Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov

Get your tickets now for our live show at 92NY: https://www.92ny.org/event/scott-galloway-and-jessica-tarlov

Jessica Tarlov is joined by Michael Grynbaum, media correspondent at The New York Times and author of Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, for a conversation on media strategy, corporate power, and the political landscape with just over two months until the midterms.

They open with a question Jessica is uniquely positioned to ask: should Democrats be doing more appearances on conservative media? Yesterday, progressive Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed joined Fox News primetime host Jesse Watters. Jessica and Michael break down whether El-Sayed came out on top, and whether the broader strategy of reaching voters outside the Democratic media ecosystem is paying off. Can Democrats appeal to working-class men by embracing “bro-iness”?

The Paramount/Warner Bros. merger is on ice; the $111 billion deal has cleared all required regulatory approvals but remains frozen by an antitrust suit from a coalition of states led by California. Michael, who covers the Ellison family and the media industry closely, breaks down whether the merger might actually be stopped, where media concentration goes next, and if this is a signal of upheaval for Hollywood. They also talk about some recent high-profile personnel moves at CBS, CNN, and The New York Times.

Data centers have become one of the hottest campaign issues in the 2026 midterms. Ads running in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania are all hammering candidates over their support of data center development. Michael and Jessica discuss why voters are latching onto this issue — and whether it's really about data centers, or a much broader anxiety about AI, inequality, and the economy.

Plus: Michael's book Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast is newly out in paperback — and it comes at a moment when major media companies are settling lawsuits with the president. He talks about what’s changed in the landscape of media and power in just a year since its first publication.

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Jessica Tarlov is joined by Anne Applebaum, staff writer for The Atlantic and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian. They open with the U.S.-Canada trade war, which escalated dramatically over the weekend when talks collapsed minutes before a deadline, triggering 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods including hockey sticks, building materials, liquor, and clothing.

Trump responded by saying Canada "wants the benefits of being a state, without being one." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by declaring the U.S. "at war" with Canada and announcing dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics, effective September 8th. Is Carney showing the kind of resolve other foreign leaders should be emulating?

On the bigger world stage, Jess and Anne take a look at the precarious state of U.S. alliances — NATO, in particular. Eastern allies are now offering to shoulder more of the costs of hosting U.S. troops, apparently in an effort to appease Trump, as the U.S. continues to scale back its commitments to the alliance. Anne and Jess assess NATO's options in the context of an ongoing Ukraine war and a retreating America, and whether the long-term survival of the alliance is genuinely at risk.

Six months into the Iran conflict with no end in sight, the Trump administration is dramatically escalating economic pressure. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is unveiling what he calls the "single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary," threatening to isolate any country that continues doing business with Iran. Iran's currency has hit a record low, divisions are emerging within its leadership over whether to fight or talk, and Iran is warning neighboring countries that aligning with the U.S. could constitute an "act of war." They also discuss how the relationship between the U.S. and Israel is shifting as a result of this conflict.

Stars and Stripes, the independent military newspaper, has been reporting on the 1,300 military families evacuated from Bahrain who, six months into the Iran war, still cannot return home and are facing tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. Defense Secretary Hegseth has now fired senior staffers at the paper. Anne and Jessica discuss what that move says about press freedom under this administration — and Anne draws on her extensive reporting on Viktor Orbán's Hungary, where a years-long campaign to weaken independent media ultimately failed to save his government. Is there a lesson there for what happens when a government tries to control the information its citizens see?

In Ukraine, pressure is mounting on multiple fronts simultaneously. Anti-corruption investigators have released tapes alleging senior officials treated corruption as routine. Former defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov is openly challenging Zelensky and calling for elections. Russia is escalating attacks on civilians. Ukraine faces a $27 billion defense shortfall. And political divisions inside Kyiv are deepening. How serious is this political crisis for Zelensky?

And finally: the U.S. Army created a 600-soldier drone battalion earlier this year to learn from Ukraine and prepare for the future of warfare. Months later, it's being phased out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Is this a strategic correction, or is America falling dangerously behind on drone warfare already defining modern battlefields?

Get your tickets now for our live show at 92NY: https://www.92ny.org/event/scott-galloway-and-jessica-tarlov

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Jessica Tarlov is joined by Susan Glasser, staff writer at The New Yorker, for a wide-ranging conversation on where American politics stands heading into the fall.

