Mark Zuckerberg has gone from Donald Trump’s enemies list to Mar-a-Lago guest, and enjoyed a prime seat at inauguration with his fellow tech titans. On this episode, host and Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Radhika Jones, along with executive editor Claire Howorth and Hive editor Michael Calderone, trace Zuckerberg’s transformation of Meta alongside the Facebook cofounder's own style upgrade and desire for more “masculine energy” in the corporate world. How might Zuckerberg survive—and perhaps, even thrive—in a second Trump term?

JD Vance emerged as a media darling with “Hillbilly Elegy,” his best-selling 2016 memoir of growing up poor in Ohio, but it's just one of several hats he's worn—Yale-trained lawyer, Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Never Trump pundit, Pro-Trump senator, and Vice President of the United States—all by the age of 40. On this episode, host and Vanity Fair editor Radhika Jones is joined by executive editor Claire Howorth and Hive editor Michael Calderone to trace Vance’s populist ride through America’s power centers and how his right-wing ideology dovetails with a burgeoning constitutional crisis. They also explore how Vance is shaping up as Trump’s Veep—and whether he has the political chops to one day land the top job.

With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. poised to become the nation’s most powerful public health official, Inside the Hive is back and going deep on the leader of the MAHA movement. Host and Vanity Fair editor in chief Radhika Jones, along with executive editor Claire Howorth and Hive editor Michael Calderone, chart Kennedy’s path from Camelot to the halls of Congress, where he made clear he’d carry out Donald Trump’s radical agenda. Could this Democratic scion be the true MAGA heir?

There was no shortage of finger-pointing and recrimination among the chattering classes after Donald Trump’s election. But now, as the dust settles and 2024 comes to a close, it’s high time for some soul-searching and reflection, That’s the goal of this year’s final episode of Inside the Hive, where Brian Stelter—who returned to his alma mater as Chief Media Analyst at CNN earlier this year—is joined by Hive Editor Michael Calerone and Executive Editor Claire Howorth to unpack what they got wrong in 2024 as well as the lessons they can take into next year. For one, as Howorth points out, that means redefining what constitutes “alternative media,” which proved unexpectedly instrumental in turning out new parts of Trump’s base. Calderone also adds that political charisma and celebrity also can’t go underestimated, arguing that Democrats should strive to elevate leaders who can communicate effectively in a variety of formats. “The next person,” he says, “is gonna need star power.”

Democrats effectively lost the 2024 presidential race a year earlier by rallying behind a deeply unpopular incumbent, New York Times politics reporter Astead Herndon argues in a frank discussion with host Brian Stelter about Joe Biden’s legacy. Herndon, who also hosts “The Run-Up” podcast, talks about how Democrats (and some in the media) missed major warning signs about how Biden’s age and accomplishments were perceived outside the D.C. bubble—and where the party goes next.

Host Brian Stelter is joined by Ian Bassin, a lawyer who served in the Obama administration and co-founder of Protect Democracy, and Michael Calderone, editor of Vanity Fair’s the Hive, just days after Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough revealed their Mar-a-Lago detente with Donald Trump, to discuss what the meeting suggests about the president-elect’s influence on the media and, more broadly, how news outlets are already reeling from Trump’s potential retaliatory efforts. The group also discusses how the press will respond in courageous ways, telling the truth loudly in the face of a president known to threaten journalists.

There was a time, not long ago, in which most people might have scoffed at the idea that Elon Musk, an entrepreneur with aspirations to save the world from climate change, would become a right-wing folk hero. And yet, that's precisely the transformation he underwent this year. The billionaire CEO of Tesla—now known for his ardent support of Donald Trump and his endless philippics against the “woke mind virus”—has become a major power player in the MAGAverse, and is set to head up a new initiative in Trump’s second administration, so called the "Department of Government Efficiency." In the latest episode of Inside the Hive, VF special correspondent Nick Bilton and New York Times tech reporter Kate Conger unpack what brought Musk into the MAGAverse, how he plans to gut the regulatory state under Trump, and why the duo’s ego-fueled bromance may be destined to blow up. “I think we are on a collision course of personalities with these two,” Conger predicts. “[Musk is] going to want complete control...and I don't think Trump is going to be willing to give him that."

On this post-election episode, host Brian Stelter checks in with Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Radhika Jones and contributing editor Jeff Sharlet, getting their gut-level reactions to Donald Trump’s triumph and perspective on the evolving MAGA movement, which now include the likes of Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They discuss the language of fascism, male identity politics, and the need to cut through the Trumpian noise to uncover what’s really happening in a second term at a national and local level.