Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting. Today, we lead with Matt Belloni’s unsolicited pitch for why Ted Sarandos should succeed Bob Iger as the next C.E.O. of Disney. Yes, Ted has said repeatedly that he isn’t interested in the job. But he’s essentially run out of worlds to conquer at Netflix, and Disney badly needs an executive who can lead the company to the streaming promised land. Is he just playing hard to get? Plus, below the fold: Abby Livingston identifies an emerging bloc of Republican resistors to Trump’s tariff spree. Lauren Sherman assesses the potential candidates to take over Vanity Fair (and explains why Will Welch could be Anna Wintour’s pick). John Ourand chats with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on the heels of the league’s lucrative new media deal. And Scott Mendelson dissects the record-breaking success of Warner Bros.’ Minecraft movie. Meanwhile, on the pods: Lauren talks watches with Dimepiece founder Brynn Wallner on Fashion People. Bill Cohan joins Dylan Byers on The Grill Room to yak about what a recession could mean for the media industry. On Impolitic, John Heilemann digs into Trump’s crusade against all things judiciary with attorney Marc Elias. And on The Powers That Be, Bill connects with Peter Hamby to discuss Wall Street’s sobering response to a looming trade war.

HOLLYWOOD

If Disney is looking for a stock pop from its C.E.O. succession, the company might need to look beyond its internal candidates—perhaps to an executive who insists he doesn’t want the job. Indeed, Ted Sarandos has said repeatedly that the gig isn’t on his radar. But as Matt writes, there’s really nobody more perfectly positioned to bring one of the town’s most prodigious institutions into the digital future than the content wizard who transformed Netflix from a DVD rental company into a $380 billion juggernaut. After all, Netflix has already essentially “won the streaming wars,” as one analyst put it. If Sarandos is looking for a new challenge, the door is almost certainly open. Read Now

WASHINGTON

Multiple Republican factions are emerging on Capitol Hill as lawmakers debate whether to back the president’s tariff spree or demand more congressional oversight. The multitrillion-dollar question: Are the tariffs a negotiating tactic, or the end goal for Trump? Already, a contingent of Senate Republicans have signed on to a bipartisan effort to reclaim legislative authority over tariffs. Meanwhile, Democrats are riding high after their surprisingly successful recent campaigns, and are beginning to entertain some serious optimism that they can take back the House next year. As one Democratic former Hill staffer told Abby, “They break it. We fix it. We are back to square one.” Read Now

FASHION

As the media world whispers about who will replace Radhika Jones as editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, Lauren collects the latest intel from One World Trade: Could Vogue’s Mark Guiducci get Anna’s blessing? Would Sara Moonves resolve her financial interest in W magazine, or is she waiting for the Vogue gig? Another emerging front-runner appears to be Will Welch, the cool, advertiser-friendly head of GQ. After initially dismissing Welch’s candidacy—he’s got his hands full and might have greater aspirations—Lauren explains why he might be the most serious contender of all. Read Now

SPORTS

Though known for its icy milieu, the National Hockey League has been on fire the past few months, fueled by the success of its inaugural midseason 4 Nations tournament and a 12-year, $7.7 billion media rights deal with Rogers Communications. In this candid chat, John sits down with commissioner Gary Bettman to pull back the curtain on the league’s successes, while also navigating the looming question of R.S.N.s and a potential U.S.-Canada trade war. Despite the uncertainties, Bettman is steadfast in his plans to keep the NHL red-hot: “You continue to tell stories. You continue to highlight our players,” he says. “You continue to talk about the elements that make our game so great.” Read Now

HOLLYWOOD

After A Minecraft Movie’s record-breaking opening weekend at the box office, Scott analyzes the factors that led to its success. First, it’s clear that Jack Black is the movie star of big films for little audiences, and has been for 25 years. In animated and live-action films alike, Black’s energy still resonates with young moviegoers. Secondly, the video game curse was broken years ago, and adapting newer I.P. that kids care about may be a new formula for blockbusters. Warner Bros.’ continued partnership with Legendary also proved to work well for them as they maintain and create big franchises. Lastly, the creative team behind the movie tuned out the haters; despite what early reviews said, this film was destined to be a hit. Looks like general audiences don’t rely solely on Rotten Tomatoes scores. Read Now

FASHION

Lauren is joined by watch expert and Dimepiece founder Brynn Wallner, who just spent a week in Geneva at Watches and Wonders, the Swiss watch industry’s largest and most important trade show. Brynn shares what she saw in the context of what’s happening in the watch market more broadly. They also discuss the big T (as in tariffs) and what they could mean for watch collectors. To round things out, they contemplate the merits (or lack thereof) of The Row’s $690 flip-flops and discuss who should be the next editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair. Listen Now

MEDIA

Bill Cohan stops by The Grill Room to diagnose the anxiety plaguing media executives as MAGA’s economic “detox” takes hold. Bill and Dylan discuss the $11 trillion market loss since the election, the global headwinds to corporate earnings, and whether consumers are due for another bout of inflation—a perfect storm that’s tickling the media industry’s 2008-era P.T.S.D. Listen Now

WASHINGTON

John is joined by Marc Elias, the attorney whom Donald Trump has cast as his bête noire in the legal profession, to discuss the president’s war on the judiciary, the bar, and the rule of law itself. Elias explains why the executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” is designed to do just the opposite, making it the most dangerous of Trump’s myriad power grabs; why we aren’t yet in a constitutional crisis but soon could be; and why Trump’s threats have caused so many prestigious law firms to bend the knee. Marc also tells John why he hasn’t done the same despite being plenty worried by Trump’s singling him out as a “very bad” person and a “thug.” Listen Now

WALL STREET

Bill Cohan joins Peter for a sobering discussion of Trump’s trade war and its discontents: Bill Ackman, warning of an “economic nuclear winter”; Jamie Dimon, sending panicked smoke signals to the White House; Larry Fink, predicting an imminent recession; and many more. Then they turn to the meltdown in the crypto market, the decline in consumer confidence, and what comes next. Listen Now

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