Podcast Episodes

If Democrats Have a Better Plan, I’d Like to Hear It

In a few weeks the government’s funding will run out. If Democrats vote for a new spending bill, they will be funding Trump’s autocratic takeover. What should they do?

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Ema…

Published on 1 day, 1 hour ago

The Supreme Court Is Backing Trump's Power Grab

Trump was losing in the courts. He’s not anymore.

In the early months of the administration, the courts were proving a powerful check on President Trump, blocking many of his boldest actions. But thos…

Published on 5 days, 21 hours ago

Trump Is Building His Own Paramilitary Force

ICE now has the biggest budget of any law enforcement agency in America.

“ICE and Customs and Border Protection have long been the most rogue, kind of renegade and certainly pro-Trump police agencies …

Published on 1 week, 4 days ago

MAHA Is a Bad Answer to a Good Question

“Make America Healthy Again” is a great idea — somebody should try it.

A lot of the concerns animating the MAHA movement — chronic disease, the unhealthiness of the American diet, how profits warp our…

Published on 2 weeks, 2 days ago

Your Questions (and Criticisms) of Our Recent Shows

I do my best to respond to your critiques of some of our recent episodes.

We got an overwhelming response to my interviews with the Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, the national conservativism the…

Published on 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Trump vs. the U.S. Economy

What is going on with the economy right now?

There are a lot of mixed signals. President Trump slashed taxes, but he’s also bringing in a lot of money through tariffs. Inflation is creeping up, but th…

Published on 3 weeks, 1 day ago

When Is It Genocide?

In December 2023, when South Africa accused Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice, I thought it was wrong to do so. Israel had been attacked. Its defense was legitimate. The bl…

Published on 3 weeks, 4 days ago

Mahmoud Khalil Tells His Story

Mahmoud Khalil was a leader in Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protests. In March, he was arrested by ICE agents and held for more than 100 days in a Louisiana detention facility. The Trump adm…

Published on 1 month ago

Behind Trump and Vance Is This Man’s Movement

Vice President JD Vance gave a speech recently that deserved more attention than it got. Accepting an award at a right-wing think tank, he argued that there’s a fundamental brokenness in how we defin…

Published on 1 month ago

Best Of: Barbara Kingsolver on ‘Urban-Rural Antipathy’

“It’s so insidious, people don’t realize it,” Barbara Kingsolver told me, describing the prejudice against “country people.” Kingsolver is one of those “country people,” as well as a literary legend …

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago