Impolitic with John Heilemann

John welcomes Democratic Texas state representative James Talarico to discuss the escalating war over redistricting kicked off by Lone Star State Republicans. In the wake of Texas's enactment of a new congressional map sought by Donald Trump and designed to deliver five House seats to the GOP in next year’s midterms, Talarico explains why the two-week walkout by him and 56 of his colleagues succeeded despite the map’s adoption—by spurring blue states such as California to strike back with gerrymanders of their own. Talarico, a 36-year-old pastor and former sixth-grade teacher, also discusses his star-making recent turn on Joe Rogan’s podcast, the possibility he’ll soon be running for Senate, and the need for Democrats to start “flipping tables” (like Jesus in the Temple) to save American democracy from Trump and MAGA. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 25 August 2025

John welcomes Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, back to the show to discuss the past week’s flurry of diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. McFaul analyzes the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska; the subsequent visit of Volodymyr Zelensky and a phalanx of European leaders to the White House; the signals emanating from Russia that Putin’s maximalist war aims remain unchanged; and the grim options facing Zelensky if the spate of summitry, as seems increasingly likely, results in nothing more than a return to the status quo ante. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 22 August 2025

John welcomes Pod Save America cohost, Message Box author, and former top Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer back to the show to discuss the burgeoning competition to be the face of the Democratic Party’s future. Pfeiffer assesses the risks and rewards of California governor Gavin Newsom’s redistricting gambit for his presidential ambitions; the efforts of Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker to make his billionaire status tolerable to the populist base of his party; and the communication skills of thirtysomething rising stars Zohran Mamdani and James Talarico. Dan also answers the question on the lips of Democrats everywhere: Seven months into Trump 2.0, just how fucked are we? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 18 August 2025

John welcomes USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan to discuss her runaway bestseller “On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports.” Brennan lays out the formative experiences that turned Clark into a national sensation; the WNBA’s lack of preparation to capitalize on the surge in popularity, income and impact that her arrival has unleashed; the troubling outbreaks of jealousy and resentment sparked by a white player becoming the face of a predominantly Black league; and how the Clark saga has been appropriated by both sides in America’s culture wars. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 15 August 2025

John welcomes second-term Democratic congressman and former mayor of Long Beach, CA, Robert Garcia to talk about the imperative for his party to move away from “respectability politics” to combat the Trump 2.0 agenda. Garcia explains why the Texas redistricting fight transcends the particulars of the Lone Star State as a central part of Donald Trump’s plan not just to steal the 2026 midterm elections but to stay in office past 2028—and the Jefrey Epstein scandal, far from subsiding during the congressional recess, is only gathering steam. Garcia also waxes poetic about his love for Superman, what the character means to many gay Americans such as himself, and why, for all of David Corenswet’s swagger in the role on the big screen this summer, Christopher Reeve remains (now and forever) the gold standard Man of Steel. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 11 August 2025

John welcomes Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum back to the show to discuss her new cover story in The Atlantic on the devastating civil war in Sudan. Applebaum—whose 2004 tome “Gulag: A History” won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction and whose most recent book, “Autocracy, Inc.” comes out in paperback this month—explains how anarchy, greed, and nihilism have replaced the liberal world order in Sudan; the role that Donald Trump and Elon Musk played in the country’s downward spiral; and why the same forces are coming for the countries of the rich world next. She also lays out the evidence that Trump is bent on turning the U.S. into a bigger, badder, more authoritarian version of Viktor Orban’s Hungary. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 8 August 2025

John is joined by Adam Pritzker and Daniel Squadron, co-founders of a pair of increasingly influential Democratic groups trying to cure what ails their party by looking WAY beyond Washington, D.C.—to the nation’s state legislatures. Pritzker and Squadron explain the genesis of the States Project, which they formed eight years ago and is already the largest Democratic donor to state legislative races (to the tune of $130 million in 2022 and 2024), and the just-launched States Forum, which is focused on germinating, cross-pollinating, and exporting state-level Democratic policy innovations to the national level; the degree to which the party’s brand is a drag on down ballot candidates; and why the party would do well to look to its deep bench of governors for its presidential nominee in 2028. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 4 August 2025

