Uncertainty Ahead
MSNBC Anxiously Enters a New Trump Era
Network executives addressed staff Wednesday on Comcast’s plans to spin off the cable channel from NBC News, a proposed shake-up that comes amid postelection ratings woes and concerns about what a Joe and Mika trip to Mar-a-Lago portends for covering Donald Trump.
By Natalie Korach
Prince Harry’s Legal Allies Are Dropping Like Flies Against Rupert Murdoch
The Duke of Sussex is on a lonely truth-seeking crusade and isn’t warring with Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers for a penny—or a pound.
By Clive Irving
Q&A
The Onion’s Infowars Acquisition Is “Karmic Justice” at Its Finest
Vanity Fair caught up with Onion CEO Ben Collins and John Feinblatt, the president of Everytown for Gun Safety, about pulling off the “funniest joke of all time.”
By Natalie Korach
MAGA Megaphone
Can Democrats Compete With the Rogan-verse?
As podcasters and YouTubers helped deliver the bro vote to Donald Trump, Democrats are facing criticism for not engaging enough with nontraditional media on the right—or elevating voices on the left.
By Natalie Korach
Tech
Amazon’s New Kindle Is an Antidote to Our Shrinking Attention Spans
The colorized e-reader is a counterrevolutionary product in a marketplace littered with AI algorithms and social media apps that leave you feeling more depleted than fulfilled.
By Nick Bilton
Media
Why Is a Progressive Mega-Donor Funding Right-Wing Ideas?
At a recent get-together, little lefty mags were roiled to learn that George Soros’s foundations are supporting Compact, a publication that’s flirted with authoritarianism. “It was weird to me the whole fucking time,” says one attendee.
By Andrew Fedorov
Media
Olivia Nuzzi to Exit New York Magazine Amid RFK Jr. Scandal
A third-party review of Nuzzi’s work found “no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias,” according to New York, yet the magazine and the star reporter agreed to “part ways.”
By Lachlan Cartwright
Media
The Olivia Nuzzi–Ryan Lizza Saga Has Reached a Salacious New Level
The latest courtroom allegations are providing pure tabloid fodder—“Spawn F. Kennedy,” blared the New York Post—as the New York and Politico stars sit on the sidelines of the 2024 race while internal investigations play out and a post-election hearing date looms.
By Natalie Korach
Sports
Taking Shots With Spike Lee and His Arsenal Fan Club: “It’s Always Electric When He Shows Up”
Vanity Fair visits the famed director at his Fort Greene studio, touring his stunning collection of movie memorabilia and talking politics, before going full “Gooner” at a nearby bar. “I love to be in the mix,” Lee says.
By Tom Kludt
Jessica Valenti Says Her Work on Abortion Isn’t “Preaching to the Choir.” It’s Arming It.
In an interview with Vanity Fair about her new book, Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win, Valenti discusses whom she’s writing to, how the right is forecasting its next move, and why she’s never bought into the mainstream framing of abortion rights.
By Katie Herchenroeder
All Bets Are On
From Trump Convictions to Assassination Attempts: How Prediction Markets Have Turned American Politics Into a Casino
Start-ups like Polymarket and PredictIt want to let people put their money where their mouth is. But offering Vegas-style odds tied to real-world events could also have dangerous real-world consequences.
By Jacob Silverman
fill-in-the-blank Elon Musk
Cards Against Humanity Sues Elon Musk’s SpaceX “With Great Vengeance and Furious Anger” For Trespassing
“He figured he could just dump his shit all over our gorgeous plot of land without asking,” the company wrote. “We said, ‘Go fuck yourself, Elon Musk. We’ll see you in court.’”
By Katie Herchenroeder
THE BILLIONAIRE’S SECRET
The Richest Man in Germany Is Worth $44 Billion. The Source of His Family Fortune? The Nazis Know.
Klaus-Michael Kuehne, born in 1937, has more money than Ken Griffin, MacKenzie Scott, or François Pinault. Just don’t ask him how he got so rich.
By David de Jong
excerpt
“Are You Saying No to Elon Musk?”: Scenes from the Slash-and-Burn Buyout of Twitter
In an excerpt from their new book, Character Limit, Kate Conger and Ryan Mac detail how Musk’s “goons” instilled fear and uncertainty among the rank and file, while his inner circle employed hardball tactics in a touch-and-go transaction.
By Kate Conger and Ryan Mac
Sports
The US Open Approaches a New Milestone: 1 Million Fans
More spectators than ever are flocking to Flushing for this year’s Grand Slam tournament, which manages to draw throngs of tennis fans while remaining a magnet for the chic and fashionable. It’s an event, says USTA chief Lew Sherr, that strives to offer “accessible luxury.”
By Tom Kludt
Sports
Bill Belichick’s Unexpected Second Act: Media Star
The NFL’s most celebrated coach is gabbing with Pat McAfee and the Manning brothers, hosting a web show, and posting on Instagram. Mike Tirico thinks “he’s going to be great” as a TV talker, but is Belichick’s future in the studio—or back on the sidelines?
By Tom Kludt
Sports
National Women’s Soccer League Eliminates Draft in Historic New Agreement
The collective bargaining agreement unveiled Thursday will also require players’ consent for trades. Such changes, says one union leader, mark “tectonic shifts in the American sports landscape.”
By Tom Kludt
Q&A
The Story Behind Aaron Rodgers’s Path From Beloved NFL Star to Most Polarizing Player
Biographer Ian O’Connor talks to Vanity Fair about the roots of Rodgers’s family estrangement—“death by a thousand cuts”—and the Jets QB’s regret over claiming he had been “immunized” against COVID-19: “He told me, I should have told the truth.”
By Tom Kludt
SUCCESSION DRAMA
Rupert Murdoch’s Family Battle Proves He’s Losing Control
The media mogul is scrambling to protect Fox News from three of his politically moderate heirs. It’s a sign of Rupert’s waning influence. “Murdoch is no longer the pope,” one political vet says.
By Clive Irving
Boys and Their Toys
Inside California’s Freedom-Loving, Bible-Thumping Hub of Hard Tech
Many cities have aspired to be the next Silicon Valley. But here in El Segundo—home to an upstart, male-dominated defense tech enclave—the founders are defining themselves in opposition to it. “This is not ‘San Francisco lite,’” says one, “or ‘San Francisco plus a little bit of hardware.’”
By Zoë Bernard
Sports
Why Serena Williams Isn’t Watching Wimbledon
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the GOAT of women’s tennis talks about the struggle of becoming a spectator, hosting this week’s ESPYs, and why a comeback is always in the “back, back, back of my mind.”
By Tom Kludt