The New Abnormal

An exploration of why people have started leaving the former president’s rallies early. Then, a conversation with Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires author Douglas Rushkoff about Elon Musk and the increasingly weird obsessions of the ultra wealthy. Plus! Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, joins the program to discuss the rise of the Christian right and its wholehearted embrace of Trump.

This week on The New Abnormal, writer and editor at The Lever, Lucy Dean Stockton, tells us all about her recent piece covering Trump’s promise to appoint Musk, which could allow for a special tax benefit available only to government officials. Then, Gabriel Snyder, the editor in chief of The Fine Print, is here to tell us about his seven steps to surviving election night.

Journalist and author Michael Wolff joins Joanna Coles and Samantha Bee on this week’s episode to offer insight into the jockeying egos on Donald’s Trump “manic” campaign—and that MSG rally. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker calls in from the Harris trail, and Daily Beast Special Correspondent Harry Lambert recaps party animal Jeff Bezos’ social calendar amid much turmoil at his newspaper, The Washington Post.Have a question or comment for us? Send us an email: beastpod@thedailybeast.com

Jay Willis, the editor-in-chief ofnonprofit legal journalism outlet Balls & Strikes, joins the program to discuss why Elon Musk has gone all in on Trump. Plus! A conversation with Phoebe Petrovic, an investigative reporter with the nonprofit outlet Wisconsin Watch, about her latest piece: “The genesis of Christian nationalism: How the religious right came to influence the 2024 election.”

The New Abnormal co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy sound off on Tucker Carlson’s bizarre diatribe on Wednesday in Georgia, where the former Fox News host compared a second Donald Trump presidency as akin to a father coming home to give his little “girl”—the country—a “vigorous spanking.” Then, a conversation with Daniel Nichanian, the editor-in-chief of Bolts, who joins the pod to break down the outlet’s Cheat Sheet to the 2024 General Elections, explaining which local races are the ones to keep an eye on.

The New Abnormal’s Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy are baffled. Donald Trump meets the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed to, and seemingly has no understanding of the concept of rule of law. So why are so many Americans still intent on voting for him? Also on the pod this week: Geoffrey Fowler, a Washington Post journalist, who talks about Meta’s covert operation to shadowban political content. Plus! Denny Carter, the founder of the Bad Faith Times, who has an astute comparison to draw between an NFL quarterback and this year’s presidential election.

With less than two weeks until Election Day, Joanna Coles and Samantha Bee are joned by political strategist James Carville for intel—and an insider’s take—on the state of the presidential race. They speak with Daily Beast Special Correspondent Harry Lambert about media kingpin Joe Rogan as well as would-be political kingpin RKF Jr., and bemoan the state of “shrill” women in media.

As Elon Musk unveils his latest scheme, a proposed plan to give away $1 million each day to registered voters in battleground states, the co-hosts of The New Abnormal have just one question: Where is U.S Attorney General Merrick Garland? Plus! A talk with Brian Merchant, a former technology columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Merchant, the author of “Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech,” breaks down exactly how Musk’s tech projects have become inseparable from his authoritarian aspirations.