John welcomes David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, and David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee, to discuss Israel’s war with Hamas and the humanitarian horror show unfolding in Gaza. Having just authored his fourth major reported piece on the conflict since October 7, 2023, Remnick explains Israel’s sense of “national euphoria” after the Twelve-Day War launched by Benjamin Netanyahu against Iran to cripple its nuclear capabilities—and why Israelis have largely ignored the devastation the campaign against Hamas has inflicted on Gaza and the political, diplomatic, and moral crises it has unleashed for the Jewish state. Miliband attests to the scale and severity of the food emergency in Gaza due to what seems to be a calculated starvation strategy embraced by Netanyahu to bring “total victory” against Hamas. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 1 August 2025

John welcomes legendary Democratic strategist Bob Shrum to discuss Donald Trump’s inability to extricate himself from the Jeffrey Epstein quagmire and the opportunity for Democrats to weave the story into a broader political narrative. The Los Angeles-based Shrum, who rose to prominence as Ted Kennedy’s speechwriter and played a central role on both Al Gore’s and John Kerry's presidential campaigns, also offers his take on his state’s governor, Gavin Newsom; his city’s mayor, Karen Bass; Texas state legislator and rising star James Talarico; and what it will take to make the Democratic Party great again. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 28 July 2025

John welcomes Maggie Haberman, New York Times White House Correspondent and author of the bestselling “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump & The Breaking of America,” to discuss the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein imbroglio and why Trump has thus far been entirely unsuccessful in his efforts to stanch the bleeding from what may prove to be the most damaging of his many self-inflicted political wounds. Plus: Maggie’s take on Stephen Colbert’s cancellation, Jon Stewart’s defense of his friend and profane broadside against their shared corporate parent, and Bruce Springsteen as the most eloquent and powerful voice of the Trump 2.0 resistance.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2025

John welcomes legendary former New York Timesman Todd Purdum to the show to discuss his new book, “Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television.” Purdum tells the story of Arnaz's rise to become the most powerful and influential Latino executive in Hollywood history: from his arrival in America as a Cuban refugee in the 1930s to his first taste of fame as a nightclub bandleader (and instigator of the Conga dance craze) in the 1940s; and from his culture-shifting roles as co-star (with his wife, Lucille Ball) of the country's most-watched TV show and cofounder of its most prolific TV production company in the 1950s to the raft of innovations he unleashed that gave birth to the rerun, the syndication market, and thus the business model on which the industry thrived for more than half a century. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 21 July 2025

John welcomes Democratic media strategist and crisis communications wizard Lis Smith—who has worked for candidates ranging from Barack Obama and Pete Buttigieg to Andrew Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer—to discuss the ongoing MAGA meltdown over the Jeffrey Epstein files. Lis explains why the Epstein scandal is different (in severity and in kind) than any of the prior imbroglios that Donald Trump has weathered; how his efforts to douse the story have only inflamed it further; the mounting sense of betrayal among his supporters in the manosphere; and which 2028 Democratic hopefuls are best-equipped to thrive in that arena. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2025

John welcomes Will Leitch—New York Magazine columnist, MLB.com national correspondent, and author of the acclaimed new novel “Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride”—back to the show to discuss the mix of sports, culture, and politics that mingle on his journalistic playground. A year out from the next World Cup, Leitch weighs in on the Trump administration’s capacity to play host to players and fans from countless countries it regularly condemns; what the Thunder-Pacers NBA final says about the future of pro hoops; and why “Sinners” is the movie of year so far and Ryan Coogler is a flat-out genius. Leitch also discusses Lionsgate’s plans to turn his latest foray into fiction into a major motion picture, and why Jack Lemon would make the perfect Lloyd McNeil (if he weren’t dead, that is). To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 14 July 2025

John welcomes his bestie Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC’s Deadline White House, back to the show to discuss the intra-MAGA fallout from Donald Trump and Pam Bondi’s Trump failure to release the long-rumored list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients; Nicolle’s new podcast, The Best People, and why its approach to politics is so different from than her daily TV show; and their shared enrapturement with the fourth season of The Bear. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 11 July 2025

