Washington Post Layoffs & The State of Journalism; Trucker Turned Artist's Models of NYC; Infinite Jest at 30; The Impact Of The Ruby Ridge Standoff
Last week the Washington Post's workforce was cut by 30%, laying off over 300 employees, including entire sections of the storied paper. NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik joins to discuss the layoffs, and the state of legacy journalism in the Trump era.
For over 20 years, truck driver Joe Macken worked to make a model of New York City, building by building, block by block. He finished in 2025, and after his kids encouraged him to post about the project online, Macken quickly went viral, garnering millions of views. The result of that publicity is a new exhibit open at the Museum of the City of New York, 'He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model,' which displays Macken's creation in full for the first time in New York City. Macken discusses his inspiration for the project alongside curator Elisabeth Sherman.
The epic and challenging novel Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace turns 30 this month. It's a novel that has become a kind of statement piece. Finishing it earns the reader bragging rights, and inspires much discussion-- but what does it mean 30 years later? Author Hermione Hoby discusses her piece in The New Yorker, "'Infinite Jest' Has Turned Thirty. Have We Forgotten How to Read It?"
Author Chris Jennings speaks about his new book, End of Days: Ruby Ridge, the Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America, which explores how the siege on Ruby Ridge changed American history and set the stage for the rise in conspiratorial thinking in the United States.
