Press Club

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks to Fox News host and long-time conservative talk radio presence Sean Hannity in a rare interview. They talk about Trump's election and first weeks in office, Hannity's history as one of the most famous supporters of the president in the media, and his recent interviews with both Trump and Elon Musk. They also speak about the future of Fox News, his opinions...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with senior WIRED reporter Makena Kelly on Elon Musk's DOGE, its extremely young and controversial team, and this concerning intersection of tech and politics in Washington. She also touches on the 'contentification' of the Trump White House and why she thinks Democrats need to lean further into new media. In the second half of the episode, Aidan talks with...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times, about Trump's 'fast and furious' first weeks in office, the differences between Trump 1.0 and 2.0, and his 'volatile and provocative' proposal to take over Gaza and relocate two million Palestinians. They also speak about the pros and cons of today's information ecosystem and how i...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with the CEO and co-founder of Axios, Jim VandeHei, about Trump's wild first week, his optimistic take on the future of journalism amidst a fragmenting media industry, and disabusing ourselves of the idea that legacy media is the gatekeeper, without falling victim to Elon Musk's smear-campaign against it. In the second half of the episode, Aidan speaks with...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with Ryan J. Reilly, who covers the Justice Department and federal law enforcement for NBC News— he's been as tuned into the fallout of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as anyone. His conversation on Press Club comes just after President Trump, on his first day in office, issued sweeping pardons to more than 1,500 individuals arrested in the Jan. 6 riot...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with New Yorker staff writer, author, and executive producer Patrick Radden Keefe about his reporting process— "90% reporting and 10% writing— and FX's recent adaptation of his 2018 book, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. They also speak about his career path, his ability to tell large stories through deep dives on character...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with former Business Insider top editor Nicholas Carlson about his departure from the news outlet and his new venture: a video media start-up called Dynamo. They also discuss a troublesome challenge that has emerged for publishers in recent years, one that Carlson faced frequently at Business Insider: extraordinarily wealthy people using lawsuits to silence...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with businessman and conservative podcaster Patrick Bet-David, who has amassed millions of subscribers on YouTube and other social platforms with his interviews of key figures in politics and culture— including Donald Trump who came on Bet-David's show this summer per a request from his son, Barron. They talk about the age of 'podcast elections', whether he...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks to Mediaite founder and CEO Dan Abrams about his recent decision to end his NewsNation show, our increasingly polarized and fractured media industry, and what Kash Patel and ABC's $15 million settlement signal about Trump's upcoming second term. This episode was produced by Brandon Reschke and Kathryn Wilkens.

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks to Ruth Sherlock, an international correspondent for NPR on the ground now in Syria. They talk about what she's seen post-fall of Assad, her reporting inside Syria's notorious Sednaya Prison, what's next for HTS–the major rebel group– and the dangers she faces as a foreign reporter. Aidan also speaks with Mediaite founding editor Colby Hall about the top med...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks to Isaac Saul, founder of the independent, nonpartisan newsletter Tangle, about how he covers the news, and Tangle's goal of reducing media-initiated polarization. They also speak about what Isaac makes of traditional media versus the rise of independent outlets, and how to start a media business in 2024 while considering the partisanship of language in jour...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks to Marc Caputo, a national politics reporter from The Bulwark and the most plugged-in national political reporter working out of Florida. They talk about Florida's outsized role in American politics since the beginning of the Trump era, the impact of Trump's constant presence at Mar a Lago, and Trump's trust in Floridians like Susie Wiles, Matt Gaetz, and no...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks to Michael Smerconish, host of Smerconish on CNN and The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM, about his opinion that left-leaning media went too far in their critiques of Trump, potentially explaining his winning of the popular vote. They also speak about the effect of young men in this increasingly divided media landscape, or podcast age, on the election...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with Piers Morgan, host of Piers Morgan Uncensored on YouTube. He's been on and off friends with Trump since 2008, and while he previously thought Jan. 6 disqualifying for the former president, he's since changed his mind. The hysteria over Trump from his critics, Morgan said, fuels his appeal. He also speaks about the success of his YouTube, leaving linear...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum about Trump's recent spike in rhetoric used by Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. Anne is out with a new book, Autocracy Inc., which goes deep into the complex financial system 21st-century autocrats employ to stay in power. She makes comparisons here to Trump's relationship with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and warns Trump has no real...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with Ali Abbasi, the critically acclaimed director of the new film The Apprentice, which depicts the origin story of Donald Trump. Ali discusses Trump's relationship with ruthless prosecutor and political fixer Roy Cohn, why he decided to get involved with the project in the first place– as a lot of Hollywood was fearful to get involved in a Trump biopic– an...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with Andrew Ross Sorkin, founder of the New York Times' DealBook and co-anchor on CNBC's SquawkBox. They talk about Andrew's take on whether Silicon Valley has really gone MAGA, Fortune 500 CEOs' fear of former President Trump, and DealBox's infamous Elon Musk interview. Andrew also talks about his optimism for the future of the media industry and the diffic...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with veteran news anchor Chris Wallace– now the host of two shows at CNN– about what ultimately sparked his departure from Fox News, Fox's $787 million Dominion settlement, and his take on presidential debates as someone who's moderated quite a few. Wallace is also out with a new book, Countdown 1960, on the parallels between that consequential election and...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with CNN international correspondent Nada Bashir. They discuss her coverage of the occupied West Bank and Gaza, since Hamas' October 7th attacks and Israel's bombing campaign that followed, the unimaginable conditions Palestinian journalists are working under, and reporting in the Middle East amid a mistrust of Western media. Aidan also speaks with Jeff Colt...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner, New York Times reporters and authors of "Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created The Illusion of Success". They discuss their in-depth reporting on Trump's finances, breaking the story of his financial losses and tax evasion methods in 2016, and the former president's attachment to his i...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with Ari Melber, host of "The Beat" on MSNBC and the network's chief legal correspondent. They discuss this week's presidential debate on ABC, between Vice President Harris and former President Trump, Trump's bogus election fraud claims, and the future of cable news. McLaughlin also speaks with Andrew Tobias, chief political correspondent for cleveland.com a...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with Dana Bash, CNN anchor and chief political correspondent. They discuss her major interview with Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, the extraordinarily consequential debate that led to President Joe Biden's exit from the 2024 race, and the upcoming debate between Harris and Trump on ABC News. They also discuss her new book "Americ...

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with Dave Smith, libertarian and host of the Part of the Problem podcast. They discuss Smith's thoughts on the death of the corporate news model, why he's not supporting Donald Trump in the upcoming election, and his relationships with Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson.

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin speaks with Robert Costa, CBS News' chief election and campaign correspondent. They discuss Costa's eventful week covering the DNC, his sit-down interview with President Biden a few weeks back, and the lingering pain over Biden's exit. This episode was produced by Brandon Reschke and Kathryn Wilkens.

Mediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin sits down with veteran media reporter Oliver Darcy to discuss his sudden exit from CNN and his new venture "Status." Darcy, who helmed the wildly popular "Reliable Sources" newsletter for years at CNN, often clashed with leadership at the network thanks to his strident criticism of the industry that didn't spare his own employer. Darcy spoke abo...