John welcomes Andrew Sullivan—former editor of The New Republic, first-wave blogger, current Substacker, pioneering gay marriage advocate, #BritishGayCatholicConservative public intellectual, and controversy magnet for nearly 40 years—to discuss the Trump 2.0 era and Sullivan’s recent New York Times op-ed, “How the Gay Rights Movement Radicalized and Lost its Way.” Sullivan argues that Trump is less an aspiring dictator than a wannabe monarch; that, even so, his enthusiasm for state terror tactics is ominously authoritarian; and that the gay rights movement has gone astray with its embrace of the trans agenda. Sullivan also explains his adoration of Pet Shop Boys, and why “Being Boring” is their greatest song. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 7 July 2025

In a special July 4th weekend episode, John welcomes the country rock/indie folk/Americana musician Ben Kweller to talk about his remarkable new record, “Cover The Mirrors,” and the journey of love, loss, and recovery that inspired it. A musical prodigy who burst on the rock scene nearly 30 years ago a teenaged phenom, Kweller explains the role that music played in the wake of the death of his 16-year-old son Dorian in a freak car accident two years ago, carrying Ben from shock and grief through acceptance and back to something approximating the kind of joy that's long characterized his work—and resulting in a transcendent record that’s at once profoundly sad, sublimely beautiful, and deeply hopeful. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 4 July 2025

John welcomes Independent Senator Angus King of Maine and Democratic Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado to discuss the strategic and political fallout from America’s bombing of Iran. In back-to-back conversations, King and Crow—both members of the intelligence and armed services committees on their respective sides of Capitol Hill—contend that they have more questions than answers regarding the impact of U.S. air strikes on Iran’s nuclear program; raise red flags concerning the Trump administration’s politicization of intelligence; and critique the White House’s intention to curtail the sharing of classified material on matters of war and peace with Congress. King also offers his assessment of the Supreme Court’s ruling on nationwide injunctions and birthright citizenship, and Crow weighs in on Zohran Mamdani and the implications of his primary victory in New York City for the Democratic Party writ large. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 30 June 2025

John is joined by National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winning author Ron Chernow to discuss his new, best-selling biography, “Mark Twain.” Chernow explains why Twain, whom he argues was America’s original political pundit, exerts a powerful and enduring hold on America’s imagination; why his insights and humor remain not just relevant today but timeless; and how Twain, in the course of his life, became “de-southernized.” Ron also reflects on how Percival Everett’s award-winning novel “James” is less a corrective to than an expansion of Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” which, despite its copious use of the n-word, stands as perhaps the greatest of all anti-slavery novels. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 27 June 2025

John welcomes The Bulwark’s Tim Miller back to the pod to discuss the split in Donald Trump’s base over his military gambit in Iran, the New York Democratic mayoral race, and more. Tim digs into why the stars of MAGA media are at each other’s throats over Trump's Middle East moves; how the political fallout could impact the GOP nomination contest in 2028; and why all this is already proving torturous for J.D. Vance. Tim also explains why, despite the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S., we mustn’t forget the deportees still stuck in a Venezuelan gulag—and how he set in motion the events that led to NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani weeping on camera last week. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 23 June 2025

John is joined by former C.I.A. and Pentagon chief of staff Jeremy Bash to discuss the decision facing Donald Trump about going to war with Iran. Bash explains the history of the Iranian nuclear program and where it likely stands today; what Israel’s dramatic new efforts to destroy it have and haven’t achieved; the intelligence, domestic political debate, and other factors Trump is weighing as he considers intervening; and the best and worst case scenarios if he does. Jeremy also offers view of the sidelining of Tulsi Gabbard after her bizarre bid to sway Trump by means of a slickly produced social media video. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2025

John welcomes U.S. Naval War College professor emeritus and Atlantic staff writer Tom Nichols back to the pod to discuss the implications of Donald Trump’s militarization of law enforcement in Los Angeles and an array of related topics. Nichols argues that Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard and the Marines to deal with protests of his deportation policies in L.A. is a dry run, on favorable political turf, to acclimate Americans to the sight of troops in their cities and gauge public blowback; that his partisan speech at Fort Bragg—and the silence of the generals in reaction to it—was an “obscenity;" and that these events, along with his military parade in Washington, demonstrate that Trump sees the U.S. Armed Forces as his personal “toy soldiers.” Nichols also weighs in on Israel-Iran, Russia-Ukraine, and how Trump has effectively turned the U.S. into a bystander in both conflicts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 16 June 2025

