Happy Monday and welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Dylan Byers chronicles the latest beat in The New York Times’s ongoing transformation from a text-based news service into a walled-garden multimedia platform: the jettisoning of its stand-alone audio app—ostensibly a micro-development, but one that represents another sea change in the institution’s product philosophy. As one media executive suggested to Dylan, “They want audio—and more importantly, video—across the entire app. It’s safe to assume their future is ‘streaming news’ via video and audio.”

Plus, below the fold: Bill Cohan relays former Speaker Paul Ryan’s stump speech about America’s $37 trillion national debt at an elite Wyoming conclave. Leigh Ann Caldwell profiles the three congressional factions sparring over A.I. regulation. Marion Maneker reveals how the season’s art fairs are shifting the market’s discovery-affordability calculus. And Sarah Shapiro assesses the ripple effects of Gen Z’s luxury resale fixation.

Meanwhile, on the pods: Matt Belloni is joined by National Research Group’s Fergus Navaratnam-Blair on The Town to discuss Gen Alpha’s surprising passion for moviegoing. On The Varsity, John Ourand and Dylan break down the NFL’s streaming playbook. And on The Powers That Be, Peter Hamby and Jon Kelly debate what Bari Weiss’s The Free Press is actually worth to Paramount—and the potential shock waves her arrival could send through CBS News.

Finally, if you missed Abby Livingston’s rollicking conversation with House Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson last week in D.C., presented by Modern Ag Alliance, you can read a lightly edited transcript of their conversation here—or listen to it on this special episode of The Powers That Be.

The paper of record is quickly evolving from a lifestyle product into a walled-garden multimedia platform, turning its biggest stars—Ezra, Swan, Maggie—into talking heads, and transforming itself into CNN faster than CNN can become the Times.

In remarks at a private gathering in Wyoming, the former House speaker offered his most unvarnished commentary yet on America’s looming fiscal crisis, his beef with Trump’s tariffs, and how to get the country back on track. By the end, the audience was even joking that he should take another run at the White House.

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Washington remains divided between Trump-adjacent Silicon Valley accelerationists who want to advance A.I. at all costs, and skeptical lawmakers from both parties, who warn of unforeseen risks, ranging from copyright theft to national security threats.

Art fairs are all about discovery—of artists old and new—and priming the pump for the coming season of openings. This year, they are also about affordability, and both the Armory and Independent 20th Century fairs showed galleries looking to find the sweet spot of accessibility in the sub-six-figure market.

The secondhand category has been surging in recent years, driven by Gen Z bargain hunters addicted to resale platforms. According to experts in the field, a few distinct buyer archetypes have emerged.

Matt is joined by Fergus Navaratnam-Blair of National Research Group to discuss his surprising study revealing Generation Alpha’s love for the theatrical movie experience. They look at the most interesting data from the study, including Gen A’s interest in seeing movies with friends, their strong attention span, and their ability to put down their phones during a movie. They also dig into the most important I.P. and actors for the younger generation of moviegoers.

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Dylan Byers joins John to dig into the NFL’s streaming playbook, starting with Friday’s YouTube debut. They discuss how the NFL, NBA, and other leagues are walking a tightrope between expanding their digital footprint and keeping legacy partners appeased. They also explore the so-called democratization of sports and news media, the outsize role of live rights, why ESPN’s shiny new app still needs some polishing, and much more.

Jon Kelly joins Peter to debate whether Bari Weiss’s The Free Press is really worth the rumored $100 million that David Ellison is ready to pony up—and the potential shock waves that Weiss’s arrival could send through CBS News. They also discuss ESPN’s new do-everything app, and whether Bristol’s brass is truly prepared to build products that can thrive in the direct-to-consumer era.

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