In “Great Expectations,” Vinson Cunningham Watches Barack Obama’s Rise Up Close

In “Great Expectations,” Vinson Cunningham Watches Barack Obama’s Rise Up Close

Like most Americans, Vinson Cunningham first became aware of Barack Obama in 2004, when he gave a breakout speech at the Democratic National Convention. “Very good posture, that guy,” Cunningham noted. “We hang our faith on objects, on people, based on the signs that they put out,” Cunningham tells David Remnick. “And that’s certainly been a factor in my own life. The rapid and urgent search for patterns.” Although Cunningham aspired to be a writer, he got swept up in this historic campaign, working on Obama’s longshot 2008 run for the Presidency, and later worked in his White House. Cunningham’s adventures on the trail inspire his first novel, “Great Expectations,” an autobiographical coming-of-age story about where and how we seek inspiration. Cunningham recalls that Obama was seen as the “fulfillment” of so many hopes and dreams for people like himself. Now he wishes the former President were playing a larger role. “I will admit that it has been dispiriting,” in Obama’s post-Presidential life, “to see him making movies and being on Jet Skis as the world burns. … more like a movie star than someone whose great hope is to change the world.”

Episoder(1018)

Ryan Coogler on “Sinners,” His Epic Film about Race, Music, and the Undead

Ryan Coogler on “Sinners,” His Epic Film about Race, Music, and the Undead

When the Oscar nominations were announced this year, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” set a record. It received sixteen nominations, the most for any film ever. The fact that it’s, in part, a vampire movie, m...

10 Mar 19min

The Global Fallout of Donald Trump’s War on Iran

The Global Fallout of Donald Trump’s War on Iran

As Iran’s retaliation hit American allies throughout the Middle East this week, David Remnick was joined by two New Yorker writers with decades of experience reporting from the region. Robin Wright ha...

6 Mar 31min

Failed “Finance Bros” Find Success with HBO’s “Industry”

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David Remnick sits down with Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, the creators of a show he loves, “Industry,” which is currently airing its fourth season. The show is centered on the financial and personal dr...

1 Mar 16min

What Could Go Wrong, or Right, in a War with Iran

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As Donald Trump and his Administration threaten to attack Iran, their motivations remain unclear. Does the President want to force Iran to make a nuclear deal, to replace the one that he scrapped in h...

27 Feb 34min

The Evidence on Ozempic to Treat Addiction

The Evidence on Ozempic to Treat Addiction

Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs have had a major impact in their short time on the market—currently, one in eight Americans say that they have been on GLP-1 drugs. As tens of millions of people take the...

24 Feb 19min

Conan O’Brien on What Can Go Wrong at the Oscars

Conan O’Brien on What Can Go Wrong at the Oscars

Hosting the Academy Awards ceremony is a notoriously tricky gig, but Conan O’Brien nailed it in 2025, and he will return for this year’s event. Since leaving late-night television, in 2021, O’Brien ha...

20 Feb 31min

Richard Brody Presents the 2026 Brody Awards

Richard Brody Presents the 2026 Brody Awards

Every year, ahead of Oscar night, the film critic Richard Brody joins the New Yorker Radio Hour to discuss his picks for the year’s best films. David Remnick sits down with Brody and the staff writer ...

17 Feb 14min

What Donald Trump and “Everyone” Knew About Jeffrey Epstein

What Donald Trump and “Everyone” Knew About Jeffrey Epstein

In January, the Justice Department released over three million documents, including many redacted e-mails, related to Jeffrey Epstein. “Should we share the Julie Brown text with Alan [Dershowitz],” Ep...

13 Feb 35min

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