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.
Matt and Walter together will prove somewhat more difficult to replace than even the brightest creature on four legs, I suspect.
Matt F-d up - its 100 percent on him. Matt's the one who needs to fix this - I expect instead Matt'll stay under the bed. If the dog's dead, Matt ran the critter over.
100% is right. Walter can find another young writer to mentor and laugh with. Matt is not a video guy. He's a print guy. Walter is an entertainer and helped him through the stammerings with kindness and warmth. Harder to find that kind of partner. BTW, I don't find hiring a female (and I am one) to be encouraging. I work in Hollywood and females with their risk aversion have ruined the place. I heard a line producer talk about the BSWs (big swinging dicks) who made movies happen. They were risk takers. (Most) Women are not. They are worriers and want safe places and minimal risks.
Great comment. One of my favorite 19th-stylists is George Sand (Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil). Professionals are just that. Mary Shelley produced the best philosophical/social treatise ever, frankly, in Frankenstein, and her mom the most cogent critique of encoded gender status in law and custom. Great writers can accomplish a lot. I have much of Sylvia Plath's work on my shelf alongside Whitman, Geoffrey Hill, Homer, and the Bible. I love Matt's style and completely agree with your take on the differences between Matt and Walter's strengths and weaknesses. I'll continue to support Matt and hope he can recognize that ATW with books is something truly special. A propos, a Dem pal who knows I hate the New Yorker just sent me an article on Vonnegut from 2019 from their archive - crap - by a name writer, with links to David Remnick and the rest of the stable of NYer wannabe Walter Kirns. As for Hollywood, I defer to a Marine recruiter from the 20th-century, we don't want pussies of either sex in the Marines - absolutely no offense intended. Thanks for your comments here, which I generally enjoy very much.
Yes, Mark, losing these two safe havens is rough. You described this well as being a place for calm and reflection. It is a tribute to Walter that he was invited to Scott's Memorial in California. Someone here remarked that Scott built a community over the years of which I am glad I belonged. He didn't tolerate trolls and just booted them off with a wink and a nod. They are trying to keep the group going every morning when Scott started the day exactly at 8am with the "simultaneous sip" of a cup of coffee. The people are well meaning and super smart, but lack Scott's humorous and even handed take. ATW was developing a similar community of bright and often funny commenters. I believe this will be a huge mistake as Matt needed Walter as Master Po in "Kung Fu". "Patience young grasshopper", Walter would say with his Cheshire Cat smile.
Yes, a news organization is at its best when it isn't all news. Needs something else to build emotional bonds -- the funny pages, op-eds, letters to the editor, etc. Creates a sort of gravity. Especially important in these times where politics and tribalism has infected everything.
ATW was perfect at that. Matt was the straight man, Walter the color commentator. Something more that the contributions of either alone.
As for the Scott Adams School, I appreciate greatly what Erica and the rest are doing, but it isn't Scott and simply can't fill those shoes. It can be something else, as there is a certain inquisitiveness in the world shared by all that participate.
Walter Kirn is a National Treasure. Matt and Walter together were an important part of our national conversation. This is a huge loss for the zeitgeist.
Matt - you apparently don't understand that yet. You should try to repair this gaping hole. You can still report the news, but this was important "appointment listening" for so many.
Perhaps the best part about the Matt/Walter combo was how they balanced each other out, despite how different they were, in so many ways. They brought out the best in each other, and had a unique, powerful, synergy. I would like to know what prompted this break, but it doesn’t really matter. Gone is gone. Like loosing a good friend. Wish them both well!
I looked forward to weekly episodes of ATW as much as I looked forward as a kid to waking up before my parents to read the sports page before they had their breakfast. (the "Green Sheet" as it was called in the San Francisco Chronicle in the '50s-'60s.) Sheer joy at being filled with news I was hungry for and devoured.
I am a fan of Matt’s but I find his temperament a bit too tepid and It took Walter’s curious mind and scholarly intellect to drag him into the frays he’s not comfortable in. Straight reporting with out connecting dots, even if it means blurred lines is not informative enough. Tough loss.
I love reading Matt but without Walter he is unlistenable. I'm taking this very personally...how can I make it through the week without ATW? Together Walter and Matt helped with my sanity when dealing with my TDS friends and acquaintances. They helped me to calm down and laugh. This has left a hole in my life and I'm angry.
I came for Matt and got Walter! I enjoyed how Walter made Matt laugh - Walter was outrageous but always right. Naught will compare - Sorry, I’m leaving with (and for) Walter…
Pete, you summed it up perfectly. This departure has left a real void in my week. I hope they can restart with something, anything, a book review here or there, a once a month catch up session, something.
Well said. This is generally how I feel about this as well. I've been so busy with life and work lately that, although I'd wondered what happened, I hadn't had the time or desire to focus on seeking out an answer to why the podcast had ended. Sad day last month. Sad day for me today. Guess I'll check out the new show while I work this week.
Update: Matt's published his own half-ass explanation with "humor" - cept I don't see too many commenters finding anything funny about the change. Matt's going to do important work, in his view, and given his track record, he likely will. I suspect this is the best account Matt's going to provide. His shit-show management skills will hopefully improve. Walter, btw, has no business telling Matt how to run his own site. Both need to grow up, repair their collaboration, and produce the ATW many want, rather than try to "come up" with something better, or comparable. Few can fill their shoes and the hard evidence of that fact can be found in the billionty spews we're subjected to in our various feeds in copious, constant, and unwelcome torrents of trash, much of which is already AI generated/directed. Bring Walter back, please.
Maybe the new editor can put an UPDATE at the top of this page to reflect the new reality.
I'm sure Matt doesn't want to believe he's treating his subscribers like dirt. But if this out-of-date piece o'crap is still up 24 hours from now without the update, then that's another piece of evidence that Matt is simply taking the money and running.
Yes, he's betting a million of what his subscribers have turned over to him, but I'm pretty sure that no matter what happens with Racket, he and his family aren't going to be missing many meals. Nor should they.
But this smells bad to me already. I checked out Emily. She stand apart in a crowd of mediocrities. She's done solid reporting and I wish her every success in running what looks to be a very, very different, much duller, product than Racket 1.0.
So far, my only feelings on the subject likely mirror Walter's - a sense of abandonment and disappointment. But hey, Matt didn't like dealing with criticism in real-time from the "what about the ME, Epstein, and trans bores." I say let them rotate.
Matt also didn't like Walter disagreeing with him and forcing him into corners where he didn't want to admit Walter was right. That tension had been there a long time. Matt says he has no takes, but the last straw may have been ICE. Matt desperately wanted the ICE shootings to be unjustified. He couldn't hide that. One thing Matt does that is never recommended is pay attention to trolls and he ignores sincere posts (I see it on his Twitter feed) from those he perceives as plebes. Which is most of his subscribers.
