Podcast Summary

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Episode Title: With the Fox-Dominion Settlement We’re Still at the “Mercy of a Billionaire Dynasty”
Date: April 21, 2023
Host: Evan Osnos
Guests: Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode addresses the historic Fox News–Dominion Voting Systems settlement and explores its significance for American media, democracy, and the power wielded by the Murdoch family. The panel examines whether this massive financial penalty will meaningfully impact Fox News’s behavior or the broader ecosystem of disinformation, and what it means to be “at the mercy of a billionaire dynasty” in U.S. politics.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Immediate Context: Disinformation’s High Cost

• Opening Banter (01:14–04:50): The hosts discuss losing their Twitter “blue checkmarks” and Elon Musk’s simultaneous public embarrassments, establishing the episode’s tone of amusement mixed with concern over billionaire-led media platforms.
• Big News: Fox News’s $787.5 million settlement with Dominion—the largest defamation settlement ever—without a formal apology. (05:08)
  • Noted alongside the MyPillow Guy (Mike Lindell) being ordered to pay $5 million for baseless election claims. (06:10)

2. Fox-Dominion Settlement: Who Really “Won”?

• Fox’s Calculation: Both sides avoided risks—Dominion secures a huge sum; Fox avoids a damning trial and a public reckoning of its inner workings.
• Quote:

  “The only metric I think of what really matters here is whether Fox will stop selling lies to make money and polluting American discourse with disinformation. Spoiler alert: no.”
  – Jane Mayer (08:14)

3. Discovery Details & Public Disillusionment

• Explosive Discovery: Internal communications revealed Fox knew the election lies were false but promoted them to retain Trump-aligned viewers.

• Key Moment:

  “Not since Toto pulled the curtain off the wizard of Oz... have we seen...that’s what happened to Rupert Murdoch. We saw the little man at his cash register, worrying that he was gonna make less money.”
  – Jane Mayer (10:24)

• Tucker Carlson’s damning internal comments about Trump (“demonic force”) vs. on-air sycophancy. (10:56–11:00)

• Public Letdown: Settlement denies the catharsis or accountability many hoped for—a “democratic instrument” instead replaced with a check. (12:06–13:39)

4. Legal System vs. Political Accountability

• Money is the Metric: U.S. legal culture stops at financial penalties; public accountability is elusive. (13:06–14:08)
• Fox’s Resilience: Settlement is painful, but not existential for Fox, which is worth billions and uses legal payouts as “cost of doing business.” (15:05–15:58)
  • More lawsuits coming, notably from Smartmatic. (15:58–17:30)

5. Fox’s Business Model & Trump Partnership

• No Change Anticipated: Fox celebrates ratings and issues non-apology apologies, continuing Trump-aligned programming.
• Media Ecosystem: Murdoch gains viewers, Trump gains publicity—a mutually beneficial “pas de deux.” (18:50–19:26)

6. Murdoch Family Succession: Fact Mirrors Fiction

• Comparisons to ‘Succession’: The Murdoch clan's power dynamics are as dramatic as the HBO series, which was inspired by their real lives. Key players: Rupert Murdoch’s children Prudence, Elizabeth, Lachlan, and James. (21:20–24:52)
• Quote:

  “It’s kind of incredible that this country is at the sort of mercy of a billionaire dynasty and we’re waiting for the succession to see whether… American politics is going to be dominated by a hard-right, reactionary Australian family…”
  – Jane Mayer (28:51)

7. Fusion of Right-Wing Media and Politics

• Fox and Trump Administration: Described as a “joint venture”; many in Trump's own circle used Fox as a channel to communicate with the President. (30:05–31:23)
• Analogy: Trump as “Mike TV” from Willy Wonka, obsessed with being inside Fox News. (30:56)

8. Will Anything Change? The Culture of Disinformation

• Impact of Settlement: Panelists skeptical about long-term deterrence, citing the lucrative business model for outrage and disinformation.

• Quote:

  “The lesson here is that crime pays. The big lie about the 2020 election was...one of the most extraordinary political things...in the United States. And the message here is that Donald Trump and Fox got away with it.”
  – Susan B. Glasser (33:39)

• Existential Risks: Only large, wealthy outlets could weather such payouts, threatening smaller organizations.

• Chilling Effect: Settlements lead to both relief (avoid Supreme Court review of libel laws) and unease (potential for future erosion of press protections). (36:27–37:26)

9. Future Legal and Media Landscape

• Potential for more attacks on press freedom; Supreme Court justices openly discuss revisiting pivotal protections (NYT v. Sullivan). (37:26–38:46)

• Quote:

  “We now have a radical Supreme Court that is willing to chuck out previous precedent in a way that is something we haven’t seen in our lifetimes.”
  – Susan B. Glasser (38:46)

• Optimistic note: Truth’s persistence and the resilience of responsible media.

  • “We still live in a country where the truth is the ultimate defense and you can get charged a lot when you lie.”
    – Jane Mayer (40:37)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the settlement’s (in)effectiveness:
  “Fox doesn’t do apologies. I mean that is in its own strange way where this thing nets out.”
  – Evan Osnos (27:17)

• On Murdoch-Trump synergy:
  “It was a joint venture, really.”
  – Susan B. Glasser & Jane Mayer (30:05–30:10)

• On the dystopian concentration of media power:
  “It’s kind of incredible that this country is at the sort of mercy of a billionaire dynasty…”
  – Jane Mayer (28:51)

• On defeat of public accountability:
  “We all kind of collectively... decided that this case was actually almost like a democratic instrument... Cuz I think that’s really what this was about, this notion that we were living in an era when it just doesn’t matter what the MyPillow guy says, it doesn’t matter what Fox says, they can do it with total impunity.”
  – Evan Osnos (11:00–12:06)

• On the real power of media litigation:
  “You can’t know that you’re lying and call it journalism. You can’t be protected by the First Amendment for lying about news purposefully.”
  – Jane Mayer (32:11)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:14–04:50: Banter on Twitter blue checks, Musk, and the state of news platforms
• 05:08–07:16: Fox-Dominion settlement and the Mike Lindell verdict
• 08:53–13:39: What discovery exposed at Fox; the settlement’s limitations as public accountability
• 15:05–19:29: Fox’s business resilience, previous settlements, and Trump/Murdoch “deal”
• 21:20–25:33: Murdoch family succession & the ‘Succession’ parallels
• 28:51–32:05: The U.S. at the “mercy of a billionaire dynasty”; Fox’s fusion with Republican politics
• 33:39–36:27: Will settlements deter disinformation? The business model of lies
• 37:26–38:46: Legal risks; possibility of Supreme Court challenge to press protections
• 40:37–end: Closing reflections, delineation between responsible and irresponsible media

Tone & Language

The episode maintains The New Yorker’s signature blend of sardonic wit, intellectual insight, and measured pessimism about American democracy and media. The hosts deftly mix pop culture allusions (“Succession,” Willy Wonka, ballet terms) with legal, economic, and journalistic analysis, capturing both the seriousness and the absurdity of the moment.

Conclusion

Key Takeaway: Money can hurt Fox News but isn’t enough to fundamentally reshape its relationship to truth, politics, or accountability. The Murdoch family continues to play a dominant—and worrisome—role in shaping American political discourse, while the broader culture and legal landscape remain sharply at risk from both oligarchic power and the normalization of strategic disinformation. The fight for responsible media, and for democracy itself, is far from over.