In this episode of The Friday Reporter, I sit down with Bruce Mehlman — partner at Mehlman Consulting and the mind behind The Age of Disruption. Bruce has spent decades operating at the crossroads of technology, politics, public policy and business, and he brings a rare, genuinely bipartisan lens to how power and change actually work in Washington and beyond.

We talk about why this moment feels so chaotic — and why it isn’t as unprecedented as it seems. Bruce makes the case that much of today’s tension comes from a simple problem: 20th-century institutions trying (and failing) to govern 21st-century realities. From AI and automation to geopolitical risk, culture wars and supply-chain vulnerability, he explains how history offers a surprisingly useful guide for navigating what comes next.

In this conversation, we dig into:

* Why today’s disruption echoes moments like the Gilded Age, the New Deal and the Reagan era

* How AI, automation and social media are reshaping work, governance and risk

* The difference between performative corporate politics and leadership that actually matters

* How companies can think about political risk without turning themselves into partisan actors

* What young professionals really need to understand about AI and the future of work

Bruce also shares how his once-quarterly strategy decks evolved into a must-read weekly Substack (Bruce Mehlman)— now shaping how policymakers, executives and journalists think about disruption in Washington and Silicon Valley.

Chris Cillizza is asked often about his political takes — that’s not what this show is about. Instead, we’re talking independent journalism.

Newsrooms are smaller. Trust is harder to earn. The incentives are louder, quicker, and more punishing than ever. And for many of the most recognizable voices in political media, the next chapter isn’t another beat — it’s independence.

On this episode of The Friday Reporter, I sit with political analyst and longtime political journalist Chris Cillizza for a candid conversation about what it really means to build a career in media outside the machine — and why independent journalism isn’t just a trend, it’s becoming a necessity.

Cillizza shares how the economics of the modern newsroom shape what gets covered (and what gets ignored), why “high traffic” doesn’t always equal “high value,” and what audiences even get into the corrosive nature of the words “fake media.”

This conversation isn’t about the hottest take of the day. It’s about the infrastructure of political coverage — what’s working, what’s broken, and what comes next.

In this episode, we discuss:

* The incentives driving political coverage in 2026 — and what they reward

* The difference between high-traffic stories and high-value journalism

* The shift from newsroom journalist to independent voice — and what it costs

For communications leaders, this is the takeaway:

If you want to earn attention and trust today, you have to understand the environment journalists are operating in — and how independence is reshaping the business, the tone, and the future of political media.

The Friday Reporter opens 2026 with a conversation at the intersection of food, media and reinvention. Longtime Washington, D.C. restaurant critic Tom Sietsema joins the show to reflect on his departure from The Washington Post and the next chapter of his career.

We look back at some of his most influential restaurant reviews, how food has evolved in Washington and what great dining looks like when the spotlight is off. Tom also shares what he’s cooking at home, where he eats when he wants a reliable local favorite and how he thinks about restaurants now that he’s no longer reviewing them for the paper.

A thoughtful, behind-the-scenes conversation about taste, trust and life after one of the most recognizable roles in food journalism — and a smart way to start the year.