Listened to an hour of this. Then just quit the tab. Not much new, not much interpretation. Traceyt is nearly insufferable. To say nothing of he has a face for radio, not video.
Long story short, it was a wasted hour. Not sure I will come back for next week's offering.
I was a faithful listener to ATW, but I can understand why some people wanted to move on, whether they're admitting they wanted to move on or not.
I'm really enjoying the new show, and it's settling into something. It is a very different show, and some non-insane journalistic skepticism is important right now.
Thanks for the surprise episode! The Cuba thing is wild and under-discussed right now, for obvious reasons, but people like Rubio and Cruz really want Cuba to be next.
The hosts' disagreement (over whether Iran was foreseeable) relates to something I've observed in the past year: The entire country is still obsessed with 2024 election. Whether the country got it right or wrong, whether individuals got it right or wrong.
I often notice that Democrats, in particular, want Trump voters to regret their vote. They care about this more than they care about the real-world consequences of events, to the point where they almost want an apocalypse just so they can say "See? See??? You were wrong in 2024!!"
As someone who was undecided until the very end, and voted Harris, I found myself in the same trap for a while. Seeing everything through the lens of "where I stand on Trump." First I regretted my vote, then I regretted regretting my vote, and I went back and forth until I realized it was a huge waste of energy.
2024 is over. There were 2 awful choices, and I don't blame anyone for gambling one way verses another. While she's at home with her wine, it's easy to see Kamala as "the person who wouldn't have done xyz" -- but she would have done different bad things.
Nobody knows whether we would be in a better place now. We'll never know. We just need to talk about what is happening in 2026.
Cuba is the next big discussion, which is why Hasan Piker, Kneecap and their band of povery-touring merry idiots are trying to get ahead of the conversation. They’re not helping Cuba's case, as they have terrible rap concerts and live streams while the rest of the island is plunged into darkness.
I personally didn't vote in 2024, and I don't regret it, but I can't begrudge anyone for the choice they made. We should all try to avoid spin, guilt-tripping, and histrionics and see how all of this stuff pans out. Trump is still unpopular, but not as unpopular as the Democrats, who haven't figured out how to not be just awful. My hope for 2028: make politics boring again.
Matt, what I miss the most about your new livestreams is the nuance, smart humor, insightful ironies and literary references that you and Walter shared with each other. It educated us and opened our minds to all sorts of ways of looking at the news. I mourn the loss.
Love the new pod. It's nice to hear two sensible people discuss opposition to the Iranian war without leaning on some version of Israel/Epstein/Charlie Kirk.
Enjoying the new version of Racket, and the commenters will come around. I get the feeling the "new editor" won't be around much longer, if she's not gone already (which would probably be for the best).
Matt, I'd love to see you (with Michael or alone) discuss Iran, Cuba and the like with some smart, non-conspiratorial voices who are at least quasi-pro-Iran war like Martin Gurri, Eli Lake or Michael Moynihan. I'd love to hear from some smart, reasonable anti-Iran war voices too, but I'm not sure who that is really. Most people are bringing some sort form of the Epstein/Israel/Charlie Kirk triumvirate into the discussion and/or have some Trump-damaged paranoia.
Did Michael try to elbow Matt out of his own scoop on the Russia Iran thing or am I misunderstanding? “Come talk to me if you’re more comfortable?” Wtf?
Every job I’ve had required a probationary period. If I wasn’t a match, no judgement , it was just understood that it was time for another job.
Listened to an hour of this. Then just quit the tab. Not much new, not much interpretation. Traceyt is nearly insufferable. To say nothing of he has a face for radio, not video.
Long story short, it was a wasted hour. Not sure I will come back for next week's offering.
Agree almost totally. Except Tracey is not NEARLY insufferable.
I also watched for the first time today. It's not bad, but very different from ATW.
When I watched Matt and Walter, I saw two writers discussing current events and, importantly, books they loved.
When I watch Matt and Michael, I see two journalists talking shop. It's not uninteresting, it's just not the same.
Also, like him or not, Walter often comes up with incisive and hilarious one-liners .
All in all, I miss him.
I was a faithful listener to ATW, but I can understand why some people wanted to move on, whether they're admitting they wanted to move on or not.
I'm really enjoying the new show, and it's settling into something. It is a very different show, and some non-insane journalistic skepticism is important right now.
Thanks for the surprise episode! The Cuba thing is wild and under-discussed right now, for obvious reasons, but people like Rubio and Cruz really want Cuba to be next.
The hosts' disagreement (over whether Iran was foreseeable) relates to something I've observed in the past year: The entire country is still obsessed with 2024 election. Whether the country got it right or wrong, whether individuals got it right or wrong.
I often notice that Democrats, in particular, want Trump voters to regret their vote. They care about this more than they care about the real-world consequences of events, to the point where they almost want an apocalypse just so they can say "See? See??? You were wrong in 2024!!"
As someone who was undecided until the very end, and voted Harris, I found myself in the same trap for a while. Seeing everything through the lens of "where I stand on Trump." First I regretted my vote, then I regretted regretting my vote, and I went back and forth until I realized it was a huge waste of energy.
2024 is over. There were 2 awful choices, and I don't blame anyone for gambling one way verses another. While she's at home with her wine, it's easy to see Kamala as "the person who wouldn't have done xyz" -- but she would have done different bad things.
Nobody knows whether we would be in a better place now. We'll never know. We just need to talk about what is happening in 2026.
Cuba is the next big discussion, which is why Hasan Piker, Kneecap and their band of povery-touring merry idiots are trying to get ahead of the conversation. They’re not helping Cuba's case, as they have terrible rap concerts and live streams while the rest of the island is plunged into darkness.
I personally didn't vote in 2024, and I don't regret it, but I can't begrudge anyone for the choice they made. We should all try to avoid spin, guilt-tripping, and histrionics and see how all of this stuff pans out. Trump is still unpopular, but not as unpopular as the Democrats, who haven't figured out how to not be just awful. My hope for 2028: make politics boring again.
Matt, what I miss the most about your new livestreams is the nuance, smart humor, insightful ironies and literary references that you and Walter shared with each other. It educated us and opened our minds to all sorts of ways of looking at the news. I mourn the loss.
Love the new pod. It's nice to hear two sensible people discuss opposition to the Iranian war without leaning on some version of Israel/Epstein/Charlie Kirk.
Enjoying the new version of Racket, and the commenters will come around. I get the feeling the "new editor" won't be around much longer, if she's not gone already (which would probably be for the best).
Matt, I'd love to see you (with Michael or alone) discuss Iran, Cuba and the like with some smart, non-conspiratorial voices who are at least quasi-pro-Iran war like Martin Gurri, Eli Lake or Michael Moynihan. I'd love to hear from some smart, reasonable anti-Iran war voices too, but I'm not sure who that is really. Most people are bringing some sort form of the Epstein/Israel/Charlie Kirk triumvirate into the discussion and/or have some Trump-damaged paranoia.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…….
Tapping out
Did Michael try to elbow Matt out of his own scoop on the Russia Iran thing or am I misunderstanding? “Come talk to me if you’re more comfortable?” Wtf?