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On Brand with Donny Deutsch

Eugene Robinson on the Fall of the Washington Post, Race in America & His New Book Freedom Lost, Freedom Won

On Brand with Donny Deutsch

Donny Deutsch Podcast Admin

Entertainment News, News, Arts, News Commentary

4.6896 Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded on February 10th, 2026. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and MSNBC analyst Eugene Robinson joins Donny for a candid, wide-ranging conversation that pulls no punches. Eugene opens up about the painful decline of the Washington Post — the paper where he spent 45 years of his career — and what Jeff Bezos's leadership decisions mean for the future of American journalism. He and Donny break down the politics behind the massive layoffs, the closure of international bureaus, and why cozying up to power is a losing game for a free press. Then, the conversation shifts to the cultural moment: the surprising backlash to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show performance and what the uproar over a Spanish-speaking performer says about where America stands today. Eugene also dives deep into his powerful new book, Freedom Lost, Freedom Won: A Personal History of America — a sweeping, intimate look at 200 years of American racial history told through the lens of his own family. From his great-grandfather's rise and fall under Jim Crow, to his own personal memories of segregation in South Carolina, to his father's final message about progress — this is a conversation about how far we've come and how much further we still need to go. Don't miss this essential conversation with one of America's most respected journalists and thinkers. 📖 Freedom Lost, Freedom Won — available now wherever books are sold. Be sure to check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On Brand with Donny Deutsch YouTube page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:25.8

From nonsensical maths quiz, number wang, to finding out what James Bond is really like as a party guest.

0:31.5

There's something for everyone.

0:34.9

Hello, MOTT, AAT.

0:37.2

Yes, that's right. This is the Ministry of Things that are apparently true. Yes, that's right.

0:38.3

This is the Ministry of Things that are apparently true.

0:40.8

Yes, we do exist.

0:41.7

The rumours are true, ironically.

0:43.7

Start listening to That Mitchell and Webb Sound,

0:46.2

the complete series 1 to 5 on Spotify now.

0:50.9

This is it.

0:52.4

The world, as you know it, is over.

0:59.0

Completely done. It's not about to be over. It's over. Some of the scientists who helped build AI are now sounding the alarm.

1:04.0

I was selling AI as a great thing for decades, and I was wrong. I was wrong.

1:12.4

There is a longer term existential threat that will arise when we create digital beings

1:17.2

that are more intelligent than ourselves. We have no idea whether we can stay in control.

1:22.7

While others say that AI will usher in unfathomable abundance.

1:26.7

I've always believed that it's going to be the most important invention that humanity will ever make.

1:31.4

This really will be a world of abundance.

1:34.1

And among these fears and these fantasies, we seek the story of our future.

1:39.5

Listen to the last invention on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcast.

1:57.8

I got a real treat today, Pulitzer Prize winner, an old friend of mine, U.. You know him, of course, from MS Now. He's a big-time analyst there. He's a contributing writer at The Atlantic. He's a former Martian Post associate editor and author. He's got his new book out, Freedom Lost, Freedom One, and Personal History of America, which is fascinating. Thanks for doing the show. Welcome back, sir. Hey, great to be here, Donnie. Thanks for inviting me. Well, first, let's talk about your old stomping grounds of the Washington Post. It's been a rough, rough go. As somebody who was who kind of poured their guts into that place and was such a big part of that place, it's got to be hard to watch what's going on there.

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