Start Here

@starthere · Podcast

Latest segments

• Villa Vie Odyssey stranded, 2026-10-30
  Traces two retirees' decline to Cambodia
  Tells the story of two retirees aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey, tracing the decline from worse food and scaled-back activities to a fuel loan and this week's disembarkation in Cambodia. The company's explanation is that fuel costs per cabin quadrupled after the Iran war began.
• Q3 GDP first look, 2026-10-30
  Breaks down the GDP internals and AI capex
  Walks through the GDP report's internals: higher prices inflate the spending numbers, households are saving less to keep up, and half the quarter's growth was business investment in AI data centers and cloud infrastructure, with the bubble question left open.
• DoorDash-Instacart talks, 2026-10-30
  Adds the FTC pricing orders to nine firms
  Covers DoorDash's $17 billion offer for Instacart and the FTC's personalized-pricing orders to nine consumer companies, with denials from Walmart, Instacart and the airlines' lobbying group. Frames the deal as consolidation to compete with Amazon and Walmart.
• General Sylvia fired over leaks, 2026-10-30
  Reports the J-5 firing and DOJ referral
  Reports the firing of the Joint Staff's J-5 after an inquiry found three failed polygraph tests and leaks to reporters, and that the case is headed to the Justice Department. Ties the leaks to the confirmed Patriot and THAAD shortfall and the White House's fear of the China signal.
• Michigan Senate race, 2026-10-30
  Interviews Rogers on his Michigan coalition
  Reports from Kalamazoo after interviewing Rogers, framing Michigan and Maine as the GOP's two real pickup hopes. Adds Rogers's own account of his coalition: disaffected Democrats, especially Jewish voters, and some Black voters in Detroit who find El-Sayed too extreme.
• Alaska probe into Dan Sullivan, 2026-10-30
  Adds the state investigation into the race
  Adds a second track to the Alaska story: alongside the governor's order, a state investigation is now underway, and Karl notes the DOJ had been discussing its probe before the Times story ran. Frames both as outrage-building rather than a likely prosecution.
• WNBA Finals Game 6, 2026-10-29
  Explains the arena squeeze behind the 12:30 tip
  Explains the 12:30 pm weekday tip for game six: the Dream's 3,500-seat arena is too small, State Farm Arena is booked for Hawks-Cavaliers, and the WNBA sent playoff dates to teams in December 2025. The Dream ownership group put out a statement opposing the time.
• Israeli election, final week, 2026-10-29
  Walks through the election night reversal
  Walks through the election night reversal - exit polls showing the opposition ahead, then Netanyahu's coalition pulling ahead by five or six seats - and explains the parliamentary mechanics of what comes next. A clear explainer, but it stays inside the counts already on the record.
• Spain train collision, 2026-10-29
  Reports from Toledo and the Madrid protests
  Correspondent report from near Toledo: a computer glitch stopped as many as six trains, controllers then cleared one to resume without speed restrictions, and hundreds protested outside the transport ministry in Madrid, throwing bottles until police used tear gas.
• Times ties Peltola to Dan Sullivan…, 2026-10-29
  Recaps the Times report and flags verification
  Recaps the Times report on the Ballot Composition Project for ABC's audience: the two Dan Sullivans, the Alaska Supreme Court ruling, the aides' instructions and the campaign and DSCC denials. It stays inside the Times reporting and flags that ABC has not independently verified it.
• Court ends administrative closure, 2026-10-28
  Explains closures and the same-day vacatur
  Explains administrative closure and the 2024 Biden regulation, then traces Texas's June suit and DOJ's same-day vacatur. Notes the administration used closures itself last year, with plainclothes agents arresting migrants in court hallways once cases ended.
• Bolsonaro flees to US, 2026-10-28
  Reports the missed passport surrender
  Reports the mechanics of the departure: Bolsonaro missed Monday's passport surrender and vanished with his family, and a State Department official says visas will be granted on arrival. Adds the corruption, money laundering and tax evasion investigations as the stated pressure behind the flight.
• Paxton-Tallarico Texas Senate race tightens, 2026-10-28
  Reports record early voting in Fort Worth
  Reports from Fort Worth on the final week: Trump's third Texas rally in a month in Lubbock, record early voting with an ABC analysis showing a Democratic edge, and the tightening Paxton-Talarico race. Adds the early-vote tally and the governor's race's data-center issue.
• Police called on Nevada, 2026-10-27
  Tells the benched three-year-old story
  Tells the story of three-year-old Nevada Pierre, benched mid-game in a Florida five-year-old league after scoring, with his mother filming a league official before police escorted the family out. No charges were filed. Frames it as a youth-sports debate over recreation versus competition.
• Anthropic's IPO filing, 2026-10-27
  Walks through the S-1 numbers
  Walks through the S-1 numbers for the first time: $16 billion in revenue in the first half against $81 billion in losses, ticker ANT on NASDAQ, an expected valuation near SpaceX's $1.8 trillion, and more than 90 pages of risk factors that include the end of humanity.
• Anthropic's IPO filing, 2026-10-27
  Introduces the filing as the news peg
  Introduces Anthropic's IPO paperwork as the segment's news peg, framing it against an AI-driven market where NVIDIA is the most valuable public company. Sets up a conversation with ABC's Elizabeth Schulze about how much these companies make.
• Comey's third indictment, 2026-10-27
  Recaps the Comey ruling and promised appeal
  Recaps the Maurene Comey ruling through ABC's Aaron Katursky: the civil service reasoning, the reinstatement with back pay up to her resignation, and the DOJ's promised appeal. Ties it to the third Comey prosecution as a closing note.
• Comey's third indictment, 2026-10-27
  Rounds up the pre-midterm rulings
  Rounds up pre-midterm rulings, including the judge's finding that Maureen Comey should not have lost her job, framed as a loss for the Trump DOJ. A brief retelling that stays inside what is already on the record.
• Lula wins fourth term, 2026-10-27
  Recaps the runoff and the refusal to concede
  Recaps the runoff result and Bolsonaro's refusal to concede, framing it as a parallel to U.S. polarization and to Serbia's election. It stays inside the week's coverage, and its claim that Bolsonaro is still refusing to concede is behind the record.
• Israeli election, final week, 2026-10-27
  Profiles Eisenkot in the final week
  Correspondent dispatch from Jerusalem framing the vote as a referendum on Netanyahu, with security as the top issue. Profiles Eisenkot as center-right and hawkish: backs the Iran war, keeps the army in Gaza, rules out a two-state solution, would likely rein in settler violence. A retelling that stays inside the established picture.