It was another fantastic week: Matt Belloni revealed Hollywood’s latest financial trend; Bill Cohan uncovered Elon’s bankers’ big hedge; Julia Alexander charted Netflix’s future; Dylan Byers nailed the plot twist in the Murdoch’s version of Succession; Tara Palmeri chronicled The Squad’s blues; Tina Nguyen presaged the next Mike Pence; and Eriq Gardner previewed the next theater of the Fortune 500 Woke Wars.

Check out these stories, along with the rest of our best work from the week, via the links below. And stick around for the backstory on how it all came together.

WALL STREET:
Bill Cohan explains Elon’s bankers’ backup plans.
and…
Eriq Gardner reports on the boardroom culture wars.

WASHINGTON:
Tara Palmeri reports on A.O.C.’s post-wunderkind blues.
and…
Tina Nguyen searches the MAGAverse for the new Mike Pence.
and and…
Julia Ioffe explains how Putin became dependent on Iran.

HOLLYWOOD:
Matt Belloni has a direct line into the future of TV rights and agency wars.
and…
Julia Alexander explains Netflix’s new normal.

MEDIA:
Dylan Byers unspools the Murdoch family jewels.

PODCASTS:
Peter Hamby and I chat about the Times’ latest pickle on The Powers That Be.
and…
Matt delves into the Netflix news on The Town.

Meanwhile, I also encourage you to take advantage of our article gifting feature. You can share our work with your colleagues, friends, and family. Subscribers are entitled to 5 article gifts per month.

Operatives and candidates began making regular pilgrimages westward to meet with the real political power players in the Bay Area, the ones writing the checks that made it all possible. Teddy, who perceived this transformation during the formative years of his career, has made it his mission to document the evolution, for better or worse, of how the idea machine of NorCal is slowly but steadily wrapping its arms around Washington, particularly on the left.

Indeed, his may be among the most fascinating beats at Puck. Back in the day, it seemed quixotic when the Ron Conways, Reid Hoffmans, and Marc Benioffs of the world believed that they could influence national policy with their checkbooks and influential networks. Now they are as powerful as our elected leaders, if not more so.

These days, philanthropists like Laurene Powell Jobs are Mount Rushmore figures in Democratic politics. Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto zillionaire, is only 30 years old and already pouring his fortune into his brand of effective altruism. Dustin Moskovitz may be familiar to most casual political observers as the odd man out at Facebook. One day, he may be remembered as the most significant Democratic donor of his generation. Peter Thiel, the former venture capitalist who first saw the initial promise of Facebook, is already his party’s preferred merchant bank.

So I was really curious, last week, when Teddy mentioned that he’d been hearing rumblings of a significant sea change on the left: Future Forward, a new Silicon Valley-powered PAC, was the lead horse to receive Biden’s blessing as the outside money vehicle for the 2024 election cycle—a prestigious, money-minting, power-rearranging boon that will help determine the party’s messaging and strategy for the next election and beyond. Future Forward emerged before the 2020 cycle and spent a quarter of a billion dollars on liberal candidates and causes. The state of play remains fluid, of course, but Future Forward has the inside track. It’s the latest indication of how Silicon Valley really does pull the strings on Capitol Hill.

If you have a moment, I urge you to read Biden’s Blessing, Teddy’s piece, which he collaborated on with Tara Palmeri. (And if you’re not already on Teddy’s email list, The Stratosphere, I encourage you to sign up here.) It’s an extraordinary piece of journalism, offering an unvarnished look at how our politics really work. It’s the story of our time, and precisely the sort of work you can only find at Puck.

Have a great weekend,
Jon