Happy holidays and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting.

Today, we lead with Ian Krietzberg’s essential reporting on how Silicon Valley sold Washington on an all-or-nothing A.I. arms race with Beijing—and whether the national security threat is overstated. China expert Matt Sheehan explains why Chinese firms are struggling, how the state meddles with venture capital, and what Xi Jinping really wants.

Plus, below the fold: Peter Hamby has a candid conversation with L.A. police chief Jim McDonnell about the reality of ICE raids. Marion Maneker sits down with Sotheby’s C.E.O. Charlie Stewart to discuss the Breuer Building boomlet and the emerging Gulf market. And Lauren Sherman scrutinizes Uniqlo’s ambition to become the world’s biggest fashion company.

Meanwhile, on the pods: Dylan Byers and Julia Alexander rank the media industry’s biggest ’25 storylines on The Grill Room. On The Varsity, John Ourand and NBC Sports’s Nicole Auerbach discuss the state of the College Football Playoff. On Impolitic, John Heilemann is joined by Pod Save America’s Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett to look back on the year in politics. And on a special episode of The Powers That Be, Dylan and top Wall Street Journal editor Emma Tucker discuss the paper’s surprising evolution.

A sobering conversation about the A.I. arms race between Washington and Beijing: what’s real, what’s overblown, and what China really wants.

TAIWAN’S OFFICIAL SUBMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

AT THE 98TH ACADEMY AWARDS®

DIRECTED BY SHIH-CHING TSOU

WRITTEN & PRODUCED BY SHIH-CHING TSOU & SEAN BAKER

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"A precious viewing experience."

- Ang Lee

[WATCH] Inside the Making of LEFT-HANDED GIRL

Shih-Ching Tsou reflects on the origins of LEFT-HANDED GIRL - her solo directorial debut, inspired by a conversation with her grandfather and captured through the eyes of a young girl in Taipei. Filmed exclusively on an iPhone, LEFT-HANDED GIRL offers an authentic, deeply human portrait of place, family, and identity. Starring Nina Ye, Shih-Yuan Ma, and Janel Tsai, Co-Produced by Sean Baker.

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For more on LEFT-HANDED GIRL, visit film.netflixawards.com

A candid conversation with L.A. police chief Jim McDonnell about the complicated reality of ICE raids, hyperbolic crime narratives, and preparing for the World Cup and 2028 Olympics in the second Trump era.

It’s been a monumental year for Sotheby’s, which secured nearly $1 billion from the Emiratis, sold the Macklowe and Lauder collections, and made a new home on Madison Avenue. C.E.O. Charles Stewart sits down for a candid discussion about his auction house’s big year and the emerging Gulf market.

The Japanese retail giant has become the fashion staple seller of choice for a large swath of the discerning, clothes-buying global populace. Now, after a slow start in North America, its ambition to become the biggest fashion seller in the world appears within reach.

Julia and Dylan reunite to survey the stories that defined media in 2025, starting with the recent uproar over Bari Weiss pulling a 60 Minutes segment critical of the Trump administration. Then they dig into the impact of David Ellison’s bid for Warner Bros., Trump’s omnipresent influence on the media ecosystem, the mounting pressures on legacy outlets, and much more.

TAIWAN’S OFFICIAL SUBMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

AT THE 98TH ACADEMY AWARDS®

DIRECTED BY SHIH-CHING TSOU

WRITTEN & PRODUCED BY SHIH-CHING TSOU & SEAN BAKER

 ___

"A precious viewing experience."

- Ang Lee

[WATCH] Inside the Making of LEFT-HANDED GIRL

Shih-Ching Tsou reflects on the origins of LEFT-HANDED GIRL - her solo directorial debut, inspired by a conversation with her grandfather and captured through the eyes of a young girl in Taipei. Filmed exclusively on an iPhone, LEFT-HANDED GIRL offers an authentic, deeply human portrait of place, family, and identity. Starring Nina Ye, Shih-Yuan Ma, and Janel Tsai, Co-Produced by Sean Baker.

 ___

For more on LEFT-HANDED GIRL, visit film.netflixawards.com

NBC Sports college football insider Nicole Auerbach returns to the pod to assess the state of the game through the College Football Playoff. She pores over the dud first-round matchups, explains why CFP expansion is probably off the table for 2026 thanks to Big Ten–SEC infighting, considers whether Notre Dame’s snub could force a conference move, digs into the intensifying financial strain on athletic departments—and much more.

John welcomes two of the Pod Save America dudes, Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett, to the show for the first installment of a two-part year-end review of the national political scene in 2025.

As we wind down the year, revisit this special Grill Room episode with controversial Wall Street Journal top editor Emma Tucker, who joined Dylan Byers for a candid discussion about evolving the historic business, change management, tough choices, and the future of news media.

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