The White House Correspondents Dinner takes place this weekend with at least one notable absence: comedy. Standup comic W. Kamau Bell visits Audie to talk about the tough decisions facing artists in the Trump era—and what institutional power pl
The fallout continues from the president’s so-called “Liberation Day,” with the on-again off-again global tariffs and the rising tensions with China. This all has the financial markets bouncing like a yo-yo. Audie talks with CNN Business Senior
Artificial Intelligence can be difficult to understand, but a few things are certain: it's here, it's reshaping entire industries, and it's making a lot of people nervous. Audie sits down with Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI and a cautiou
Detaining foreign students over their activism is the “kind of policy that ends democracies.” That’s what Jameel Jaffer tells Audie this week. He’s a law professor and Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia Unive
What’s the way out of the political wilderness for Democrats? The mayor of Chicago says look to his city “leading the way in this moment around the value system that the people of America want to see carried out in governance.” Audie talks with
For decades, college athletes made millions for everyone but themselves. Now, the NCAA’s Name, Image, and Likeness policy, NIL, has changed the game. Audie dives into the chaos of NIL with former All-American gymnast Savannah Schoenherr and Was
Sweeping cuts are throwing America’s national parks and forests into uncertainty. With fewer rangers, trail crews, and wildfire fighters, the effects could be immediate — closed campgrounds, neglected trails, and a fire season primed to be more
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned from office in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal. Now, he’s back and running for mayor of New York City. And he’s not the only one, other so-called “canceled” men from Hollywood, media and poli
A growing number of tech leaders, conservatives, and social influencers believe falling birthrates pose an existential threat to civilization, and this “pro-natalist” movement wants Americans to start having more babies. Audie talks to Brad Wil
The Oscars aren’t just about the movies—they’re about politics, too. Audie talks with New Yorker staff writer Michael Schulman, author of Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears. They break down the high-stakes world of Osc
Raw milk, seed oil skepticism, and...coffee enemas? The rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the conservative “Make America Healthy Again” movement is reclaiming what it means to be ‘crunchy’ -- a term previously associated with health-conscious l
President Trump put Elon Musk in charge of government efficiency and the result has been nonstop chaos and trauma for civil servants. Audie talks with WIRED reporter Vittoria Elliot about how he is doing it and who is helping him. Audie also ta
In the wake of Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration, Audie talks with Rev. Gabriel Salguero about how faith leaders are navigating the call to provide support and guidance to undocumented immigrants in their congregations. Rev. Salgue
"Dry January" is evolving into something more than a 4-week virtue signal. American attitudes about drinking are changing, especially among younger generations who are drinking much less. So, what’s behind this cultural shift, and why now? Audi
Peter Kalmus left California two years ago in part because of his concerns about hotter days and increasing wildfires. Today, his former neighborhood of Altadena is one of the many communities left scorched by the wildfires. And he says more ar
Donald Trump’s reelection has some people putting politics over family. Audie talks with psychologist Joshua Coleman about the forces driving family estrangements over political differences, how generational differences can play a part in broke
It’s a very special New Year episode for The Assignment: a conversation with Emmy-winning comedian and writer Samantha Bee about the state of politics and how she’s engaging with the political moment. Bee is known for her time as a corresponden
The cost of your clothes could go up if Donald Trump implements promised tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China. Audie talks with Christina Binkley, editor-at-large for Vogue Business, about the possibility of costlier clothes, whether
The killing of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, and the arrest of his alleged killer, has been met with online memes, TikTok songs, and even celebration. So how does the response to this brazen murder reflect a wider cultural phenomenon? Audie
Senator-elect Andy Kim’s rise in politics has been anything but conventional. In 2020, he was one of seven Democratic congressmen who won a district also won by Donald Trump. In 2024, he took on the New Jersey political machine after Senator Bo
Anthony Scaramucci is synonymous with the rough and tumble world of an incoming Trump Administration, and the perfect person to talk with about what it’s like to be in Donald Trump’s orbit. This episode is a bit of an experiment with a couple o
New technologies like artificial intelligence, facial recognition and social media algorithms are changing our world so fast it can be hard to keep up. That’s why The Assignment is excited to bring you CNN’s new podcast, “Terms of Service with
Would you prefer to feel morally righteous, or to win? Audie talks with Adam Jentleson, who wants all Democrats to consider that question and adjust their tactics accordingly. He’s worked for U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Fetterman, and in
Lifelong Republicans who passionately resisted Trump are now grappling with how to move forward. Audie talks with political strategist and publisher of The Bulwark, Sarah Longwell, about the future of the 'Never Trump' movement and how politics
The Republican Party had the strongest showing among Latinos in decades, particularly Latino men. CNN’s national exit poll found Trump won 54 percent of Latino men compared to Harris’ 44 percent – that's an 18-point increase from 2020. Audie ta