stand.” They also revisit Henry Louis Gates, Jr.,’s 1995 magazine piece “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man,” about the jurors in the O. J. Simpson trial. Toobin says, “The jury system does rely on different people having different perceptions. And that’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing. The problem is when those perceptions are so clearly shaped by race.”

Obama and Immigration

“If the Democrats are going to win in 2016, they’re ...

“If the Democrats are going to win in 2016, they’re going to have to put back together the Obama coalition. This gives the coalition something to fight on,” John Cassidy says about President Obama’s executive action on immigration reform. Cassidy joins Hendrik Hertzberg and host Dorothy Wickenden on this week’s Political Scene podcast to talk about the new measures and how they will impact the Presidential race. They discuss its likely effects on the lives of undocumented immigrants, the recent history of executive orders, and Obama’s decision to fight for the issues he cares about rather than appease the Republicans. “With any luck, we are seeing a new, unleashed Obama,” Hertzberg says. “I don’t understand why, for so many years, he labored under the spell of the bipartisan, let’s-all-sing-kumbaya-together approach to governance.”

Clinton’s Rivals

“Once you identify a candidate who is really making a ...

“Once you identify a candidate who is really making a case against Clinton, interesting things can happen,” Ryan Lizza, who wrote about Hillary Clinton’s potential Presidential opponents in this week’s magazine, says on this week’s Political Scene podcast. “The history of these open primaries is that the dominant front-runner always gets challenged.” Lizza joins Evan Osnos and the host, Dorothy Wickenden, to discuss the challenges that Clinton may face as a candidate, both from within her party and from the Republicans. They talk about the reasons that Obama was able to defeat Clinton in 2008, the legacy of her vote for the Iraq War, and the expectation that her campaign will disparage the Obama Administration. They also discuss how Obama’s agreement with China on carbon emissions may play out, environmentally and politically. Of this, Osnos, who has written about China’s clean-energy initiatives for the magazine, says, “Since China and the United States account for almost half of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions, this now gives permission to other countries to be more ambitious in their own targets.”

Obama and the G.O.P.

“I’d like to see him use the last two years ...

“I’d like to see him use the last two years to make up for some of the rhetorical mistakes of the last six,” Hendrik Hertzberg says of President Obama on this week’s Political Scene podcast. Hertzberg joins David Remnick and host Dorothy Wickenden to discuss how Obama’s missteps contributed to Republican gains in the midterms, and what he can do to make the most of the remainder of his second term. They discuss how the myriad international crises of the summer may have affected the election, the waning power of the bully pulpit, Mitch McConnell’s victory, and the over-all dismal quality of political discussion in Congress today. Remnick says, “I don’t want to romanticize the Senates of the fifties or the sixties as if it were filled with Enlightenment kings and queens, but … it is so deeply dispiriting to watch the level of conversation and debate and politics on issues that are our future.”

Understanding Contagion

“The Administration should be faulted for giving mixed signals” about ...

“The Administration should be faulted for giving mixed signals” about Ebola, the New Yorker staff writer Jerome Groopman says on this week’s Political Scene podcast. Groopman joins host Dorothy Wickenden to discuss how panic and misinformation have clouded the response to the virus in the U.S. so far, and what we should and should not worry about when it comes to this and other contagions. They examine the confusion over state versus federal quarantine policies, the evolution of the C.D.C’s guidelines, and the lessons that we can learn from the current outbreak. They also explore how epidemics have historically led to stigmas against vulnerable minority groups, and why Obama has a responsibility to emphasize the humanistic imperative to combat Ebola. Groopman says, “The President should state quite clearly that Americans are a compassionate and caring people, and that we take care of our own and, when we have the opportunity, we take care of others.”

President Obama’s Judicial Legacy

President Obama “has achieved a level of diversity in the ...

President Obama “has achieved a level of diversity in the federal courts that is very much unprecedented in the history of United States courts,” says the New Yorker staff writer Jeffrey Toobin, who wrote about Obama’s judicial legacy in the current issue of the magazine. Toobin joins Amelia Lester on the Political Scene podcast to discuss how Obama has reshaped the federal judiciary and the major cases currently pending before the Supreme Court. Their conversation covers the President’s philosophy on selecting appointees, his cautious approach to same-sex marriage and affirmative action, the new restrictions on voting rights, and the question of when and whether Ruth Bader Ginsburg—“the Notorious R.B.G.”—will retire.

A Panel on the Middle East

“The Middle East is coming apart in a way that, ...

“The Middle East is coming apart in a way that, I think, is unprecedented,” Dexter Filkins says on this week’s Political Scene, which was recorded live at The New Yorker Festival last Sunday. Filkins was joined by Steve Coll, Robin Wright, and Jon Lee Anderson for a panel discussion moderated by Evan Osnos about their experiences covering the Middle East and the rise of extremism in the region.

Rand Paul’s Counterculture

Ryan Lizza and Hendrik Hertzberg join host Dorothy Wickenden on ...

Ryan Lizza and Hendrik Hertzberg join host Dorothy Wickenden on this week’s podcast to discuss Rand Paul’s political resurgence, and what it might mean for the future of the Republican Party. As Lizza explains in the magazine this week, if Paul is to run for President in 2016, he faces a challenge: how to avenge his father, who is still seen as a fringe figure, while distancing himself from his father’s image.

Midterm Battlegrounds

With the midterm elections less than a month away, John ...

With the midterm elections less than a month away, John Cassidy and Ryan Lizza join host Dorothy Wickenden on this week’s podcast to discuss the key Senate races, and how President Obama is affecting the campaign strategies of both parties.

Lawrence Wright and Dexter Filkins on Syria

Lawrence Wright and Dexter Filkins on Syria