Inside the Hive

Bob Menendez, a senator from New Jersey currently facing a corruption scandal, is discussed in this podcast. Topics include the allegations of gold bars and cash-filled envelopes, calls for Menendez's resignation, the power and control of the Democratic Party in New Jersey, and the deep-rooted corruption in the state's politics.

On a special episode, host Brian Stelter talks to Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman about Rupert Murdoch stepping down as chairman of News Corp and Fox, the 92-year-old media mogul’s legacy, and the future of his sprawling empire. Theories are flying as to why Murdoch officially passed the reins now to his oldest son, Lachlan, including that it might help the family patriarch avoid testifying in another 2020 election case.Share your thoughts via our Listener Survey here: https://selfserve.decipherinc.com/survey/selfserve/222b/75187?pin=1&uBRANDLINK=5&uCHANNELLINK=2 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Abigail Tracy and John Harwood discuss Kevin McCarthy's failure to control the House GOP caucus as a government shutdown looms. Harwood criticizes bombthrowers like Gaetz, Greene, and Boebert for not being serious politicians. The podcast explores the impact of a shutdown on government employees and the motivations behind the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. It also delves into the role of the press, challenges in political debates, and upcoming events.

Host Brian Stelter discusses the Republican Party’s anti-democracy trajectory with Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Harvard professors and co-authors of the new book “Tyranny of the Minority.” The pair, who sounded the alarms with their acclaimed 2018 book, “How Democracies Die,” discuss increasing threats ahead of the 2024 election, and which constitutional changes could keep America on the path toward multiracial democracy. Share your thoughts via our Listener Survey here: https://selfserve.decipherinc.com/survey/selfserve/222b/75187?pin=1&uBRANDLINK=5&uCHANNELLINK=2 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter talked to Politico columnist Jonathan Martin about Mitch McConnell refusing to step down despite a couple on-camera, freeze-ups–and how Republican senators (for now, at least) are standing by him. They discuss the 81-year-old Minority Leader’s relationship with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the senate stalwart's response to Trumpism, and how he factors into America’s political gerontocracy.Share your thoughts via our Listener Survey here: https://selfserve.decipherinc.com/survey/selfserve/222b/75187?pin=1&uBRANDLINK=5&uCHANNELLINK=2 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Vanity Fair contributing editors Chris Smith and Jennifer Palmieri discuss the Democratic Party's strong bench and possible scenarios if Joe Biden were to exit the race before election day. They explore potential replacement candidates, the double standard of age in politics, Biden's reelection campaign strategy, the impact of Hunter Biden's troubles, and the importance of the Vice President's role in the upcoming election.

Host Brian Stelter explores Donald Trump’s tangled relationship with Fox News with Sarah Ellison, national enterprise reporter at The Washington Post, and Oliver Darcy, senior media reporter at CNN. Trump’s decision this week to skip the first Republican debate on Fox News only escalates his war with the Murdochs, even as the cable channel’s hosts remain largely in the former president's corner. And given Trump’s commanding lead in the 2024 primary, it’s looking like Fox needs Trump more than he needs them. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter breaks down the Georgia racketeering charges against Donald Trump with Anthony Michael Kreis, a professor at Georgia State College of Law, and Anna Bower, a Georgia native covering legal affairs in Fulton County for Lawfare. They discuss how the case brought by District Attorney Fani Willis differs from Trump's three previous indictments, the likelihood of any of the ex-president's 18 co-defendents flipping, the potential for cameras in the courtroom, and if this trial can even get underway before the 2024 election. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter talks to Rudy Giuliani biographer Andrew Kirtzman and Vanity Fair executive editor Claire Howorth about the epic fall of “America’s Mayor” and his decades-long, symbiotic relationship with Donald Trump. “There's something about Rudy that makes Donald Trump swoon,” says Kirtzman, a veteran political reporter who recalled Giuliani as a “calm, fatherly general” in responding to the Sept. 11 attacks, only to spiral after his failed 2008 presidential bid and sink even lower in the aftermath of the 2020 election. They explore what's next for Giuliani, who may face charges in Georgia and Washington D.C., where he appeared to be co-conspirator #1 in the DOJ's latest indictment of Trump. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter breaks down the latest indictment against Donald Trump with Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor, NYU professor, and co-host of MSNBC’s “Prosecuting Donald Trump” podcast. The “variety of sources of evidence” in the DOJ’s election case against Trump is “rock-solid,” says Weissmann, and the forthcoming trial, he adds, should not be viewed through a political lens, but about “whether we are going to adhere to the rule of law.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices