Agreed. IMO, your writing never suffered, Matt, but what you and Walter were able to create was unique. Your chemistry was a eureka moment; perhaps impossible for you to see from the inside.
Walter made Matt play higher level game, through his mystique and language , made Matt dig in his own box and come out with great takes and own anectodal insight.
Walter was great...Michael was fine, too...Id like to see Matt bring in a wide range of co-hosts/guests depending on the news that's going on, who's writing about which story, etc, etc.
Is Amanda now not there? That seems to be the case from what I read above. That's too bad. I never really got to see her stuff...
Anyhow...chaos is life I guess. Matt will figure it out!
I never missed an episode of ATW, and I like Walter…. but IMO, it had become uncomfortable for Matt.
The conspiracy theories, Walter’s loyalty to the administration. Matt was not on board with any of that, but he was too deferential to really argue (plus he knew it would result in Walter throwing a tantrum).
There must be a reason Matt decided to “spend more time writing” and “get out of the takes business” earlier this year, while scaling back ATW.
And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his new podcast criticized conspiracy theories, and the Trump administration. TN was a more authentic representation of what he really thinks.
ATW was special while it lasted, but I don’t think the answer is to bring it back. Walter genuinely thinks Trump is playing 5D chess, and Matt truly does not, and it just wouldn’t work.
It was more abou thow much energy he'd put into defending certain actions while then glossing over or not wanting to 'over analyze / over assume' others - largely down to which ones tended to help/hurt Trump.
I really liked listening to Walter. Found him legitimately funny and very well argued when he was on point. I also loved the literature talks. But for someone who has always liked Matt as a left of center person who wasn't afraid to highlight the hypocrisy of the left - I did start to find Walter's general encouragement of the MAGA position to undermine his stated desire to stick to facts and truth telling.
Bingo. This truth can't be repeated often enough. Trump is a manufactured obsession that is convenient for the democrats. Not everybody is obsessed with him.
Here's where I state that I don't give a shit about Trump one way or the other. I don't hate him, I don't love him, sometimes he's funny, sometimes he's crude. Sometimes he's incredibly effective. How many people have the ego to walk into the line of fire every damn day, and I mean literally, the line of fire?
What Trump is, at least for a while longer, is the duly elected President of the United States, and that's not nothing.
Walter talked over Matt all the time. He wasn't interested in what Matt had to say, he just wanted to talk. Despite his eloquence and obvious love of literature, Walter is not a sharer, while Matt is a generous, maybe too generous, sharer.
Israel, Epstein and Trump have become intertwined to be one single derangement. See the latest would-be assassin's lame manifesto; the most normie manifesto ever, which maybe makes it more terrifying. He pointed at Trump as a "rapist, pedophile, and traitor." This just shows that all of our moral manias of the last decade — Trump, Pizzagate, "fascism," QAnon, Russiagate, MeToo, the racial reckoning/retconning, the "insurrection," ICE as Gestapo, Epstein and the rest — have congealed to be one derangement, but it all still revolves 100% around Trump.
"More to comment upon than Trump"??? What man, are you daft? Trump is a cultural black hole whose overwhelmingly gravitational force sucks everything into it, never to be seen again... The only thing outside of Trump might--might--be the Fifth Dimension.. But even that is not for sure.. ; )
They just can’t. Neither one of them has the personality for a balanced and friendly debate about Trump, where all views are respected and everyone feels good about the conversation.
We saw the tension when they disagreed: Walter’s raised voice, Matt’s discomfort and avoidance. It isn’t going to happen with those two.
Thanks for your reply, Carina. I usually didn't watch the podcast, I read the transcript. So I may have been missing the rising tensions on the set. Maybe it is over, for good.
I'm still not going to take sides in this divorce.
I am very surprised; I did not hear/read whatever this was (I never watched their video-exchanges, I read the transcripts), but from what came before I would never have foreseen this trajectory. I certainly would not have taken Kirn for a Trump true-believer, especially not at this point (so I would readily believe that's a misdiagnosis of their conflict).
I think back to their exchange where Kirn coined the term "Luftreich" often; I have other names for it, but the way they clarified the existence of a "deep meta-state, hovering over the Atlantic" was very helpful.
I mean, I’m just speculating. The official explanation seems to be that Matt wanted to announce Racket 2.0 and Kopp’s hiring in a Monday live episode of ATW. He also planned to announce that ATW would be scaled back to Friday only. (Half the episodes)
Walter refused to go on the air in protest of some or all of this—he didn’t want to praise the announcements on the live show, and in fact didn’t want to be associated with Racket 2.0 at all.
I’m speculating more about why Matt wanted to scale down ATW in the first place, and why he was making all those comments about being done with takes. And what I saw as his discomfort during the final episodes (which could be wrong—I’m not Matt.)
I don't think it's impossible for two people who disagree to work amicably together—that makes things more interesting, rather than two people reinforcing each other.
I found Matt much too deferential, which made an equal-partner-participation podcast unworkable. And the same thing happened with Today's News.
