What A Day

Nvidia, a U.S.-based chip manufacturer that's now the richest company on earth, has agreed to pay the federal government 15 percent of its profits from selling its chips to China, in a deal that became public this week. Basically, the United States government is now a partner in not one, but two private companies that are selling AI technology to the country that is supposed to be our biggest competitor. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the model could "expand in the future to other companies." But for critics, the deal is giving serious mob vibes, while also posing a national security risk. Ashley Gold, senior tech and policy reporter at Axios, explains what the deal does and why so many people — including some Republicans — are concerned about it. And in headlines: President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska today, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a redistricting plan to go head-to-head against Texas Republicans, and the Trump Administration got more bad news from the Labor Department.

Transcribed - Published: 15 August 2025

President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine (which Putin started). While Trump insisted Wednesday there would be “very severe consequences” if Putin doesn’t agree to some kind of ceasefire, the Russian president has given no indication he plans to give up his goal of eventually taking over all of Ukraine. And Ukraine continues to insist it will not cede any of its territory to Russia. In short: The war is still at a stalemate, and the president of the United States wants to move the needle by hosting the aggressor — an international pariah who faces an arrest warrant on war crimes from the Hague – right here on American soil. Julia Ioffe, a founding member of Puck News and a long-time Russian politics expert, joins us to talk about the Alaska summit and what could come out of it. And in headlines: Trump suggested he may extend federal control of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department beyond the 30-day limit, a panel of appeals court judges opened the door for the White House to suspend or terminate billions in foreign aid funding, and fewer Americans say they’re drinking alcohol.

Transcribed - Published: 14 August 2025

National Guard troops began showing up on the streets of the nation's capital overnight, a little more than a day after President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy hundreds of them to Washington, D.C., and federalize the city's police department. But during his press conference Monday, the president suggested more cities could be next. He specifically called out Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore and Oakland. All of these cities have declining crime rates – as does the United States as a whole. All of them also happen to be majority-minority cities run by Black Democratic mayors in Democratic-run states. Baltimore Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott joins us to talk about the president's ' racist talking points' and how Democratic mayors like him can't let Trump distract them from running their cities. And in headlines: Trump announced his new pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White said UFC will host a first-ever White House fight next year to celebrate the country's 250th birthday, and YouTube will test a new AI feature to determine the age of its users.

Transcribed - Published: 13 August 2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing massive backlash — both domestic and international — over his government's decision late last week to take over Gaza City. Thousands marched in Tel Aviv Saturday to protest the decision, while the families of some of the remaining hostages called for a nationwide strike. On Monday, Australia became the latest country to announce plans to recognize a Palestinian state, while French President Emmanuel Macron called the Israeli plan 'a disaster of unprecedented gravity.' Already Palestinian health officials say 61,000 people in Gaza have died since the start of the war. Matthew Chance, chief global affairs correspondent for CNN, joins us from Jerusalem to talk about the latest in the war, the Israeli killing of five Al Jazeera journalists Sunday, and the risks that come with yet another escalation in the conflict. And in headlines: President Donald Trump ordered a federal takeover of Washington D.C.'s police, a federal judge blocked the release of Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell's grand jury transcripts, and AOL said it's ending its dial-up internet service.

Transcribed - Published: 12 August 2025

President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week to discuss a potential end to the war in Ukraine (which Russia started.) To call the meeting ‘high stakes’ would be an understatement — already critics are warning of the potential for a ‘1938 Munich Moment,’ when Britain and France allowed Nazi Germany to take control over a swath then-Czechoslovakia in a bid to preserve peace on the continent. But the parallels to WWII don’t end there. Earlier this month, Trump said nuclear submarines were ‘in the region’ ahead of special envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Putin in Moscow. As we mark 80 years this month since the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, historian Garrett Graff, author of the new book ‘The Devil Reached Toward the Sky,’ joins us to talk about what we learned — and we didn’t learn — in the decades since the U.S. dropped those bombs. And in headlines: Thousands of people in Israel demonstrated against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza City, Trump ramped up threats to take federal control of Washington D.C., and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued to remove 13 Democratic state lawmakers from office amid an ongoing fight over redistricting.

Transcribed - Published: 11 August 2025

If you got a COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna or Pfizer, congratulations, you got a vaccine that uses mRNA to teach your cells how to fight the disease. But Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is doing his best to undermine their future use. On Tuesday, he announced the cancellation of $500 million in grants and contracts aimed at developing more mRNA vaccines. The decision has received near-universal condemnation from public health experts — even President Donald Trump’s first-term Surgeon General said it will 'cost lives.' Dr. Fiona Havers, an infectious-disease specialist at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a former senior advisor on vaccine policy for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, joins us to talk about Kennedy’s dangerous decision and the risk it poses to public health. And in headlines: President Donald Trump says he wants a new Census, The U.S. Air Force said it’s denying the option to retire early to all trans service members who have served between 15 and 18 years, and tariff day is (unfortunately) finally here.

Transcribed - Published: 8 August 2025

We’re starting to hear the horror stories from some of the Venezuelan men who the Trump Administration deported to the Salvadoran super-max prison known as CECOT. Many of the migrants, who were abruptly released and sent back to Venezuela last month as part of a prisoner exchange with the U.S., allege they suffered physical, psychological and sexual abuse during their detention. At least one man is trying to sue the U.S. government over his time in CECOT. And then there’s Andry José Hernández Romero, the gay makeup artist whose story garnered national attention after his arrest. He says he faced constant harassment in the prison because of his sexual orientation. Melissa Shepard, director of legal services at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center and one of Romero’s legal representatives, joins us to talk his story and others who were detained at CECOT. And in headlines: President Donald Trump suggested he may soon meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Texas Democrats were forced to evacuate their Illinois hotel because of a fake bomb threat, and the Department of Homeland Security lifted age limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Transcribed - Published: 7 August 2025

The Voting Rights Act turns 60 today. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, with the goal of ensuring that Black Americans could actually exercise their constitutional right to vote. But the landmark legislation — or at least what’s left of it — is facing new challenges. Roughly a decade ago, the Supreme Court gutted one of its key provisions. And late last week, the justices signaled they could be ready to strike a second major blow to the law. It all comes amid an increasingly ugly redistricting fight that’s pitting red states against blue states ahead of next year’s midterms. Rick Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, joins us to talk about the latest threats to the Voting Rights Act, and why decades later we’re still talking about decades after its passage. And in headlines: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly weighing a full occupation of Gaza, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a task force on the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and Rwanda became the third African nation to agree to take in U.S. deportees.

Transcribed - Published: 6 August 2025

The fallout from President Donald Trump’s decision last week to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics over what he called a ‘rigged’ jobs report continued Monday, as White House officials rushed to defend his actions. Amid growing bipartisan outcry, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett put the blame on a familiar culprit in the Trump Cinematic Universe: The Deep State. He told CNBC, “All over the U.S. government, there have been people who have been resisting Trump everywhere they can.” Trump is expected to announce his new pick to run the BLS this week, but already he’s made that person’s job – and the bureau’s job – harder by making Americans even less likely to trust their data. Heidi Shierholz, who served as the chief economist at the Department of Labor under President Barack Obama and now runs the nonpartisan labor think tank the Economic Policy Institute, joins us to talk about the BLS, the important data it compiles, and what the hell a revision is. And in headlines: Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott escalated the redistricting fight with state Democrats, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace announced her campaign for South Carolina governor, and the Trump administration has reportedly backtracked on the president’s campaign promise to make health insurers cover IVF.

Transcribed - Published: 5 August 2025

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Gaza Friday to tour an Israeli-backed aid site, amid growing global outcry over the country’s handling of its war with Hamas. New polling from Gallup shows barely a third of Americans support Israel’s actions in Gaza, a new low. And two Israeli human rights organizations last week concluded Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a first since the start of the war almost two years ago. But as of now, there’s no indication Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government have any plans to wind down the war. Yair Rosenberg, a staff writer at The Atlantic, talks about the ‘corrupt bargain’ that went into the making of Netanyahu’s coalition. And in headlines: White House officials defended President Donald Trump’s decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after a bad jobs report, Texas House Democrats fled the state to block Republicans from redrawing the state’s congressional map, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting said it would shut down.

Transcribed - Published: 4 August 2025

Republicans in the Texas State House released their plans to redraw the state’s congressional map this week. It’s a nakedly partisan gambit to maximize GOP wins in next year’s midterm elections, all at the behest of President Donald Trump. In response, some Democrats want the party to fight fire with fire. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he wants a special election in a bid to offset Texas’s shenanigans. Justin Levitt, a constitutional law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and a former White House senior advisor to the Biden Administration, lays out the stakes for this mid-cycle redistricting war and why all of us should care. And in headlines: Trump slaps a 35 percent tariff on Canada after complaining about the country’s plans to recognize a Palestinian state, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are headed to Gaza, and Trump signs an executive order to bring back the Presidential Fitness Test to schools.

Transcribed - Published: 1 August 2025

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Emil Bove as a federal appeals court judge, a lifetime appointment to a perch one rung below the U.S. Supreme Court. Bove, who served as President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, ascended to the top ranks of the Justice Department when Trump returned to office in January. Ahead of his Senate confirmation, he became the subject of multiple whistleblower complaints, with some alleging Bove told DOJ subordinates they may need to ignore court orders to enact Trump’s agenda (Bove denies the allegations). Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe joins us to talk about what Bove’s confirmation signals to the rank and file at the DOJ. He also weighs in on what’s happening at his former agency right now and — maybe more importantly — what’s not happening. And in headlines: President Donald Trump announced a new 25 percent tariff on India ahead of his Aug. 1 deals deadline, former Vice President President Kamala Harris announced she won’t run for governor of California next year, and the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged for a fifth time this year.