A little harsh, but fair - I do believe 2026 Matt strives to leave Bard Matt behind. My sense upon a short period of reflection is that Matt is trying to rebuild the Moscow Times in America - which kind of fits, with sourced writing. Maybe.
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.
People with morals, ideals, and integrity don’t anchor themselves to a political party. They anchor themselves to values. And that’s why partisan hacks are the worst among us.
It is more complicated than that, as those values are ultimately expressed by real world politicians. To give an example, as online censorship is a trigger issue for me.
- Most major Democrat leaders have appeared far too cozy about European speech codes, and I have little confidence that they will defend me against attempts to systemize that censorship in a way that circumvents 1A protections.
- The Trump administration has also failed on individual cases of censorship -- yet there are qualitative differences (public airwaves w/ Kimmel, noncitizens with Öztürk) and a lack of attempt to construct an oppressive system.
Now, to me, I look at that and the censorship threat from Trump concerns me about 10%, while the Democrats concern me about 90%.
But that isn't partisan. In the future, the Democrats may return to their senses, denounce the entire concept of "hate speech", and pick up the free speech mantle. The Republicans may start trying to systemize religiously-grounded curtailments of online speech.
Should that happen, I'll look more like a Democrat partisan.
I expect Walter would likely shift accordingly as well. He seems focused on the overall threats to liberty.
You, my friend, just showed that you are NOT a partisan hack. But Walter is. The 2 examples you used were, in fact, brought up in ATW episodes. Guess what Walter had to say. For Kimmel he made a full throated argument that the FCC chair did everything right and has the right, nay the duty, to censor for PUBLIC SAFETY. (If you can find my rant in the comments, enjoy). As for Ozturk, he is so in a Trump media bubble, he didn’t even recognize the video of her arrest and had nothing to say. So there’s the difference. I have some patience for people who find themselves treating politics as a team sport, but he is just so over the top hypocritical and blindly partisan, he lost all credibility with me long ago.
Curious to know why on earth you'd bother listening to a person you considered a partisan hack for 4 hours?
I always found it interesting that Walter ended up a conservative ex-addict/alcoholic writer who managed to find political equilibrium in an unstable world.
There were 4 hours of ATW a week, I definitely did not listen to all of it. Came to skip most, then even when I’d tune in I rarely made it through a full episode. Glad it’s gone. Hopefully Matt will interview smart people in a new iteration. Should have stuck with Katie
I,m not sure I've ever finished a segment. I listened while walking because I found them (mostly Walter, actually) engaging company, but it never tickled my brain cells. My politics more or less align with Walter,s, but I never saw him as a political informant - he always struck me as charming and funny, an essentially good person if a little off-kilter, with a storyteller,s lens into the world which I quite enjoyed.
Matt is better in print and I hope his new direction doesn.t blunt his edge.
Walter did get off kilter more and more. Not that it was because I disagreed ( it wasnt agree or disagree) but his tangents, predictions and often fact avoidance speculation seemed to make Matt look like “WTF did he just say” ( as in how do I get this back on topic) moments
But funny vs cringy..
The book reviews and discussions were always marvelous.
They didn't. Matt's the one who ran away from the live commenters. My guess is Walter would come back for the live streams. He's not interested in ATW as a taped product. So, he split - leaving Matt holding the smelly bag.
I was referring to the number of people on here, on X, and on YouTube that have wanted Walter off the show.
As for why Walter left, it is still unclear to me. I read on X that he had no part in the decision to end the live streams, but it was unclear whether he was going to go forward with the taped shows.
I've been listening since before they added the live show, so lost that isn't near as big a loss as losing the show entirely. I don't see any reason why the show should be live -- I don't think I ever listened to it live anyway -- until today ironically!
Update: Matt has since provided a murky timeline placing the discussions on the "big changes" at the start of the weekend. Matt has also added details to suggest Walter had objections beyond ATW about changes Matt was planning. So, I withdraw my own critique based on this new information. Not because I no longer think that Matt bears primary responsibility for the current confusion and the cancellation of ATW, but because I no longer care much about what does with his site, his time, and his millions. I'll leave my original flawed understanding of the timeline in place.
I have to say I've been restrained in my criticism of Matt to this point. But no longer. Matt knew exactly what kind of bullshit stunt he was pulling by announcing to Walter at airtime "btw, good buddy - this is your last livestream with me on ATW."
To which, Walter responded: - "thanks for letting me know what you really think of our friendship - I'll treat you in kind."
Then Matt doubles-down on the deceit by refusing to come clean with his listeners about exactly why Walter bailed at the last moment: as in
"I owe Walter and all ATW subscribers an apology. Rather than consult Walter about our future collaborations, or even inform him in a timely manner about a decision I made on my own, I instead chose to keep my decision secret until the last minute."
"Predictably, Walter, my longtime ATW partner had no time to react, or offer his own views on the question of continuing the ATW live streams. Walter felt I'd made the decision for both of us by myself, and then sprung the news on him at the last moment. Because, of course I had."
"Having been too self-centered and cowardly to broach the topic with Walter, the situation blew up in my face. Rather than own it, I went live, made out like today was a good day for Racket and then pretended that for reasons not entirely known, Walter decided to leave."
"I understood clearly at the time, of course, that I was lying my ass off on my now solo live stream: that I'd effectively fired him from ATW live streams, waited until the last minute to inform him, and then pretended to subscribers I hadn't. So, I lied to Walter and treated him like used tissue, rather than a friend and collaborator. And then I lied to all the subscribers to cover up my lies to Walter."
That might be what Matt could have said. But that would be expecting basic levels of honesty and integrity from Matt.
What a wonderful way to make Emily feel good on the first day of her new job! Nice! Professional in every sense of the word!
What a complete shit show. I'm far more sympathetic to Emily now. But at least she now knows exactly how Matt Taibbi treats his partners and his subscribers. Everyone's entitled to making a mistake. Matt and Walter have done good work. Let's hope Matt sees his actions in a clear light and corrects his mistakes.
Here's Walter's explanation - Matt f-d up. Never bothered to consult/inform Walter that Matt could no longer handle the heat of live streams. Period. Matt killed the live streams all on his own, kept the decision from Walter, and informed his live stream partner day of. Nice.
"Today was going to be an announcement of certain decisions about the show that I only just learned of, felt ambivalent about, and whose ramifications I didn't really understand or know to process on what was to be our last livestream. That simple."
Yes, I'd read Walter's posts -- and although the bones of what you are saying are there, there are things like "only just learned of" which could mean minutes, or could mean a few days depending on the context.
Are you basing your understanding on those tweets alone? Because for me, it still isn't entirely clear.
And I'm not clear that Matt decided the livestreams had to come to an end due to the heat Matt felt, or due to the time commitment. I have to listen to the podcast again, but I got the sense it was more of a redistribution of time
I can see how you'd take it as "day of", and if so, that does seem quite unfair to drop on Walter.
