Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to Puck’s best new reporting. First up today, Eriq Gardner examines a pair of legal cases testing the boundaries of A.I. accountability: a tragic case in Florida involving the suicide of a ninth grader, and a defamation lawsuit featuring a Georgia radio host who sued OpenAI for falsely accusing him of embezzlement. As Eriq notes, the judges’ respective rulings could lay the groundwork for high-stakes (and inevitable) litigation to come… Plus, below the fold: John Heilemann gets Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson to name names while discussing their controversy-stirring Biden exposé. Marion Maneker tours Dasha Zhukova’s unconventional, art-centric real estate project in Harlem. Sarah Shapiro reveals the retail alchemy behind Erin and Sara Foster’s womenswear brand, Favorite Daughter. And for Inner Circle members, Julia Alexander digs into the legal war between YouTube and Disney over the poaching of a high-profile executive, and what’s next in the sports media gold rush. Meanwhile, on the pods: John Ourand is joined by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham on The Varsity to break down his inside reporting from last week’s NFL owners meetings. On The Town, Matt Belloni and comedian Mike Birbiglia consider how stand-up comedy has been warped by social media. John Heilemann is joined by Mark Whitaker on Impolitic for a deep dive into his new book, The Afterlife of Malcolm X. And on The Powers That Be, Matt and Julia Alexander chew over the impressive Memorial Day box office—and what it portends for the year ahead.

HOLLYWOOD

As entertainment and tech continue their high-speed merger, A.I. is no longer just a backend tool—it can be the writer, the performer, the recommender, and the curator. But when the machines start talking back, who’s responsible when something goes wrong? Read Now

WASHINGTON

In the eye of the weeklong storm around the Biden-bruising, bestselling Original Sin are authors Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, who are as unwavering in their criticism of the former president, and his coven of enablers, as they are in their reporting. Here’s what they had to say. Read Now

ART

Dasha Zhukova, the collector, philanthropist, and former society It Girl, has redefined herself by reimagining the role that art can play in working-class residential life. After a successful development in Philly, she just erected a new building in Harlem—with more to come in Phoenix and Nashville. Read Now

FASHION

The Foster sisters, the celebrity duo behind the hit Netflix show Nobody Wants This, built their clothing brand, Favorite Daughter, on the shoulders of their growing media empire. But the real secret to their success might be much simpler: selling clothes that women actually want. Read Now

SPORTS

The video platform’s surprise acquisition of a high-level Disney executive is the latest, and most poignant, strategic advance in its high-stakes, ongoing battle to become the go-to hub for the burgeoning sports media multiverse. Read Now

SPORTS

ESPN’s Seth Wickersham joins John to break down all of his remarkable inside reporting from last week’s NFL owners meetings in Minnesota. They discuss what it all portends for the league, before turning to Seth’s forthcoming book, American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback. Finally, they dig into all the latest drama surrounding Bill Belichick. Listen Now

HOLLYWOOD

Matt is joined by comedian Mike Birbiglia to talk about how the goal of the modern stand-up comedian has changed over the past decade. They discuss whether stand-up alone is enough, and whether podcasting and social media are necessary to build a following. They also talk about Netflix’s influence on stand-up and whether comedians want to make movies and TV anymore. Matt finishes the show with a prediction on which movies from the Cannes Film Festival will generate Oscar buzz. Listen Now

WASHINGTON

John is joined by Mark Whitaker to discuss his new book, The Afterlife of Malcolm X: An Outcast Turned Icon’s Enduring Impact on America. A former editor-in-chief of Newsweek, Washington bureau chief for NBC News, and managing editor of CNN Worldwide, Whitaker lays out the two narrative threads at the heart of his book: the first, a deep exploration of the unsolved mystery over who killed the revolutionary Muslim minister and progenitor of the Black Power movement; and the second, a rich exegesis of Malcolm’s lasting political and cultural influence. Listen Now

HOLLYWOOD

Matt Belloni joins guest host Julia Alexander to explain why the Memorial Day box office was just what the doctor ordered for studio executives—and what it portends for the year ahead. They break down how the movies performed, the most significant trends of 2025, and how studios can capitalize on the theatrical moment. Listen Now

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