Atlantic staff writers and host Hannah Rosen unpack Trump-era foreign policy, economics, and democracy.
Radio Atlantic treats the week’s loudest political stories as problems of power, strategy, and civic consequence. Its conversations move past outrage toward careful explanations of war, authoritarian influence, economic pressure, immigration enforcement, media ecosystems, and cultural backlash.
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Radio Atlantic is a conversational interview show from The Atlantic, hosted by staff writer Hannah Rosen, who opens most episodes by framing the week's central political or economic story before bringing in one or two Atlantic colleagues to work through it. The bulk of the catalog centers on the Trump administration: U.S. military action in Iran and Venezuela, tariffs and affordability politics, gas-price spikes tied to the Strait of Hormuz, and questions about regime change and democratic transitions. A parallel thread looks at institutional erosion, using Viktor Orbán's Hungary as a case study for how courts, universities, and media can be reshaped by one party over time. Guests are typically Atlantic staff writers speaking from their own reporting rather than outside academics or officials — recurring names include Roger Karma on economic policy, Michael Shear and Vivian Salama on foreign policy, McKay Coppins on culture and media, and commentator Tom Nichols on national security. The show occasionally departs from the interview format for narrative reporting, as in its continuing 'No Easy Fix' strand following a man named Evan through addiction treatment and recovery in San Francisco. Episodes run about 23 to 33 minutes and are lightly produced, with a host introduction, a guest conversation, and occasional sponsor segments folded in. The tone stays newsy and analytical rather than combative, aiming to explain the mechanics behind a story rather than simply react to headlines. Listeners get recurring context on the same running storylines — Iran, Venezuela, Hungary, media consolidation — across multiple episodes rather than one-off takes. The show benefits regular news followers who want Atlantic reporters' own analysis rather than a debate-style panel format.
Made for: News-attentive listeners who want Atlantic staff-writer analysis of Trump administration foreign policy, economic policy, and democratic institutions.
What sets it apart: Combines Trump-era foreign-policy and economic-policy interviews with occasional long-form narrative reporting, such as its recurring 'No Easy Fix' addiction-recovery storyline.
The Atlantic has long been known as an ideas-driven magazine. Now we’re bringing that same ethos to audio. Like the magazine, the show will “road test” the big ideas that both drive the news and shape our culture. Through conversations—and sometimes sharp debates—with the most insightful thinkers and writers on topics of the day, Radio Atlantic will complicate overly simplistic views. It will cut through the noise with clarifying, personal narratives. It will, hopefully, help listeners make up their own mind about certain ideas.The national conversation right now can be chaotic, reckless, and stuck. Radio Atlantic aims to br...
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Radio Atlantic tests political claims against practical constraints, turning volatile headlines into legible accounts of how power works.
Radio Atlantic turns fast-moving political events into question-led conversations that keep strategy, institutions, and material consequences in the same frame.
Hormuz and TSA lines become wiring diagrams for the news you thought you understood.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A sharp look at Orban's Hungary as a model for fights over American institutions, media, and state power.
Radio Atlantic starts in Budapest on a high-turnout election night, then widens the lens to ask why Viktor Orban's Hungary has become such a useful model for parts of the American right.
A sharp second read on Trump's Iran threats, a fragile ceasefire, and the limits of military advantage.
Radio Atlantic treats Trump's Iran threats as more than bluster, using them to ask what victory would even mean once a war starts running on momentum.
A sharp account of why parts of Trump's manosphere orbit heard his reversals as political betrayal.
Radio Atlantic follows a Trump-aligned podcast circle as its expectations of disruption in Washington curdle into a more familiar kind of disappointment.
A sharp look at how DHS theater moves from conservative radio chatter to airport deployments and detention planning.
Radio Atlantic turns a DHS funding lapse into a study of how political theater can harden into policy. A caller's idea on conservative radio moves to Fox News, then Truth Social, and then to ICE agents appearing at airports as TSA lines grow.
A clear, price-focused look at how Trump's Iran war is feeding into his affordability problem.
Radio Atlantic follows the Iran war back to the price board at the gas station. The episode links Trump's still-unclear case for the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran to a concrete economic shock: Iran's move to shut down traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving tankers…
A sharp look at whether Trump's Iran buildup is leverage, preparation, or a step toward a wider war.
