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Inside the Hive

Latest episodes

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Mar 5, 2025 • 35min

V.F. Oscars Dispatch: Parties, Politics, and How Culture Meets the Moment

Step inside Vanity Fair’s exclusive Oscars party with host and editor-in-chief Radhika Jones, who, along with executive editor Claire Howorth and Hive editor Michael Calderone, dish on what A-listers were wearing and eating. (Spoiler: In-N-Out burger). They also discuss the political dimensions of Hollywood’s biggest night and how the culture is responding to a second Trump presidency.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Feb 26, 2025 • 44min

Michael Wolff at the Door: His New Bombshell Book on Donald Trump and the MAGA Bubble

Michael Wolff’s dishy account of Donald Trump’s incredible return to power, “All of Nothing,” is already grabbing headlines and drawing rebukes from the president and his allies. On this episode, host Radhika Jones, along with Claire Howorth and Michael Calderone, chat with Wolff about once again infiltrating the inner circle, what to expect from uber-insiders like Elon Musk and Jared Kushner, and how, for even the most loyal subjects, working for Trump “ends in tears.” Plus, Wolff recalls his unlikely Mar-a-Lago dinner with Donald and Melania!  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Feb 19, 2025 • 40min

Zuck Around and Find Out: Mark Zuckerberg and Meta's MAGA-masculinity Crisis

Mark Zuckerberg has gone from Donald Trump’s enemies list to Mar-a-Lago guest, and enjoyed a prime seat at inauguration with his fellow tech titans. On this episode, host and Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Radhika Jones, along with executive editor Claire Howorth and Hive editor Michael Calderone, trace Zuckerberg’s transformation of Meta alongside the Facebook cofounder's own style upgrade and desire for more “masculine energy” in the corporate world. How might Zuckerberg survive—and perhaps, even thrive—in a second Trump term?  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Feb 12, 2025 • 37min

Shillbilly Elegy: How JD Vance Became a Winning Spokesman for MAGA's Darkest Machinations

JD Vance emerged as a media darling with “Hillbilly Elegy,” his best-selling 2016 memoir of growing up poor in Ohio, but it's just one of several hats he's worn—Yale-trained lawyer, Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Never Trump pundit, Pro-Trump senator, and Vice President of the United States—all by the age of 40. On this episode, host and Vanity Fair editor Radhika Jones is joined by executive editor Claire Howorth and Hive editor Michael Calderone to trace Vance’s populist ride through America’s power centers and how his right-wing ideology dovetails with a burgeoning constitutional crisis. They also explore how Vance is shaping up as Trump’s Veep—and whether he has the political chops to one day land the top job.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Feb 5, 2025 • 37min

Department of Health and Holy Sh*t: RFK Jr.’s MAHA Movement and What It Means for America

With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. poised to become the nation’s most powerful public health official, Inside the Hive is back and going deep on the leader of the MAHA movement. Host and Vanity Fair editor in chief Radhika Jones, along with executive editor Claire Howorth and Hive editor Michael Calderone, chart Kennedy’s path from Camelot to the halls of Congress, where he made clear he’d carry out Donald Trump’s radical agenda. Could this Democratic scion be the true MAGA heir? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Dec 12, 2024 • 34min

“Alternative Media,” Star Power, and the New Normal: Prepping for the Politics of a New Trump Era

There was no shortage of finger-pointing and recrimination among the chattering classes after Donald Trump’s election. But now, as the dust settles and 2024 comes to a close, it’s high time for some soul-searching and reflection, That’s the goal of this year’s final episode of Inside the Hive, where Brian Stelter—who returned to his alma mater as Chief Media Analyst at CNN earlier this year—is joined by Hive Editor Michael Calerone and Executive Editor Claire Howorth to unpack what they got wrong in 2024 as well as the lessons they can take into next year. For one, as Howorth points out, that means redefining what constitutes “alternative media,” which proved unexpectedly instrumental in turning out new parts of Trump’s base. Calderone also adds that political charisma and celebrity also can’t go underestimated, arguing that Democrats should strive to elevate leaders who can communicate effectively in a variety of formats. “The next person,” he says, “is gonna need star power.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Dec 5, 2024 • 33min

What to Make of Joe Biden’s Legacy

Democrats effectively lost the 2024 presidential race a year earlier by rallying behind a deeply unpopular incumbent, New York Times politics reporter Astead Herndon argues in a frank discussion with host Brian Stelter about Joe Biden’s legacy. Herndon, who also hosts “The Run-Up” podcast, talks about how Democrats (and some in the media) missed major warning signs about how Biden’s age and accomplishments were perceived outside the D.C. bubble—and where the party goes next.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Nov 21, 2024 • 34min

Why Did Joe and Mika Really Visit Mar-a-Lago?

Ian Bassin, co-founder of Protect Democracy and former Obama administration lawyer, joins Michael Calderone, editor of Vanity Fair’s The Hive, to unpack the implications of Joe and Mika's Mar-a-Lago meeting with Trump. They discuss the normalization of Trump's rhetoric by media figures and how this may impact journalistic integrity. The conversation further explores how media could respond to authoritarian pressures, the challenges of maintaining independent journalism, and the evolving dynamics of power and media in Trump's era.
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Nov 14, 2024 • 29min

Why the Elon Musk-Donald Trump Bromance Might Be On a Collision Course

There was a time, not long ago, in which most people might have scoffed at the idea that Elon Musk, an entrepreneur with aspirations to save the world from climate change, would become a right-wing folk hero. And yet, that's precisely the transformation he underwent this year. The billionaire CEO of Tesla—now known for his ardent support of Donald Trump and his endless philippics against the “woke mind virus”—has become a major power player in the MAGAverse, and is set to head up a new initiative in Trump’s second administration, so called the "Department of Government Efficiency." In the latest episode of Inside the Hive, VF special correspondent Nick Bilton and New York Times tech reporter Kate Conger unpack what brought Musk into the MAGAverse, how he plans to gut the regulatory state under Trump, and why the duo’s ego-fueled bromance may be destined to blow up. “I think we are on a collision course of personalities with these two,” Conger predicts. “[Musk is] going to want complete control...and I don't think Trump is going to be willing to give him that." Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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Nov 7, 2024 • 29min

Are We Going to Be Ok?

On this post-election episode, host Brian Stelter checks in with Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Radhika Jones and contributing editor Jeff Sharlet, getting their gut-level reactions to Donald Trump’s triumph and perspective on the evolving MAGA movement, which now include the likes of Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They discuss the language of fascism, male identity politics, and the need to cut through the Trumpian noise to uncover what’s really happening in a second term at a national and local level.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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