Happy New Year’s Day! Welcome to the first of a pair of special, audio-exclusive holiday editions of The Daily Courant, showcasing some of our favorite episodes from Puck’s burgeoning podcast universe. 🎧 Back in May, Lauren chatted up legendary fashion journalist Plum Sykes about her memories of her earliest Met Galas, Carolyn Bassette-Kennedy’s enduring style, and her Hotel Costes reveries. As the presidential race wound down, John Heilemann connected with Kamala Harris’s senior campaign strategist David Plouffe for a pre-election assessment of persuadable voters. And earlier this month, former CNN executive Andrew Morse regaled Dylan with tales of his clashes with David Zaslav and Chris Licht, and recounted the unceremonious cancellation of CNN+. Meanwhile, as the Murdoch succession battle unfolded in a Nevada courtroom, Eriq Gardner joined Peter on The Powers That Be to assess the fate of the Fox empire, before discussing the chances that Trump intervenes to save TikTok. On a fan-favorite episode of The Varsity, analyst supreme Michael Nathanson joined John Ourand for a rollicking exploration of the challenges facing legacy media. In another stellar episode of Somebody’s Gotta Win, Tara and The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich diagnosed the mood around Washington as it prepared for a second Trump administration. And finally, in a pair of revelatory episodes of The Town, the singular Jon Stewart joined Matt to discuss his return to The Daily Show, the real reason his Apple show was canned, and how Hollywood should handle the A.I. issue.

In this lively episode of Fashion People from May, Lauren connected with newly minted author and legendary fashion journalist Plum Sykes to discuss everything from the wisdom a the young Alexander McQueen to her memories of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy—and, of course, the halcyon Town Car days. Listen Now

In the final days of the presidential race, John was joined by former Obama campaign guru and Harris senior strategist David Plouffe to assess the state of the presidential contest as Election Day loomed. Plouffe explained why he believed his candidate had a higher ceiling; why most public polling is so worthless; what he saw in the early-vote data that buoyed his optimism; and why reports of Trump's exhaustion and last-minute scheduling disruptions suggested that “something really funky” is going on with him. Listen Now

Former top CNN executive Andrew Morse joined Dylan to discuss his new career as C.E.O. of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he’s applying the old NYT digital innovation playbook at the local level. Then they dug into his clashes with David Zaslav and Chris Licht, the unceremonious cancellation of CNN+, and the macro trends afflicting the media business as a whole. Listen Now

Legal expert Eriq Gardner joined Peter to explain the latest twists in Rupert Murdoch’s high-stakes succession battle against his children. Then they debated the chances that Trump would save TikTok after a federal court upheld the app’s ban, slated to take effect in January. Listen Now

Michael Nathanson, the co-founder and top analyst at MoffettNathanson, joined John for a rollicking exploration of the challenges facing legacy media now that streaming is king. Then they assessed how sports leagues and college conferences can survive, and thrive, in the post-TV era. Listen Now

Tara was joined by Mark Leibovich, writer for The Atlantic and author of This Town, to discuss the mood around Washington, D.C., as it prepared for the possibility of a second Trump administration and the chaos that could come with it. They spotlighted the list of characters that would be in Trump’s inner circle and broke down the state of the Kamala Harris presidential campaign. Listen Now

Matt was joined by Jon Stewart to discuss his return to The Daily Show, why he and Apple were not a great fit, and how the media, political, and comedy landscape has changed in the nine years since he left The Daily Show. Listen Now

In the second half of Matt’s conversation with Jon Stewart, they discussed how Hollywood should handle the A.I. issue, Viacom letting John Oliver go to HBO, whom Stewart consulted before agreeing to come back to the show, whether Stewart might stay beyond his planned exit from The Daily Show in November, and the media he is consuming these days. Listen Now

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