America This Week, 4 PM Monday ET: The Last Show
After announcing a new routine, Walter and Matt return to discuss not the news, but reality itself
2/10/2026 Update: Welp. One of the co-hosts quit yesterday, so America This Week had to be taken behind the woodshed, out of the kids’ sightline, and shot. We are saddened by its loss, and will wait an appropriate amount of time before bringing home a new puppy.
In seriousness, to address rumors: yesterday was to be the last Monday livestream, with the taped show continuing to come out Fridays. Over the weekend, Walter and I jointly agreed to do yesterday’s show. In the interim, Walter learned of some of the other changes at Racket, some of which he felt he could not support even indirectly. So, Racket is temporarily without a show. This was not an argument about the schedule of America This Week. For those who think the schedule change was about eliminating unpaid content and leaving just one paid show, that didn’t figure in anyone’s thoughts. Walter and I are both writers and were spending two of five days a week podcasting, which proved difficult for both of us.
I don’t know what will replace ATW, but there are ideas in the hopper and we’ll likely consult with Racket readers before making a final determination. I’m truly sorry for the disruption. America This Week was fun. It had its issues, but I enjoyed doing the show and will miss Walter and the interplay with readers and subscribers it generated.
2/9/2026: America This Week returns today at 4:00 p.m. We’re not going anywhere, but we will be on a new schedule going forward, and Walter and I wanted to say a proper farewell to our Monday live segments. Therefore we’re digging a little deeper today, testing a theory Walter’s come up with, one with an amusingly unmentionable title. It involves the overflow of news (and particularly unresolved news), the question of how the average person can stay sane in an increasingly atomized information landscape, and an adjustment to our goals, heading into what promises to be a very confusing year.
You can see us by clicking on the following links:
I think it will be interesting to see how Rachet develops now. I've always liked reading the articles. I've liked Matt's writing since I had Griftopia recommended to me. And I really liked the maverick/independent style that Substack seemed to foster. Those were the reasons I subscribed.
And then I got this little bonus gift that turned out to be bigger than what I thought I was buying: America This Week.
It really was a little treat I gave myself twice a week. Matt & Walter, no matter what the topic was, always seemed to be able to convince me of two things:
1. No, I'm not crazy. The news really does feel insane much of the time.
2. Its going to be okay. We will all be okay. And its probably best to laugh about a lot of it.
I guess I attributed a lot of it to what Matt learned writing Hate, Inc. and what Walter learned living in Montana and what they both learned in telling stories people wanted to read. But, I really did feel better in my heart after every show. Sometimes I would wait to listen so I could play the show during I time when I knew I would have to perform a monotonous task. It cheered me up. And it reintroduced me to many books that I had either never read or needed to re-read.
It was like a really great friend who would call me twice a week and always cheer me up and make me laugh.
I'm going to miss that. A lot.
Matt, I love your ATW shows and never missed them. You and Walter had such good chemistry and came from very different backgrounds. Walter is steeped in history, media, and literature making relevant comparisons to current life. You are well traveled and are familiar with foreign cultures and customs.
There were many rude, unfair criticisms directed at Walter. I hoped he would ignore them or someone had removed them. Some of the trolls deserved to be blocked. They spoiled our party. Your show is sorely missed already.