Sarah Longwell, a Former Republican, on “How to Eat an Elephant”

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Amy Walter, the editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report and a political analyst for PBS NewsHour, to take stock of the midterms map. With Donald Trump’s approval rating at a historic low and economic issues squeezing voters nationwide, conventional wisdom suggests that a decisive Democratic blue wave is coming. But the margins are razor-thin. “The odds are definitely with Democrats here because of how few seats they need to actually flip,” Walter says. “They just don’t have a lot of room for error.” Plus, the hosts reflect on the quarter century since 9/11, and share their memories of that day. This week’s reading: “Troy Jackson Is Still Surprised That He’s Running for Senate,” by Jesús Rodríguez “Is the Democratic Party Still Too Woke?,” by Jason Zengerle “Has the A.I. Job Apocalypse Been Postponed?,” by John Cassidy “The U.S. Was Never Going to Win the ‘War on Terror,’” by Robin Wright Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New Yorker staff writer Jennifer Wilson joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss how the right’s embrace of lingerie and cleavage signals the changing politics of sexuality. They talk about how the actress Sydney Sweeney’s appearance and political affiliation became a cause célèbre for a segment of the conservative movement, and how it reflects a broader right-wing backlash against more inclusive notions of beauty and body positivity. They also examine the rise of the magazine Evie, which has billed itself as the “conservative Cosmo,” and explore how the left has been grappling with the politics of sexuality and sex appeal in the wake of the #MeToo movement. This week’s reading: “Have Conservatives Taken Sexy Back?,” by Jennifer Wilson “The Warning Benjamin Netanyahu Ignored,” by Ruth Margalit “Remembrance of September 11th,” by Adam Gopnik “The America That 9/11 Made,” by Jill Lepore 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The political consultant Sarah Longwell runs focus groups of voters, and she has a lot of advice for Democrats seeking to wrest control of the government from MAGA. Longwell, a former Republican disaffected from Donald Trump’s party, presents her playbook to the New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos: go on the offensive talking about corruption; make a positive case for immigration; and adapt to a podcast-driven media environment. “You can go on ‘Joe Rogan’ or not go on ‘Joe Rogan,’ ” she says. “The question is: can you sit for a long period of time and talk to someone who doesn’t know that much about politics and have an engaging conversation? . . . This is how trust is built now, in this screen-to-screen environment.” Longwell’s new book is called “How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time.”  Further listening:  “Can Trump Voters Still Change Their Minds?,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour “A G.O.P. Strategist on the Republican Voters Who Could Abandon Trump,” an episode of The Political Scene 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Washington Roundtable explores how Donald Trump’s wars of choice abroad, whether using tariffs or bombs, are dragging down his popularity at home. The panel looks at the baffling trade fight with Canada, the deepening quagmire in Iran, and the President’s recent embrace of data centers—all of which, they argue, could cost Republicans in the midterms. “He is seen as so toxic that a number of Republican candidates in districts that Trump won significantly before are saying, ‘Don’t send him here. We don’t wanna campaign with him,’ ” the staff writer Jane Mayer observes. “That, in politics, is the ultimate kiss-off. Goodbye.” This week’s reading: “Donald Trump’s Capital Makeover,” by Antonia Hitchens “How Donald Trump Outmaneuvers the Supreme Court,” by Ruth Marcus “How Much Is the Iran War Costing Americans?,” by John Cassidy “What If Canada Joined the E.U.?,” by Ishaan Tharoor “Was ‘Defund the Police’ Crazy?,” by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor 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. Show less Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During the height of Roy Cohn’s friendship with Donald Trump, according to the historian Kai Bird, “they were on the phone with each other a dozen times a day.” Bird’s new book, “American Scoundrel,” details Cohn’s profound influence on Trump—whom he met as a young real-estate heir in the nineteen-seventies—and how Cohn is “haunting” politics in our time. “I had written about Roy Cohn in [previous biographies] as this nefarious, minor, awful figure who was disruptive and divisive and unethical. And I suddenly realized that the establishment that I’d been writing about for forty years is gone. Their values and culture, the politics, the bipartisanship . . . that’s all gone,” he tells David Remnick. “Roy Cohn explains something about the dark side of America that I just didn’t understand.” They discuss Cohn’s early career as a prosecutor and his role as the “mastermind” of the McCarthy purges; his service as a lawyer and fixer for Mafia members, politicians, and celebrities; and an allegation of being involved in sex trafficking. Further reading and listening:  “How Roy Cohn Taught Donald Trump Everything,” by Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark “The Mobster Cosplay of Donald Trump,” by David Remnick “Adapting Oppenheimer’s Life Story to Film, with Biographer Kai Bird,” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour “Roy Cohn and the Making of a Winner-Take-All America,” by Naomi Fry 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Washington Roundtable will be back next week. In the meantime, we’re pleased to bring you the Season 2 premiere of “Master Plan,” the award-winning investigative podcast from The Lever. In its second season, titled “The Kingmakers,” the host, David Sirota, a former speechwriter for Bernie Sanders and an Oscar-nominated co-writer for “Don’t Look Up,” examines the decades-long building of an all-powerful American Presidency. This episode explores how Richard Nixon’s secret expansion of the Vietnam War, along with his attempts to seize the power of the purse from Congress sparked a constitutional crisis and a backlash, setting the stage for many of the legal battles that dominate today’s political landscape.  