Transcribed - Published: 31 July 2025

Friday is President Donald Trump’s alleged tariff deadline, the day when dozens of countries either have to reach a new trade deal with the U.S. or face the possibility of sky-high duties on their imported goods. Even an island mostly inhabited by penguins won’t be spared from the president’s economic demands. And while Trump has announced deals with major trading partners like the European Union and Japan, there are still a ton of unanswered questions about what comes next — hell, even what’s happening now! To help us understand what’s going on, and what we can expect come August 1st, we spoke with Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy at the progressive think tank Groundwork Collaborative. He also served as an economic policy advisor for former President Joe Biden and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. And in headlines, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom would recognize a Palestinian state in September if Israel doesn’t reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to gut the agency’s own ability to regulate greenhouse gases, and a group of states sued the Trump administration over it’s demands for state data on food stamp recipients.

Transcribed - Published: 30 July 2025

Global outrage is building as the hunger crisis in Gaza descends into new depths of horror. Even aid workers themselves — the people tasked with helping Palestinians find food and water — say they, too, are starving. The ballooning crisis comes amid months of severe aid restrictions imposed by Israel, which has justified its actions with claims that Hamas has been stealing food and other supplies to maintain its control of the territory. But even President Donald Trump said Monday that Israel needs to do more to let aid in. Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen joins us to talk about the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza, how the U.S. is complicit, and what should be done next. And in headlines: President Trump declines to rule out a pardon for Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, former North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announces a Senate run, and a federal judge blocks Medicaid cuts for Planned Parenthood clinics.

Transcribed - Published: 29 July 2025

Sometime this week, the Trump Administration is expected to launch an assault on one of the major cornerstones of U.S. climate policy, known as the 'endangerment finding.' It's the scientific conclusion that greenhouse gases are dangerous to people's health and safety, and should therefore be regulated by government agencies that are supposed to protect our interests. While the specifics of the administration's plans are still unknown, if successful, it could be one of the most devastating blows to the federal government's ability — and the world's ability — to mitigate the increasingly devastating effects of a warming planet. Zack Coleman, who covers climate change for Politico, tells us more about the 'endangerment finding' and the potential consequences of gutting it. Later in the show, Crooked Climate Correspondent Anya Zoledziowski debunks the latest right-wing weather conspiracies around this month's devastating floods in Texas. And in headlines: President Donald Trump announced a new trade agreement with the European Union, the president called for Beyonce to be prosecuted for something that never happened, and Israel began airdrops of aid and daily pauses in fighting amid rising deaths from starvation in Gaza.

Transcribed - Published: 28 July 2025

The Trump Administration is quickly ramping up its efforts to arrest and deport as many undocumented immigrants as possible, now that extra money is starting to roll in thanks to President Donald Trump’s new tax and spending law. It set aside more than $170 billion in new funding for immigration enforcement, including $45 billion to build and expand detention centers and $29 billion to help hire new immigration agents. The most notorious symbol of the administration's immigration crackdown is the pop up detention center in the Florida Everglades the administration calls ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ But more facilities are popping up all over the country, as are allegations of horrific conditions. Katie Blankenship is an attorney and co-founder of Sanctuary of the South, which provides legal services and civil rights representation throughout the region. She’s currently representing clients in ICE detention centers, and joins us to talk about what she's hearing from them.

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2025

While pressure mounts on the White House to release documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, President Donald Trump is doing his damndest to turn the public’s attention to his latest conspiracy (which is really just a remix of an old one). The president is alleging, despite zero evidence, that former President Barack Obama and members of his administration lied about Russian efforts to swing the 2016 election for Trump and made up intelligence to support those claims. This time, though, Trump’s wild allegations are being fueled by his own Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. She’s been releasing documents she says contradict the intelligence community’s well-established conclusions about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, claiming they’re proof of a ‘coup’ to undermine Trump during his first term in office. Atlantic Staff Writer David Frum, host of the new podcast ‘The David Frum Show,’ joins us to talk about the return of ‘Russia, Russia, Russia,’ and what Trump’s willingness to go after his political opponents– including a former president – says about where his second term is headed. And in headlines: The Justice Department reportedly informed Trump his name appears in the so-called Epstein files, a federal judge ruled a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador should be freed from custody at the Tennessee jail where he’s currently being held, and President Trump announced a new tariff deal with Japan.

