Podcast Summary: After Party with Emily Jashinsky

Episode: Zelensky BACK at the WH, Andrew Klavan on Hollywood Secrets, Comey the Swiftie, and MSNBC’s Rebrand
Date: August 19, 2025
Host: Emily Jashinsky
Guest: Andrew Klavan

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation between Emily Jashinsky and author/commentator Andrew Klavan, touching on the latest developments in Washington, political and cultural shifts, the Ukraine peace process, pop culture (Chris Pratt, Hollywood), shifting media dynamics, controversy at The New Yorker, the intersection of technology and ethics, and cable news' latest rebrand. Emily brings her trademark mix of media critique, humor, and big-picture thinking, while Andrew provides sharp commentary, personal anecdotes from Hollywood, and measured pessimism and optimism about American culture.

Ukraine, Peace Talks, and Donald Trump’s Diplomatic Moves

(00:37–21:17)

Key Points & Insights

• Zelensky & Trump in Washington

  • Zelensky participated in a press event and an Oval Office meeting, alongside Donald Trump and European leaders (EU, NATO, UK, Germany, Italy).
  • Trilateral peace talks are potentially being initiated, with Trump engaging directly with Putin, aiming for a negotiated peace path for Ukraine.
  • The broadcast openly grappled with "Can Trump become the president of peace?"

• Andrew Klavan’s Analysis of the Diplomatic Situation:

  • Klavan argues that, prior to these moves, “nothing was happening,” and credits Trump’s "deal-making" instincts for generating new momentum.
  • Klavan is skeptical of media narratives, noting the incentive for all sides (Putin, Trump, the press) to “spin the facts.”
  • He stresses that Trump’s approach is transactional—not ideological—and that he sees U.S. interests in "economic prosperity, not conquest.”
    • “[Trump] wants peace for that to happen. And I think he has a genuine heart for the people who are being slaughtered by the thousands every day in Ukraine and in Russia as well.” (06:46)
  • Klavan expresses doubt about the likelihood of NATO-level security guarantees for Ukraine, arguing that “nobody wants to say this stuff, but it’s just true”—the U.S. and Europe are not going to risk world war for Ukraine.
  • Discussion of the imbalance of power, the limits of American support, and the “make believe NATO security guarantees.”

• Critique of Media Coverage & Propaganda:

  • Both Emily and Andrew highlight the “corrupt press” and the lack of epistemic humility in the 24-hour news cycle.
  • Klavan: "No reliable information is reaching the public. ... Only people of goodwill will have to start getting the news out and really doing reporting." (15:12)

• Trump’s Showmanship in Diplomacy:

  • Trump is “ahead of the media,” reveling in diplomatic pageantry as a kind of public theater and image management.
  • "The difference between Trump and the press is Trump understands that it’s all make believe, all maneuvering and image making, whereas the press takes it all very, very seriously.” (17:44)

• On Trump’s Negotiating Style:

  • Klavan says Trump is misread because he’s always in motion, never static—a “gestalt thinker” more interested in outcomes than appearances.
  • “I’ve never seen him come out of a negotiation with America in a worse position than it was when he went in.” (18:33)

Hollywood, Cancel Culture & The Chris Pratt Conundrum

(23:19–37:24)

Key Points & Insights

• Chris Pratt on Bill Maher:

  • A clip plays of Chris Pratt voicing a desire not to let political hatred color his views—he urges people to be “reasonable” about policy, regardless of partisan identity.
    • “I’d hate to be so mired in hatred for the president that any success from his administration is something... I’d have an allergic reaction to.” (24:02, Chris Pratt)
  • Pratt is described as “careful” but hinting at more conservative leanings.

