The News Items Podcast

John Ellis talks with interesting people doing important work. Some you've heard of. Some you haven't. All of them are worth listening to, at some length.

The News Items Podcast is a arts podcast hosted by News Items, with 21 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

News Items hosts The News Items Podcast, a arts show with 21 episodes published.

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  Episode #23

  What's The Matter With Polling? with Adam Berinsky (Episode 23)

  Aug 17, 202652 minS1

  MIT political scientist Adam Berinsky joins John Ellis to examine why modern polling is harder to trust and what that means for politics. They discuss collapsing response rates, the limits of margin-of-error claims, online surveys, media incentives, and why “accuracy” can be a misleading way to rank pollsters. The conversation then turns to partisan media, negative advertising, voter turnout, political fragmentation, and the persistence of conspiracy theories. Berinsky explains why misinformation is so difficult to correct, who is most susceptible to political rumors, and why trusted messengers matter. Finally, they consider how artificial intelligence could reshape evidence, persuasion, and political decision-making. News-Items.com Hosted by John Ellis Produced by Dale Eisinger

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  Episode #22

  Currencies, Prediction Markets and (of course) AI, with Rebecca Patterson (Episode 22)

  Aug 14, 202638 minS1

  Rebecca Patterson, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former chief investment strategist at Bridgewater Associates, joins John Ellis to explain why the U.S. and Japan intervened jointly to support the yen, and why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is so focused on keeping U.S. yields under control. Patterson traces the risks from currency weakness, Treasury selling, and financial contagion, while arguing that today’s conditions are far from a repeat of the Asian financial crisis. The conversation then turns to prediction markets, where Patterson sees both useful forecasting signals and growing evidence of gambling-style behavior among younger users. Finally, Ellis and Patterson examine how AI could reshape finance, employment, and corporate costs, with open-source models, especially cheaper Chinese alternatives, putting pressure on the economics of the current AI boom. The result is a wide-ranging discussion of currencies, markets, political incentives, and the next phase of artificial intelligence over the coming two years. News-Items.com Hosted by John Ellis Produced by Dale Eisinger

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  The News Items Podcast

  The AI Optimist, with Alan D. Thompson (Episode 21)

  Aug 8, 202644 min

  John Ellis talks with AI researcher Alan D. Thompson about the rapid advance of artificial intelligence and the prospect of artificial superintelligence. Thompson explains his methods for tracking progress toward AGI, the growth of trillion-parameter models, and the narrowing gap between leading American and Chinese systems. They discuss the enormous capital investment in data centers, the economics of AI infrastructure, and the sectors most likely to be transformed first, including healthcare and mental health. The conversation also covers job displacement, the difficulty of managing the economic transition, the emergence of autonomous humanoid robots, and the possibility that increasingly capable systems could reshape governance and social institutions. Thompson argues that continued scaling remains the central force driving AI progress and that the next advances may arrive faster than expected. News-Items.com Hosted by John Ellis Produced by Dale Eisinger

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  Episode #20

  Election Security, with Dr. Charles Stewart (Episode 20)

  Jul 18, 202647 minS1

  John Ellis talks with MIT political scientist Charles Stewart III about the mechanics, vulnerabilities and public perception of American elections. They revisit the disputed 2000 contest, the administration of the 2020 vote, and the reasons false claims of fraud gained traction despite extensive verification. Stewart explains why machine counting is generally more reliable than hand counts, why California takes longer to certify results, and how election officials measure performance. The conversation then turns to the 2026 midterms, including federal efforts involving voter files, mail ballots, and identification requirements. Stewart warns that close races could produce widespread challenges, pressure on local officials and disputes over seating members of Congress. He also discusses AI, election funding, and why he remains confident in the country’s fact-based institutions today. News-Items.com Hosted by John Ellis Produced by Dale Eisinger

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  The News Items Podcast

  Regime Change, with Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan (Episode 19)

  Jul 11, 202653 min

  John Ellis talks with The New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about their book, Regime Change , an account of Donald Trump’s second presidency. They discuss how power operates inside a White House built around speed, instinct, and direct access to the president, often with little traditional process. The conversation covers Stephen Miller’s influence, Trump’s tariff decisions, the role of tech executives, the administration’s handling of the Epstein files, and the path to war with Iran. Haberman and Swan also describe the unusual figures who shape Trump’s information flow, the limits of internal dissent, and the tension between his visible stamina and questions about his age and health. It is a detailed look at an administration moving quickly, personally, and with few institutional brakes. News-Items.com Hosted by John Ellis Produced by Dale Eisinger

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