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

First up today, Ian Krietzberg offers a clear-eyed assessment of the nebulous potential and secret aims behind Sora 2, OpenAI’s hyper-realistic A.I. video-generation app. Despite feverish uptake from OpenAI fans and handwringing from Hollywood, it’s still an open question whether this is the future of social media or something more ephemeral. Ian rings up Puck’s Julia Alexander and copyright attorney Simon Pulman to consider all the angles…

Plus, below the fold: Peter Hamby chronicles how the Democrats pulled ahead in the shutdown messaging wars. Eriq Gardner digs into the seemingly petty legal war between Disney and Dish Network. Marion Maneker narrates an art world caper involving Edvard Munch. Sarah Shapiro spotlights a new generation of anti-Nike running brands. And exclusively for Inner Circle members, Julia considers whether EA Sports might push into live sports after its $55 billion take-private by the Saudis.    

Meanwhile, on the pods: Matt Belloni is joined by Semafor’s Ben Smith on The Town to discuss what to expect from CBS News in the Bari Weiss era. On Fashion People, Lauren Sherman sits down with stylist Becky Malinsky for a definitive postmortem on Paris Fashion Week. On The Varsity, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski gives John Ourand a rollicking preview of the NHL season. And on The Powers That Be, Peter and Eriq break down Sam Altman’s bullishness in the face of major copyright litigation from The New York Times.

A.I.

OpenAI’s new video-generation app has only been available to the public for a week and it’s already caused a reckoning in Hollywood while raising existential questions about the future of social media. In a pair of incisive conversations, Puck’s own Julia Alexander and copyright attorney Simon Pulman consider what comes next…

WASHINGTON

After years of churning out digital cringe, Democrats finally seem to have found a human message during the government shutdown, leveraging the left’s messy creator ecosystem to beat the Trump meme machine.

HOLLYWOOD

Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are suing Dish over Sling TV’s “day passes,” reviving a decades-old grudge match just as ESPN launches its long-awaited stand-alone app—and the industry braces for more existential threats.

ART

How one family discovered they owned a key work by Edvard Munch that was too valuable to sell—and how a clever print specialist solved the problem.

FASHION

With backing from Marc Lore and A-Rod, the indie Brooklyn startup is betting on unbranded athlete sponsorships, old-fashioned retail, and traditional word of mouth to gain market share inside the $90 billion running market.

SPORTS

All the headlines about the Saudis taking Electronic Arts private have obscured its true $55 billion opportunity. As sports becomes more gamified, could the video game maker start streaming live sports?

HOLLYWOOD

Matt welcomes Semafor co-founder Ben Smith to discuss what to expect from CBS News in the David Ellison and Bari Weiss era. Ellison, the new owner of Paramount, has tasked 41-year-old Weiss with running its news division and also acquired her publication, The Free Press, for $150 million. Matt and Ben talk about why Ellison brought Weiss in, how she could influence CBS News, and what power a broadcast news brand even has in 2025.

FASHION

Writer and stylist Becky Malinsky joins Lauren to swap notes on Paris Fashion Week, starting with Yves Saint Laurent and leading all the way up to Chanel. They break down Matthieu Blazy’s first collection for Chanel, look by look, piece by piece, song by song, and highlight some of their favorite moments of the week, including Pieter Mulier’s Saturday morning pick-me-up at Alaïa, Michael Rider’s optimistic Celine outing, and plenty of others. They also share a retail report—from Charvet and Phoebe Philo to the newly opened Rubirosa—and serve up a couple Milan leftovers.

SPORTS

ESPN NHL analyst Greg Wyshynski joins John for a rollicking preview of the 2025-26 season, which kicked off yesterday. He breaks down the league’s labor peace and the new C.B.A. set to kick in next September, and weighs in on the recent media rights windfall, global expansion ambitions, the fiery U.S.A.-Canada rivalry, and much, much more.

A.I.

Eriq Gardner joins Peter to evaluate the legal nightmare that is Sora 2, the A.I. video-generating social app that’s set the internet ablaze. As OpenAI faces major litigation from The New York Times and the Authors Guild, Eriq explains why Sam Altman remains bullish that he can prevail in court—and why the company keeps forging ahead with new products despite growing backlash from the creative community.

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