• Andrew Klavan on Hollywood’s Political Orthodoxy:

  • Pratt's caution is interpreted as evidence of a Hollywood where conservative opinions are dangerous to career survival, while left-wing politics are career-safe or lauded.
  • Klavan shares insider anecdotes about the pervasive silence around conservative beliefs in the industry, especially for less-established actors and creatives.
    • “If you come out and say, ‘yeah, I vote for Trump,’ ... you’re ‘controversial,’ which... means you are in conflict with a small, a very, very tiny group of leftists who govern what we see and what people are allowed to say.” (26:05)
  • Hollywood is described as “an iron lung” of monoculture—a system more interested in protecting its gatekeepers and politics than achieving actual diversity of thought.

• Changing Cultural Winds:

  • Emily asks if “cancel culture” has ended with the so-called “vibe shift,” or is merely dormant.
  • Klavan’s take: The cultural right won a “Gettysburg-sized battle in the culture war” with Trump’s victory and the growth of alternative media, but “the battlefield is still littered” and the rebuilding (especially creative infrastructure) is only just beginning.
  • Hollywood won’t change from within—any “new world” in entertainment will need to be built by new, decentralized forces.

The New Yorker’s Doreen St. Felix Controversy & the Shift to Niche Media

(37:24–46:17)

Key Points & Insights

• Doreen St. Felix Controversy:

  • St. Felix, a New Yorker writer, is exposed for past tweets expressing virulently anti-white sentiments; the New Yorker is now publicly ignoring the outrage.
  • Emily and Andrew describe this as symptomatic of legacy outlets now aligning more openly with small, ideological audiences instead of pretending at universalism.
  • Klavan: “That was built in, that's the vicious circle built into the business model that came up through when niche media replaced... mainstream media.” (40:42)

• The Loss—then Restoration—of Open Debate:

  • Reflecting on censorship during the Biden administration, Klavan sees Twitter/X and other new platforms as having broken a “stranglehold” on information.
  • “If they let us speak, they lose the argument. ... Their project was to make everybody think that it was okay to hate white people. ... That power is gone.” (41:19, 45:20)

• Hope for Common Sense & The “Amorphous Center”:

  • Both wish for a return to an American culture where disagreement need not be existential hatred.
  • “Common sense... a place where we can disagree amicably... That was classic American behavior that they tried to destroy because they lost the argument when people did that.” (46:18)

Technology, Ethics, Motherhood, and the “Gattaca” Question

(49:43–62:50)

Key Points & Insights

• Designer Babies & the Death of Meaningful Motherhood:

  • Emily introduces the viral Ross Douthat interview with Noor Siddiqui (Orchid CEO) about embryo selection and genetic screening, referencing “Gattaca”-like scenarios.
  • Douthat reads a poem about love, sex, and parenthood—Siddiqui’s response, Klavan contends, reveals a chilling shallowness: “What do you mean?” (51:41, Siddiqui)

• Klavan’s Philosophical/Cultural Critique:

  • Klavan sees radical technology, left-leaning feminism, and social change as eroding respect for homemaking/motherhood—central pillars of humanity.
  • “If you eliminate that from the scenario of raising children... you have eliminated humanity.” (54:11)
  • He rails against “leftist” social movements for twisting and degrading their original purposes, e.g., feminism equating value with the “qualities of a man.”
  • The fertility crisis won’t be solved by “giving women money or time off”—but by “giving them respect and honor for the key act of humanity, which is... motherhood.” (58:02)

• Call for a Re-evaluation of Social Values:

  • Klavan appeals to the right to fight for a culture that honors mothers and families, resisting both leftist social engineering and capitalist exploitation.
    • “We have to go back to a feminism that elevates motherhood to equal status, if not higher status...” (60:00)

James Comey, Swifty on Substack: Crisis of Elite Credibility

(63:13–75:10)

Key Moments & Analysis

• James Comey’s Taylor Swift Fandom:

  • The former FBI director now has a Substack and posts a video about inspiration from Taylor Swift’s "Mean," styling himself as a victim of bullying.
    • “[Quoting Swift] ...the cycle ends right now because you can’t lead me down that road. ... Thank you, Taylor Swift, keep the faith.” (65:53, Comey)
  • Emily is aghast, describing Comey's public persona as an embarrassing mismatch for someone of his former stature.
  • She critiques the “bullying” narrative as a failed elite defense mechanism: “This is not a man who should have a Substack. ... The Trump as a bully line has always failed because it’s come from people exactly like James Comey.” (66:44–71:01)

• “Strength” Politics & the Newsom vs. Vance Meme War:

  • Emily notes a trend of political figures—e.g., Gavin Newsom—parroting Trump’s style of overt trolling and displays of strength, as opposed to the establishment’s posture of woundedness.

