New York Times
Editor of the New York Times' Media Decoder blog
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Noam Cohen
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FROM Noam Cohen
To the Point
WikiLeaks' Julian Assange to Host TV Talk Show The founder of WikiLeaks is still under house arrest appealing his extradition to Sweden, but Julian Assange is taping a new TV show in the mansion where he lives in Britain. Russia Today will air in English -- in Russia. Funded by the Kremlin, the program is generally regarded as an exercise in image enhancement. What does it want with Assange?
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To the Point
Trump‘s Wall and the Politics of ‘Us Versus Them’ Politically, Trump’s great wall may not be worth the government shutdown. But it appeals to his base, including evangelical Christians. As the country’s white, protestant majority gives way to diversity, some fear that the essence of America is changing. Opposition to immigration in Western Europe is no coincidence.
To the Point
National Security: An Adult in the Room America’s mainstream media are obsessed with President Trump’s off-hand policymaking in military and foreign affairs. But his mistakes don’t justify the unquestioned authority given the Pentagon, the CIA and the FBI. William Arkin is quitting NBC News with a scathing assessment. He says the national security state has created a condition of “perpetual war” without making America safer--and that the media are failing to report it. L ater on our Climate Change Update segment: how the government shutdown is hurting American science.
To the Point
Politics, the World Order and Donald Trump’s New Year Newly divided government could mean change in this new year… or not. House Democrats don’t always stick together--and presidential campaigns could get in the way. The GOP might not heed Mitt Romney’s call for respectability. Meantime, will America’s allies unify to sustain world order without America’s leadership?