You raise a great question. Perhaps Matt informed Walter weeks ago and Walter elected to pull out at the last minute. I somehow doubt that, however. Walter is explicit in saying he wasn't given the time to process that decision. Walter's a big boy. Can't see him needing more than a day. Again, my sense is that Walter loved the live streams and, as some others have observed, Matt has seemed shaky for a while. Falling on his head and his actions leading up to that event raise questions. Matt's screed about spending "a million dollars" of his own money to avoid 'hot takes' is disturbing to watch. Matt's made some big calls, I hope he rethinks the live streams. I frankly fear Matt's losing his sense of humor and taking all this far too seriously. Life and success are to be enjoyed, not endured. A battering from the commenters in a live stream once a week might help Matt stay grounded. Let the partisans howl.
I always would listen to it delayed, so the only time I'd hear the comments would be when they'd mention them. But I've seen enough on X to guess what they'd be on YouTube.
Same here - I always listened to taped. Why would Walter love the live streamed comments so much that losing them made it worth quitting? I really am not understanding the problem at all.
The best I've been able to sort out from his and Matt's posts on X is that Walter was perhaps uncomfortable with being part of the Racket 2.0 direction and its potential impact on the show. A lot is still unclear.
This feels like more than just a punch in the stomach! Matt & Walter must sense that they created a very special space with ATW! Please find your way back in one way or another and please continue with the Book Club! Please 🙏
My guess is Walter left because he wanted the sometimes hostile interaction with the commenters. Matt's the jam tart in this spat.
What's the difference between Matt Taibbi and an entitled asshole who can afford to spend a million bucks to avoid annoyances and then brag about it?
Matt's princess and pea routine was a bad look. Trump stands up to two assassination attempts and 95 percent negative press coverage for ten years. Matt shuts down the ATW live stream coz, as he boasts: "I got a spare million to spend to avoid the hassle."
AGREED! We NEED the kind of discussion and analysis of current events and important books more than ever. You two together - the life and professional experiences you both bring and your resulting perspectives— are INVALUABLE especially in these current times. Who gives a rat’s ass if someone doesn’t like Walter’s or your POV? In fact these times require a presentation of POV’s that have been shaped by experience. I’m at a loss as to why ATW has ended as we are entering an era where we need you MORE THAN EVER
Yes sadly think if there was some more regulation (can’t believe I’m saying that) but in the way MT and Walter just blocked users who were negative. They really spoiled it. But so did Walter not having enough self control/respect
I am confused by the Walter reference regarding “self control and more respect”. I must have missed something? I am seriously asking with no judgement because I still mourn the loss of Matt and Walter and the magic they created! 💔
I absolutely loved America This Week. I am on old Millennial and former liberal and I tended to agree more with Walter. I absolutely respect and love Matt’s perspective. It was a wonderful conversation! I laughed so much. I’m going to miss it the most on Friday afternoons.
I’ve watched both Matt and Walter bite their tongues with each other several times over the last few live shows. To the point that I got a sneaking Spidey-sense that they might be breaking up. Nothing lasts forever. I will continue to support Racket. And I will hope to see Walter’s presence in another forum. RIP ATW
Sure he will. If he thinks he has ever been objective, though, he is wrong. Walter makes him face that every week. He doesn't like it. No writer is totally objective. Even his free speech stance comes from a leftist perspective, back when leftists were censored. He is a great writer, which is why I have subscribed since he got on Substack. This move kind of reminds me of Greenwald starting System Update, something he wasn't suited for. Maybe Matt wants to be the next Bari Weiss.
Greenwald used to be such a great writer, unfortunately he just doesn’t have the charisma and gravitas to be an anchorman style podcaster, not to mention he’s often quite petty. It makes sense that he gets on so well with Megyn Kelly… sad.
Late to the party, here, but Glenn has abandoned his nightly show, and returned to Substack. He says he's returning to his roots, written journalism. He does add that sporadic live or taped video will likely be available, too.
I'm envisioning Matt writing in-depth articles and then going on Rogan and other super high-profile podcasts and making the public aware of the unbiased reality. Like he has done in the past. This is a more important and rewarding role than being one of 10,000 podcasts doing hot takes.
I wonder if Nick Shirley going to Minnesota and making such a difference was the straw that broke the camel's back. Matt may have thought, That should have been me. It was a huge story that has been sitting there in plain view for years.
It is a yin and yang. Walter has some very important historical perspective that Matt doesn't and I doubt any of his new writers have. Some perspective comes only from living it and in today's world, people know history less and less. Also, Matt shows how little contact he has had in his life with flyover USA, often repeating falsehoods and being corrected by Walter. I think Matt has learned a lot from Walter.
I picked up on that, too. There were some instances lately where I felt something was in the "gray area" and Matt seemed to see it that way, too. Walt was less inclined to stay neutral. I sometimes wondered if Walt's regular appearances on a cable news channel forced him to take positions with absolute certainty. Now that I think about it, Matt's comment today about telling a questioner "I don't know" -- I wonder if he was indirectly addressing that.
I felt that Walter was right though in being certain at times, of what was fundamentally right and what was wrong. That we are living through a period of history where it is too dangerous to sit on the fence and leave courageous speech to others. It's not a time for journalists to put one's finger in the air like a politician and check which way the wind is blowing before they choose what opinion, what "hot take" to select.
You hit the nail on the head! These are perilous times. We need courage to address the radical leftists for whom "truth" is relative and not important to their cause of turning this country into a collective and not a community of rugged indvidualists. Matt's explanation of what he wants to do was pretty much gibberish. He thinks or his new editor thinks that working really really hard and uncovering all these truths will make some sort of difference. We don't have time for that. Walter sounded the alarm. And it's not time for pie-in-the-sky theories of old timey liberalism. These are indeed the "times that try men's souls" and Walter has made me think about how I too can be brave and jump off that fence.
Thanks CC. It's maddeningly disappointing to witness so many Americans who have the opportunity to effect meaningful change choose instead to take the safer route of being a bystander. Matt said in his 30 minute ramble that Racket News would be a "Safe Space" for his writers. I was stunned. The fact that he had no clue that what he was doing, then springing it on Walter as he did, would result in Walter abruptly quitting says a lot about his ability to correctly judge the impacts of his decisions.
I hear you, but I think it would have been more courageous for a Gutfeld and Megyn Kelly guest to say, "Yeah, it's certainly not clear that that's a situation that warranted shooting the driver." That's the example I had front of mind when I wrote my comment.
Agreed. But also I think you would agree that the backlash factor is in play here - meaning the MSM played it so hard to be the agents fault that folks like Kelly and Gutfield played it hard in the opposite direction. I certainly agree with Matt saying slow down and do t be so quick to make a judgement - more evidence always surfaces given time, and I can certainly agree with Matt's strong distaste for the ridiculous but ubiquitous hot takes
The tension between the two of them seemed to increase dramatically during the Minneapolis shootings discussions. I felt Walter was willing to recognize what was happening very clearly, and to speak candidly regarding his honest opinion, while Matt was always the equivocator, but offering no evidence for his inability to see it Walter's way. When Matt made the statement in this solo explanation of his new format that his site will be a "Safe Space" for his writers, I felt a chill run down my spine. What could that mean I wondered? He plans to offer some sort of magic protection of his writers? To shield them from criticism? Found it to be a very unsettling thing for him to say.