It takes a certain personality to make disagreements interesting and fun, and sadly none of them have it. (Matt, Walter, or Michael) They all take it too personally.
Matt's basically a gentle guy, and he's sometimes been deferential with all of his podcast hosts, who've often wanted their opinions to be the last word (Katie Halper was maybe the biggest culprit of this). Matt's interview with Medhi Hasan was a catastrophe, because he trusted Hasan to play it straight with him, and Hasan had a very different agenda.
I think Matt and Michael can make this show work. I think debunking our rapidly accelerating conspiracy culture is maybe the most needed thing in this world right now. Maybe Matt and Michael need guests more often, or maybe a neutral moderating figure for thrid mic (the gentleman they had on a few episodes ago would be perfect for something like this). I like Michael's reporting quite a bit, and I find him amusing, but maybe he does need to a bit more mindful of not monopolizing conversations, and be a bit more willing to interrogate all sides of a discussion, and not favor his own opinion so blatantly.
Agreed! I said pretty much the same thing a few weeks ago (before Michael). Matt's just a generally affable, laid back guy.
I'd like to see a mix of co-hosts. It would be great, to me, to see him do it with Walter, Michael, and a couple of others...maybe on a rotating basis, or maybe just with journalists as the news of the day would dictate.
I'm pretty sure many/most decent reporters/writers would be down for that with Matt!
This is probably the best idea. Taibbi and Tracey could continue their project of consipiracy-debunking, but Matt doing a weekly talk with someone who has an important article, book or viral political or media moment floating around would be a strong feature. Taibbi has the clout to get the big fish, and it would be great for the overall subscriber health of Racket. He could talk to some of his colleagues and acquaintances we haven't seen him in discussion with for some time like Thomas Frank, Adolph Reed, Seymour Hersh, Aaron Mate, CJ Hopkins, and Glenn Greenwald, and offset with some interesting right-leaning types like Chris Rufo, Anna Khachiyan, Lomez, and Ben Shapiro.
If he and Walter could make amends to do an occasional America This Week, that would be great too, especially for the quality lit discussion.
I’d bet Matt is a super nice guy who you’d love as a neighbor. I actually think he is the perfect co-host since it stays classy since he’s not vying for time and attention. Keep both Walter and Tracey somehow.
That sounds great, but something tells me Tracey and Kirn would rage at one another, and it wouldn't take long. I'd love to see Matt do a weekly with Tracey and maybe twice a month with Walter, with the book review portion, but that ship may have sailed.
If Matt could keep both Walter and Tracey classy, I'd say go for it, but I wonder how well that would actually go. Maybe "mystery producer" Greg Collard needs to take a mic, as a moderator, and to keep things going.
I honestly though Matt was actually pretty in conctrol in last Friday's episode. He actually spoke up in a way he often didn't with Walter, and asserted that he felt right on the basis of facts in the argument. Michael's personality is just one that isn't going to back off of a topic. He's contrarian to a fault which is often pretty hilarious but in that case he really needed to let it go 5 minutes in and move on.
I agree. I noticed that Matt was more assertive with Tracey than with Kirn.
I don’t think TN ended because of the last episode being tense. I think it’s because Racket was hemorrhaging subscribers, comments were awful, and Tracey was making it worse by insulting people in return.
But I also think Matt really didn’t enjoy the last episode.
I'd be curious about what the subscriber base looks like. I actually really have enjoyed the pivot back to more basic reporting, a wider portfolio of stories (including some basic - what's going on in DC - stuff). And I liked the MT + MT combo. I kind of found it hilarious that Matt picked up so many MAGA/MAGA adjacent folks because of Walter that it was a bit of a revelation when he started criticizing the administration, but as a long time Reader of Taibbi I feel like it's a return to form.
I agree, and I think Tracey is a great guest to have on once every few months as an antidote to some of the problems that had developed with Kirn. However, he is not absolutely not fit to be the regular co-host of the type of show Matt wants to run. He is just too unlikeable.
Yep. I saw the same thing with Matt and Walter. Matt is no ones "token liberal". I really don't see him as a liberal for that matter. He doesn't really fall into either partisan trench in my view. But he seemed to be compelled to assume that mantle w/ Walter a lot of the time.
I don't mind Michael. I like Walter. But too much of ANYTHING can be too much!
I'd like to see him mix it up with different people.
As long as they have a nose for the news, aren't nauseatingly opinionated, and say interesting things about interesting topics
You've made several comments here today. Each of them contains your utter conjectures about what the various personalities "think", who podcast participants are "loyal to", whether Walter would "throw a tantrum", individual's "personality" deficiencies, hosts and cohosts "taking things personally". You seem to fancy yourself a keen observer of human behavior and associated thought.
I think not.
You were clearly a fan of Tracey as you stepped in each TW episode to scold those who objected to Tracey's behavior. It is as though you were a kindergarten teacher trying to rule your class.
You do seem to be obsessed with Trump. Most folks are not.
I'd recommend getting on with your life elsewhere. If you can't see the unsuitability of Tracey to a tandem podcast or the think-skinned Emily Kopp to editorial functions I'd say you have lost the plot.
If you would have paid attention to what Kirn said about the parting instead of the voices in your own head, you'd be aware that Taibbi cut Kirn's time in half and that (my assumption) freed up cash to share with Kopp and Tracey. Walter did not take that well - apparently there was some history with her and Kirn.
Who knows what the future will hold but I'm not sure that Matt being "comfortable" with Walter is important. What is important is putting out a product that people like.
It was 💯 the "Matt and Walter Show" that pushed me to subscribe. Their chemistry is extraordinary. Whether they agreed or disagreed with each other, or were just having a laugh, it was uplifting.
In our world of soundbites and recycled talking points, these kindred spirits brought out the best in another.
Well, change IS hard, for sure. Recognizing the mistakes and changing the change are the hallmarks of leadership. The format didn't produce the outcome desired and moving on with a new or revised plan is the right call. The rollout of EK setting tone was a hard left turn away from Walter. Admittedly, Walter had a tendency to bloviate, buy by and large he had a more centrist and common sense position. Emily's editorship was far from neutral and, at least to me, off-putting. I'm back...maybe, we'll see.
i enjoyed walter & matt’s ATW and was sure to watch if i missed it live.
i did notice walter seemed to becoming increasingly inebriated on maga storylines and perhaps for a while so was i.
but the donald kept yapping his trap without humility, decency or common bloody sense and i have since stopped listening. the red teams best move imho would be to vote yes when the blue team takes over and impeaches him once again. JD Vance takes over, rights the ship, reaching out to old school democrats to rebuild US economy & manufacturing.
Matt - sorry things didn’t work out as planned. Sometimes you need to take that step to realize that. Speaking for the masses, we would all love to see you and Walter bring the ATW band back together
Sorry things haven’t been going according to plan Matt. We are all here for one thing primarily though, and that is to read what you write. However you decide to go about that is irrelevant as long as we can count on your wit, humor, and dedication to honest journalism to shine through.
The writing of course, but the discussions with Walter (whose name I had not encountered prior to ATW) were also delightful and instructive. Even if I was too busy to listen in the moment, I always found them worth going back to, even weeks later. A second volume would not be the worst idea.
"Delightful" is an excellent word to describe ATW. Walter is a Puck ( I had a therapist tell me that I had the "Puck Syndrome" or impish desire to cause trouble like making your sister laugh in church or your boss tell a bold face lie). It is probably the gypsy in him. On "Gutfeld" he always looks like the cat who swallowed the canary. I also like the word "instructive". ATW made me think and it had fresh ideas because of, not is spite of, it being a conversation. The current TN mostly covered things and opinions I already knew about and was too inside the beltway and not really a conversation. ATW was the common sense of rural America and the grit and abrasiveness of the city.
Oh no what happened on last week's episode? I guess I'll have to go watch. It is my secret hope that you and Walter can get the band back together. We never finished Brave New World.
It was actually one of the better episodes especially the discussion about the Supreme Court, where Michael had some really deep knowledge. At the end things got heated talking about Russia Gate, but that’s what makes this podcast unique. It’s good to hear normal disagreements like this.
I have incredible patience, but the last 45 minutes or so sounded like Matt and Michael beating a dead horse—the trouble was, they were beating two different dead horses.
I have not listened in a couple weeks, but tried last week. Not sure about Tracey's knowledge, deep or otherwise. But "but the last 45 minutes or so" just turned me off. So I turned it off.
How so? What's left to say about RussiaGate unless you're dealing with someone who still buys it/hasn't entirely managed to wriggle out of that sock-leg?
Matt I have long admired you and your skills, also watched your Dad for many years. Of course I don’t know you but you strike me as a nice guy that is conflict adverse. I think due to that some people may take advantage of your kindness and civility and mistake that for weakness. They are wrong. What you have dealt with over the years contradicts that opinion.
Your readers appreciate you too much to give up on you just because of whatever turmoil has happened behind the scenes. So typical of you to be classy and not throw anyone under the bus or violate any confidences. I hope the people that work at Racket truly appreciate that. To be frank I think the difference between you and Michael is that you have kids and I can tell that you want to be a decent role model for them. It’s so refreshing to read someone like you and follow you on X. Your civility is refreshing. I think if Michael has a daughter one day he may regret some of his misogynistic behavior.
Thank you Matt, keep on truckin’ and never give up!
Wow! Nicely said. And yes, only someone tough as nails could stand up against the tide the way you've done, Matt, so anyone who mistakes your kindness for weakness is a fool.
I listened to ATW regularly with Walter. Michael - who I enjoy on X - was not an ATW fit for me and tuned out.
I think Al nailed it. Whether or not being a dad has the specific impact, I believe Matt is someone who will challenge the status quo, authority, "the way things are generally accepted" with humility and facts. Michael has a lot of positives but he's a"burn the ships" personality. That's not Matt.
We’re with you, Matt! The Experiment with Michael didn’t work.. personally I have a big vote for Walter returning.. thoroughly enjoyed the two of you exploring various topics together and the book program.. anyway happy you moved away from Michael..
