Bari’s New ’60 Minutes’ & WHCD Aftershocks

An NFL Draft Postmortem, S.B.F.’s $82B Alternate Reality, Guggenheim’s New Boss

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting. Here’s what you need to know…

In the Room: David Ellison hosted Trump, Melania, and Stephen Miller at a private dinner Thursday night while awaiting regulatory approval for his $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Dylan Byers has exclusive reporting on what went down at the Institute of Peace. Plus, what Bari Weiss is planning for 60 Minutes the moment she gets back to New York. [Read More]
The Best & The Brightest: Democratic Senate candidates are outraising Republicans by roughly $150 million in competitive races this cycle. Meanwhile, one of Chuck Schumer’s preferred Senate recruits is losing to an oysterman with (accidental?) Nazi tattoos. Leigh Ann Caldwell talks to a half dozen Democratic insiders about the frustration with Schumer’s leadership. [Read More]
Dry Powder: Sam Bankman-Fried’s $500 million Anthropic investment would be worth $82 billion today if the bankrupt FTX hadn’t sold it for $884 million. Bill Cohan digs into S.B.F.’s campaign to rewrite his own story and legally escape from federal prison in Lompoc, California. [Read More]
Wall Power: Claude Lalanne’s set of 15 mirrors, designed for Yves Saint Laurent’s Paris home, sold for $33.5 million at Sotheby’s last Wednesday—the highest auction price ever achieved not just for a Lalanne work, but any design work. Marion Maneker charts the aftershocks, and what it means for Les Lalanne’s market now that Claude has eclipsed her husband, François-Xavier. [Read More]
Wall Power: Melissa Chiu surprised the art world earlier this month when she left the Hirshhorn Museum in D.C. to become director of the embattled Guggenheim Museum in New York. Dan Duray sits down with Chiu to discuss her plans for reviving the Upper East Side’s all-important institution. [Read More]
Line Sheet: Fashion brands flooded Milan Design Week—and most of the design people either didn’t notice, or didn’t care. Lauren Sherman talks to MillerKnoll’s Kelsey Keith about why Hermès, Prada, and Loewe are able to cut through the noise. [Read More]

Meanwhile, on the pods…

The Varsity: John Ourand connects with The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand to debate which broadcasters won NFL Draft weekend, from ESPN and ABC to NFL Network and Pat McAfee. [Listen Here]
The Powers That Be: Peter Hamby and Jon Kelly trade their WHCD reflections and observations before turning to the NFL’s Capitol Hill charm offensive and the final micro-dramas of the WBD journey. [Listen Here]

Thanks to the Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance for their partnership on the latest Puck Power Breakfast, in which Leigh Ann sat down with Sen. Jim Banks to discuss the red lines for any ceasefire agreement with Iran, the redistricting battles reshaping the electoral map, what rising gas prices portend for Trump, and more. Read here or listen here.

MEDIA

Dylan Byers

Bari’s Post-WHCD Purge

After partying with the president, Pete Hegseth, and Stephen Miller at an event ostensibly celebrating a free press, Weiss will return from Washington with immediate plans to further overhaul 60 Minutes—and to implement another round of layoffs at CBS News.

WASHINGTON

Leigh Ann Caldwell

Schumer’s Enemies Within

Democratic donors are feeling jazzed about the midterms but still haven’t made peace with leadership over the party’s post-’24 aimlessness. Support for Chuck Schumer, in particular, has become a litmus test for candidates and donors alike.

WALL STREET

William D. Cohan

S.B.F. Alternate Histories & Ellison “Ticking Fee” Fears

Even as he withdrew his latest plea, Sam Bankman-Fried has been pushing another argument in the court of public opinion: that if FTX hadn’t been forced into bankruptcy, his biggest investments would be worth some $114 billion by now. Plus, notes on Zaslav’s golden parachute—and how a state antitrust intervention could sweeten the deal.

ART

Marion Maneker

Sotheby’s $96M de Gunzburg Blockbuster

The de Gunzburg sale on Wednesday sent shockwaves through the market—and included a major new record for Claude Lalanne.

ART

Dan Duray

The Guggenheim’s New Boss

Melissa Chiu, the new director of the Guggenheim Museum, opens up about generating an audience beyond Instagram, raising money from all corners of the globe, and working with—not against—that famous building.

FASHION

Lauren Sherman

Salone, and Thanks for All the Fish

As the fashion and influencer crowds flooded Salone del Mobile during Milan Design Week, the real winners were brands like Hermès and Prada that treat design as culture, not simply commerce, and invest accordingly.

SPORTS

John Ourand

Who Won NFL Draft Weekend?

Andrew Marchand joins John to recap the NFL Draft—and which broadcasters won the weekend, from ESPN and ABC to NFL Network and Pat McAfee. They also explore the growing political scrutiny surrounding the league, Mike Tomlin’s move into media with NBC, how NFL Network could evolve under ESPN, and more.

MEDIA

Peter Hamby

Jon Kelly

The Powers that Be Daily, Starring Peter Hamby

Media Monday: Malice at the Hilton & The NFL’s D.C. Blitz

After an unexpectedly off-script night at the Hilton in D.C., Jon Kelly and Peter trade their WHCA reflections and observations before turning their attention to the NFL’s Capitol Hill charm offensive and the final micro-dramas of the WBD journey.

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