Let me repeat. I work in Hollywood. Recently Rambo Van Halen, a former Hollywood producer was on "Calmversations". https://youtu.be/cauDDp5PfqY
Hollywood has been ruined by females, he said. And I agree. He said that Hollywood movies always had been made by BSDs (big swinging dicks) who took huge risks and loved the thrill. They were replaces with females who wanted "safe places" and were adverse to risks. Women are worriers not warriors. They are good for many things but not taking risks.
Yeppers. A good listen is The Problem With Feminizing Society on TRIGGERnometry with Helen Andrews. She's awesome. My wife and I watch only old movies. Really enjoyed Separate Tables recently, 1958, David Niven, Burt Lancaster, Rita Hayworth, Wendy Heller. New movies and tv are garbage.
Losing Walter is a very great loss. I think that future podcasts will never live up to the standard that the team of Matt and Walter established. A very great disappointment.
I was a regular ATW listener and a regular Scott Adams listener. Talk about being jolted out of my routine.
I'm sad to hear Walt is leaving, but change can be good and complacency can be bad. And there have been times I've wished Matt (or Racket) could have been, say, reporting on the Minneapolis daycare corruption before it got cold and disappeared back into the slime of the swamp.
But, yeah, the news hit like a punch to the solar plexus.
I wondered about that too, considering Matt’s background and experience, it didn’t make sense how sensitive Matt was about anonymous (maybe inanimate) trolls.
Very sad to see Walter go. Looking at the day's news through a literary lens was fruitful, and provided a stable rock amidst the noise and chaos. Anchored the week.
The best podcast unexpectedly ended. We now face the long dark of America, more lonely. I rarely post anything anywhere, but this occasion merits a brief word. I am shattered. I would welcome a reunion tour. Even one last time...
I hope Matt and Walter look through these comments and consider how many people who rarely if ever post anything online absolutely LOVE their show. If live stream commenters sank ATW the "tyranny of the minority" is even stronger than I thought.
What I really don’t understand is…what’s not to like about this new iteration of Racket? It was obvious to everyone Matt was getting frustrated and needed a change. But this all seems like a good change. Maybe I’m being naive. I’m just sad…I really looked forward to these shows. I do not have time to read all the content I’m paying for on Substack. To have something to listen to while I cook dinner or work out really ups the game for me.
I really looked forward to them too. I thought there was a great chemistry between Matt and Walter. I guess I was wrong. I'm going to miss them together.
I was so excited for the coming changes but am now devastated to have lost my weekend coffee -with-podcast ritual. I try not to engage much with the media or social media, so ATW was how I learned about relevant current events. Always appreciated your different and fresh perspectives and, as a literature and film junkie, enjoyed the many book puns and film references. And, of course, I really loved the book club. I was just getting into Brave New World! This totally blows. Come back, Walter! Let's make up!!!
> I try not to engage much with the media or social media
I posted this elsewhere but I'm writing it again - in the event that Matt and/or Walter look at these comments, I hope that they realize how many people who don't post online and avoid social media hold ATW so close to their hearts. Please reconcile. Come on guys! I will mediate.
Bummer about Walter. One of the only podcast duos on the internet that I couldn't completely predict. Insights, angles, depth of experience. Tolerance for the weirdest ideas and frames and then back down to earth, then spin the frame and look again. Hope he changes his mind, alas
Amen. The shows were my favorite hours of the week. Weaving literature from two centuries ago related to current events… intellectual curiosity and consideration… Martin & Lewis … sucks for us.
Long time reader (Rolling Stone), and founding subscriber here at Racket News.
Sad to hear the news today that you and Walter will be going your separate ways. You were quite the entertaining duo, both on Monday's and your Friday show which I would watch to start my day on Saturday mornings.
Best of luck to Mr. Kirn, and I really mean that. I wish you guys could reconcile, but I understand we live in the real world.
I will miss this. I just signed up for a paid subscription. You guys are my favorite podcasters by far. I’m actually really sad. I hope that you two can work it out.
Walter kirn is one of the funniest people I've experienced. I loved his infernal advice to the man writing to the nyt on whether or not he should console his wife overn the end of her extramarital affair.
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.
This is especially rough, in that it follows closely after losing Scott Adams.
Both shows had calming, reflective characteristics -- and America was well served by them.
Most shows that cover weekly events do the opposite.
Agreed.
Most shows seems to exist to create tension and anxiety.
I can honestly say that Matt and Walter never did that to me.
Maybe it was the books at the end. But, they didn't always do those...
You're right, Mark: We were well served by them. I hope someone can fill that void.
Matt and Walter together will prove somewhat more difficult to replace than even the brightest creature on four legs, I suspect.
Matt F-d up - its 100 percent on him. Matt's the one who needs to fix this - I expect instead Matt'll stay under the bed. If the dog's dead, Matt ran the critter over.
So much for courage under pressure.
100% is right. Walter can find another young writer to mentor and laugh with. Matt is not a video guy. He's a print guy. Walter is an entertainer and helped him through the stammerings with kindness and warmth. Harder to find that kind of partner. BTW, I don't find hiring a female (and I am one) to be encouraging. I work in Hollywood and females with their risk aversion have ruined the place. I heard a line producer talk about the BSWs (big swinging dicks) who made movies happen. They were risk takers. (Most) Women are not. They are worriers and want safe places and minimal risks.
Great comment. One of my favorite 19th-stylists is George Sand (Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil). Professionals are just that. Mary Shelley produced the best philosophical/social treatise ever, frankly, in Frankenstein, and her mom the most cogent critique of encoded gender status in law and custom. Great writers can accomplish a lot. I have much of Sylvia Plath's work on my shelf alongside Whitman, Geoffrey Hill, Homer, and the Bible. I love Matt's style and completely agree with your take on the differences between Matt and Walter's strengths and weaknesses. I'll continue to support Matt and hope he can recognize that ATW with books is something truly special. A propos, a Dem pal who knows I hate the New Yorker just sent me an article on Vonnegut from 2019 from their archive - crap - by a name writer, with links to David Remnick and the rest of the stable of NYer wannabe Walter Kirns. As for Hollywood, I defer to a Marine recruiter from the 20th-century, we don't want pussies of either sex in the Marines - absolutely no offense intended. Thanks for your comments here, which I generally enjoy very much.
Me too.
