Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon assortment of Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Puck’s newest partner, Ian Krietzberg, chronicles the latest, manic stage of the putative A.I. arms race, in which much of the Western world is scrambling to develop and disseminate the technology within their own countries before China beats them to it. As Ian observes, world leaders, driven by a dubious winner-take-all logic, are cutting red tape to advance the interests of the private sector. What could possibly go wrong? (Sign up for Ian’s private email, The Hidden Layer, by clicking here.)

Plus, below the fold: Eriq Gardner spotlights the under-the-radar legal battle that threatened Legendary’s Dune franchise. John Heilemann and Trump kremlinologist Maggie Haberman evaluate the president’s inability to escape the Epstein black hole. Julie Davich digs into the booming secondary market for Hermès Birkins and Kellys. Sarah Shapiro explores the rise of L Catterton–backed French accessories brand Polène. And exclusively for Inner Circle members, Julia Alexander assesses Comcast’s rumored plan to launch a new sports-centric cable channel alongside Peacock.

Meanwhile, on the pods: Matt Belloni rings up Imax C.E.O. Richard Gelfond on The Town to discuss the rising popularity of large-format screens. On The Varsity, John Ourand and Marion Maneker explore the booming market for sports collectibles. And on The Powers That Be, Julia and Marion dissect the recent earnings reports from Christie’s and Heritage.

A.I.

The United States and even Europe are rapidly cutting red tape and curtailing their own regulatory guardrails to advance the interests of the private sector… all in the name of taking on China. What could possibly go wrong?

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HOLLYWOOD

After a months-long secret dispute over foreign adaptation rights, the two studios recently reached a settlement in which Legendary forked over a pittance—just $13 million to resolve the claim. Perhaps not surprisingly, Legendary and Lionsgate are now in early talks about a potential merger…

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WASHINGTON

A conversation with Times White House correspondent and presiding Trumpologist Maggie Haberman about the acute political ailment afflicting the president—and why he’s finding it so difficult to shake.

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ART

News and notes on the aftershocks from the $10.1 million Birkin prototype sale at Sotheby’s Paris and the state of the secondary “quota” bag market.

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FASHION

For a luxury industry struggling with oversaturation and tight margins, the success of Polène—and their Cyme tote, in particular—seems to prove that accessible luxury can generate a decently sized business with just a few stores and limited awareness. At least for the time being.

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SPORTS

Brian Roberts and Matt Strauss’s plan to simulcast Peacock games on a new cable channel is a smart bet on a hybrid, skinny bundle strategy to monetize the stubbornly unconverted and squeeze more life from a dying platform. It may just work, at least for a while.

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HOLLYWOOD

Matt is joined by Richard Gelfond, the C.E.O. of Imax, to discuss the influence of the Imax brand and its growing popularity among moviegoers. They talk about how marketing has changed for Imax movies, selling tickets to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey on Imax a year in advance, and whether other theater chains could create their own premium-large-format competitor.

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SPORTS

Puck’s resident art market expert, Marion Maneker, swings by the pod for a rollicking conversation about the growing market for sports collectibles, from a recent $660,000 Caitlin Clark rookie card sale to the many ways auction houses are elevating collectibles into high art.

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ART

Marion Maneker joins guest host Julia Alexander to explore the surging collectibles market, and how that may impact art trading as we know it. Then they dig into the recent earnings reports from Christie’s and Heritage, and why Marion believes the art market’s fundamentals are stronger than the prevailing anxiety might suggest.

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