Matthew L. Wald joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the political aftermath of last week’s horrific collision between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk military helicopter. They look at the current state of airline safety, the changes afoot at the Federal Aviation Administration, and President Trump’s wild pronouncements that somehow diversity initiatives were to blame for the crash that claimed sixty-seven lives. “The culture warriors, with such a vengeance, are now turning to the F.A.A.—it’s something new and it’s not healthy,” Wald says. 

This week’s reading:

• “How to Understand the Reagan Airport Crash,” by Matthew L. Wald
• “How Donald Trump Is Transforming Executive Power,” by Isaac Chotiner
• “The U.S. Military’s Recruiting Crisis,” by Dexter Filkins 
• “Donald Trump’s Anti-Woke Wrecking Ball,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells 
• “Kash Patel’s Political-Persecution Fantasies,” by Tess Owen

To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com.