Yes, Mark, losing these two safe havens is rough. You described this well as being a place for calm and reflection. It is a tribute to Walter that he was invited to Scott's Memorial in California. Someone here remarked that Scott built a community over the years of which I am glad I belonged. He didn't tolerate trolls and just booted them off with a wink and a nod. They are trying to keep the group going every morning when Scott started the day exactly at 8am with the "simultaneous sip" of a cup of coffee. The people are well meaning and super smart, but lack Scott's humorous and even handed take. ATW was developing a similar community of bright and often funny commenters. I believe this will be a huge mistake as Matt needed Walter as Master Po in "Kung Fu". "Patience young grasshopper", Walter would say with his Cheshire Cat smile.
I'm reading about this on the next day, and it's a punch to the gut. I thoroughly enjoyed ATW. I will miss Walter.
Yes, a news organization is at its best when it isn't all news. Needs something else to build emotional bonds -- the funny pages, op-eds, letters to the editor, etc. Creates a sort of gravity. Especially important in these times where politics and tribalism has infected everything.
ATW was perfect at that. Matt was the straight man, Walter the color commentator. Something more that the contributions of either alone.
As for the Scott Adams School, I appreciate greatly what Erica and the rest are doing, but it isn't Scott and simply can't fill those shoes. It can be something else, as there is a certain inquisitiveness in the world shared by all that participate.
You're on a roll.
So very well said Pete H. I identify with all you said.
I've been trying to come up with a good substitute for Walter on ATW.
So far, no ideas.
Walter you are wanted at home.
I found Walter!!!
He was a featured guest on The Brownstone Institute SubStack this week( episode 6, I believe!)
i love the Brownstone institute. Is Walter there?
He was a guest to a series they are doing. Walter was on/in episode 6, which I watched on the Monday when he wasn’t on ATW with Matt.
You echo my sentiments to a T. Feels like a death in the family.
Walter Kirn is a National Treasure. Matt and Walter together were an important part of our national conversation. This is a huge loss for the zeitgeist.
Matt - you apparently don't understand that yet. You should try to repair this gaping hole. You can still report the news, but this was important "appointment listening" for so many.
Perhaps the best part about the Matt/Walter combo was how they balanced each other out, despite how different they were, in so many ways. They brought out the best in each other, and had a unique, powerful, synergy. I would like to know what prompted this break, but it doesn’t really matter. Gone is gone. Like loosing a good friend. Wish them both well!
The funeral is on Friday morning.
I looked forward to weekly episodes of ATW as much as I looked forward as a kid to waking up before my parents to read the sports page before they had their breakfast. (the "Green Sheet" as it was called in the San Francisco Chronicle in the '50s-'60s.) Sheer joy at being filled with news I was hungry for and devoured.
Me too. I am sad about this new development.
I am a fan of Matt’s but I find his temperament a bit too tepid and It took Walter’s curious mind and scholarly intellect to drag him into the frays he’s not comfortable in. Straight reporting with out connecting dots, even if it means blurred lines is not informative enough. Tough loss.
I love reading Matt but without Walter he is unlistenable. I'm taking this very personally...how can I make it through the week without ATW? Together Walter and Matt helped with my sanity when dealing with my TDS friends and acquaintances. They helped me to calm down and laugh. This has left a hole in my life and I'm angry.
I, too am at the anger stage of the grieving cycle. I just don't get why they had to end it. Racket is less appealing now. All the humor is gone.
THIS EXACTLY! I remain hopeful that ATW WILL RETURN!!
I came for Matt and got Walter! I enjoyed how Walter made Matt laugh - Walter was outrageous but always right. Naught will compare - Sorry, I’m leaving with (and for) Walter…
Pete, you summed it up perfectly. This departure has left a real void in my week. I hope they can restart with something, anything, a book review here or there, a once a month catch up session, something.
A lovely reflection ...
Well said. This is generally how I feel about this as well. I've been so busy with life and work lately that, although I'd wondered what happened, I hadn't had the time or desire to focus on seeking out an answer to why the podcast had ended. Sad day last month. Sad day for me today. Guess I'll check out the new show while I work this week.
Ditto- all of it
That's a great analogy. It does feel like that.
I really like Walter and will miss him!
Update: Matt's published his own half-ass explanation with "humor" - cept I don't see too many commenters finding anything funny about the change. Matt's going to do important work, in his view, and given his track record, he likely will. I suspect this is the best account Matt's going to provide. His shit-show management skills will hopefully improve. Walter, btw, has no business telling Matt how to run his own site. Both need to grow up, repair their collaboration, and produce the ATW many want, rather than try to "come up" with something better, or comparable. Few can fill their shoes and the hard evidence of that fact can be found in the billionty spews we're subjected to in our various feeds in copious, constant, and unwelcome torrents of trash, much of which is already AI generated/directed. Bring Walter back, please.
Maybe the new editor can put an UPDATE at the top of this page to reflect the new reality.
I'm sure Matt doesn't want to believe he's treating his subscribers like dirt. But if this out-of-date piece o'crap is still up 24 hours from now without the update, then that's another piece of evidence that Matt is simply taking the money and running.
Yes, he's betting a million of what his subscribers have turned over to him, but I'm pretty sure that no matter what happens with Racket, he and his family aren't going to be missing many meals. Nor should they.
But this smells bad to me already. I checked out Emily. She stand apart in a crowd of mediocrities. She's done solid reporting and I wish her every success in running what looks to be a very, very different, much duller, product than Racket 1.0.
So far, my only feelings on the subject likely mirror Walter's - a sense of abandonment and disappointment. But hey, Matt didn't like dealing with criticism in real-time from the "what about the ME, Epstein, and trans bores." I say let them rotate.
Matt should have turned off the live chat after the trolls ruined it.
Matt also didn't like Walter disagreeing with him and forcing him into corners where he didn't want to admit Walter was right. That tension had been there a long time. Matt says he has no takes, but the last straw may have been ICE. Matt desperately wanted the ICE shootings to be unjustified. He couldn't hide that. One thing Matt does that is never recommended is pay attention to trolls and he ignores sincere posts (I see it on his Twitter feed) from those he perceives as plebes. Which is most of his subscribers.
A little harsh, but fair - I do believe 2026 Matt strives to leave Bard Matt behind. My sense upon a short period of reflection is that Matt is trying to rebuild the Moscow Times in America - which kind of fits, with sourced writing. Maybe.
Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.
That was constructive. You kicking me out of the club?
I honestly don't know for sure to whom I was responding. It's been a week for me. No hard feelings.
You have a wild imagination, and probably too much time on your hands.
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.
Agreed. Sad to see the 'anti-Walters" get their way.
You mean the people who don't want to listen to a partisan hack for 4 hours a week? This is the best news I've heard in a long time
Yes — people like you that don’t see that Walter brings much more to the podcast than partisanship.
It wouldn’t matter to me if Walter was anchored in a red or blue worldview as a starting point. Everybody is anchored somewhere.
People with morals, ideals, and integrity don’t anchor themselves to a political party. They anchor themselves to values. And that’s why partisan hacks are the worst among us.
It is more complicated than that, as those values are ultimately expressed by real world politicians. To give an example, as online censorship is a trigger issue for me.
