All indications are that Bob Iger has decided to own the third of Hulu he doesn’t own and he has already started talking about combining Hulu with Disney+.

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News and notes from the Maidstone crowd and Burning Tree delegation.

Top-Tier Authors

An extraordinary roster of generationally-talented authors covering the inside conversation at the center of Wall Street, Washington, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and the media.

Baratunde Thurston

A best-selling author, podcast and television host, and cultural critic focused on the intersection of race, tech, democracy, and climate change in America.

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Tristan Harris, co-founder and executive director of the Center for Humane Technology.

The Case for (Temporarily) Unplugging A.I.

When I first heard calls for a pause on the development of advanced A.I., I was skeptical of the benefits. Now, I fear we are running out of time.

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Tim Scott relies on the coded notion of “personal responsibility” to shift the burden of society’s failures onto the individual.

Tim Scott’s Audience of One

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Hollywood’s A.I. Art Heist Problem

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres recently said, “Humanity is on thin ice, and that ice is melting fast. Our world needs climate action on all fronts—everything, everywhere, all at once.”

The Case for Climate Optimism

Tara Palmeri

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On television, DeSantis can come across as savvy, reasonably well media-trained, and sometimes aggressive. But in person, Tara immediately sensed a very different potential candidate.

Ronny on the Run

Lessons from a day shadowing a press-averse and socially uncomfortable presidential hopeful.

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Chris Sununu said there’s a “61 percent chance” he runs for president—his words—and 39 percent chance that he just plays the role of kingmaker in New Hampshire.

Chris Sununu Talks ’24

Zak Malamed is running for the seat representing his hometown district, which will pit him against George Santos (pictured).

Straight Outta Great Neck

Ashley Biden’s Fixer Drama

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To level-set, Jeff Bezos spent twice as much on this new 417-foot, Sanchez-adorned yacht as he did on the Post.

Bezos at Sea, The Kaitlan Experiment & Murdoch Succession Fantasies

Insights and observations on what the chattering classes are chatting about in advance of the holiday weekend.

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ESPN’s Brave New World

“We know Trump and his tendencies, everyone does,” Christiane Amanpour said. “He just seizes the stage and dominates, no matter how much flack the moderator tries to aim at the incoming.”

When It Rains, It Amanpours

CNN C.E.O. Chris Licht had advised Collins not to be combative with Trump, sources familiar said.

Licht’s Dispassion Punch

William D. Cohan

A bestselling author, financial journalist, and former M&A banker, covering what’s really happening on Wall Street.

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Morgan Stanley C.E.O. James Gorman has set up a ‘Succession’-like race to succeed him.

Gorman’s Goodbye: Inside a C.E.O. Succession Bake-Off

I talk to a lot of well-wired people inside Morgan Stanley all the time: here’s what’s going to happen next. Plus notes on succession planning inside my old stomping grounds: Lazard and JPMC.

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Peter Orszag will likely take the reins from Ken Jacobs as C.E.O. of Lazard.

Lazard Succession, Iger’s ESPN Move, & Netflix’s Ozempic

A division of Steve Schwarzman’s Blackstone Group more or less pulled the plug recently on 1740 Broadway, a 26-story building between 55th and 56th streets.

Fade to Blackstone

Iger’s Existential Question

Julia Ioffe

A veteran of The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and Politico reporting from Washington, D.C. on politics and media after Trump.

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China isn’t arming Russia, at least not yet, but it’s happily buying Russian oil and helping Russia bypass Western sanctions.

The Biden-Xi-Zelensky-Putin Peace Plan

As the White House (and the White House adjacent) ponder whether Xi can intervene to forge a peace plan in Ukraine, a little healthy Washington skepticism emerges behind closed doors.

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One Shaheen Moment

Moscow and Beijing have been hard at work spinning the debt ceiling standoff into domestic propaganda.

The Debt Ceiling Soap Opera, in Subtitles

Administration officials say that Moscow appears to be in absolutely no mood to negotiate.

Inside the Gershkovich Prisoner Swap Crisis

Matthew Belloni

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Chris Keyser, co-chair of the WGA’s negotiating committee.

Hollywood’s Writers-Strike Force Majeure Fantasy

The longer the work stoppage goes on, the more fears spread about studios cutting unproductive writer-producer deals, wiping the fiscal slate clean, and ushering in a new era of austerity. But how much of that will actually happen?

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Disney C.F.O. Christine McCarthy and C.E.O. Bob Iger and have told everyone for months that the content purge was coming, part of their increasingly frantic effort to erase $3 billion from the bottom line this year.

Disney and the Great Streaming Purge

2015 Ted Sarandos would have cringed at the sight of 2023 Sarandos suggesting from the stage that Netflix host “a 30 minute commercial” that “plays out over several days.”

The TV Upfronts B.S. Barometer

The issues at the heart of this seemingly long-term labor fight will only get more pronounced as it drags on.

Can the Striking Writers Avoid Class Warfare?

Tina Nguyen

Formerly a political correspondent at Politico and Vanity Fair, chronicling the egos and intrigues inside Trumpworld.

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Beyond the obvious jokes about whether Elon Musk fanboys are a meaningful Waterloo constituency, the DeSantis rollout fiasco does raise the question about the future of conservative media on Twitter.

Elon’s Murdochian DeSantasy

Ruminations on MAGA political-media tragedy.

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For Tucker Carlson and ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight‘ refugees, Twitter was the best option immediately available.

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Members and allies of the original Taliban 20 group were particularly energized that McCarthy had adopted anti-“woke and weaponized” budget cuts.

