What We’re Talking About
Policy & Playbooks
“Now or Never"
Peter Magyar didn't just oust Viktor Orbán's sixteen years of iron-fisted rule. He won a supermajority, and fired a warning shot across the bow of nationalism that will be seen, heard, and felt around the world.
The Mother Road
She's holding the keys to life and living. Charlatan follows Mary B. Ashworth to the 100th Anniversary of U.S. Route 66 — and to the warning, hazard, and children crossing signs of the American Dream.
A.I. & Deathcare
Corporations are converting family owned funeral homes into A.I. transactions. Charlatan follows the old guard to the new Ambassadors to the Afterlife.
Movers & Shakers
True Colors
Voting Rights. Election Interference. True Threats? Charlatan follows a former FBI director to the red and blue — and to the new wave of mens rea washing up on American shores.
Showdown
The terse back and forth between an American pope and president reflects a movement. Charlatan follows an unlikely skiff reshaping the American moment.
March Madness 2026
A transnational betting scheme shadowed the NCAA's Money Madness. Charlatan follows the fixers to an offer the institution declined to make, and to the women and champions making the case that “It Just Means More.”
Talk of the Town
Policy & Playbooks
Taking Out the Warsh
Jerome Powell's term ended Friday. Kevin Warsh takes over a Federal Reserve sitting on a fault line. Why the last independent fed chair just cleaned out his desk.
Crude Nation
Politicians use energy misinformation, disinformation, and lack of information to get and stay elected. Charlatan sits down with Shell Oil president John Hofmeister.
Master of the House
Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee in 2008, Rep. Barney Frank explains Washington’s role, lack of oversight, and complicity in the Global Financial Crisis.
All the World’s a Stage
Make Sense of the Week’s News.
Charlatan follows the Worldview
CHARLATAN
The Exposé of Politics & Style