Matt asked me not to publish what I've written about this, so briefly: Walter Kirn quit over my hiring but never told me why, and never told you why. He barks at his own followers when they ask. My desire to stand up for myself against the smear campaign by vague implication is the main factor that dissolved our partnership.
The rewards of this industry are too meager for me to get very worked up about the derailment of my media career and reputation.
But I do get a sick, sad feeling when I think about what we were building. I wanted to do big, ambitious, beautifully written and presented investigations that legacy media wouldn't touch. I wanted to publish reporters and writers nobody else would.
It would have been a cool, rare and deeply necessary place on the Internet. I apologize to the people who rooted for us.
Walter, as much as I wish he had stayed, had every right to quit for whatever reason he chose — and to keep it to himself if he preferred.
You're not doing yourself any favors with this "vague posting." That was the phrase you used before, when you came into the comments to discuss Walter, right?
You might want to consider that your attempts at self-defense do more harm than good when you're speaking to people who don't know who you are or why you're actually here. That was certainly the case right after Walter left, and it's no more helpful now.
My best guess was that his issue was with some of my reporting about the NIH. My preference was to talk about that reporting and relate it to the mission statement. It's important to seek truth even when it pisses off beloved public officials. But maybe I'm wrong. Only one person knows for sure.
Everyone knows you get excited about gain of function. You are still pissed off that RFKJr has not banned it. Fair enough, but you seem to have mistaken an editor's role for that of a writer (Taibbi), or, God forbid, a publisher (Taibbi). You had an editorial role and apparently believe it gives you certain prerogatives that it did not. You got called on it and I think the heat in the kitchen was a bit too much.
"Vague". You use that word as an attack mode sword. In your first posting on Racket you made strange reference to Kirn "vague posting". I called you out for that comment and described it as gibberish. You replied in a way that was, in my view, nonsensical. Go back and read that thread if you don't recall. And now you use the word again. I do not think you know what it means.
A "smear campaign"? Methinks you are a tad paranoid.
Emily, thank you for the comment and explanation of your dream for Racket. I love Matt's writing and got a kick out of Walter as a "Walter ego" to Matt's straight up journalism. It's like finding out your teacher has a sense of humor. No apologies for pursuing a dream. God bless you guys.
Yes, this indeed is a brave new world and a frightening one. We need humor in order to through this and ATW was a successful podcast amongst a bunch of slop. By the way, check out "The Miniature Wife" on Peacock. Zany, crazy and dark at the same time. You have no idea what will happen next. Some of the wildest characters I've seen in a long time.
Thanks for the email Matt. Your writing is what it's always been about. While I loved the podcast with Walter, I understand that it may have had a lifespan and that we all figure out what we can manage in a week and where our energies need to go. As a small business owner I appreciate that you tried a few things and recognized when they weren't working. Whenever people take a leap on a new idea there's always the risk it may not work out and recognizing when it's time to regroup is the sign of both intelligence and humility. Wish you continued success as you do what you do so well - investigate and inform us of issues that deserve our attention. Well done!
I hope you and Walter repair whatever rupture happened. That podcast was special, man.
Agreed. IMO, your writing never suffered, Matt, but what you and Walter were able to create was unique. Your chemistry was a eureka moment; perhaps impossible for you to see from the inside.
Walter made Matt play higher level game, through his mystique and language , made Matt dig in his own box and come out with great takes and own anectodal insight.
Matt improved Walter, too.
Indeed, symbiosis .
Walter was great...Michael was fine, too...Id like to see Matt bring in a wide range of co-hosts/guests depending on the news that's going on, who's writing about which story, etc, etc.
Is Amanda now not there? That seems to be the case from what I read above. That's too bad. I never really got to see her stuff...
Anyhow...chaos is life I guess. Matt will figure it out!
I never missed an episode of ATW, and I like Walter…. but IMO, it had become uncomfortable for Matt.
The conspiracy theories, Walter’s loyalty to the administration. Matt was not on board with any of that, but he was too deferential to really argue (plus he knew it would result in Walter throwing a tantrum).
There must be a reason Matt decided to “spend more time writing” and “get out of the takes business” earlier this year, while scaling back ATW.
And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his new podcast criticized conspiracy theories, and the Trump administration. TN was a more authentic representation of what he really thinks.
ATW was special while it lasted, but I don’t think the answer is to bring it back. Walter genuinely thinks Trump is playing 5D chess, and Matt truly does not, and it just wouldn’t work.
Trying to recall where Walter "declared loyalty" to anyone. ......
It was pretty obvious to everyone, no?
It was more abou thow much energy he'd put into defending certain actions while then glossing over or not wanting to 'over analyze / over assume' others - largely down to which ones tended to help/hurt Trump.
I really liked listening to Walter. Found him legitimately funny and very well argued when he was on point. I also loved the literature talks. But for someone who has always liked Matt as a left of center person who wasn't afraid to highlight the hypocrisy of the left - I did start to find Walter's general encouragement of the MAGA position to undermine his stated desire to stick to facts and truth telling.