Transcribed - Published: 24 July 2025

House lawmakers will start their Summer break a few days early today, vacating the capital until September. They’re leaving early because Republican Speaker Mike Johnson is trying desperately – desperately – to avoid holding any votes on releasing materials related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Over at the White House Tuesday, President Donald Trump did his best to turn attention away from Epstein and toward his latest conspiracy de jour, which is really just a remix of his favorite first-term conspiracy surrounding Russia’s interference in the 2016 election (A.K.A. Russia, Russia, Russia). But House Democrats say no dice. California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, talks about what Democrats are doing to keep the Trump administration in check. And in headlines: Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba is out of a job…maybe, Trump announced a new trade deal with the Philippians, and the United Nations delivered a stark warning about mass starvation in Gaza.

Transcribed - Published: 23 July 2025

Despite President Donald Trump's best efforts, his administration can't escape the conspiracies swirling around convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — conspiracies Trump and his allies helped stoke before he returned to the White House.On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not permit a vote this summer on a non-binding resolution calling for the release of documents and records related to Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 before his federal sex-trafficking trial. And on Friday, Trump sued The Wall Street Journal for billions of dollars over a story alleging he sent Epstein a lewd birthday card in the early 2000s, when the two were known to be friends. Trump has always denied any knowledge that the disgraced financier was abusing underage girls and young women, but there's no denying the two men frequently hung out together, often in the presence of young, attractive women.Matthew Goldstein, a New York Times business reporter who covers white collar crime, joins us to talk about the backstory of Trump and Epstein's friendship, and why the administration can't make this story go away. And in headlines: Some foreign travelers will have to pay a new $250 fee to enter the U.S. thanks to a provision in Trump's new Big Beautiful Law, a new Human Rights Watch report alleges 'dehumanizing' conditions across immigration detention centers in Florida, and Texas Republicans kicked off a special legislative session to potentially redraw the state's congressional map to help Trump in next year's midterm elections.

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2025

As artificial intelligence programs become more widely accessible, so too do increasingly sophisticated deepfake scams that take advantage of the technology. Earlier this month, the State Department confirmed reports that an imposter pretending to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out to at least five high-ranking government officials. It wasn’t the first time a member of the Trump administration had been impersonated by AI; in May, the White House confirmed a similar incident involving Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. But these days, you don’t even have to be a big-name politician to end up on the wrong side of a deepfake scam. If your image and voice exist on the internet, enterprising bad actors might be able to use them against you. Reporter David Gilbert, who covers disinformation and online extremism for Wired, joins us to talk about the risks deepfakes pose to the public and how all of us can protect ourselves. And in headlines: President Donald Trump sued The Wall Street Journal for $20 billion over an article claiming he sent a lewd birthday card to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Israeli troops killed dozens of Palestinians seeking food in Gaza Sunday, and CBS is pulling the plug on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.’

Transcribed - Published: 21 July 2025

Alligator Alcatraz, a pop-up immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, has been touted by members of the Trump Administration as an ‘efficient and low cost way’ to carry out the president's mass deportation agenda against ‘criminal illegal aliens.’ But an investigation by the Miami Herald found hundreds of the people at the facility have no criminal convictions or pending charges at all. And according to detainees and staff, the conditions in the makeshift facility are horrible, with reports of floors flooded with waste water, food ridden with worms, and clouds of mosquitos. Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost visited Alligator Alcatraz. He joins us to talk about his experience, and how he thinks Democrats should respond. And in headlines: An Israeli strike hit the only Catholic church in Gaza, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin slammed Trump’s judicial nominee Emil Bove as “unqualified,’ and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem hinted carry-on liquid limits could change.

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2025

President Donald Trump spent Wednesday refuting reports he plans to imminently fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The president has been complaining about him for months, accusing Powell of unnecessarily keeping interest rates high. But Trump’s frustrations seemed to reach a new peak this week amid reports he had a letter drafted to oust the man he appointed to the job back in 2017, then asked a group of House Republicans whether he should do it. Firing Powell would undermine the Federal Reserve’s independence. It’s also potentially illegal. Bloomberg Senior Editor and friend of the pod Stacey Vanek Smith stops by to talk about interest rates, inflation risks, and Trump’s very focused campaign of loathing against Powell. And in headlines: Vice President J.D. Vance hit the road to put some proverbial lipstick on Trump’s pig of a new tax and spending law, the Trump administration deported five migrants to the small African nation of Eswatini, and the senior vice president of PBS Kids says the network will have to scale back new programing if Congress lets Trump claw back funding.

Transcribed - Published: 17 July 2025

On the 2024 campaign trail, then-candidate Donald Trump repeatedly claimed he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine ‘on day one.’ Roughly 180 days into his second presidential term, the war has only escalated. What has changed is Trump’s attitude toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. This week, Trump announced a new deal to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine, after weeks of complaining about Putin’s increasingly destructive attacks. Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama and co-host of Pod Save the World, discusses the significance of Trump’s pivot. He also weighs in on the latest fault lines in the ongoing ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel, mass layoffs at the State Department, and looming cuts to foreign aid. And in headlines: The House joined in on the Jeffrey Epstein discourse, the Supreme Court greenlights mass layoffs at the Department of Education, and former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz testifies at his Senate confirmation hearing to be US ambassador to the United Nations.

