Inside Trump’s Artless Takeover of the Kennedy Center

Inside Trump’s Artless Takeover of the Kennedy Center

Author: The New Yorker December 11, 2025 Duration: 35:45
The New Yorker staff writer Katy Waldman joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how the Kennedy Center, the premier performing-arts hub in Washington, D.C., has been transformed under President Trump’s second term—and under his chaotic and unprecedented chairmanship of the organization. They talk about this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, which featured a group of honorees that reflect the President’s personal tastes, as well as the past year of mass firings, boycotts, and programming changes that have followed the Trump-led upheaval inside the institution. They also examine Trump’s relationship to arts and culture, and how the planned White House ballroom reflects the kind of cultural legacy he hopes to leave behind.  This week’s reading: “How the Kennedy Center Has Been Transformed by Trumpism,” by Katy Waldman “The Trump Administration’s Chaos in the Caribbean,” by Jonathan Blitzer “How to Leave the U.S.A.,” by Atossa Araxia Abrahamian “The Weird Spectacle of the World Cup Draw,” by Louisa Thomas “Is the Supreme Court Unsure About Birthright Citizenship?,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin  The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.  Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts.

Each week, The Political Scene | The New Yorker brings the magazine’s signature depth and clarity directly to your ears. This isn’t just a recap of headlines; it’s a sustained conversation with the people who spend their days investigating the forces shaping our world. You’ll hear from the publication’s own writers and editors, whose reporting and analysis provide essential context for understanding today’s complex political landscape. The rhythm of the week structures these discussions: Mondays feature editor David Remnick in thoughtful conversations and narratives about unfolding events. Then, on Wednesdays, senior editor Tyler Foggatt selects one consequential story and explores it thoroughly through interviews with both New Yorker staff and leading outside voices. Fridays round out the week with contributions from the magazine’s staff writers, offering their distinct perspectives. Tuning into this podcast means getting behind the scenes of the journalism itself, listening as sharp minds dissect power, policy, and the human stories at the heart of it all. It’s for anyone who wants to move beyond the noise and find a more nuanced, informed take on American politics and global affairs.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

The Political Scene | The New Yorker
Podcast Episodes
Trump’s New Brand of Imperialism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:16
U.S. intervention in other countries, whether overt or covert, is by no means new, and Daniel Immerwahr notes that the open embrace of expansionism by the President and associates such as Stephen Miller goes back to the…
Is Donald Trump Creating the Conditions for Another World War? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:54
The Washington Roundtable discusses Donald Trump’s use of force in Venezuela, his desire to take over Greenland, and the historical echoes of the Administration’s new imperialist projects. The panel also considers Trump’…
The Company Behind the A.I. Boom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:40
Across the country, data centers that run A.I. programs are being constructed at a record pace. A large percentage of them use chips built by the tech colossus Nvidia. The company has nearly cornered the market on the ha…
How Should We Approach A.I. in 2026? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:50
The writers Charles Duhigg, Cal Newport, and Anna Wiener join Tyler Foggatt for a conversation about artificial intelligence and the promises, myths, and anxieties surrounding it. The discussion was recorded before a liv…
Graham Platner Is Staying in the Race [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:06
The Republican Susan Collins has held one of Maine’s Senate seats for nearly thirty years, and Democrats, in trying to take it away from her, have a lot at stake. Graham Platner, a combat veteran, political activist, and…
Isaac Chotiner Sums Up Politics in 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:01
The New Yorker staff writer Isaac Chotiner joins Tyler Foggatt to reflect on several of the most notable interviews he conducted in 2025. They discuss competing theories about the origins of political violence over the p…
Leon Panetta on the Trump Administration’s Venezuelan Boat Strikes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:48
In the course of his long career, Leon Panetta was a lieutenant in the Army, a congressman from California, Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff, Barack Obama’s director of the C.I.A., and later, his Secretary of De…
The Washington Roundtable’s 2025 in Review [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:36
The Washington Roundtable discusses what surprised them in 2025, reflecting on the major shock-and-awe events that defined the first year of Donald Trump’s second term: the capitulation of major law firms, universities,…