EPISODE · Oct 10, 2025 · 56 MIN
Inside Bari Weiss’ CBS Moves; Pete Hegseth vs. the Press, Comedians Confront Saudi Show Backlash
from Power Lines with Oliver Darcy and Jon Passantino · host Status
On this week’s Power Lines, Oliver and Jon discuss: Bari Weiss at CBS News: Does her both-sides-ism and "Lets fucking do the news" war cry signal a major shift, or is it just corporate noise? We analyze what her new EIC role signals to the Trump administration and debate how hands-on she'll actually be. Pete Hegseth's New Press Rules: We detail the Pentagon’s new restrictions, question how the former Fox News personality would have reacted if they were imposed by a different administration, and explain why restricting access won't stop great journalism. Riyadh Comedy Festival Blowback: Top comedians, including Dave Chappelle, are facing heavy criticism for performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Now some are justifying it by saying they did it for the Saudi people. Does performing at the request of an oppressive government truly help the citizens of Saudi Arabia? That’s all for now, have a great weekend. We’ll see you next week. 0:00 Bari Weiss is officially EIC at CBS News 3:02 Bari's "Both Sides" Claim 6:10 What does this hire signal to the Trump Administration? 9:35 How will the CBS News staff react? 12:06 Running The Free Press vs Running CBS News 16:37 Will Bari Weiss actually be running the show? 21:26 Is Bari Weiss in for a rude awakening? 26:40 Pete Hegseth's "safe space" 30:46 Oliver lays out new Pentagon press rules 32:50 Government approved narratives only 34:54 Journalists don't need to be at the Pentagon to do their work 36:16 Trump not on board with what's happening at Pentagon 40:26 Riyadh Comedy Festival comedians react to backlash 43:05 Chappelle's outrageous free speech claims 44:10 Aziz Ansari's argument for participating 47:48 How long will backlash last? 50:06 Comics linked arms with the government oppressing the Saudi people 51:13 A suggestion for Dave Chappelle Thanks to our sponsor, beehiiv, who powers the Status newsletter! If you have a newsletter with over 100k subscribers, schedule your free growth consultation today. Or, use code STATUS30 for 30% off: https://www.beehiiv.com/status Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [STATUS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod #ad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
On this week’s Power Lines, Oliver and Jon discuss: Bari Weiss at CBS News: Does her both-sides-ism and "Lets fucking do the news" war cry signal a major shift, or is it just corporate noise? We analyze what her new EIC role signals to the Trump administration and debate how hands-on she'll actually be. Pete Hegseth's New Press Rules: We detail the Pentagon’s new restrictions, question how the former Fox News personality would have reacted if they were imposed by a different administration, and explain why restricting access won't stop great journalism. Riyadh Comedy Festival Blowback: Top comedians, including Dave Chappelle, are facing heavy criticism for performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Now some are justifying it by saying they did it for the Saudi people. Does performing at the request of an oppressive government truly help the citizens of Saudi Arabia? That’s all for now, have a great weekend. We’ll see you next week. 0:00 Bari Weiss is officially EIC at CBS News 3:02 Bari's "Both Sides" Claim 6:10 What does this hire signal to the Trump Administration? 9:35 How will the CBS News staff react? 12:06 Running The Free Press vs Running CBS News 16:37 Will Bari Weiss actually be running the show? 21:26 Is Bari Weiss in for a rude awakening? 26:40 Pete Hegseth's "safe space" 30:46 Oliver lays out new Pentagon press rules 32:50 Government approved narratives only 34:54 Journalists don't need to be at the Pentagon to do their work 36:16 Trump not on board with what's happening at Pentagon 40:26 Riyadh Comedy Festival comedians react to backlash 43:05 Chappelle's outrageous free speech claims 44:10 Aziz Ansari's argument for participating 47:48 How long will backlash last? 50:06 Comics linked arms with the government oppressing the Saudi people 51:13 A suggestion for Dave Chappelle Thanks to our sponsor, beehiiv, who powers the Status newsletter! If you have a newsletter with over 100k subscribers, schedule your free growth consultation today. Or, use code STATUS30 for 30% off: https://www.beehiiv.com/status Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [STATUS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod #ad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Inside Bari Weiss’ CBS Moves; Pete Hegseth vs. the Press, Comedians Confront Saudi Show Backlash
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