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago, the question of abortion's legality and availability returned to the states. As of now, abortion remains broadly legal in more than 30 states and Washington, D.C. In some, like Kansas, Missouri and Montana, abortion is still legal largely because of voters. But while Trump spent a lot of time on the campaign trail trying to avoid the topic of abortion, his new tax and spending law proves that the GOP has stayed laser focused on restricting the rights of everyday Americans. It contains a provision that prevents health care nonprofits like Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion care provider, from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for one year for ANY services – even those not related to abortion. Mary Ziegler, a professor at UC Davis School of Law who focuses on the history and politics of reproduction, healthcare and conservatism, explains how the new law could limit your ability to access health care and threaten Planned Parenthood. And in headlines: Trump announced the U.S. will send Patriot missiles to Ukraine, a bunch of states sued the Trump administration for withholding money for after-school care and English language programs, and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he'll stay in the race to be New York City's next mayor.

Transcribed - Published: 15 July 2025

President Donald Trump’s new spending and tax law is set to balloon the budget for immigration and detention enforcement. With an extra $170 billion over the next four years, the government is hoping to hire 10 thousand new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, build new detention facilities, and otherwise ramp up every aspect of arrests and removals. In fact, under the new spending plan, ICE will become the most well-funded law enforcement agency in the federal government. Garrett Graff is a historian and longtime politics and national security reporter who currently writes the ‘Doomsday Scenario’ newsletter. He joins us to talk about why dramatically expanding the federal immigration enforcement budget so quickly is a bad idea. And in headlines: President Trump threatened new tariffs on Mexico and the European Union, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pushed back on critical reports of her handling of the response to the deadly Texas floods, and the State Department laid off more than 1,000 staffers.

Transcribed - Published: 14 July 2025

President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to central Texas today to tour damage of the devastating July 4th weekend floods. More than 100 people have been confirmed dead, and nearly 200 are still missing a week later. As people in the region continue to mourn their loved ones and assess the destruction, there has been a lot of finger-pointing over whether more could have been done to alert people about the flood risks. If staffing cuts at the National Weather Service played a role, and who’s to blame for the mounting death toll? Richard Spinrad, the former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, talks about how staffing cuts make the agency’s job harder. And in headlines: A federal judge in New Hampshire blocked the Trump Administration’s order ending birthright citizenship after a class-action challenge, retiring Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tills unloads during a CNN exclusive interview, and former Columbia grad student Mahmoud Khalil filed a claim against the Trump administration for $20 million in damages.

Transcribed - Published: 11 July 2025

Federal agents descended on a park in the middle of Los Angeles midday Monday, showing up on horseback, in armored tanks, and carrying rifles. While it’s still not at all clear if the agents made any arrests, a regional Customs and Border Protection chief told a local FOX News reporter, “Better get used to us now, because this is gonna be normal very soon.” He may not be wrong. President Donald Trump’s new spending and tax law explodes the budget for immigration and border enforcement, setting aside around $170 billion extra dollars for Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Around $75 billion of that money is earmarked specifically for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla joins us to talk about ICE’s aggressive tactics, how immigrants in California are feeling right now, and what Democrats — and all of us — can do to respond. And in headlines: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent Wednesday waltzing around Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, Trump sent out threatening tariffs letters to more countries, and the CEO of the platform formerly known as Twitter coincidentally quit just a day after Elon Musk’s AI chatbot went full antisemite.

Transcribed - Published: 10 July 2025

In just a few short months on the job, Health And Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has managed to upend the American public health system, successfully inserting his decades of vaccine skepticism into national policy. Late last month, he fired every member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel, replacing them mostly with people who’ve voiced skepticism about vaccines. In May, he announced the CDC would stop recommending COVID vaccines for pregnant people and babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other health groups are now suing him and HHS over the latter decision. Dr. Fiona Havers, a former senior advisor on vaccine policy at the CDC, resigned from the agency over Kennedy’s changes to federal vaccine policy. She joins us to talk about what everyday people should do to keep themselves and their family safe. And in headlines: President Donald Trump abruptly reversed course on sending defense weapons to Ukraine, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins doubles down on “no amnesty” for undocumented farmworkers, and someone out there is using AI to impersonate Secretary of State/National Security Advisor/Acting Archivist Marco Rubio.

