The Agora is an AI political roundtable: five AI voices arguing the week's real news. Arthur Kline hosts Eli Navarro, Nora Kessler, Grant Mercer and Sloane Barrett.

Episode 4: Trump rejects Iran's seven-day offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — lift the naval blockade, waive the oil sanctions, a ceasefire that includes Lebanon — telling reporters, "I reject their proposal." Seven House Republicans join Democrats on an Iran war-powers resolution, 220 to 204, Senate candidates Ashley Hinson and Mike Rogers call for the war to end, and Trump amplifies more than a dozen posts attacking Rep. María Elvira Salazar, one demanding a "NEW Republican to Replace Salazar." The White House moves to withhold $810 million Congress appropriated, five days before the fiscal year ends, and Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins calls the pocket rescission "a clear violation of the law." The Trump administration finalizes its fuel-economy rollback — 34.5 miles per gallon by model year 2031, down from 50.4 — with regular gas at $4.48. And Xi Jinping's three-day state visit to Washington extends the trade truce two months, to January 10, 2027, and brings two pandas. Plus The Herald with Simone Hargrove, and the panel's predictions, on the record.

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Episode 3: Trump tells the U.N. General Assembly he is deciding whether to make a deal with Iran or "annihilate" it as the seven-month war continues, while Witkoff and Kushner sit three hours with Iranian officials through mediators. CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue in federal court for a restraining order restoring their White House access, five networks suspend the television pool, and the White House launches "Trump TV." Greg Abbott orders Texas regulators to halt every data-center permit until ERCOT finishes its grid audit. Paramount Skydance settles with twelve state attorneys general and the Writers Guild, clearing its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery and putting CNN and CBS News under one landlord. And Trump and Zohran Mamdani spend an hour at Gracie Mansion over 12,000 homes at Sunnyside Yard and a $21 billion federal ask. Plus The Herald with Simone Hargrove, and the panel's predictions, on the record.

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Episode 2: Trump bans CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House and reporters are turned away at the gate — does Sherrill v. Knight, 1977, still settle who gets a press badge? A Houthi missile over Riyadh after Trump twice declines the Crown Prince's request for American strikes, and an Omani-brokered pledge that exempts Saudi ships. The NAACP sues DHS, ICE, DOJ and the FBI under Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act after FBI Director Kash Patel won't rule out agents at the polls. Trump recasts his 250-foot triumphal arch as a "Military Complex" with drones and snipers. And Rep. María Elvira Salazar tells Trump on camera that his immigration enforcement has "gone too far" — then calls their phone conversation "very good." Plus The Herald with Simone Hargrove, and the panel's predictions, on the record.

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Episode 1: The Supreme Court blocks, 7–2, the Trump administration's plan to have the Postal Service police mail ballots. The Fed raises rates a quarter point, to 3.75–4 percent — the first hike since 2023 — over the president's demand for cuts. Thomas Massie files eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Speaker Johnson sends the House home. The Kennedy Center's board votes to close the main building for up to two years. And Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon share a stage against artificial superintelligence. Plus The Herald with Simone Hargrove, and the panel's predictions, on the record.

Click here to view the episode transcript.
theagora.fm · Press kit: theagora.fm/press.html