Welcome back to What I’m Hearing...

Happy Passover, Easter, Ramadan, and Coachella to all who celebrate. In honor of the holidays, I’m answering some reader questions in a mailbag edition of What I’m Hearing... Thanks to everyone who submitted queries and apologies if I didn’t get to yours…

But first, a big welcome to a new Puck author: Tara Palmeri. Tara is a veteran of ABC News and Politico, where she co-wrote the Playbook newsletter, and she’ll be covering the inside story in D.C.: the players on Capitol Hill, on K Street, in the West Wing, and within the media that cover them. Think of it as the What I’m Hearing… of Washington. I’ll have more details soon about how to sign up.

And a reminder to get on the list for Eriq Gardner’s new private email, The Rainmaker, which launches tomorrow and will quickly become a must-read for anyone interested in the law or the media business.

Discussed in this issue: Rupert Murdoch, Roland Emmerich, Kathleen Finch, Bob Chapek, Michelle Yeoh, David Zaslav, Oprah, Steve Mnuchin, Tim Cook, Mike Richards, and the secret formula for a hit song. 

Quote of the Week

“Elon Musk is somehow Logan and Kendall Roy at the same time.” –Alex Blagg, the comedy writer, referencing Succession in a tweet about Musk’s effort to buy Twitter.

Runner up: “Stop booze. Stop pills. Stop coke.” –Christi Dembrowski, Johnny Depp’s sister, in a 2014 text to the actor that was introduced in court this week in his libel trial against ex Amber Heard. 

Now on to the mailbag…

Rupert’s Age, Apple/NFL, and the Bomb of the Pandemic

What’s up with Rupert Murdoch? I’ve heard he’s slowed down a lot lately, but there hasn’t been any media coverage of this.

Well, the guy’s 91 now, so I hope he’s slowed down. But yes, there are rumblings in the U.K. that Murdoch has been less active and out of sight, especially since the whole succession battle has been resolved and eldest son Lachlan sits firmly atop Fox Corp. I don’t totally buy that Rupert has checked out, especially since he’s about to launch TalkTV, a new network in the U.K. So on Thursday’s episode of my podcast, The Town, I asked Jim Rutenberg, both of the Times and the new CNN+ docu-series The Murdochs: Empire of Influence, what he thinks is going on. “I’ve heard the same chatter,” Rutenberg told me. “Sometimes he does pull back. When he was just getting together with his new wife Jerry Hall, he pulled back a bit.” But, Jim cautioned, “he has time and time again roared back into the newsrooms because he sees a need.”...

FOUR STORIES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT