Deep Background with Noah Feldman

About Deep Background with Noah Feldman

Behind every news headline, there’s another, deeper story. It’s a story about power. In Deep Background, Harvard Law School professor and Bloomberg View columnist Noah Feldman will bring together a cross-section of expert guests to explore the historical, scientific, legal, and cultural context that help us understand what’s really going on behind the biggest stories in the news.iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Publisher

Pushkin Industries

Category

government · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Apr 2019

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

49 of 217 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State | A Preview of Michael Lewis's New Audiobook

   Host Noah Feldman interviews author Michael Lewis about his new audiobook "Blockers," revealing the stories of federal employees targeted by the Trump administration.

2. 

   9 Jul 2026

   The Staten Island Problem from Revisionist History

   On the 250th anniversary of the United States, Revisionist History investigates the story of what was, at the time, the biggest secession movement in the U.S. since the Civil War. The Staten Island Problem reconstructs the battle for New York City amidst the turbulent early 1990s — the rise of Rudy Giuliani, the peak of the homicide rate, the Wu-Tang Clan, young Donald Trump, and the first Black mayor of New York — all through the prism of the city’s Forgotten Borough. Staten Island’s secession movement is an early example of the politics of resentment that dominates America today and asks: what do you do when a democracy looks like it’s falling apart? Here’s episode 1. David Dinkins, the first Black mayor of New York City, faces off with the borough president of Staten Island, and tries to hold his city together. Find more episodes of Revisionist History: The Staten Island Problem wherever you get podcasts. (http://lnk.to/SIPATR) See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

3. 

   12 May 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Introducing Drilled: Carbon Cowboys

   Host Noah Feldman interviews investigative climate journalist Amy Westervelt about Bruce Rastetter's controversial carbon projects and their impact on climate solutions.

Inside a recent episode

Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State | A Preview of Michael Lewis's New Audiobook

Published 6 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] For example, the work the Institute of Peace had done in 2007 in Iraq, in an area south of Baghdad, that had become known as the Triangle of Death. A region of a million people was riven by tribal warfare and laced with insurgents who had killed 54 members of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division and wounded hundreds more. At the behest of the Army, the Institute had brought together 30 elders of warring tribes. The Institute's structure, both an instrument of the United States and removed from its political control, created a useful ambiguity. it allowed it to facilitate conversations that official government authorities could not. […]

Who has been a guest on Deep Background with Noah Feldman

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Sam Jones
• Malcolm Gladwell
• Martha Honey
• Tony Avirgan
• Dr Laurie

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

812,267

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.3 / 5

818 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

43 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 81 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

85

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

97

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  The Gist

Questions about Deep Background with Noah Feldman