Transcribed - Published: 9 July 2025

Now that President Donald Trump has gotten exactly what he wanted, and signed his major domestic tax and policy agenda into law, what should Democrats do now? Poll after poll has shown the legislation is wildly unpopular, but also that voters don’t know a ton about it. The legislation is projected to strip millions of people of health care and food assistance over the next decade. And for Democrats, tying Republicans to the law’s most unpopular provisions will be imperative to their hopes of regaining power in Congress in next year’s midterm elections. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins us to talk about how Democrats plan to respond, both to Trump’s big beautiful disaster of a law and to the onslaught of attacks from the Trump administration more broadly. And in headlines: Texas officials said they’ve confirmed more than 100 deaths from Friday’s devastating floods, Trump announced new 25 percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, and immigration officers staged another massive show of force in Los Angeles.

Transcribed - Published: 8 July 2025

Despite months of handwringing and a litany complaints from dozens of Congressional Republicans, President Donald Trump scored yet another major political victory Friday when he signed his One Big Beautiful Bill into law, just like he wanted. The measure, stuffed with Republican spending and policy priorities, threatens to balloon the federal deficit by more than $3 trillion dollars over the next decade while kicking millions of poor Americans off safety net programs like Medicaid and food assistance. But the effects won’t be felt immediately. Jacob Bogage, Congressional economics correspondent for The Washington Post, breaks down the details of the new law. And in headlines: The death toll from the devastating flooding in central Texas topped 70 people, the White House sent mixed messages on the future of Trump’s tariffs, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is headed to the White House again amid a renewed push for a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza.

Transcribed - Published: 7 July 2025

The New York City Board of Elections on Tuesday confirmed Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman, beat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the city's Democratic primary for mayor. And not by a thin margin – the results show Mamdani won by 12 points after the ranked choice vote count. The decisive victory puts Mamdani in pole position to win November’s general election and become the city’s next mayor, though Cuomo and current Mayor Eric Adams are set to run as independents. New York City Comptroller Brand Lander, who also ran for mayor (he and Mamdani cross-endorsed each other), talks about what Mamdani’s win says about the state of national Democratic politics. And in headlines: House Republicans bickered over the latest version of President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, a New York jury convicted disgraced rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted him of more serious charges, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled a nearly 200-year-old law does not ban abortion in the state.

Transcribed - Published: 3 July 2025

The Senate passed President Donald Trump's spending bill on Tuesday after Vice President JD Vance arrived to break a 50-50 tie. The bill is now headed back to the House where Republican Speaker Mike Johnson can only afford to lose three members and still pass the bill by a party line vote. To learn more about what this means for Republicans' big beautiful bill and the looming July Fourth deadline, we spoke with Nicholas Wu, a congressional reporter for Politico. And in headlines: President Trump tours "Alligator Alcatraz," Florida's new migrant detention center, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says Trump's tariff wars pretty much stopped it from cutting interest rates, and the Trump-Musk feud is reignited.

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2025

As Republicans in Congress look to gut Medicaid with President Donald Trump’s supposed “Big Beautiful Bill,” the Supreme Court ended its session ruling on United States vs. Skirmetti that Tennessee could bar gender-affirming care for minors. The ruling itself centered on whether or not such a ban would violate the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. In a 6–3 decision, with the three liberal justices dissenting, the court decided the Tennessee law did not violate the clause. To learn more about what gender affirming care does, and what providers working on the ground think of efforts to ban it, we spoke to Dr. Alex Dworak. He’s the associate medical director of family medicine at One World Community Health Centers and specializes in LGBTQ medicine. Then in headlines: Republicans in the Senate are literally racing to pass President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” by the Fourth of July, the Trump administration’s spat with Harvard continues as it accuses the university of being in violation of the Civil Rights Act, and Trump goes to “Alligator Alcatraz,” Florida’s new migrant detention center.

Transcribed - Published: 1 July 2025

It’s make-or-break week for Congressional Republicans and their big policy and spending legislation, a.k.a. President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’ Trump says he still expects to see the final package on his desk by this Friday, even as new estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office show the latest version of the bill could add more than $3 trillion dollars to the national debt over the next decade. Is that deterring members of the party that professes to care about federal spending? Not really. Senate Republicans are expected to vote on the measures, after narrowly advancing it to the floor for debate over the weekend. Elana Schor, senior Washington editor for the online news publication Semafor, gives us an update on where the bill stands now and the possible speed bumps ahead. And in headlines: Trump hints at a possible TikTok buyer, the Supreme Court hands the White House another huge win by limiting the powers of lower court judges, and the president pressures Israeli officials to drop Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial.

Transcribed - Published: 30 June 2025

The Supreme Court will issue a slew of major opinions today on what’s expected to be the final day of its current term. Still outstanding are decisions in cases over President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship order, a voting rights challenge in Louisiana, LGBTQ books in schools, and more. On Thursday, the court also paved the way for states to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds, even for services not at all related to abortion. Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Low School in Los Angeles, explains the justices' Planned Parenthood opinion and what they might have in store for us today. And in headlines: Republicans are racing to meet a July 4th deadline to pass President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill despite yet another major setback in the Senate, Congress is still at odds over whether the US strikes on Iran “obliterated” the country's nuclear program, and a CDC vaccine panel made recommendations that could make it harder to get the flu vaccine.