Not everything is about Trump. There is more to comment upon than Trump. Some people are not obsessed with Trump.
Bingo. This truth can't be repeated often enough. Trump is a manufactured obsession that is convenient for the democrats. Not everybody is obsessed with him.
Here's where I state that I don't give a shit about Trump one way or the other. I don't hate him, I don't love him, sometimes he's funny, sometimes he's crude. Sometimes he's incredibly effective. How many people have the ego to walk into the line of fire every damn day, and I mean literally, the line of fire?
What Trump is, at least for a while longer, is the duly elected President of the United States, and that's not nothing.
Walter talked over Matt all the time. He wasn't interested in what Matt had to say, he just wanted to talk. Despite his eloquence and obvious love of literature, Walter is not a sharer, while Matt is a generous, maybe too generous, sharer.
It was time for that partnership to end.
“Walter talked over Matt all the time.”
You can say that again, Beeswax. Loved ATW, even though I got tired of yelling at Walter to shut up and let Matt FINISH HIS SENTENCE ALREADY!
Looks like Israel is taking the place of Trump as a derangement syndrome.
Israel, Epstein and Trump have become intertwined to be one single derangement. See the latest would-be assassin's lame manifesto; the most normie manifesto ever, which maybe makes it more terrifying. He pointed at Trump as a "rapist, pedophile, and traitor." This just shows that all of our moral manias of the last decade — Trump, Pizzagate, "fascism," QAnon, Russiagate, MeToo, the racial reckoning/retconning, the "insurrection," ICE as Gestapo, Epstein and the rest — have congealed to be one derangement, but it all still revolves 100% around Trump.
Isn't that something? We humans can't seem to live without something or someone to hate, destroy, imitate, or worship.
T/I/EDS Interchangeability-SectionalityABCDEFQIA
Well, he’s got the cojones, that’s for sure.
"More to comment upon than Trump"??? What man, are you daft? Trump is a cultural black hole whose overwhelmingly gravitational force sucks everything into it, never to be seen again... The only thing outside of Trump might--might--be the Fifth Dimension.. But even that is not for sure.. ; )
Pharma working with FDA on TDS drugs….. can’t wait for the ads.
LOLOLOLOL
It's not easy to get more "not-Trump" than:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjxSCAalsBE
How come these two fine men can't disagree as to what Trump is about? I would like to hear the debate.
They just can’t. Neither one of them has the personality for a balanced and friendly debate about Trump, where all views are respected and everyone feels good about the conversation.
We saw the tension when they disagreed: Walter’s raised voice, Matt’s discomfort and avoidance. It isn’t going to happen with those two.
Thanks for your reply, Carina. I usually didn't watch the podcast, I read the transcript. So I may have been missing the rising tensions on the set. Maybe it is over, for good.
I'm still not going to take sides in this divorce.
That's what this is about???
I am very surprised; I did not hear/read whatever this was (I never watched their video-exchanges, I read the transcripts), but from what came before I would never have foreseen this trajectory. I certainly would not have taken Kirn for a Trump true-believer, especially not at this point (so I would readily believe that's a misdiagnosis of their conflict).
I think back to their exchange where Kirn coined the term "Luftreich" often; I have other names for it, but the way they clarified the existence of a "deep meta-state, hovering over the Atlantic" was very helpful.
Kim best described with portmanteau combining "shit" with "Hitler". Mat was on that little shitler's list.
I mean, I’m just speculating. The official explanation seems to be that Matt wanted to announce Racket 2.0 and Kopp’s hiring in a Monday live episode of ATW. He also planned to announce that ATW would be scaled back to Friday only. (Half the episodes)
Walter refused to go on the air in protest of some or all of this—he didn’t want to praise the announcements on the live show, and in fact didn’t want to be associated with Racket 2.0 at all.
I’m speculating more about why Matt wanted to scale down ATW in the first place, and why he was making all those comments about being done with takes. And what I saw as his discomfort during the final episodes (which could be wrong—I’m not Matt.)
I don't think it's impossible for two people who disagree to work amicably together—that makes things more interesting, rather than two people reinforcing each other.
I found Matt much too deferential, which made an equal-partner-participation podcast unworkable. And the same thing happened with Today's News.
It takes a certain personality to make disagreements interesting and fun, and sadly none of them have it. (Matt, Walter, or Michael) They all take it too personally.
Matt's basically a gentle guy, and he's sometimes been deferential with all of his podcast hosts, who've often wanted their opinions to be the last word (Katie Halper was maybe the biggest culprit of this). Matt's interview with Medhi Hasan was a catastrophe, because he trusted Hasan to play it straight with him, and Hasan had a very different agenda.
I think Matt and Michael can make this show work. I think debunking our rapidly accelerating conspiracy culture is maybe the most needed thing in this world right now. Maybe Matt and Michael need guests more often, or maybe a neutral moderating figure for thrid mic (the gentleman they had on a few episodes ago would be perfect for something like this). I like Michael's reporting quite a bit, and I find him amusing, but maybe he does need to a bit more mindful of not monopolizing conversations, and be a bit more willing to interrogate all sides of a discussion, and not favor his own opinion so blatantly.