Kevin & The 20: A Love-ish Story

Murmurs from the Tucker Bunker

Lauren Sherman

A former top executive at Business of Fashion, Lauren is the pre-eminent fashion journalist of her generation, offering incisive reportage on all aspects of the industry and its biggest players.

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Supreme’s creative director Tremaine Emory is still in recovery mode after suffering a lower aorta aneurysm last October.

What’s Going on at Supreme?

Supreme isn’t that big of a company, but its influence is gargantuan. So why was creative director Tremaine Emory’s life-threatening health scare largely overlooked by the press?

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Fifteen years after Rachel Zoe made the career viable to millions of teenagers, there are enough people calling themselves “celebrity stylists” to fill multiple representation agencies.

The Celebrity Styling Caste System

Virginie Viard, creative director of Chanel since 2019.

The Chanel Spell

Alexandre Arnault, Gal Godot, and Anthony Ledru at the Tiffany’s ribbon cutting ceremony.

Scenes from the Tiffany-LVMH Marriage

Theodore Schleifer

A former Recode and CNN reporter, now covering power, influence, and money in Silicon Valley.

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“Ron-o-Rama” & the Fine Art of Bundling

Scenes from the DeSantis Day One mega-donor event at the Miami Four Seasons, as the candidate’s “investors” prepare to flood the zone with money.

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David Sacks will moderate a Twitter Spaces conversation between Elon Musk and Ron DeSantis, where he long-time sotto voce candidate will formally announce his presidential run.

DeSantis-Sacks ’24

The Other Bernie Revolution

S.B.F.’s Jack and Jackie

Julia Alexander

Julia Alexander is Director of Strategy at Parrot Analytics, where she advises clients on the tectonic shifts in tech, media, and telecom. Previously, she covered TMT at The Verge.

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We Need to Talk About Netflix’s Ad Numbers

Netflix upended the industry once again last week with its first appearance at the upfronts, touting some strong numbers for its new ad tier. The streamer’s main argument coalesced around 5 million monthly active users, but… five million of what, exactly?

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The Iger-Hulu Flip-Flop

V.P. of advertising marketing and partner solutions at Roku, Dan Robbins, who is at the center of two major issues facing the streaming industry.

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Streamer Report Cards, Part III: The Heavyweights

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U.S. Supreme Court justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.

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Inside the titanic legal clash and Latinate trash-talk behind one of the most consequential cases to rock the art world, and Hollywood, in a generation.

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“Bankman-Fried,” his lawyers stated, “has not defrauded anyone, nor intended to defraud anyone.”

S.B.F.’s Varsity Blues Defense

War for the Planet of the AMC Apes

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Peter Hamby

Emmy award-winning journalist and host of Snapchat’s Good Luck America, reporting on politics, media, and technology.

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A new outside group is shaping up to be the official super PAC of the DeSantis campaign.

DeSantis Allies Are Eyeing a ’24 Super PAC

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Out with The Olds!

How Rick Caruso Became L.A.’s Biggest Star

Joe’s Roe Problems

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The Iger-Roberts Chess Match & Icahn’s Duel

Top-Tier Authors

Baratunde Thurston

The Case for (Temporarily) Unplugging A.I.

Tim Scott’s Audience of One

Hollywood’s A.I. Art Heist Problem

The Case for Climate Optimism

Tara Palmeri

Ronny on the Run

Chris Sununu Talks ’24

Straight Outta Great Neck

Ashley Biden’s Fixer Drama

Dylan Byers

Bezos at Sea, The Kaitlan Experiment & Murdoch Succession Fantasies

ESPN’s Brave New World

When It Rains, It Amanpours

Licht’s Dispassion Punch

William D. Cohan

Gorman’s Goodbye: Inside a C.E.O. Succession Bake-Off

Lazard Succession, Iger’s ESPN Move, & Netflix’s Ozempic

Fade to Blackstone

Iger’s Existential Question

Julia Ioffe

The Biden-Xi-Zelensky-Putin Peace Plan

One Shaheen Moment

The Debt Ceiling Soap Opera, in Subtitles

Inside the Gershkovich Prisoner Swap Crisis

Matthew Belloni

Hollywood’s Writers-Strike Force Majeure Fantasy

Disney and the Great Streaming Purge

The TV Upfronts B.S. Barometer

Can the Striking Writers Avoid Class Warfare?

Tina Nguyen

Elon’s Murdochian DeSantasy

Tucker & Elon: A Shotgun Media Marriage for Our Times

Kevin & The 20: A Love-ish Story

Murmurs from the Tucker Bunker

Lauren Sherman

What’s Going on at Supreme?

The Celebrity Styling Caste System

The Chanel Spell

Scenes from the Tiffany-LVMH Marriage

Theodore Schleifer

“Ron-o-Rama” & the Fine Art of Bundling

DeSantis-Sacks ’24

The Other Bernie Revolution

S.B.F.’s Jack and Jackie

Julia Alexander

We Need to Talk About Netflix’s Ad Numbers

The Iger-Hulu Flip-Flop

Hollywood’s Coming “OS Wars”

Streamer Report Cards, Part III: The Heavyweights

Eriq Gardner

The Warhol Diaries: Kagan v. Sotomayor

S.B.F.’s Varsity Blues Defense

War for the Planet of the AMC Apes

Force Majeure: Inside Hollywood’s Counterstrike Strategy

Peter Hamby

DeSantis Allies Are Eyeing a ’24 Super PAC

Out with The Olds!

How Rick Caruso Became L.A.’s Biggest Star

Joe’s Roe Problems

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