Transcribed - Published: 27 June 2025

President Donald Trump addressed leaders at a NATO summit in the Netherlands Wednesday as the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Iran continued to hold for a second day. Trump said the U.S. would be holding talks with Iran sometime next week, though he added he didn’t think a new nuclear agreement was actually necessary because ‘the war’s done.’ While the administration continues to fight reports that Iran’s nuclear program remains anything short of “totally obliterated,’ there’s still an ongoing debate within the broader MAGA world about the wisdom of the strikes in the first place. Sohrab Ahmari, U.S. editor for the British news and opinion outlet UnHerd, talks about what the strikes ultimately say about the MAGA foreign policy doctrine. And in headlines: Attorney General Pam Bondi denied knowledge that federal agents were wearing masks during immigration raids, Trump appeared to inch closer to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in its ongoing war with Russia, and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s political future remains uncertain after a resounding loss to State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary.

Transcribed - Published: 26 June 2025

What does national leadership really look like? Despite all of President Donald Trump's rhetoric, it's not like running a business. It's not even like running a state. It's running a massive apparatus that employs millions of people and also a military, while dealing with every other country that needs to or wants to deal with your country. Frequently, it also requires doing all of that in the the middle of a crisis. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had to contend with a horrifying domestic terror attack and COVID-19, alongside a political environment in which she needed to appeal to rural farmers, indigenous communities and her Labour Party constituency. She joins us to talk about her new memoir, 'A Different Kind of Power,' about her rise in politics and the lessons she learned about leadership. And in headlines: Early intelligence suggests the U.S. strikes on Iran only set the country's nuclear program back by a few months, more than 100 House Democrats joined Republicans to defeat a long-shot bid to impeach Trump over the strikes, and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced tough questions from lawmakers over his decision to gut experts from a key vaccine advisory panel.

Transcribed - Published: 25 June 2025

Iran fired missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar Monday in retaliation for American strikes on three nuclear enrichment sites, marking another major escalation in the growing Middle East conflict. The Qatari government said U.S. forces were able to intercept those missiles. And President Donald Trump downplayed the strikes on Truth Social, writing Iran had alerted the government ahead of time and now "gotten it all out of their 'system.'" The situation is changing quickly, and each development is being chronicled by the media, from the traditional major news networks to MAGA influencers. Brian Stelter, chief media analyst for CNN, breaks down how the media is covering what could become another U.S. conflict in the Middle East. And in headlines: The Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the green light to quickly deport migrants wherever it wants, New York City starts the process of voting for its next mayor, and the U.S. government moves to keep a wrongfully deported man in detention ahead of his pending trial.

Transcribed - Published: 24 June 2025

The United States is going to war in the Middle East again… maybe. President Donald Trump announced Saturday the U.S. had bombed three of Iran’s main nuclear facilities, adding, “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” But while multiple members of the administration spent Sunday insisting the U.S. is not out for regime change, Trump later undermined them in another Truth Social post floating the idea. The extent of the damage inflicted on Iran’s nuclear capabilities also remains unclear, after Israeli and U.S. officials walked back the president’s claim Saturday that the U.S. had ‘totally obliterated’ the country’s enrichment facilities. Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, talks about what’s next for Congress and the U.S. And in headlines: Columbia University grad student Mahmoud Khalil was released from federal immigration custody, an appeals court sided with the White House over the deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, and Harvard and the Trump administration are reportedly trying to work out their many differences.

Transcribed - Published: 23 June 2025

A few weeks ago, What A Day took a trip to the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in Seattle, Washington, for a conversation with former Democratic Minnesota Senator Al Franken. His path to politics is a fascinating one. He transitioned from being a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live, a role he held from 1975 to 1980 and from 1985 to 1995, to a prominent figure in the political arena.

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2025

The Supreme Court is staying busy with decisions. The High Court issued a 6-3 ruling on Wednesday in United States v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee law that banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Leah Litman joins us to unpack what affect the court's ruling will have on Tennessee and a slew of other states across the country. Litman is the author of the recent NYT Best Seller "LAWLESS: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, & Bad Vibes" and a host of Crooked Media's "Strict Scrutiny". And in headlines: Democrats refused to participate in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that looked into the mental fitness of former President Joe Biden, Medicare and Social Security's trust funds are running out of money, and President Trump is still deciding if the US will insert itself into the Israel-Iran conflict.

Transcribed - Published: 19 June 2025

Tensions continue to escalate between Iran and Israel as the two countries swap missile fire. Israel claims to have killed multiple high-level Iranian officials and has asked for US military support. President Donald Trump is making posts online that vaguely gesture he might give it to them while Republicans argue about whether we should get involved. Pod Save the World’s Tommy Vietor joins the show to try and make sense of all the chaos. And in headlines: A New York City mayoral candidate is arrested while court watching, Department of Homeland Security flip-flops on worksite immigration raids, polls show nobody likes Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, and Kraft-Heinz removes dye from its products.