Agreed! I said pretty much the same thing a few weeks ago (before Michael). Matt's just a generally affable, laid back guy.
I'd like to see a mix of co-hosts. It would be great, to me, to see him do it with Walter, Michael, and a couple of others...maybe on a rotating basis, or maybe just with journalists as the news of the day would dictate.
I'm pretty sure many/most decent reporters/writers would be down for that with Matt!
That would be cool.
This is probably the best idea. Taibbi and Tracey could continue their project of consipiracy-debunking, but Matt doing a weekly talk with someone who has an important article, book or viral political or media moment floating around would be a strong feature. Taibbi has the clout to get the big fish, and it would be great for the overall subscriber health of Racket. He could talk to some of his colleagues and acquaintances we haven't seen him in discussion with for some time like Thomas Frank, Adolph Reed, Seymour Hersh, Aaron Mate, CJ Hopkins, and Glenn Greenwald, and offset with some interesting right-leaning types like Chris Rufo, Anna Khachiyan, Lomez, and Ben Shapiro.
If he and Walter could make amends to do an occasional America This Week, that would be great too, especially for the quality lit discussion.
I’d bet Matt is a super nice guy who you’d love as a neighbor. I actually think he is the perfect co-host since it stays classy since he’s not vying for time and attention. Keep both Walter and Tracey somehow.
That sounds great, but something tells me Tracey and Kirn would rage at one another, and it wouldn't take long. I'd love to see Matt do a weekly with Tracey and maybe twice a month with Walter, with the book review portion, but that ship may have sailed.
If Matt could keep both Walter and Tracey classy, I'd say go for it, but I wonder how well that would actually go. Maybe "mystery producer" Greg Collard needs to take a mic, as a moderator, and to keep things going.
I honestly though Matt was actually pretty in conctrol in last Friday's episode. He actually spoke up in a way he often didn't with Walter, and asserted that he felt right on the basis of facts in the argument. Michael's personality is just one that isn't going to back off of a topic. He's contrarian to a fault which is often pretty hilarious but in that case he really needed to let it go 5 minutes in and move on.
I agree. I noticed that Matt was more assertive with Tracey than with Kirn.
I don’t think TN ended because of the last episode being tense. I think it’s because Racket was hemorrhaging subscribers, comments were awful, and Tracey was making it worse by insulting people in return.
But I also think Matt really didn’t enjoy the last episode.
I'd be curious about what the subscriber base looks like. I actually really have enjoyed the pivot back to more basic reporting, a wider portfolio of stories (including some basic - what's going on in DC - stuff). And I liked the MT + MT combo. I kind of found it hilarious that Matt picked up so many MAGA/MAGA adjacent folks because of Walter that it was a bit of a revelation when he started criticizing the administration, but as a long time Reader of Taibbi I feel like it's a return to form.
I agree, and I think Tracey is a great guest to have on once every few months as an antidote to some of the problems that had developed with Kirn. However, he is not absolutely not fit to be the regular co-host of the type of show Matt wants to run. He is just too unlikeable.
Yep. I saw the same thing with Matt and Walter. Matt is no ones "token liberal". I really don't see him as a liberal for that matter. He doesn't really fall into either partisan trench in my view. But he seemed to be compelled to assume that mantle w/ Walter a lot of the time.
I don't mind Michael. I like Walter. But too much of ANYTHING can be too much!
I'd like to see him mix it up with different people.
As long as they have a nose for the news, aren't nauseatingly opinionated, and say interesting things about interesting topics
He'll figure it out!!
If I'm honest... I agree with Carina 100 percent.
You've made several comments here today. Each of them contains your utter conjectures about what the various personalities "think", who podcast participants are "loyal to", whether Walter would "throw a tantrum", individual's "personality" deficiencies, hosts and cohosts "taking things personally". You seem to fancy yourself a keen observer of human behavior and associated thought.
I think not.
You were clearly a fan of Tracey as you stepped in each TW episode to scold those who objected to Tracey's behavior. It is as though you were a kindergarten teacher trying to rule your class.
You do seem to be obsessed with Trump. Most folks are not.
I'd recommend getting on with your life elsewhere. If you can't see the unsuitability of Tracey to a tandem podcast or the think-skinned Emily Kopp to editorial functions I'd say you have lost the plot.
You make a lot of assumptions about what Matt is or was thinking. Remember, he expected ATW to go live that afternoon, and wore Walter's hat.
Yes, Matt intended to continue ATW, but he wanted to scale back (only recording once per week).
Obviously I could have this totally wrong, but my read is that his discomfort probably contributed.
If you would have paid attention to what Kirn said about the parting instead of the voices in your own head, you'd be aware that Taibbi cut Kirn's time in half and that (my assumption) freed up cash to share with Kopp and Tracey. Walter did not take that well - apparently there was some history with her and Kirn.
