In a shocking move, Netflix declined to raise its bid against Paramount for control of Warner Bros. After months of corporate tug-of-war, Paramount and David Ellison have taken a giant step toward controlling Warner Bros.’ linear television assets, including CNN, its streaming service HBO Max, and its film studio, which just had a blockbuster year.

Without question, this deal will lead to mass layoffs, fewer shops to sell work to in Hollywood, and leverage massive debt against Paramount. So why are Paramount and Trump-world so desperate for it, and why did Netflix get cold feet?

Today on the show, Matt Stoller and David Dayen dig into the deal, its questionable legality, and how antitrust objections may play out from both federal and state attorneys general.

Listen via Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

David Dayen is the executive editor of The American Prospect. He is the author of Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power and Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street’s Great Foreclosure Fraud. He co-hosts the podcast Organized Money with Matt Stoller. He can be reached on Signal at ddayen.90.

Matt Stoller is research director at the American Economic Liberties Project and the author of Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy.