Last month, a group of commentators sat down for a conversation that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Fox News, Breitbart, or Joe Rogan’s podcast. Lounging on a beige couch with exposed microphones and a wood-paneled backdrop, the four panelists derided the Biden administration’s response to the Covid pandemic, arguing that public health experts “shredded their credibility.” They mocked the rationale offered by some officials during the protests that followed George Floyd’s murder, recalling how authorities declared racism a public health issue while encouraging people to demonstrate in the streets, calling it a striking display of government hypocrisy.
But that discussion wasn’t taking place on a right-wing media outlet. It featured The Washington Post opinion editor Adam O’Neal, his deputy, James Hohmann, and co-hosts, Carine Hajjar and Kate Andrews, on the paper's new “Make It Make Sense” podcast—a tangible manifestation of the rightward shift of the section under owner Jeff Bezos.
The Amazon billionaire ignited fury in 2024 when he spiked an endorsement of Kamala Harris at the last minute, triggering hundreds of thousands of subscription cancellations. Months later, he announced that the opinion section would focus on “personal liberties and free markets.” Nearly a year after O’Neal was handpicked by Bezos—after stints at The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and The Dispatch—to lead the section, the episodes showcase the vision of the “intellectual diversity” he promised to bring readers.
But instead of producing fresh arguments around those topics, the podcast’s content has centered on culture-war debates already endlessly litigated across right-wing media. The result thus far has been an operation that appears to be neither finding a sizable audience nor winning over skeptical colleagues inside the newsroom, many of whom view the project as a costly and increasingly embarrassing distraction during a period of unrest for The Post. Since launching in May, the show has generated a shockingly low 800 YouTube subscribers despite collaborating with The Post’s flagship account, a move often used to boost viewership. Clearly, there’s not much of an immediate market for the content that has resulted from Bezos and O’Neal’s vision.
In the wake of sweeping layoffs at The Post in February that eliminated one-third of the newsroom’s staff, and as the company moves to sublease a significant portion of its K Street headquarters to further cut costs, the journalistic institution now overseen by publisher Jeff D'Onofrio still appears willing to splurge on O’Neal’s opinion section. The paper recently invested in a new podcast studio for the section, complete with an Americana aesthetic and production equipment, with the video gear alone costing roughly $80,000, according to people familiar with the matter.
“There’s clearly money going into the production of it,” one former staffer told Status, “but it really strikes me as yet another fire drill that will be canned within a year,” citing The Post’s ill-fated experiments with Facebook Live as precedent.
A Post spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
A deeper examination of the episodes produced by Bezos’ opinion team suggests the operation has drifted well beyond his stated mission of championing “personal liberties and free markets,” veering instead into the kind of contrarian culture-war programming more commonly found at outlets like The Daily Wire. In recent episodes, The Post’s opinion staff have defended controversial anti-trans arguments and dismissed concerns about climate change and the environmental impact of A.I. infrastructure. A spokesperson for Bezos did not respond to a request for comment asking how the programming aligns with the principles he originally laid out for the opinion section.
During an episode titled “The Politics Of Conversion Therapy,” Hajjar, a Post opinion writer, pushed right-wing arguments on transgender issues, describing those who regret transitioning as “inconvenient holes” in the broader debate. “There have been high-profile detransitioners, and they get just shamed over and over again in the public for making a decision that was best for them,” Hajjar said.
In another segment, Hohmann sought to dismiss concerns over A.I. data centers straining local water supplies, attributing public backlash in part to reporting by journalist Karen Hao. The episode drew backlash from reporters who called it misleading. “This is the most regressive piece of tech ‘journalism' I have seen in quite some time,” journalist Kylie Robison wrote on X. In a more recent episode on A.I. and the environment, Hohmann described climate activists as a “cult” and argued that the media is “guilty” of fueling “hysteria” over climate change.
In an episode titled "Did Trump Win The Late-Night Battle?," Hohmann declared, “Donald Trump broke everyone's brain. He broke the media, he broke comedy.” The deputy opinion editor argued that under Trump, journalists “discarded traditional notions of objectivity” and “as a result, they lost credibility.” The hosts then expanded that theory, accusing comedians of becoming “less funny because they were so fixated” on Trump and “sanctimonious.”
The podcast has also ventured into some bizarre territory. Recent episodes have featured discussions over the cancellation of “The Bachelorette,” questioned whether left-wing streamer Hasan Piker exploited Cuba’s economic crisis by taking a “luxury trip” to the island, and chewed over the NFL Draft’s effect on learning in Pittsburgh schools.
The few viewers watching the “Make it Make Sense” episodes have notably pushed back on the narratives, with one commenter recently writing, “How on earth is the Washington Post with all its resources doing a worse version of The Free Press?”