MSNBC’s Rebrand: From Corporate Legacy to “Insurgent”?

(75:10–End)

Key Points & Insights

• Rebranding as ‘MS. Now’:

  • MSNBC announces a rebrand to “Ms. Now: My source for news, opinion and the world.”
  • Jonathan Lemire brands it “an insurgent network” intent on independence.

• Emily’s Take:

  • She is highly skeptical, calling it “the most cynical exercise in branding that I can remember,” noting that MSNBC “for the last 10 years has been the most prominent and least critical platformer of people like James Comey and John Brennan.”
  • Cable news now must accept a niche role, moving away from the mass media model.
  • She notes that these brands can survive as small, loyal-audience enclaves if they cut costs, but “they’re not going to appeal to more and more people by claiming to be insurgent and independent.”

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the State of Media (Andrew Klavan, 15:12):

  • “No reliable information is reaching the public. ... Only people of goodwill will have to start getting the news out and really doing reporting.”

• On Trump’s Deal-Making Diplomacy (Andrew Klavan, 06:46):

  • “He wants peace for that to happen. And I think he has a genuine heart for the people who are being slaughtered by the thousands every day in Ukraine and in Russia as well.”

• On Hollywood & Career Safety (Andrew Klavan, 26:05):

  • “If you come out and say, ‘yeah, I vote for Trump,’ ... you’re ‘controversial,’ which... means you are in conflict with a small, a very, very tiny group of leftists who govern what we see and what people are allowed to say.”

• On Cancel Culture’s Legacy (Andrew Klavan, 32:40):

  • “We had shattered the reliability of the press. We had exposed them. We had developed a secondary media... They lost that to me was a major victory for places like the Daily Wire, for places like Joe Rogan, Megyn Kelly, all those voices...”

• On New Yorker’s Race Problem (Andrew Klavan, 41:19):

  • “If they let us speak, they lose the argument. ... Their project was to make everybody think that it was okay to hate white people. That was their project. ... That power is gone.”

• On Tech and Family (Andrew Klavan, 58:02):

  • “How about giving them respect and honor for the key act of humanity, which is. Is motherhood.”

• On American Culture (Andrew Klavan, 46:18):

  • “Common sense... place where we can disagree amicably ... That’s classic American behavior that they tried to destroy because they lost the argument when people did that.”

• Emily on MSNBC Rebranding (76:08):

  • “If they genuinely want people to believe that they’re insurgent and independent and are planning a brand campaign... God bless them. That is going to be hilarious.”

Notable Timestamps

• Ukraine Peace Talks/Analysis – 03:40 to 21:17
• Chris Pratt & Hollywood Politics – 24:02 to 37:24
• New Yorker/Doreen St. Felix Controversy – 37:24 to 47:00
• Ethics of Embryo Screening / Gattaca / Motherhood – 49:43 to 62:50
• James Comey as a Swifty – 65:53 to 75:10
• MSNBC Rebrand Discussion – 75:10 to End

Episode Tone & Style

• Friendly, pointed, humorous, with a classic culture-war bent.
• Emily provides rapid-fire takes and witty critique; Andrew Klavan is both wry and deeply earnest in his concerns about Western civilization, family, and media malfeasance.
• The episode balances substantive commentary with irreverent asides and sharp media criticism.

This summary covers the episode’s key segments, major arguments, and memorable quotes, providing context and insight for listeners who want to understand the discussions without listening to the full podcast.