What Comes After WTF? The Future of American Leadership in the Biden Era

In four years time, how might a theoretical Dem administration grapple with the expanding energy consumption and demand for AI? This is the question the second half of TRG Media and MIT Technology Review’s AI and Energy Scenario Exercises seeks to explore. Leading experts come together to role play as key actors in government, private industry, and more to simulate how public policy might take shape in the coming years. This episode contains the second and final phase of the game and a brief wrap-up from the editor in chief of MIT Technology Review Mat Honan and game designer Ed McGrady.  The Players: US Federal POTUS - Merici Vinton, Former Senior Advisor to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel Security (DoD, DHS, DOS) - Mark Dalton, Senior director of technology and innovation at R Street Energy (DOE, EPA, Interior) - Wayne Brough, Former President of the Innovation Defense Foundation and senior fellow on R Street’s Technology and Innovation team Red State Leadership- Soren Dayton, Director of Governance at the Niskanen Center Power generation industry Fossil - David Sandalow, Inaugural Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University Solar - Enock Ebban, host of “Sustainability Transformations Podcast” Nuclear [1] - Ashley Finan, Jay and Jill Bernstein Global Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University Investors in Al Domestic- Josiah Neeley, R Street Institute’s Energy team advisor International - Josh Felser, CO Founder and Managing Partner at Climatic International (Middle East, EU, Russia, China, etc.) - Shaolei Ren, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California International (Middle East, EU, Russia, China, etc.) - Rachel Ziemba, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Blue State Leadership POTUS Adam Zurofsky - former Director of State Policy and Agency Management for the State of New York Ari Peskoe - Director of the Electricity Law Initiative at the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program Beth Garza - senior fellow with R Street’s Energy & Environmental Policy Team Public interest  Environmental - Brent Eubanks, founder of Eubanks Engineering Research Domestic political - Meiyi Li, Ph.D. candidate at The University of Texas at Austin Media - Jen Sidorova, policy analyst at Reason Foundation Al and other Digital Industries AI - Valerie Taylor, division director of Mathematics and Computer Science at Argonne National Laboratory Blockchain -Erica Schoder, Executive Director and co-founder of the R Street Institute Erica Schroder - Elliot David, Head of Climate Strategy at Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol Other digital systems (chips, data center operations, online gaming, streaming, etc.) [1] - Ken Briggs, Faculty Assistant at Harvard University This material is distributed by TRG Advisory Services, LLC on behalf of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the U.S.. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Sep 46min

The Trump administration is blatantly and disturbingly waging a war against free speech in this country. With the most recent news that late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel was canceled following jokes discussing the Charlie Kirk assassination, it is clear that the government is setting a new precedent towards the First Amendment. What happens next? How is the government taking aim at our constitutional rights? Tune in as David Rothkopf is joined by Rosa Brooks and Miles Taylor to discuss all this and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Sep 32min

This week, ABC suspended comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s show under pressure from the Trump administration. The ostensible reason: Kimmel supposedly spread disinformation about Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin. But then President Trump ranted to reporters on Air Force One about the ouster, and he basically confirmed that he’s sending a message to networks that they can’t criticize him too much. “They’re not allowed to do that,” Trump said. Actually, they are, and in this, Trump made the ouster look even more corrupt. Trump also rambled angrily about how many of the people he sees on TV are crazy or on drugs, and he reiterated his threat to unleash the state on the leftist enemy within. All this confirmed that Trump is both increasingly unhinged and emboldened to carry out his autocratic takeover right out in the open. We talked to Jennifer Rubin, editor-in-chief of The Contrarian, who has a good new piece on Trump’s abuses. We discussed how Trump’s consolidation of power works, why many institutions are capitulating to it, and how Democrats can fight back.  Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Sep 27min

On the DSR Daily for Thursday, we discuss ABC indefinitely suspending Jimmy Kimmel, a Senate testimony from former CDC Director Susan Minaret, Trump’s intentions to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Sep 20min

As the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has worsened, President Trump’s story has been that it’s all Democratic “hoax,” and that his signature on that lewd drawing in Epstein’s birthday book is a “forgery.” But at a congressional hearing Wednesday, FBI director Kash Patel faltered under intense questioning from Democrats. Patel filibustered when asked whether Trump’s name is in the Epstein files. He seemed to accidentally reveal that he does know how many times Trump’s name appears. And he agreed to investigate whether Trump’s birthday note to Epstein is indeed forged, which seems ill-advised. Patel badly undermined Trump’s whole stance. So how much longer can Trumpworld keep the lid on this? We talked to Nicole Hemmer, a historian who has written books about the right and its media apparatus. She explains the schism Epstein has opened inside MAGA, how Patel exposed Trump’s position as untenable, and how it all fits into the last half-century of right-wing deceptions and conspiracy theories.  Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Sep 23min

“This is a 10,000-meter race to a full-blown police state, and they’re picking up speed.” The Trump administration is using the Charlie Kirk assassination as a tool to attack free speech at an alarming rate. Under the guise of “hate speech,” Trump and his cronies are taking aim at everyone from ABC reporters to Democratic organizations and NGOs. What comes next for free speech in America? Tune in as Norm Ornstein and David Rothkopf discuss all this and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Sep 29min

On the DSR Daily for Wednesday, we cover Kash Patel’s contentious Senate hearing, Trump’s state visit in the UK, a Republican midterm election next year, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Sep 21min

President Trump seems even more angry at the media than usual. His lawyers just filed a lawsuit against The New York Times that First Amendment lawyers are dismissing as a total joke. The suit, however, is also chock full of angry rants that appeared dictated by Trump himself. And he announced it with a Truth Social tirade that boiled with fury. Meanwhile, Trump himself snapped directly at reporters in strange ways, hitting one with a bizarre threat and engaging in a bizarre dominance display over the other. This comes as a new poll from the Economist reveals shockingly low support for Trump among independents, a key metric for gauging political strength—or weakness. We talked to Paul Waldman, who recently argued on his Substack, The Cross Section, that Trump’s powers of persuasion are failing him. We discuss how Trump both despises and relies on the media, the real reasons for his mounting anger, and how it’s all revealing big cracks in his authoritarian project.  Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Sep 23min