Washington Week with The Atlantic full episode, 9/20/24

George Packer is known far and wide for his penetrating analysis of American history and American politics. Across his distinguished career, Packer has reported from war zones and countries in turmoil around the world. This week, Jeffrey Goldberg and Packer focus on turmoil at home to make sense of this year and America’s future.

Joe Biden is still president, but you wouldn’t know it. Elon Musk and his partner, President-elect Trump, are making it clear that they are already in charge and a government shutdown is on the table. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Asma Khalid of NPR, Mark Leibovich of The Atlantic, Ashley Parker of The Washington Post and Vivian Salama of The Wall Street Journal to discuss this and more.

In just over a month, Donald Trump will be sworn in as president again. He and his congressional allies want to hit the ground running, but Republican lawmakers are quickly hitting divides over where to start. Join guest moderator Lisa Desjardins, Peter Baker of The New York Times, Hans Nichols of Axios, Toluse Olorunnipa of The Washington Post and Ali Vitali of NBC News to discuss this and more.

Will Pete Hegseth convince key Republican senators that he’s a changed man? Donald Trump is standing by his choice for defense secretary, but is there an expiration date on this nomination? Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, McKay Coppins of The Atlantic, Jane Mayer of The New Yorker and Tarini Parti of The Wall Street Journal to discuss this and more.

President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have plans to overhaul the federal government after winning the popular vote, but his victory was far from overwhelming. How will Americans react to Trump's changes? Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, The Washington Post’s Dan Balz, Elisabeth Bumiller of The New York Times, and Jonathan Karl of ABC News, as they discuss this and more.

Controversy over former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s nomination and withdrawal from President-elect Trump's cabinet soaked up headlines, but other nominees are equally improbable. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Laura Barrón-López of the PBS News Hour, Andrew Desiderio of Punchbowl News, Zolan Kanno-Youngs from The New York Times and The Washington Post's Ashley Parker as they discuss this and more.

Donald Trump hasn’t filled his Cabinet yet, but all evidence suggests he’s looking for two main qualities in his picks: loyalty to him and a loathing for what he calls the deep state. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Elisabeth Bumiller of The New York Times, Leigh Ann Caldwell of Washington Post Live, Mark Leibovich of The Atlantic and Francesca Chambers of USA Today to discuss this and more.

Donald Trump is almost certainly the most important American political figure of the 21st century so far. He told voters that he would be a dictator on his first day and now has a chance to remake American government and society. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Tim Alberta and Helen Lewis of The Atlantic, Susan Glasser of The New Yorker and Asma Khalid of NPR to discuss this and more.

This is the closest presidential race in memory, and one of the strangest and most foreboding, as well. How did we get here, and where are we headed? Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Peter Baker of The New York Times, McKay Coppins of The Atlantic, Eugene Daniels of Politico and Vivian Salama of The Wall Street Journal to discuss this and more.

With just over a week to go until Election Day and polls showing the tightest race imaginable. All eyes are on Pennsylvania. Neither candidate, it seems, could win the presidency without taking the Keystone State. Join moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic, Dan Balz of The Washington Post, Dana Bash of CNN and Jerusalem Demsas of the Atlantic to discuss this and more.