They open with this week's primaries, starting with Alex Vindman's loss in Florida to DSA member Angie Nixon in the Democratic Senate primary. Is the average Democratic voter genuinely moving on from the "Resistance" era?

Susan also weighs in on whether establishment-coded, cable-news-famous Democrats losing to base-energized challengers is the real story of this primary season — or whether the DSA narrative is being overblown. And where does anti-establishment sentiment go from here, on both sides of the aisle?When it comes to foreign policy, there continues to be a lack of cohesion in the Republican party, a problem that Glasser says is likely to persist in the post-Trump era. Trump is now promising "unprecedented" economic warfare against Iran, but there seems to be little end in sight. They also touch on what happens with Ukraine in the absence of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.

Plus: the far right fringe and the young men being drawn into it. James Fishback finished a distant third in the Florida Republican gubernatorial primary, but the fact he gained any traction at all is notable. Nick Fuentes described Fishback as what a “proto-groyper president is gonna look, sound and act like.” What does the rise of this movement among young people tell us about the future of the American right?

Get your tickets now for our live show at 92NY: https://www.92ny.org/event/scott-galloway-and-jessica-tarlov

For ad-free episodes, exclusive livestreams, and to connect with Scott, Jessica, and the Raging Moderates community, join us at ProfG+ on Substack: https://ragingmoderates.profgmedia.com/

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Get your tickets now for our live show at 92NY: https://www.92ny.org/event/scott-galloway-and-jessica-tarlov

Jessica Tarlov is joined by Paul Begala, CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist, for a frank conversation about where the Democratic Party stands, where it's headed, and whether the old guard is really crumbling.

They open with the state of the Democratic Party following a primary season that has seen progressive and DSA-backed candidates notch significant wins. Is the moderate establishment losing its grip — and what does AOC's effort to put "Woke 1.0" in the past say about how progressives are repositioning themselves?

Then, a deep dive on James Talarico and what his rise says about the Democratic Party's future. Talarico has hired Jacob Smith, a former aide to John Cornyn, as deputy political director. Jesse Watters has been visibly rattled on Fox News by the prospect of Ken Paxton losing. Paul grades Talarico's campaign, breaks down the attack lines flying in both directions — including accusations that Paxton stole pens, and Republican attacks calling Talarico "too loco for Texas" and a vegan — and gives his honest assessment of whether Texas can actually turn blue.

Looking ahead to 2028: Tucker Carlson is denying interest in running, but the third party conversation isn't going away. Paul thinks Carlson will run and explains Carlson’s strengths and how he stacks up to other Republican potential candidates.Plus: Jon Ossoff gives a speech about Trump’s negligence but also made a comment about Natalie Harp, one of Trump’s closest aides. She's his executive assistant and has become a fixture in his inner circle, frequently traveling with him and appearing alongside him, and the comment clearly hit a nerve with the White House.

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Jessica Tarlov is joined by New York Times national political correspondent Shane Goldmacher, to check in on where the midterms stand with primary season almost wrapped up. With the results from Michigan and Wisconsin, Jess and Shane break down what voters are signaling to the Democratic Party. Is this a Tea Party-style insurgency from the left, or something more complicated?

Could Michigan Senate candidate and progressive Abdul El-Sayed be a difference maker or a liability in a state Trump won in 2024? Shane also assesses where Republicans stand amidst low approval ratings for Trump, a tough economic backdrop — but with a significant advantage in terms of cash on hand about to be deployed in ad buys across the country.

The Democratic Party has officially announced that South Carolina and Nevada will hold the first primaries of the 2028 presidential election cycle — a deliberate move to prioritize Black voters, who make up roughly two-thirds of South Carolina's Democratic electorate, as well as Latino voters and labor interests with significant sway in Nevada.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has gone public sharing her egg-freezing journey. Shane and Jessica discuss why this kind of personal storytelling resonates with voters — and what AOC's political future might actually look like, whether or not that includes a run for President in 2028. How can she navigate the tension she's likely to face from the Democratic establishment?And finally: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is stepping down at the end of the month. What legacy does she leave and who should replace her?

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For ad-free episodes, exclusive livestreams, and to connect with Scott, Jessica, and the Raging Moderates community, join us at ProfG+ on Substack: https://ragingmoderates.profgmedia.com/

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