We Have Some Questions for Isaac Chotiner About 2024
The Political Scene | The New Yorker
WNYC Studios and The New Yorker
4.2 • 3.3K Ratings
🗓️ 18 December 2024
⏱️ 29 minutes
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Summary
From the conflict in Gaza and the war in Ukraine to political chaos across Europe and the reëlection of Donald Trump, 2024 has been among the most tumultuous years in recent memory. Isaac Chotiner, the primary contributor to The New Yorker’s Q. & A. segment, has been following it all. He joins the show to reflect on his favorite interviews of the year, and to discuss 2024’s two biggest stories: the violence in Gaza and the reëlection of Donald Trump. Chotiner also talks about Joe Biden’s legacy, and his view on how Biden’s Presidency will be regarded by history.
This week’s reading:
- “The Year in Brain Rot,” by Jessica Winter
- “Luigi Mangione and the Making of a Modern Antihero,” by Jessica Winter
- “Syria After Assad,” by Robin Wright
- “In South Korea, a Blueprint for Resisting Autocracy?,” by E. Tammy Kim
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| 0:00.0 | At the end of each year, we have a tendency to say that it was a crazy year, but I feel like in |
| 0:11.1 | 2024, this was actually the case. And New Yorker staff writer Isaac Chautner was across it all. |
| 0:17.6 | Chotner is known for his Q&As with high-profile people in politics, media, tech, and more. |
| 0:22.8 | He joins his show to reflect on two of the biggest stories from the last year, the war in Gaza and |
| 0:27.9 | the re-election of Donald Trump. You're listening to The Political Scene. I'm Tyler Foggett, |
| 0:33.3 | and I'm a senior editor at The New Yorker. |
| 0:39.3 | Hey, Isaac. |
| 0:40.2 | Thanks so much for being here. |
| 0:41.7 | Thanks for having me. |
| 0:42.7 | I'm excited to have you on for another year-end episode. |
| 0:46.3 | It's become, I guess, something of a tradition now that this is the second time we're doing it. |
| 0:51.3 | I'm not sure about a tradition, but we can make it one for sure. |
| 0:54.7 | Maybe I can, we'll see. Maybe after we do it for the third time, it'll officially be a tradition. |
| 0:59.9 | You know, for this year's episode, I just want to start with the conflict in Gaza and the broader |
| 1:05.5 | Middle East. You've conducted well over a dozen interviews on the subject this year alone, |
| 1:14.6 | and I'm curious which of them stood out the most to you and why? |
| 1:25.0 | You know, I think what I was trying to do and my editor was trying to do when we were doing these interviews was answer a couple questions. |
| 1:30.1 | One was about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and what was going on with people there. And the second question sort of speaking broadly was what the Biden administration |
| 1:35.0 | was trying to accomplish with its Gaza policy. So I think broadly speaking, those were the two |
| 1:40.1 | types of interviews that we ran. And the humanitarian situation there, which, you know, the magazine |
| 1:46.0 | has covered a good amount. I think people might have some awareness of it. The situation with the |
| 1:51.8 | Biden administration was very interesting to me just because I thought just as someone following |
... |
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