Who knows what the future will hold but I'm not sure that Matt being "comfortable" with Walter is important. What is important is putting out a product that people like.
It was 💯 the "Matt and Walter Show" that pushed me to subscribe. Their chemistry is extraordinary. Whether they agreed or disagreed with each other, or were just having a laugh, it was uplifting.
In our world of soundbites and recycled talking points, these kindred spirits brought out the best in another.
Agree. And I've been thinking of unsubscribing now because I don't read any of the content and never listen because I don't like the audio format.
Yes.
The best podcast I had went totally away and now I’m left with second tier alternatives. America this week let’s go…round 2
It was indeed, and I hope for this as well.
🙏🏻
C’est vrai!
Kudos to you Matt. Admitting that a big decision didn’t work out takes guts that 99 percent of people in your position don’t have.
Rare anyone admits mistakes, that’s true.
Appreciate the transparency. Change is hard. Many of us miss Walter and more Taibbi by-lines.
I second the motion.
Third. Still here, and I ain't a goin nowhere.
Well, change IS hard, for sure. Recognizing the mistakes and changing the change are the hallmarks of leadership. The format didn't produce the outcome desired and moving on with a new or revised plan is the right call. The rollout of EK setting tone was a hard left turn away from Walter. Admittedly, Walter had a tendency to bloviate, buy by and large he had a more centrist and common sense position. Emily's editorship was far from neutral and, at least to me, off-putting. I'm back...maybe, we'll see.
The "liked by Emily" for comments exclusively supportive to her was a bad look.
Of course Michael's nasty comments to those criticizing him were completely childlike.
You and Walter were a great pairing and it hasn’t been the same since the change.
i enjoyed walter & matt’s ATW and was sure to watch if i missed it live.
i did notice walter seemed to becoming increasingly inebriated on maga storylines and perhaps for a while so was i.
but the donald kept yapping his trap without humility, decency or common bloody sense and i have since stopped listening. the red teams best move imho would be to vote yes when the blue team takes over and impeaches him once again. JD Vance takes over, rights the ship, reaching out to old school democrats to rebuild US economy & manufacturing.
one can dream.
I'd be interested to hear Walter's take on the war.
Matt - sorry things didn’t work out as planned. Sometimes you need to take that step to realize that. Speaking for the masses, we would all love to see you and Walter bring the ATW band back together
Some things are great, but are still gone forever. For example, Gogol. Or Dostoevsky. Or ATW.
Sorry things haven’t been going according to plan Matt. We are all here for one thing primarily though, and that is to read what you write. However you decide to go about that is irrelevant as long as we can count on your wit, humor, and dedication to honest journalism to shine through.
👍
The writing of course, but the discussions with Walter (whose name I had not encountered prior to ATW) were also delightful and instructive. Even if I was too busy to listen in the moment, I always found them worth going back to, even weeks later. A second volume would not be the worst idea.
Ditto
"Delightful" is an excellent word to describe ATW. Walter is a Puck ( I had a therapist tell me that I had the "Puck Syndrome" or impish desire to cause trouble like making your sister laugh in church or your boss tell a bold face lie). It is probably the gypsy in him. On "Gutfeld" he always looks like the cat who swallowed the canary. I also like the word "instructive". ATW made me think and it had fresh ideas because of, not is spite of, it being a conversation. The current TN mostly covered things and opinions I already knew about and was too inside the beltway and not really a conversation. ATW was the common sense of rural America and the grit and abrasiveness of the city.
Oh no what happened on last week's episode? I guess I'll have to go watch. It is my secret hope that you and Walter can get the band back together. We never finished Brave New World.
It was actually one of the better episodes especially the discussion about the Supreme Court, where Michael had some really deep knowledge. At the end things got heated talking about Russia Gate, but that’s what makes this podcast unique. It’s good to hear normal disagreements like this.
I have incredible patience, but the last 45 minutes or so sounded like Matt and Michael beating a dead horse—the trouble was, they were beating two different dead horses.
I have not listened in a couple weeks, but tried last week. Not sure about Tracey's knowledge, deep or otherwise. But "but the last 45 minutes or so" just turned me off. So I turned it off.
Haven’t listened in weeks.
How so? What's left to say about RussiaGate unless you're dealing with someone who still buys it/hasn't entirely managed to wriggle out of that sock-leg?
Also read the comments on the last episode. I've never seen a Substack comment section start to look like Twitterx before.
Read the comments from the episode.
Matt I have long admired you and your skills, also watched your Dad for many years. Of course I don’t know you but you strike me as a nice guy that is conflict adverse. I think due to that some people may take advantage of your kindness and civility and mistake that for weakness. They are wrong. What you have dealt with over the years contradicts that opinion.
Your readers appreciate you too much to give up on you just because of whatever turmoil has happened behind the scenes. So typical of you to be classy and not throw anyone under the bus or violate any confidences. I hope the people that work at Racket truly appreciate that. To be frank I think the difference between you and Michael is that you have kids and I can tell that you want to be a decent role model for them. It’s so refreshing to read someone like you and follow you on X. Your civility is refreshing. I think if Michael has a daughter one day he may regret some of his misogynistic behavior.