John is joined by former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to discuss President Trump’s deployment of National Guard and Marine Corps troops to Los Angeles in the face of protests of his immigration policies. Johnson explains how he would have assessed the situation in LA if he were still leading DHS; the dangers of tasking the U.S. military with domestic law enforcement; and his view of the forcible removal of California Senator Alex Padilla from a press conference held by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Johnson also weighs in on the controversial deal struck by Paul, Weiss—the storied law firm from which Johnson will soon retire after 30-plus years as a partner—with the Trump administration after being threatened with a punitive executive order. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2025

John is joined by journalist Karen Hao to discuss her new book, “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI,” and both the promise and the perils of the coming age of artificial intelligence. Hao explains how OpenAI went from being an altruistic nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that A.I. would “benefit all of humanity” to a burgeoning commercial colossus valued at north of $300 billion; how Altman wrested control of the company from his co-founder Elon Musk; why skepticism is warranted regarding the claims that superhuman A.I. is inevitable; and how that narrative, true or not, serves the economic and political interests of the cabal of tech bros who are A.I.’s most fervent boosters. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 9 June 2025

John is joined by former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor to discuss the recent executive order by Donald Trump directing federal law enforcement agencies to investigate Taylor (for unnamed and unknown crimes) and his fledgling efforts to fight back. Taylor—who rose to prominence during Trump's first term with a New York Times op-ed and No. 1 bestselling book, written under the pen name Anonymous, that detailed a “quiet resistance” within the administration—describes the financial, professional, emotional impacts of being declared “guilty of treason” by Trump for no specified reason aside from having publicly criticized him; the legal countermeasures Taylor plans to undertake; and the wider political implications of his case. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2025

John is joined by former CEO of UBS Americas and Democratic mega-donor Robert Wolf to discuss the exit of Elon Musk from the White House and Donald Trump’s latest economic-policy gyrations. The recipient of three presidential appointments from Barack Obama and one from Joe Biden, Wolf explains why Musk’s foray into government was always bound to end in tears; why Wall Street's TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) meme perfectly captures the financial world’s view of the president's feckless approach to trade and tariffs; and why the state of the economy is even more precarious than it appears. Wolf also reflects on his own role in aiding and abetting Biden’s bid for reelection despite doubts about his ability to serve a second term. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 2 June 2025

John is joined by Parkland survivor, gun control activist, and embattled DNC vice chair David Hogg to discuss the controversies swirling around him and what his party needs to do to fix itself. Hogg explains the rationale behind his plan to spend $20 million through his Leaders We Deserve PAC to elect younger candidates who embrace a combative anti-MAGA stance; why that plan includes backing primary challenges to ossified, ineffective Democratic incumbents; and the ensuing rage among much of his party’s establishment, which he sees as fueling a campaign to oust him from DNC role and “destroy my reputation.” To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 30 May 2025

John is joined by Mark Whitaker to discuss his new book, “The Afterlife of Malcolm X: An Outcast Turned Icon’s Enduring Impact on America.” A former editor in chief of Newsweek, Washington bureau chief for NBC News, and managing editor of CNN Worldwide, Whitaker lays out the two narrative threads at the heart of his book: the first, a deep exploration of the unsolved mystery over who killed the revolutionary Muslim minister and progenitor of the Black Power movement; and the second, a rich exegesis of Malcolm’s lasting political and cultural influence. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 26 May 2025

John is joined by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson to discuss their scoop-filled, headline-spawning, controversy-stirring new book, "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again." Jake and Alex explain the nature and central players in the concealment of the decline in President Biden's mental acuity during his time in the White House; how the lack of transparency about his health and cognitive fitness before leaving office have lent credence to the profusion of conspiracy theories following the disclosure this week of his prostate cancer diagnosis; and the impotence of a Democratic Party convinced that the stakes of the 2024 election were existential and yet unable to acknowledge Biden's age-related political liabilities before it was too late. The authors also address some of the controversies that have arisen surrounding the book and their reporting methods in the wake of its publication. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 23 May 2025

Pablo Torre, ESPN and MSNBC commentator and host of the Edward R. Murrow Award-winning video podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out, is back with John to weigh in on an assortment of red-hot stories at the intersection of sports, culture, and politics: from the backlash in Canada against Wayne Gretzky over his association with Donald Trump and the reinstatement of Pete Rose by Major League Baseball (and Trump’s rumored role in the decision) to the calamitous collision between Bill Belichick’s private and public lives. Plus, Pablo reflects on the death row drama unfolding around Dallas Cowboys superfan and dubiously convicted supermax inmate Charles Flores, the coverage of which recently earned PTFO a Peabody Award nomination. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 19 May 2025

