Slaughterhouse 45, A Code Postmortem, UTA’s Art Pause

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon assortment of Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, William D. Cohan digs into Sam Bankman-Fried’s fiery 102-page appeal: his demand for a new trial, the special ire reserved for Judge Kaplan and his former Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers, the notion that FTX’s “alleged victims” will be made whole, and much more.

Plus, below the fold: Dylan Byers gut-checks David Zaslav’s Charter deal euphoria. John Heilemann chronicles the post-debate meltdown in Trumpworld. Marion Maneker unpacks the dissolution of UTA’s Fine Arts division. On The Varsity, John Ourand chats with lacrosse GOAT Paul Rabil about the genesis of the PLL and the white space in the market. And on The Powers That Be, Jon Kelly joins Peter Hamby to candidly reflect on the demise of Code before chewing over the latest controversial WBD plot point.

WILLIAM D. COHAN

Notes on Sam Bankman-Fried’s fiery 102-page appeal, his demand for a new trial, and why he argues that everyone—well, at least Judge Lewis Kaplan, FTX’s attorneys, and the media—was out to convict him from the start.

DYLAN BYERS

David Zaslav may be trumpeting a face-saving deal with Charter, but the forthcoming face-off with Comcast isn’t going to be any easier.

JOHN HEILEMANN

The totality of Donald Trump’s debate decimation by Kamala Harris was as staggering as it was indisputable. But even more stunning—and possibly more consequential—is the post-debate meltdown now consuming Trumpworld, from Mar-a-Lago to the farthest reaches of the MAGA-sphere.

MARION MANEKER

Athletes, actors, and authors all have agents. So why don’t artists? That’s the question that UTA tried to answer with its Fine Arts division. Now, the agency has put that initiative on pause.