The Morning Show

Claire.

I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go. I...

It's... Come in, come in. Come in. Yeah.

Come in.

It's okay. What's going on?

- What happened? - They raided us. They took everything.

- Hard drives, IDs... - Okay, wait. Who's "they"?

- The FBI. - The F...

Jesus, Claire. What'd you do?

- I... - You know, actually, no. Yeah, don't...

Don't tell me. Yeah. The less I know the better.

- Yeah. - Can I stay here?

Just for a couple of hours. I'm so tired I can't think.

- Does anyone know you're here? - No.

No, no. I made sure I wasn't followed. I'm... I'm safe. For now.

- Okay. I'll make up the couch. - Thank you.

Hi.

Can I take your coat or...

Bradley, I stuck my neck out for you with my supervisors

and told them, "We can trust her.

Let's make her an asset, let's let her go back to New York."

Okay. You can trust me. I could've saved you the trip.

I already told you I don't know where Claire is.

But you just so happened to have a file on the activist group that she's a part of.

Which you then happened to pass along to Eagle News,

who then called us because that was the right thing to do.

Okay, yes. All right.

Listen, she did reach out to me.

But then she dropped off the map and she told me not to contact her.

I'm trying to tell you, like, I... I can't be helpful with this.

You're not hearing me, so let me be very clear.

I did something nice for you, and now you need to do something nice for me.

Or going back to West Virginia is going to be the least of your worries.

A leaked audio recording has surfaced

of Justice Samuel Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann Alito,

discussing the recent controversy over an upside-down American flag

that was prominently displayed in their front yard at their Virginia home.

Mrs. Alito denounced her critics as "feminazis,"

and suggested she may pursue libel lawsuits against the press.

More on that and other news after this break.

And we're clear.

Geez, they should just start a Real Housewives of the Supreme Court.

You can pair her and Ginni Thomas, and a bunch of frozen margaritas.

Yeah. I... I respect that she refuses to be silenced, okay?

I mean, what's more American than having an opinion?

Hey, heads up.

We're putting together copy now.

Noah Bain, head of the eco-activist group Extinction Revolt, has been arrested.

They think it's in connection with that oil platform fire

that killed two people last year.

- All right. - Thank you.

Hey...

- Can you... - Oh, right.

I know this sounds crazy, but you haven't heard from Claire, have you?

No. Why? What's going on?

I have a source that told me the FBI has a file

on that group that she's involved with.

And I'm just worried she might be in trouble.

What do... What do you mean, "a file"?

Oppo research stuff. It's serious.

They're looking for her.

There's a lot of talk about infighting behind the scenes.

Sure. I know. And that's actually why we wanted you

to come in and sit down with us, Kabir.

So we could just, you know, set the record straight.

I'm sure your readers at The Times would appreciate that.

Okay. So, for the record,

what did you think when Stella Bak's AI started to hallucinate at O24?

Machine learning

is only as good as its inputs.

And let's face it, most people are garbage in one form or another.

That being said, I'd be into having AI Stella on my podcast.

Obviously, O24 was a... a shock, you know?

But if there is a silver lining, it helped us refocus our priorities.

And the Olympics being right there at the top of the list.

And what's the fallout from the Roya Nazeri defection?

There will be more news on that soon.

But, as I was saying, we're trying to look at this,

almost two years into the merger, as a reset.

So, a public meltdown, a stock drop of 6%,

and your CEO out from a sex scandal is a reset?

Holding CEOs to account is good.

And, honestly, there's probably a lot more housekeeping that could be done here.

You know, when your computer slows down from all the porn

and you just gotta wipe the hard drive?

Bro, let's focus, please.

- I think Bro raises a valid point... - Yes.

...about the company's leadership.

Fred Micklen, Mitch Kessler,

Cory Ellison, Stella Bak...

- Weirdest gang bang ever. - Bro...

Is this institution fundamentally corrupt?

Or does it just attract corrupt people?

Dude, once they said corporations were people,

- what'd you think was gonna happen? - Excuse me,

this is a very different company and a different culture.

And we've worked really hard to atone for the sins of the past.

It's true.

The personnel is different now.

Except for you, Alex.

You're the through-line of all these scandals.

Why do you think that is?

Any comment?

I just can't believe you. I can't.

Why did I think you could help with damage control?

You're like a little fucking kid with a match in a fireworks store.

Ten minutes. I just needed ten minutes for you to not go off the rails.

You keep acting like I owe your beloved institution something. I don't.

Listen, you work here, okay? This is your home.

I'm a hired gun on a two-year deal.

I could take my podcast anywhere.

You could take your show anywhere.

I don't understand why you don't.

This place isn't warm and fuzzy, it's a fucking snake pit.

Kabir ain't wrong.

Hey, listen to me.

And I know that you won't give a shit about this,

but I have worked here for 22 years.

And I have given everything to this place. And you know what?

I actually do believe that there is something good about it.

Because I refuse... refuse to accept that I've been wasting my time,

'cause that will just make me feel like shit.

Jesus.

Here you go.

- Thank you so much. - You're welcome.

Your producers will be here in ten to prep for the Roya interview next week.

I can't do it. I can't do it.

This Kabir article is about to cover me with mud,

and if I interview Roya, it becomes all about me. All right, so, no.

Okay. Got it.

Hey, where are we with her asylum?

Any word from Senator King's office?

Yes. I think she's afraid of it.

Might be the whole Iran thing.

The Middle East is radioactive right now.

Oh, God. All right, we have to find somebody else.

Yeah, I've been making a lot of calls.

Getting a lot of nos.

There's primary fights coming up. The Hill is skittish.

Oh, God. Just... 'Tis the season of chicken-shit politicians.

All right, just keep making calls.

Okay.

Hi.

Hey. Have a seat.

Thank you.

Office looks good.

Gonna... Gonna put some doors in or you gonna leave it like this?

I kinda like the open door thing.

Yeah, I want people to feel like I'm available.

Like we're all in this together.

How's that working out for you?

- You know. Baby steps. - Yeah.

We're having a little staff party later.

You should swing by.

I got a call this morning about a Times feature.

A reporter asked me to sit down.

Okay, Mia, you tried this dance with

Stella, and I am not feeling the music,

so, we're gonna hold.

No pod deal. No news magazine show.

Chris gets a 5% bump to save face,

and then we all get back to work.

I think her face is saved.

She's never had more goodwill.

I don't care if she has been singing the national anthem with Taylor Swift.

We do not have the cash right now.

Are you aware

that Fred Micklen bought off an independent legal team

investigating the Mitch Kessler scandal?

No. No, I... I wasn't aware.

Let me guess, a little bird named Stella has been chirping in your ear?

Yeah, you know, the bird's a stork, she dropped a bundle of joy in my lap.

Actual documents that a certain reporter would be very interested in reading.

You still want my job, huh?

I am having so much more fun on this side of the table.

I'll have to discuss Chris's deal with Celine.

Her deal and my deal.

I know that smell.

- You know, you gotta eat something. - Yeah, sorry I slept so late.

I'll get my stuff together.

If I wanted you to leave I wouldn't have made you eggs just the way you like them.

- Thank you. - Of course. Yeah.

- You sleep okay? - Yeah, it's a nice couch.

I told you. Yeah, you know, it's... Memory foam mattress.

So, yeah...

Oh, God.

- Good. - Yeah?

It's funny how easy it is to slip back into things.

Well, maybe 'cause it's a secret.

You know, like it always was.

Wasn't that the fun part?

Yeah, it was. Yeah, for a while, yes.

Yeah, until it wasn't.

Never had a real date.

I never even told my family about you.

And you regret that?

Sometimes, yeah.

I should go.

No. Actually, you... you should stay. I...

I talked to Bradley.