Radio Atlantic treats the possibility of war with Iran as serious, but not foreordained. The strongest part of the episode is its attention to scale: the U.S. has two carriers in the region, more than 120 aircraft and drones, and roughly 40,000 ground troops.
A measured look at how purging federal workers can erase years of public investment in expertise.
Radio Atlantic makes a sober case for what gets lost when experienced federal workers are forced out: expertise, institutional memory, and years of public investment in training people for jobs most citizens barely know exist.
A restrained, humane update on Evan's recovery that treats two months clean as fragile, ordinary, and enormous at once.
Radio Atlantic returns to Evan, the man at the center of No Easy Fix, with an update that keeps San Francisco's homelessness and fentanyl crisis close to one life rather than turning it into a policy abstraction.
Dan Carlin's solo essays connecting executive power, historical collapse, and American democracy.
Two hosts and a correspondent unpack one Latin America story a week, from Chile's election to Iran's war.
Andrew Sullivan's one-on-one interviews on pardons, Israel, Christianity, and political journalism.
Ryan Evans interviews defense and intelligence insiders, from Ukraine's front lines to Marine marksmanship doctrine.
Lawfare's weekly panel turns Supreme Court rulings and war-powers fights into legal debate.
Derek Thompson interviews one expert per episode to test big claims against the data.
Hungary is the warning case.
Trump opens with an ultimatum.
Trump's coalition showed its first real crack.
A DHS funding lapse turns airport security into political theater.
Gas prices become the hard consequence.
McKay Coppins describes how a story on sports gambling started with the usual reporting angles and then turned into a personal experiment, because he was already hearing DraftKings, FanDuel, and point-spread language everywhere he watched sports.
This episode examines the U.S.
President Trump announced that U.S.
Radio Atlantic discusses the Texas Senate primary race and the national attention on Democratic candidates Jasmine Crockett and James Talrico.
The question is stark.
The episode discusses the political battle over Black history education, including Trump's criticism of the Smithsonian and a court order to restore a slavery exhibit in Philadelphia.
An interview with Iranian director Jafar Panahi about his Oscar-nominated film and the political context of Iran's protests and crackdowns.
This episode critiques the Melania Trump documentary, arguing it functions more as a commercial than a journalistic film, with analysis of Amazon's high investment in the project.
This episode discusses The Washington Post's recent layoffs and strategic reset, contrasting it with their previous Super Bowl ad about democracy.
An interview with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz about federal agent actions and Trump's response to a shooting.
This episode discusses the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old ICU nurse named Alex Preddy by immigration agents in Minneapolis, with police providing initial details and referencing social media footage.
Ryan starts with a phone.
The episode covers escalating tensions in Minneapolis after an ICE agent shooting, with protests and federal crackdowns.
Hannah Rosen interviews Senator Mark Kelly about the Trump administration's use of the military, including threats against Greenland and the appointment of Pete Hegseth.
Radio Atlantic opens with Hannah Rosen describing a U.S.
Last year, Radio Atlantic published No Easy Fix.
Hollywood sounds boxed in.
Radio Atlantic examines whether ISIS is making a comeback after recent attacks in Syria and Australia.
This episode discusses President Trump's fabricated image and the subsequent ICE raids targeting illegal immigrants in Chicago and nationwide.
The episode discusses Australia's new law banning social media accounts for under-16s, featuring reactions from a 15-year-old girl.
Hannah Rosen interviews chef Alison Roman about minimalist cooking, food trends, and Thanksgiving traditions.
Hannah Rosen explores whether personality is fixed or changeable, featuring insights from staff writer Olga Hazan on modern psychological research.
This episode analyzes the public feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, exploring the arc of Musk's reputation and the concept of genius.
This episode covers the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, focusing on the hostage situation, ceasefire negotiations, and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
An investigation into a controversial safety rule that pilots believe may actually increase risks to passengers.
Hannah Rosen discusses Robert F.
Analysis of Trump's visit to Gulf states and what it means for US Middle East policy.
A discussion about the cultural significance of dolls, sparked by a Trump comment, exploring beauty standards and representation through personal stories.
Radio Atlantic discusses the political shift in crypto regulation under Trump and its potential risks.
The episode discusses Jeffrey Goldberg's meeting with Trump and the SignalGate controversy, featuring analysis from Atlantic staff writers.