John is joined by former Florida Republican congressman David Jolly to discuss Donald Trump’s trip to the Mideast and the naked corruption on display in his embrace of a $400 million 747 gifted by Qatar to serve as a new Air Force One; disarray among House Republicans over the “one big, beautiful bill," and Jolly’s defection to the Democratic Party ahead of an all but certain run for governor in the Sunshine State in 2026. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2025

John is joined by the Oscar and Emmy Award-winning documentarian Davis Guggenheim to discuss his new film for Apple TV +, “Deaf President Now!” Davis lays out the story behind the movie, which revolves around a student protest that erupted over eight days in 1988 at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, the world’s only university for the deaf, and explains why it stands as “the greatest civil rights movement in history you’ve never heard of.” Davis also retraces his storied career as a non-fiction director, connecting the dots between his past films, from “An Inconvenient Truth” and “Waiting for ‘Superman’” to “He Named Me Malala" and "Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”—and reveals why getting fired by Denzel Washington from “Training Day” changed his life, and for the better. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2025

John is joined by Atlantic staff writers Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer to discuss their new cover story on the remarkable political resurrection that returned Donald Trump to the White House and imbued him with a patina of invincibility—and the recent signs that this veneer is starting to crack. Parker and Scherer weigh in on Trump’s tete-a-tete with Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney; the differences between his first and second-term states of mind; and whether becoming an avatar of tariff-induced austerity is a good look for him. They also opine on whether Trump’s talk about reopening Alcatraz is serious, yet more trolling, or a sign that he’s been watching too many old movies on cable. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 9 May 2025

John is joined by hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci to discuss the first White House personnel shake-up of Donald Trump’s second term and the culture of sycophancy in his cabinet. Scaramucci — who served a famously shambolic 11-day stint at Trump’s communications director in 2017 — offers his take on why Mike Waltz lost his job as national security adviser, Marco Rubio was chosen as his replacement (at least for now), and Trump, contrary to his reality-tv persona, is actually terrible at firing people. Scaramucci also weighs in on Trump’s trade war, arguing that his recent remark about America's children having to settle for “two dolls instead of 30” was a clear sign that his former boss is moving inexorably towards caving on his tariff agenda. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2025

John is joined by Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith to discuss the role of private group chats in pushing Silicon Valley's politics to the right—and many of its most powerful figures into the arms of Donald Trump. Ben lays out how dozens of hush-hush Signal and WhatsApp groups emerged during Covid among the tech elite in reaction to what its members saw as the stifling woke conformity of social media; the seminal role of venture capitalist Marc Andreessen in seeding these forums; and how their influence now flows through X, Substack, and podcasts, making them the "dark matter of American politics and media." Ben also contends that, 100 days into his second term, Trump is starting to feel the pull of political gravity; that Semafor, which he cofounded three years ago, still retains the vaulting ambitions the company famously trumpeted at launch; and that the recent tumult in financial markets has elevated "Margin Call" from a cult classic to the greatest Wall Street movie of all time. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2025

On the eve of Donald Trump’s 100th day back in office, John is joined by his Puck Political Superfriend and partner Peter Hamby to look back on what 45/47 hath wrought since January 20 — what has mattered and what hasn’t; the most truly surprising, most entirely predictable, and most grievously overlooked developments and storylines; and both the state of the Democratic Party generally and the broader anti-Trump resistance specifically — as Trump 2.0 got underway with a bang (really more of a eardrum-shredding sonic boom) and not a whimper. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2025

John is joined by Susan Morrison, articles editor of The New Yorker, to discuss “Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live,” her biography of SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels. Morrison argues that no one has done more to shape modern America’s sense of humor than Michaels, an enigmatic Canadian about whom most Americans know nothing; and that while Michaels a figure of enduring obsession among comics, he remains a mystery to them as well. Morrison lays out the singular combination of qualities (tastemaker, talent-spotter, task-master, raconteur, adrenaline junkie) that makes Lorne Lorne—and reveals that, yes, in fact, he was the inspiration for Dr. Evil. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2025

Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. On What We Spend, people from across the country and across the financial spectrum are opening their wallets—and their lives—to tell you everything: what they make, what they want, and—for one week—what they spend. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2025

John is joined by a pair of former GOP panjandrums turned NeverTrump stalwarts — attorney George Conway and political strategist Stuart Stevens — to discuss the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case and Donald Trump’s efforts to turn the U.S. into a police state. Conway and Stevens argue that the guardrails preventing that outcome are banged up but still holding; that the real test of them will come when (not if) the administration defies the Supreme Court even more flagrantly than it has already; and that Harvard is offering the kind of a master class in resistance to MAGA bullying that many of the nation’s top law firms have been too gutless and/or greedy to provide. They also explain why Trump’s economic illiteracy and its consequences may prove to be what saves American democracy. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 21 April 2025

John is joined by Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, to discuss the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and its implications for the rule of law in America. Wiley argues that the case -- and Donald Trump's open defiance of the Supreme Court's unanimous order that the administration facilitate Garcia's repatriation from a notorious penal colony in El Salvador -- is about more than Garcia's fate, immigration or foreign policy, the Trump administration's deportation agenda, or even the constitutional principle of due process. It's about Trump's yen for unchecked power, and how, if he gets it, the next Kilmar Abrego Garcia could be you. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2025

John is joined by longtime Wall Street eminence and former “car czar” Steve Rattner to discuss the impact of Donald Trump’s tariff jihad on global financial markets and the American economy. Rattner explains why the theory of the case animating Trump’s protectionist agenda is “disjointed,” “illogical,” and “incoherent,” and its execution has been even worse; why the reputational damage the U.S. is suffering as a result among its allies around the world will be difficult to undo; why the claims by Trump’s advisers that last week’s abrupt policy shifts were all part of some master plan are ludicrous on their face; and why the endgame of the full-scale trade war now underway with China is impossible to foresee. Rattner also assesses the degree of fiscal irresponsibility Republican budget plan making its way through Congress—and whether the chickens may finally be about to come home to roost when it comes to America's unprecedented debt and deficits. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 14 April 2025

John is joined by former U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Chris Krebs to discuss the Trump 2.0 rollback of the nation’s cyberdefenses—an interview taped just an hour before Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate Krebs, who earned the president’s enmity four years ago by declaring the 2020 election “the most secure in American history.” Krebs details the rapidly escalating and dramatically expanding threats posed by Chinese and Russian hackers to America's corporations, public and private infrastructure, and voting systems; how and why the administration is dismantling the agencies and programs designed to stave off those threats; and the potential risks to the security of our elections as a result of gutting CISA, the organization Krebs once led … and Trump himself signed into law. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2025

John is joined by Marc Elias, the attorney whom Donaled Trump has cast as his bete noire in the legal profession, to discuss the president’s war on the judiciary, the bar, and the rule of law itself. Elias explains why the executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” is designed to do just the opposite, making it the most dangerous of Trump's myriad power grabs; why we aren’t yet in a constitutional crisis but soon could be; and why Trump’s threats have caused so many prestigious law firms to bend the knee. Marc also tells John why he hasn’t done the same despite being plenty worried by Trump’s singling him out as a “very bad" person and a “thug". To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 7 April 2025

John is joined by former AP Washington Bureau Chief Ron Fournier and current Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler to discuss a week in which America’s de facto co-presidents seemed trying to outdo each other in terms of wreaking havoc and stoking panic. Fournier assesses the motives behind Donald Trump’s market-crashing tariffs and their potential political implications; explains why the results of Tuesday’s special elections in Florida and Wisconsin are so ominous for Republicans; and issues a partial mea culpa for being dismissive about Cory Booker’s 25-hour Senate filibuster. Then Wikler takes listeners inside the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, detailing the ways in which Musk was the gift that kept on giving and laying out how Badger State Democrats plan to build on their big win in the country’s swingiest swing state.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 4 April 2025

The Bogie and Bacall of Beltway journalistic power couples — Peter Baker of the New York Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker — return to the show to discuss the fallout from the first true crisis of Donald Trump’s second term and an array of ongoing controversies embroiling the new administration. Peter and Susan explain why, despite the serious national security implications of Signalgate and the long knives being out for both Pete Hegseth and Michael Waltz, there’s a decent chance that both will keep their jobs; Steve Witkoff is entirely out of his depth serving as Trump’s envoy to Russia in the effort to end the war in Ukraine; and the decision to nix Elise Stefanik’s bid to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nation is a clear sign that the GOP's political standing is increasingly imperiled. Peter and Susan also reflect on the myriad unnerving ways in which Trump’s Washington reminds them of Moscow 25 years ago, when both were based there covering the dawn of the Putin era. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2025

