The New Yorker Radio Hour

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 detained this way, a Guinean refugee who was seeking asylum after a severe beating and death threats by his government. His first name is Alsainy, and his story exemplifies the ways that the Trump Administration is sabotaging the system of legal immigration. 

Further reading: 

“Inside ICE’s Largest Detention Center,” by Jonathan Blitzer

“For the Nation’s Birthday, Making It Harder to Become an American,” by Jonathan Blitzer

“Trump’s Mass-Detention Campaign,” by Jonathan Blitzer

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.

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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 pays tribute to his late son, Adrian, an aspiring filmmaker.   

Further reading:

“Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ Leaves the Gods in the Outtakes,” by Richard Brody

“ ‘Remake’ Confronts a Father’s Grief and a Filmmaker’s Responsibility,” by Richard Brody

“Why the Odyssey Keeps Defeating Filmmakers,” by David Denby

“ ‘I Love Boosters,’ Reviewed: A Socialist-Surrealist Shoplifting Fantasy,” by Richard Brody

 

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.

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 longer grant Israel unconditional military support, and explains his own plan for a diplomatic Middle East solution that he calls a “twenty-three-state solution.” Emanuel, who hasn’t formally announced but appears to have embarked on a campaign for the 2028 Presidency, defends his position on trans rights, which has angered many on the left, and his contention that the Democratic Party is overly concerned with identity politics. 

Further reading: 

“Trump and Rahm Emanuel Both Love a Fight, Especially Against Each Other,” by Susan B. Glasser.

“Rahm Emanuel’s Lessons for Hilary Clinton,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells

“The Sudden but Well-Deserved Fall of Rahm Emanuel,” by Rick Perlstein

“Emanuel in Full,” by Lizzie Widdicombe

 

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 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 world’s first trillionaire, claims that there is no evidence that a single person died after DOGE cancelled more than eighty per cent of U.S.A.I.D.’s programs, cutting basic health-care access to some ninety-five million people. Atul Gawande disagrees. He was the assistant administrator for global health at  U.S.A.I.D. until he stepped down, the same week Trump ended U.S. foreign assistance. Gawande says an estimated seven hundred thousand people have already died as a result of the cuts. David Remnick speaks with the longtime New Yorker contributor about the profound effects of ending U.S.A.I.D.’s work abroad, Musk’s involvement in these decisions, and the deaths it all has wrought.   

Further reading, viewing, and listening: 

“The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands,” film by Thomas Jennings and Annie Wong, text by Atul Gawande

“Hundreds of Thousands Will Die,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour

“Behind the Chaotic Attempt to Freeze Federal Assistance,” by Atul Gawande

New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Follow the show wherever you get your podcasts.

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With all the sports news at play this summer, from the New York Knicks winning the N.B.A. Finals to Donald Trump having a direct impact on FIFA’s decisions during the World Cup, it’s time for a deep dive into the biggest sports moments of late. The New Yorker sportswriter Louisa Thomas and David Remnick talk about the most significant stories of the week, and what to keep an eye on in the days and weeks ahead.

Further reading, viewing, and listening:

“The U.S. Crashes Out of the World Cup,” by Louisa Thomas

“Serena Williams Returns to Wimbledon,” by Louisa Thomas

“The Knicks Win the N.B.A. Title: A Post-Game Conversation,” with David Remnick, Vinson Cunningham, and Louisa Thomas

New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Follow the show wherever you get your podcasts.

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