We hope you’ll enjoy it. For the rest of “Master Plan” ’s second season, follow and listen to the show: https://play.megaphone.fm/lzjeitnbt6ikozz2aydzrw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New Yorker contributing writer Eren Orbey joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the trial of Lindsay Clancy, who is accused of murdering her three children during a period of severe postpartum mental-health struggles. They talk about the tragedy at the center of the trial and the question of whether Clancy’s mental state at the time meets the legal standard for a lack of criminal responsibility. They also discuss Eren’s experience reporting on the case in 2024, including his extensive conversations with Clancy’s now ex-husband, Patrick; the intense public reaction to the case and the proliferation of conspiracy theories surrounding it; and how cultural understanding—and misunderstanding—of women’s mental health and postpartum psychosis have shaped the coverage and discourse. This week’s reading: “The Lindsay Clancy Conspiracy Spiral,” by Eren Orbey “Why People Want to Believe the Lindsay Clancy Conspiracy Theories,” by Jessica Winter “Is R.F.K., Jr., Winning or Losing?,” by Dhruv Khullar “Adam Hamilton and Taking Back Religion from the Right,” by Bill McKibben “Does Anybody Know Who Darline Graham Is?,” by Charles Bethea 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 2026 midterm elections, close finishes in crucial swing states have put a spotlight on the divide between the Democratic Party’s moderate and progressive wings. Jon Lovett straddles that divide. He was a longtime speechwriter for Hillary Clinton and then for Barack Obama, but, as a host of the podcasts “Pod Save America” and “Lovett or Leave It,” he’s been critical of the Party’s establishment. Lovett sat down with David Remnick to answer listeners’ questions about the midterms and what they suggest about the 2028 Presidential election. In a “broad trend,” Lovett says, centrist Democrats “put up candidates, and they say, ‘Vote for us, or else.’ And [voters] just keep picking ‘or else.’ . . . Across the board, I don’t know what this establishment of the Democratic Party stands for, and neither does the country.” Further listening:  “ ‘Pod Save America’ ’s Jon Lovett on Trump: ‘The Threat of Jail Time Sharpens the Mind,’ ” an episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Washington Roundtable’s Susan B. Glasser interviews General David Petraeus about where the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine might be headed and what they can tell us about the future of warfare. They discuss the fleets of inexpensive drones which have upended traditional combat, how the impending arrival of A.I.-powered automated systems might “revolutionize” the battlefield, and what institutional overhauls Petraeus believes are urgently needed at the Pentagon in order to respond. “We need to do a lot to catch up,” Petraeus says. “But there are vested interests in the military-industrial-congressional-complex that are gonna fight tooth and nail for any actions that change force structure, reduce the aircraft they have on their ramp in their congressional district, or production of manned ships, manned tanks, or whatever else it is, and this is gonna be a fight.” This week’s reading: “After Six Months of War, Trump Is Still Losing to Iran,” by Ishaan Tharoor “Is the Smithsonian Really Trying to Destroy America?,” by Julian Lucas “A Trump Grift Too Far?,” by John Cassidy “Donald Trump Is Still Trying to Make It Harder to Vote,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “The Show That’s Charting a Post-Trump Future,” by Jon Allsop “How Far Will the Trump Administration Go to Deport Mahmoud Khalil?,” by Andrew Marantz “How I Became a Subaru Socialist,” by Jay Caspian Kang “Can Head Start Be Deregulated Out of Existence?,” by Jessica Winter 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New Yorker contributing writer Jon Allsop joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the shifting meaning of the word “moderate” in the 2026 election season. They talk about recent primary results in Michigan and Wisconsin, and what the contests reveal about Democratic voters’ appetite for establishment candidates versus the Party’s progressive insurgency. They also explore how labels like “moderate” and “centrist” map onto mainstream American opinion on issues such as ICE, U.S. support for Israel, and universal health care, as well as how the progressive wing might adjust its messaging ahead of the midterms—and what the outcome could mean for the Party’s direction as it looks toward the 2028 Presidential race. This week’s reading: “What Does It Even Mean to Be a Moderate?,” by Jon Allsop “Donald Trump Is Still Trying to Make It Harder to Vote,” by Amy Davidson Sorkin “How Far Will the Trump Administration Go to Deport Mahmoud Khalil?,” by Andrew Marantz “Nayib Bukele’s Content Machine Is Reshaping Latin America,” by Daniel Castro “How Trump Is Trying to Weaken Migrant Children’s Legal Defense,” by Ruth Marcus 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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices