Good evening, and welcome back to The Stratosphere. Today, I’ve got two stories below the fold. First, what happens to America’s great philanthropic experiment now that MacKenzie Scott is all on her own? Then, I go one-on-one with AOL co-founder Steve Case on whether lifting up Miami and Austin is really supporting the “Rise of the Rest”—and whether he regrets hiring J.D. Vance.

But first, a quick note on the Biden-Harris team’s final hat-passing in San Francisco before the midterms: First up is Jill Biden, who is headlining Nancy Pelosi’s annual Women’s Lunch and Issues Conference for donors on Friday in the city, according to an invite. Then on the 18th, two weeks from today, Kamala Harris returns to the city for a dinner, according to another invite for a D.N.C. reception hosted by California lieutenant governor Eleni Kounalakis, top Democratic fundraiser Gretchen Sisson, and others.

Meanwhile, for those who aren’t already dedicated listeners, make sure to check out our recent reporting on The Powers That Be, Puck’s daily podcast hosted by the incomparable Peter Hamby. Over the last few days, Peter and I debated who in Silicon Valley should buy the Phoenix Suns and who should be the most embarrassed by Elon Musk’s texts.

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MacKenzie became even more of a public fascination when news emerged that she had quietly remarried, in 2021, to Jewett, a head-shaven science teacher at the elite Lakeside School...