- Most major Democrat leaders have appeared far too cozy about European speech codes, and I have little confidence that they will defend me against attempts to systemize that censorship in a way that circumvents 1A protections.
- The Trump administration has also failed on individual cases of censorship -- yet there are qualitative differences (public airwaves w/ Kimmel, noncitizens with Öztürk) and a lack of attempt to construct an oppressive system.
Now, to me, I look at that and the censorship threat from Trump concerns me about 10%, while the Democrats concern me about 90%.
But that isn't partisan. In the future, the Democrats may return to their senses, denounce the entire concept of "hate speech", and pick up the free speech mantle. The Republicans may start trying to systemize religiously-grounded curtailments of online speech.
Should that happen, I'll look more like a Democrat partisan.
I expect Walter would likely shift accordingly as well. He seems focused on the overall threats to liberty.
You, my friend, just showed that you are NOT a partisan hack. But Walter is. The 2 examples you used were, in fact, brought up in ATW episodes. Guess what Walter had to say. For Kimmel he made a full throated argument that the FCC chair did everything right and has the right, nay the duty, to censor for PUBLIC SAFETY. (If you can find my rant in the comments, enjoy). As for Ozturk, he is so in a Trump media bubble, he didn’t even recognize the video of her arrest and had nothing to say. So there’s the difference. I have some patience for people who find themselves treating politics as a team sport, but he is just so over the top hypocritical and blindly partisan, he lost all credibility with me long ago.
Curious to know why on earth you'd bother listening to a person you considered a partisan hack for 4 hours?
I always found it interesting that Walter ended up a conservative ex-addict/alcoholic writer who managed to find political equilibrium in an unstable world.
There were 4 hours of ATW a week, I definitely did not listen to all of it. Came to skip most, then even when I’d tune in I rarely made it through a full episode. Glad it’s gone. Hopefully Matt will interview smart people in a new iteration. Should have stuck with Katie
I,m not sure I've ever finished a segment. I listened while walking because I found them (mostly Walter, actually) engaging company, but it never tickled my brain cells. My politics more or less align with Walter,s, but I never saw him as a political informant - he always struck me as charming and funny, an essentially good person if a little off-kilter, with a storyteller,s lens into the world which I quite enjoyed.
Matt is better in print and I hope his new direction doesn.t blunt his edge.
Thanks for responding.
Walter did get off kilter more and more. Not that it was because I disagreed ( it wasnt agree or disagree) but his tangents, predictions and often fact avoidance speculation seemed to make Matt look like “WTF did he just say” ( as in how do I get this back on topic) moments
But funny vs cringy..
The book reviews and discussions were always marvelous.
Hope they mend fences.
At least your own partisan credentials showed up in that comment. Kettle black
They didn't. Matt's the one who ran away from the live commenters. My guess is Walter would come back for the live streams. He's not interested in ATW as a taped product. So, he split - leaving Matt holding the smelly bag.
I was referring to the number of people on here, on X, and on YouTube that have wanted Walter off the show.
As for why Walter left, it is still unclear to me. I read on X that he had no part in the decision to end the live streams, but it was unclear whether he was going to go forward with the taped shows.
I've been listening since before they added the live show, so lost that isn't near as big a loss as losing the show entirely. I don't see any reason why the show should be live -- I don't think I ever listened to it live anyway -- until today ironically!
Update: Matt has since provided a murky timeline placing the discussions on the "big changes" at the start of the weekend. Matt has also added details to suggest Walter had objections beyond ATW about changes Matt was planning. So, I withdraw my own critique based on this new information. Not because I no longer think that Matt bears primary responsibility for the current confusion and the cancellation of ATW, but because I no longer care much about what does with his site, his time, and his millions. I'll leave my original flawed understanding of the timeline in place.
I have to say I've been restrained in my criticism of Matt to this point. But no longer. Matt knew exactly what kind of bullshit stunt he was pulling by announcing to Walter at airtime "btw, good buddy - this is your last livestream with me on ATW."
To which, Walter responded: - "thanks for letting me know what you really think of our friendship - I'll treat you in kind."
Then Matt doubles-down on the deceit by refusing to come clean with his listeners about exactly why Walter bailed at the last moment: as in
"I owe Walter and all ATW subscribers an apology. Rather than consult Walter about our future collaborations, or even inform him in a timely manner about a decision I made on my own, I instead chose to keep my decision secret until the last minute."
"Predictably, Walter, my longtime ATW partner had no time to react, or offer his own views on the question of continuing the ATW live streams. Walter felt I'd made the decision for both of us by myself, and then sprung the news on him at the last moment. Because, of course I had."
"Having been too self-centered and cowardly to broach the topic with Walter, the situation blew up in my face. Rather than own it, I went live, made out like today was a good day for Racket and then pretended that for reasons not entirely known, Walter decided to leave."
"I understood clearly at the time, of course, that I was lying my ass off on my now solo live stream: that I'd effectively fired him from ATW live streams, waited until the last minute to inform him, and then pretended to subscribers I hadn't. So, I lied to Walter and treated him like used tissue, rather than a friend and collaborator. And then I lied to all the subscribers to cover up my lies to Walter."
That might be what Matt could have said. But that would be expecting basic levels of honesty and integrity from Matt.
What a wonderful way to make Emily feel good on the first day of her new job! Nice! Professional in every sense of the word!
What a complete shit show. I'm far more sympathetic to Emily now. But at least she now knows exactly how Matt Taibbi treats his partners and his subscribers. Everyone's entitled to making a mistake. Matt and Walter have done good work. Let's hope Matt sees his actions in a clear light and corrects his mistakes.
Walter sets the record straight. He's too polite to say Matt treated him like crap.
"Today was going to be an announcement of the end of the livestream show, a decision in which I had no hand."
https://x.com/walterkirn/status/2020991521521271191
That imaginary conversation you just made up has about as much credibility as Walter.
Walter likely has more at this point. I've owned the flawed timeline. The rest stands.
I have not listened to one live show. I don't care about the peanut gallery, just the guys talking about the world.
100% co-sign
The live shows might have even been a net negative, since the chats weren't restricted to actual subscribers.
Here's Walter's explanation - Matt f-d up. Never bothered to consult/inform Walter that Matt could no longer handle the heat of live streams. Period. Matt killed the live streams all on his own, kept the decision from Walter, and informed his live stream partner day of. Nice.
"Today was going to be an announcement of certain decisions about the show that I only just learned of, felt ambivalent about, and whose ramifications I didn't really understand or know to process on what was to be our last livestream. That simple."
https://x.com/walterkirn/status/2020988121656197525
Yes, I'd read Walter's posts -- and although the bones of what you are saying are there, there are things like "only just learned of" which could mean minutes, or could mean a few days depending on the context.
Are you basing your understanding on those tweets alone? Because for me, it still isn't entirely clear.