And the claims aren’t winning over many fans in the newsroom either. “It’s all just so embarrassing,” one Post staffer told Status of the topics discussed by the opinion team. As another staffer put it, “There comes a point when being the butt of the joke harms our journalistic credibility.”
Scott Pelley speaks to The New York Times. (Screen grab/NYT)
In his first sit-down interview since he was fired last week from “60 Minutes,” Scott Pelley said CBS News is “on fire” and that Bari Weiss should be removed. [NYT]
Pelley detailed a moment when Weiss asked for edits to a story on ICE protests in Minneapolis to make protesters look more aggressive. “There was a thumb on the scale for the president’s version of events that I felt was a level of political influence that I had never seen in 37 years at CBS News,” he told Lulu Garcia-Navarro.
CBS disputed Pelley’s characterization of events, saying there was “no credible argument” of Weiss imposing such influence.
Pelley also confirmed Status’ reporting about Weiss being furious over Anderson Cooper’s goodbye video, which included a not-so-subtle message to management to maintain the longstanding independence of “60 Minutes.”
“My understanding from people directly involved in that interaction is that Bari Weiss was quite livid that Anderson Cooper was allowed to say those things,” Pelley said.
In addition to political interference, Pelley said the larger issue with Weiss’ leadership has been her inexperience: “The problem was the incompetence. You don’t break a deadline.”
Pelley torched Weiss and new “60” executive producer Nick Bilton’s argument about modernizing the show as “disingenuous,” saying, “It’s almost as if Bari Weiss and Nick Bilton were sealed in a time capsule in 1990, and it just cracked open. They’ve just discovered the internet, and they’re running around telling everybody how important it is.”
Shocker: FCC Chair Brendan Carr waded into Pelley’s exit, posting on X that trust in media has fallen due to journalists who are “completely out of touch,” adding, “You could not get away with that behavior at any run of the mill job.”
Weiss, meanwhile, dropped out of a scheduled off-the-record speech at the Seminar, a gathering of PR and communications pros, Semafor’s Max Tani reported. [Bluesky]
Kristen Welker sat for a contentious interview with Donald Trump on “Meet the Press,” where she pressed him on the lack of evidence for his “rigged election” claims. Unable to provide proof of his false claims, he attacked Welker as “crooked” and “stupid” before he stormed off set. [USA Today]
In the four minutes prior to Trump abruptly walking out, Welker fact-checked him more than a dozen times on his false claims about the 2020 election and January 6.
Ahead of his move to primetime weeknights, MS NOW’s Ali Velshi closed out six years of hosting “Velshi” on Sunday with an emotional tribute to the freedom of the press, telling viewers “some of the institutions that taught this country what bearing witness looks like are right now under pressure from, or perhaps in bed with this administration,” specifically singling out CBS News. [MS NOW]
A Hollywood town hall titled “Main Street vs. the Merger” assailed the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal. WGA board member Adam Conover said it will bring about “the death of a great American industry.” [THR]
Lauren Boebert cursed out a Fox News reporter who asked about allegations of an affair with Thomas Massie, saying, “Fuck you, first of all,” then claiming sexism was behind the inquiry. [Mediaite]
Tribeca Film Festival condemned “offensive and unacceptable” jokes made by actor Elon Gold and influencer Lizzy Savetsky on the red carpet, making light of the alleged torture of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. [Deadline]
A judge dismissed a lawsuit against musician Chuck Redd for canceling a performance at the Kennedy Center in protest. [AP]
“It Was Just an Accident” director Jafar Panahi’s one-year prison sentence was upheld by an Iranian court. He can appeal the ruling. [Variety]
Jim Acosta and PBS News Hour correspondent Liz Landers, who met at CNN, were married at the Army Navy Country Club. [Washingtonian]
Nicholas Galitzine in "Masters of the Universe." (Photo by Giles Keyte/Amazon MGM Studios)
“Scary Movie” delivered a franchise-best $55 million weekend, marking a win for Paramount, which obtained rights via a stake in Miramax in 2019.
“Masters of the Universe” looks like a very expensive streaming movie for Amazon MGM, muscling up a below-projections $29 million opening.
YouTube-infused horror remains the story of the moment, but “Backrooms” dropped nearly 70% from its massive premiere, while “Obsession” (down just seven percent) continues to hold strong on word of mouth, with both landing in the $25 million range.
“Michael” topped $350 million domestic and is nearing $900 million worldwide, having already become Lionsgate’s biggest-ever global performer.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” became the year’s first $1 billion hit.
In this week’s special episode of Power Lines: We go inside the “60 Minutes” firestorm with our exclusive reporting as Bari Weiss faces unprecedented backlash over her radical overhaul of the storied newsmagazine.
You can watch on YouTube—or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoy the program, subscribe so you never miss an episode!