Transcribed - Published: 18 June 2025

A federal appeals court will decide if President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to anti-immigration raid protests will continue. We spoke with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ahead of the appeals court ruling for insight on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, protests, and what her city can do to reset in this moment. And in headlines: ICE is reportedly running out of money, the President's family is launching a mobile phone and cellular service, and the US and the UK signed a trade deal.

Transcribed - Published: 17 June 2025

In towns and cities across the country, from blue cities to red states, from Idaho to Georgia and pretty much everywhere else, folks gathered to show their opposition to the Trump Administration. They were standing up against immigration raids with masked federal agents, to devastating cuts to Medicaid, to the President of the United States, quote-unquote “honoring” the United States Army with a birthday parade. If you marched this weekend with hundreds (or even thousands) of your neighbors, what can you do to keep that energy going? We asked Maurice Mitchell, the national director of the Working Families Party.

Transcribed - Published: 16 June 2025

Congress is reeling after Democratic US Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed – all for the crime of trying to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question. There are lots of moving parts to this story, so to help us understand what happened to the California Senator, we spoke with his counterpart, US Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California. And in headlines: the US Supreme Court drops some fresh new opinions, the House votes to claw back funds for Daniel Tiger, and President Trump thwarts environmentalism in the Golden State.

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2025

The Supreme Court has been busy releasing opinions. Last week, it ruled against a ten billion dollar lawsuit from Mexico against American gun manufacturers. The Mexican government had alleged that US gun companies were fueling cartel violence south of the border. But in a unanimous opinion, liberal Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the lawsuit didn’t reach the burden required by a 2005 law. The court declined to take up two other gun cases: one challenging Maryland’s ban on semi-automatic weapons and the other challenging Rhode Island’s ban on high-capacity magazines. To talk more about the Supreme Court’s decisions (and lack of decisions) and what this means for gun policy, we spoke to Stephen Gutowski. He runs The Reload, a news outlet dedicated to firearms and the gun debate. And in headlines: The US and China (kinda) reach a trade agreement, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard warns of a nuclear holocaust, and the White House Rose Garden gets a makeover.

Transcribed - Published: 12 June 2025

You know how people are always saying, "What happens in California often doesn't stay here"? They're so right! Case in point: home insurance. When natural disasters happen, home insurance is how folks are able to rebuild. But when natural disasters happen over and over again, like the wildfires in California, home insurance companies become overwhelmed. And it's not just a California issue. In Iowa and Oklahoma, residents are currently recovering from tornadoes. In North Carolina, families are still reeling from Hurricane Helene. And as natural disasters across the country are likely to get more common—and more powerful—because of climate change. So, we spoke to Crooked Climate Correspondent Anya Zoledziowski about how climate change is going to make your home insurance more expensive. And in headlines: California Democrat Rep. Pete Aguilar goes toe to toe with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over federal forces in LA; President Trump threatens potential protesters of his upcoming military parade; Republican Sen. John Thune is feeling good about a certain big, beautiful bill; and Greta Thunberg is among activists deported by Israel after attempting to bring aid to Gaza.

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2025

The Trump Administration has decided that diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are themselves a form of discrimination. And last week, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that members of majority groups can also experience discrimination. But what if the entire frame of "discrimination" is the wrong one? Brando Simeo Starkey, author of "Their Accomplices Wore Robes: How the Supreme Court Chained Black America to the Bottom of a Racial Caste System" joins us to discuss how the Supreme Court has worked to ensure that Black Americans stay at the bottom of the racial hierarchy. And in headlines: California Governor Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration over its deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles, hundreds of NIH scientists issued a public letter condemning Trump's attacks on the agency, and Russia launched nearly 500 drones across Ukraine.

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2025

People protesting against Immigration Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles and President Trump’s crackdown on immigration clashed with the National Guard over the weekend. Ruben Vives, a general assignment reporter with the LA Times, helped us break down what's happening across the city right now. And in headlines, Republicans are still trying to persuade Americans the Big Beautiful Bill is somehow going to save us money, a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador is returned to the US to face charges, and a salmonella outbreak across several states is linked to eggs.

Transcribed - Published: 9 June 2025

While President Trump demands his administration investigate the former president's pardons and executive orders, we're left thinking about President Joe Biden again…and where it all went wrong. Alex Thompson, national political correspondent for Axios and co-author of the new book, "Original Sin," joins us to talk about Biden's decline in office and how the people around him covered it up. And in headlines, President Trump and Elon Musk trade attacks on social media over the Big Beautiful Bill, Trump bans citizens of 12 countries from traveling to the US, and a Massachusetts teen detained by ICE is released on bond.

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2025