Best Of: Growing Up Murdoch / DOGE's Cuts To The Federal Workforce
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Who are the key players in the Murdoch family succession drama?
Murdoch's effort to ensure his elder son Lachlan inherits the throne led to a no-holds-barred legal brawl that unearthed painful family stories of manipulation and betrayal. Also, we'll talk with Harvard professor Elizabeth Linos about the extraordinary measures Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has taken to shrink the size of the federal government and what that means for federal workers and the rest of us who depend on government services. And John Powers reviews the animated film Flow, which he says is wonderful.
What measures has Elon Musk's DOGE taken to reduce the federal workforce?
That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.
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This is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Dave Davies. If you enjoyed the HBO series Succession about the children of an aging media mogul competing to inherit his business empire, you'll want to read the new article in The Atlantic by my guest McKay Coppins.
What are the dynamics between Rupert Murdoch's sons Lachlan and James?
It's about the real-life drama involving the children of 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch and their battle over who will someday lead his business properties, most prominently Fox News. And even if you didn't see Succession, the story is still fascinating, both because of the intense family dynamics and the stakes in this conflict. The outcome could mean big changes for Fox News, which Coppins describes as the most powerful conservative media force in the world. Late last year, the parties in this family dispute squared off in an epic court battle over the succession plan for the Murdoch empire. Rupert Murdoch wanted to amend the family trust to ensure his eldest son Lachlan would take the helm, shutting out his younger son James, who was troubled by Fox News' hard right bent.
Coppins writes that the trial testimony and depositions and discovery in the case were often intensely personal, bringing up years of painful secrets, scheming and manipulation, lies, media leaks, and devious betrayals. For his story, Coppins had extensive interviews with James Murdoch and his wife Catherine. Their side prevailed in the trial verdict, which is under appeal. McKay Coppins is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the author of two books, The Wilderness, about the battle over the future of the Republican Party, and Romney, A Reckoning, a biography of Mitt Romney. The online version of his new article is Growing Up Murdoch, James Murdoch on mind games, sibling rivalry, and the war for the family media empire.
It's on The Atlantic's website, and it's also the magazine's April issue cover story. Well, McKay Coppins, welcome back to Fresh Air. Thanks for having me. All right. Well, let's talk about this story, the Murdoch story. I mean, Rupert Murdoch actually inherited a newspaper from his dad who had an interesting background in journalism. And then he went off on this swashbuckling campaign to acquire one paper and then use the leverage on that to get another and another. And at the time, he was 40. He was the most powerful media owner in Australia. He moves to the United Kingdom and
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who are the key players in the Murdoch family succession drama?
0:41–1:16
2
What measures has Elon Musk's DOGE taken to reduce the federal workforce?
1:16–2:20
3
What are the dynamics between Rupert Murdoch's sons Lachlan and James?
2:20–5:37
4
How did the rise of Donald Trump influence the Murdoch family dynamics?
5:37–14:52
5
What was the outcome of the Murdoch family court battle over the trust?
14:52–18:21
6
How might the Murdoch empire change with James Murdoch's influence?
18:21–25:23
7
How does the HBO series 'Succession' relate to the Murdoch family?
25:23–30:29
8
What is the animated film 'Flow' about and why is it acclaimed?
30:29–49:16
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from Fresh Air
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