Thank you Matt, keep on truckin’ and never give up!
Wow! Nicely said. And yes, only someone tough as nails could stand up against the tide the way you've done, Matt, so anyone who mistakes your kindness for weakness is a fool.
I listened to ATW regularly with Walter. Michael - who I enjoy on X - was not an ATW fit for me and tuned out.
I think Al nailed it. Whether or not being a dad has the specific impact, I believe Matt is someone who will challenge the status quo, authority, "the way things are generally accepted" with humility and facts. Michael has a lot of positives but he's a"burn the ships" personality. That's not Matt.
Having kids changes everything, that’s for sure.
I love this comment!!
Probably the right call. Haven't been a fan of the recent changes. Full respect for correcting course.
We’re with you, Matt! The Experiment with Michael didn’t work.. personally I have a big vote for Walter returning.. thoroughly enjoyed the two of you exploring various topics together and the book program.. anyway happy you moved away from Michael..
I really enjoyed Matt and Walter delving into important novels.
Appreciate you Matt!
Matt asked me not to publish what I've written about this, so briefly: Walter Kirn quit over my hiring but never told me why, and never told you why. He barks at his own followers when they ask. My desire to stand up for myself against the smear campaign by vague implication is the main factor that dissolved our partnership.
The rewards of this industry are too meager for me to get very worked up about the derailment of my media career and reputation.
But I do get a sick, sad feeling when I think about what we were building. I wanted to do big, ambitious, beautifully written and presented investigations that legacy media wouldn't touch. I wanted to publish reporters and writers nobody else would.
It would have been a cool, rare and deeply necessary place on the Internet. I apologize to the people who rooted for us.
Walter, as much as I wish he had stayed, had every right to quit for whatever reason he chose — and to keep it to himself if he preferred.
You're not doing yourself any favors with this "vague posting." That was the phrase you used before, when you came into the comments to discuss Walter, right?
You might want to consider that your attempts at self-defense do more harm than good when you're speaking to people who don't know who you are or why you're actually here. That was certainly the case right after Walter left, and it's no more helpful now.
I recall you doing a fair share of barking at subscribers.
Jim
Thanks for weighing in.
Are you saying you left because you wanted to publish something defending yourself, and Matt said no?
I’m still confused, especially since (like you said) Walter didn’t say why he has a problem with you. So I’m not sure what there was to refute.
My best guess was that his issue was with some of my reporting about the NIH. My preference was to talk about that reporting and relate it to the mission statement. It's important to seek truth even when it pisses off beloved public officials. But maybe I'm wrong. Only one person knows for sure.
Everyone knows you get excited about gain of function. You are still pissed off that RFKJr has not banned it. Fair enough, but you seem to have mistaken an editor's role for that of a writer (Taibbi), or, God forbid, a publisher (Taibbi). You had an editorial role and apparently believe it gives you certain prerogatives that it did not. You got called on it and I think the heat in the kitchen was a bit too much.
So why would you guess in a way that could only be interpreted as self serving? Your self awareness seems off.
I'd be more interested in hearing what you have learned from this experience?
"Vague". You use that word as an attack mode sword. In your first posting on Racket you made strange reference to Kirn "vague posting". I called you out for that comment and described it as gibberish. You replied in a way that was, in my view, nonsensical. Go back and read that thread if you don't recall. And now you use the word again. I do not think you know what it means.
A "smear campaign"? Methinks you are a tad paranoid.
https://x.com/walterkirn/status/2036523907981910317
Thanks. I try not to pay attention to X so missed that.
Jesus, it's like middle school.
Emily, thank you for the comment and explanation of your dream for Racket. I love Matt's writing and got a kick out of Walter as a "Walter ego" to Matt's straight up journalism. It's like finding out your teacher has a sense of humor. No apologies for pursuing a dream. God bless you guys.
I'm very sorry to hear about this:(
no need for another podcast, the writing is what got us all here.
Writing is good, but after Matt and Walter showed us what was possible, I would still love a podcast.
Yes, this indeed is a brave new world and a frightening one. We need humor in order to through this and ATW was a successful podcast amongst a bunch of slop. By the way, check out "The Miniature Wife" on Peacock. Zany, crazy and dark at the same time. You have no idea what will happen next. Some of the wildest characters I've seen in a long time.
I don't believe we all feel that way. Many of us came to be subscribers because of ATW and then found the articles good.
Thanks for the email Matt. Your writing is what it's always been about. While I loved the podcast with Walter, I understand that it may have had a lifespan and that we all figure out what we can manage in a week and where our energies need to go. As a small business owner I appreciate that you tried a few things and recognized when they weren't working. Whenever people take a leap on a new idea there's always the risk it may not work out and recognizing when it's time to regroup is the sign of both intelligence and humility. Wish you continued success as you do what you do so well - investigate and inform us of issues that deserve our attention. Well done!
Great comment.
Matt, what you and Walter did worked because both of you respected each other. Find someone like that next time.