Episode description

The Washington Roundtable is joined by Atul Gawande, the former head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, to discuss Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s rapid-fire dismantling of the agency. They explore the life-and-death implications of the Trump Administration ending foreign aid, why the agency was targeted, and which federal agencies might be next.  

This week’s reading:

• “Behind the Chaotic Attempt to Freeze Federal Assistance,” by Atul Gawande
• “Elon Musk’s Revolutionary Terror,” by Susan B. Glasser
• “Donald Trump’s Madness on Gaza,” by David Remnick
• “How Donald Trump Is Transforming Executive Power,” by Isaac Chotiner
• “What Happened to the Trump Resistance?” by Brady Brickner-Wood
• “Donald Trump’s Anti-Woke Wrecking Ball,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells
• “Trump’s Trade War Is Only Getting Going,” by John Cassidy

To discover more podcasts from The New Yorker, visit newyorker.com/podcasts. To send in feedback on this episode, write to themail@newyorker.com with “The Political Scene” in the subject line.