John is joined by Mark Warner, ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Lincoln Project founder Rick Wilson to discuss the story eclipsing all other political news this week: Signalgate. Although Warner is a consensus-seeking moderate Democrat and Wilson a bomb-throwing NeverTrump Republican, in their long careers both have come across their share of recklessness, sloppiness, and stupidity in the realm of national security. But neither has seen a more extravagant display of those defects than the Signal group chat in which Trump 2.0 officials shared sensitive details about the recent U.S. attack on Houthi rebels ahead of the attack. Warner and Wilson try to fathom the unfathomable while cataloging the vast risks involved and the deep lack of seriousness the episode suggests about Trump’s foreign policy team. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 28 March 2025

John is joined by Leigh Ann Caldwell, Puck’s newly minted chief Washington correspondent, to discuss how congressional Ds and Rs are coping with the new world order of Trump 2.0. Leigh Ann assesses the political aftershocks rippling through the Democratic ranks in the wake of what many in the party see as Chuck Schumer’s disastrous capitulation to the GOP in the government shutdown showdown; the grassroots potency of the Bernie Sanders/AOC road show and its unequivocally populist messaging; the uneasy combination of public denialism and private fear among Republicans about the continuing outbursts of anti-DOGE sentiment at GOP town hall meetings across the country; and the party’s barely concealed lack of appetite for heeding Donald Trump’s calls to impeach federal judges who rule against him. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 24 March 2025

John is joined by former federal prosecutor and FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann to discuss Donald Trump’s escalating attacks on the judiciary and what it means for the rule of law. Weissmann explains why the showdown between the Trump administration and federal district judge James Boasberg over the deportation of some 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members last weekend amounts to the first genuine constitutional crisis of the Trump 2.0 era; Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts viewed Trump’s call for Boasberg’s impeachment as so improper that Roberts felt compelled to issue a rare public rebuke of a sitting president; and Trump’s recent speech at DOJ headquarters was even more ominous than it sounded. Andrew also reflects on why being targeted directly by Trump—who referred to him in that speech as “scum”—bothers him less than you might assume. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2025

John is joined by acclaimed actor Liev Schreiber to discuss his humanitarian aid work in Ukraine, his friendship with Volodymyr Zelensky, and the efforts to bring an end to the war in his ancestral homeland. Schreiber explains why the apparent strategy behind Donald Trump’s efforts to forge a ceasefire and force both sides to the negotiating table strike so many Ukraine allies as baffling at best; in the Oval Office dustup between Zelensky and Trump, it was the Ukrainian president, not the American one, who was standing up for American values; the sharp turn against Zelensky by so his once-steadfast Republican supporters is so shocking and infuriating; and the claims by many on the right that Zelensky doesn’t really want the war to end are so ludicrous—and insidious. Schreiber also breaks news by revealing his plans to return to the stage this spring as part of a new theater company, Together Productions, being founded by his friend, Hugh Jackman. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2025

John is joined by Massachusetts Democratic congressman Jake Auchincloss to discuss how his party is handling the clash over a government shutdown and the broader challenges of Donald Trump's second term. Jake argues that voting for the Republican measure to fund the government is a mistake in terms of both policy and politics; the freakout in the worlds of business and finance about Trump’s trade war is nothing compared to what we’ll see when (Jake predicts) Trump tries to take over the Fed; the cowering of Speaker Mike Johnson before Elon Musk is “pathetic”; and ordinary voters are “livid” about Trump’s nastiness towards Volodymyr Zelensky and cozying up to Vladimir Putin. Jake also avers that Rahm Emanuel has it right when he says his party should spend more time talking about what goes on in America's classrooms than its locker rooms or bathrooms. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 14 March 2025

College holds a mythic place in American culture, but behind the polished campus tours and glossy brochures lies a far more complicated reality. Each episode of Campus Files uncovers a new story that rocked a college or university. Consider this your unofficial campus tour.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2025