And I'm not clear that Matt decided the livestreams had to come to an end due to the heat Matt felt, or due to the time commitment. I have to listen to the podcast again, but I got the sense it was more of a redistribution of time
I can see how you'd take it as "day of", and if so, that does seem quite unfair to drop on Walter.
You raise a great question. Perhaps Matt informed Walter weeks ago and Walter elected to pull out at the last minute. I somehow doubt that, however. Walter is explicit in saying he wasn't given the time to process that decision. Walter's a big boy. Can't see him needing more than a day. Again, my sense is that Walter loved the live streams and, as some others have observed, Matt has seemed shaky for a while. Falling on his head and his actions leading up to that event raise questions. Matt's screed about spending "a million dollars" of his own money to avoid 'hot takes' is disturbing to watch. Matt's made some big calls, I hope he rethinks the live streams. I frankly fear Matt's losing his sense of humor and taking all this far too seriously. Life and success are to be enjoyed, not endured. A battering from the commenters in a live stream once a week might help Matt stay grounded. Let the partisans howl.
Ah, I missed that because I didn’t really watch comments while listening.
Sometimes the comments are where it's happening.
I always would listen to it delayed, so the only time I'd hear the comments would be when they'd mention them. But I've seen enough on X to guess what they'd be on YouTube.
Same here - I always listened to taped. Why would Walter love the live streamed comments so much that losing them made it worth quitting? I really am not understanding the problem at all.
The best I've been able to sort out from his and Matt's posts on X is that Walter was perhaps uncomfortable with being part of the Racket 2.0 direction and its potential impact on the show. A lot is still unclear.
Loved Walter. The combination of Matt and Walter was pitch perfect, and i can’t imagine atw without him.
This feels like more than just a punch in the stomach! Matt & Walter must sense that they created a very special space with ATW! Please find your way back in one way or another and please continue with the Book Club! Please 🙏
100% co-sign. Come on guys.
My guess is Walter left because he wanted the sometimes hostile interaction with the commenters. Matt's the jam tart in this spat.
What's the difference between Matt Taibbi and an entitled asshole who can afford to spend a million bucks to avoid annoyances and then brag about it?
Matt's princess and pea routine was a bad look. Trump stands up to two assassination attempts and 95 percent negative press coverage for ten years. Matt shuts down the ATW live stream coz, as he boasts: "I got a spare million to spend to avoid the hassle."
Good to know!
AGREED! We NEED the kind of discussion and analysis of current events and important books more than ever. You two together - the life and professional experiences you both bring and your resulting perspectives— are INVALUABLE especially in these current times. Who gives a rat’s ass if someone doesn’t like Walter’s or your POV? In fact these times require a presentation of POV’s that have been shaped by experience. I’m at a loss as to why ATW has ended as we are entering an era where we need you MORE THAN EVER
Yes sadly think if there was some more regulation (can’t believe I’m saying that) but in the way MT and Walter just blocked users who were negative. They really spoiled it. But so did Walter not having enough self control/respect
I am confused by the Walter reference regarding “self control and more respect”. I must have missed something? I am seriously asking with no judgement because I still mourn the loss of Matt and Walter and the magic they created! 💔
I absolutely loved America This Week. I am on old Millennial and former liberal and I tended to agree more with Walter. I absolutely respect and love Matt’s perspective. It was a wonderful conversation! I laughed so much. I’m going to miss it the most on Friday afternoons.
Our weeks will be drearier. Was definitely a pick-me-up!
My thoughts too!
An older former than that, but me too!
I’ve watched both Matt and Walter bite their tongues with each other several times over the last few live shows. To the point that I got a sneaking Spidey-sense that they might be breaking up. Nothing lasts forever. I will continue to support Racket. And I will hope to see Walter’s presence in another forum. RIP ATW
Feels like the civil war hit home.
Well said.
💯
Yep. And Matt needs Walter way more than Matt knows.
Nonsense…… perhaps for Podcasts but Matt isn’t a Podcaster he’s a writer / journalist first and foremost. Matt will be just fine. So will Walter.
Sure he will. If he thinks he has ever been objective, though, he is wrong. Walter makes him face that every week. He doesn't like it. No writer is totally objective. Even his free speech stance comes from a leftist perspective, back when leftists were censored. He is a great writer, which is why I have subscribed since he got on Substack. This move kind of reminds me of Greenwald starting System Update, something he wasn't suited for. Maybe Matt wants to be the next Bari Weiss.
Greenwald used to be such a great writer, unfortunately he just doesn’t have the charisma and gravitas to be an anchorman style podcaster, not to mention he’s often quite petty. It makes sense that he gets on so well with Megyn Kelly… sad.
Late to the party, here, but Glenn has abandoned his nightly show, and returned to Substack. He says he's returning to his roots, written journalism. He does add that sporadic live or taped video will likely be available, too.
That’s excellent.
Now if he could only let go of his IDS.
From my lips to God’s ears.
You make no sense in your intro sentence, "If..." -- then you contradict even that midway.
I'm envisioning Matt writing in-depth articles and then going on Rogan and other super high-profile podcasts and making the public aware of the unbiased reality. Like he has done in the past. This is a more important and rewarding role than being one of 10,000 podcasts doing hot takes.
I wonder if Nick Shirley going to Minnesota and making such a difference was the straw that broke the camel's back. Matt may have thought, That should have been me. It was a huge story that has been sitting there in plain view for years.
How does Matt need Walter? That’s silly
It is a yin and yang. Walter has some very important historical perspective that Matt doesn't and I doubt any of his new writers have. Some perspective comes only from living it and in today's world, people know history less and less. Also, Matt shows how little contact he has had in his life with flyover USA, often repeating falsehoods and being corrected by Walter. I think Matt has learned a lot from Walter.
It’s like finding out your parents are divorcing. It sucks and you guys owe it to the family to give it another shot.
Or at least Dad should come in and explain what’s going on and if we’ll see him again
He’ll be right back after he grabs those cigarettes from the store…
Love this
I picked up on that, too. There were some instances lately where I felt something was in the "gray area" and Matt seemed to see it that way, too. Walt was less inclined to stay neutral. I sometimes wondered if Walt's regular appearances on a cable news channel forced him to take positions with absolute certainty. Now that I think about it, Matt's comment today about telling a questioner "I don't know" -- I wonder if he was indirectly addressing that.
I felt that Walter was right though in being certain at times, of what was fundamentally right and what was wrong. That we are living through a period of history where it is too dangerous to sit on the fence and leave courageous speech to others. It's not a time for journalists to put one's finger in the air like a politician and check which way the wind is blowing before they choose what opinion, what "hot take" to select.
You hit the nail on the head! These are perilous times. We need courage to address the radical leftists for whom "truth" is relative and not important to their cause of turning this country into a collective and not a community of rugged indvidualists. Matt's explanation of what he wants to do was pretty much gibberish. He thinks or his new editor thinks that working really really hard and uncovering all these truths will make some sort of difference. We don't have time for that. Walter sounded the alarm. And it's not time for pie-in-the-sky theories of old timey liberalism. These are indeed the "times that try men's souls" and Walter has made me think about how I too can be brave and jump off that fence.
Thanks CC. It's maddeningly disappointing to witness so many Americans who have the opportunity to effect meaningful change choose instead to take the safer route of being a bystander. Matt said in his 30 minute ramble that Racket News would be a "Safe Space" for his writers. I was stunned. The fact that he had no clue that what he was doing, then springing it on Walter as he did, would result in Walter abruptly quitting says a lot about his ability to correctly judge the impacts of his decisions.
I hear you, but I think it would have been more courageous for a Gutfeld and Megyn Kelly guest to say, "Yeah, it's certainly not clear that that's a situation that warranted shooting the driver." That's the example I had front of mind when I wrote my comment.
Agreed. But also I think you would agree that the backlash factor is in play here - meaning the MSM played it so hard to be the agents fault that folks like Kelly and Gutfield played it hard in the opposite direction. I certainly agree with Matt saying slow down and do t be so quick to make a judgement - more evidence always surfaces given time, and I can certainly agree with Matt's strong distaste for the ridiculous but ubiquitous hot takes
The tension between the two of them seemed to increase dramatically during the Minneapolis shootings discussions. I felt Walter was willing to recognize what was happening very clearly, and to speak candidly regarding his honest opinion, while Matt was always the equivocator, but offering no evidence for his inability to see it Walter's way. When Matt made the statement in this solo explanation of his new format that his site will be a "Safe Space" for his writers, I felt a chill run down my spine. What could that mean I wondered? He plans to offer some sort of magic protection of his writers? To shield them from criticism? Found it to be a very unsettling thing for him to say.
Let me repeat. I work in Hollywood. Recently Rambo Van Halen, a former Hollywood producer was on "Calmversations". https://youtu.be/cauDDp5PfqY
Hollywood has been ruined by females, he said. And I agree. He said that Hollywood movies always had been made by BSDs (big swinging dicks) who took huge risks and loved the thrill. They were replaces with females who wanted "safe places" and were adverse to risks. Women are worriers not warriors. They are good for many things but not taking risks.
Yeppers. A good listen is The Problem With Feminizing Society on TRIGGERnometry with Helen Andrews. She's awesome. My wife and I watch only old movies. Really enjoyed Separate Tables recently, 1958, David Niven, Burt Lancaster, Rita Hayworth, Wendy Heller. New movies and tv are garbage.
If you do not subscribe to Sasha Stone's stack, I think you would really enjoy it.
🎯
Losing Walter is a very great loss. I think that future podcasts will never live up to the standard that the team of Matt and Walter established. A very great disappointment.
Totally… I’m being forced to reevaluate my subscription This pisses me off , Walter leaving……
Not a disappointment. Different.
👎🏼
I will miss the Monday Live segments more than you can imagine. I am truly bereft.
But I get it. Too many trolls can make a body depressed.
I was a regular ATW listener and a regular Scott Adams listener. Talk about being jolted out of my routine.
I'm sad to hear Walt is leaving, but change can be good and complacency can be bad. And there have been times I've wished Matt (or Racket) could have been, say, reporting on the Minneapolis daycare corruption before it got cold and disappeared back into the slime of the swamp.
But, yeah, the news hit like a punch to the solar plexus.
If someone on an internet platform can’t handle trolls or mean tweets , they’re in the wrong business.
I wondered about that too, considering Matt’s background and experience, it didn’t make sense how sensitive Matt was about anonymous (maybe inanimate) trolls.
Very sad to see Walter go. Looking at the day's news through a literary lens was fruitful, and provided a stable rock amidst the noise and chaos. Anchored the week.
Will miss your conversations greatly.
Yes, Matt supplied the micro and Walter supplied the macro. It was great Yin and Yang.
The best podcast unexpectedly ended. We now face the long dark of America, more lonely. I rarely post anything anywhere, but this occasion merits a brief word. I am shattered. I would welcome a reunion tour. Even one last time...
Couldn’t agree more.
I hope Matt and Walter look through these comments and consider how many people who rarely if ever post anything online absolutely LOVE their show. If live stream commenters sank ATW the "tyranny of the minority" is even stronger than I thought.
What I really don’t understand is…what’s not to like about this new iteration of Racket? It was obvious to everyone Matt was getting frustrated and needed a change. But this all seems like a good change. Maybe I’m being naive. I’m just sad…I really looked forward to these shows. I do not have time to read all the content I’m paying for on Substack. To have something to listen to while I cook dinner or work out really ups the game for me.
I really looked forward to them too. I thought there was a great chemistry between Matt and Walter. I guess I was wrong. I'm going to miss them together.
It was like NPR for normal people LOL.
Yes. Thank you for articulating that collective feeling for us.
I was so excited for the coming changes but am now devastated to have lost my weekend coffee -with-podcast ritual. I try not to engage much with the media or social media, so ATW was how I learned about relevant current events. Always appreciated your different and fresh perspectives and, as a literature and film junkie, enjoyed the many book puns and film references. And, of course, I really loved the book club. I was just getting into Brave New World! This totally blows. Come back, Walter! Let's make up!!!
> I try not to engage much with the media or social media
I posted this elsewhere but I'm writing it again - in the event that Matt and/or Walter look at these comments, I hope that they realize how many people who don't post online and avoid social media hold ATW so close to their hearts. Please reconcile. Come on guys! I will mediate.
Bummer about Walter. One of the only podcast duos on the internet that I couldn't completely predict. Insights, angles, depth of experience. Tolerance for the weirdest ideas and frames and then back down to earth, then spin the frame and look again. Hope he changes his mind, alas
Yes, I will really miss the spontaneous laughter
My book club is dead. I’m heartbroken.
Amen. The shows were my favorite hours of the week. Weaving literature from two centuries ago related to current events… intellectual curiosity and consideration… Martin & Lewis … sucks for us.
Matt;
Long time reader (Rolling Stone), and founding subscriber here at Racket News.
Sad to hear the news today that you and Walter will be going your separate ways. You were quite the entertaining duo, both on Monday's and your Friday show which I would watch to start my day on Saturday mornings.
Best of luck to Mr. Kirn, and I really mean that. I wish you guys could reconcile, but I understand we live in the real world.
Sincerely,
vladROBOT
🪱
I’ll bet they’re still friends
I sure hope so.
Ugh. I’m so sick of bad news. This was my favorite podcast.
The good news is Matt's arrived! He's single-handedly restoring integrity to journalism, ain't you heard?
I will miss this. I just signed up for a paid subscription. You guys are my favorite podcasters by far. I’m actually really sad. I hope that you two can work it out.
Walter kirn is one of the funniest people I've experienced. I loved his infernal advice to the man writing to the nyt on whether or not he should console his wife overn the end of her extramarital affair.
"Susan Collins is more of a man than [Graham Plattner]..." might be the funniest thing I have ever heard on a pod