In this episode, we discuss the renaissance of New York, which is being led primarily by decadent rats and a return of primates scaling the city's tallest buildings. Then we move onto Allen Drury's 1959 novel Advise and Consent, which focuses on a difficult confirmation hearing for an aspiring Secretary of State. This novel shows how the sausage is made in the Senate and explores the dirty tricks and betrayals that can accompany a confirmation hearing. Is this the greatest Washington novel of all time? Don't disappointment the anti-appeasement crowd and give it a listen!