This week, as Donald Trump celebrated winning the GOP nomination, he also earned himself a new antagonist -- Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. After spending the bulk of the primary season cautiously straddling the line between the candidacies of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, Warren has gone on the attack against the reality-television host, and has rattled him in ways that the Clinton campaign has not. Is it time for Clinton to name her as her running mate? We'll make the argument.M...
May 26, 2016•46 min
This week, a fracas at the Nevada state Democratic convention in Las Vegas has rent divisions between the Hillary and Bernie camps newly asunder, leading the media to speculate about whether Sanders will ever be able to unify the party again. But what if this media narrative has it overrated? What if they've got it backwards? Wouldn't be the first time!Meanwhile, Congress is taking their best shot at dealing with multiple crises at the moment. Up on Capitol Hill, legislators are proceeding in re...
May 19, 2016•47 min
This week, GOP nominee Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan sat down for a meeting that the media has been hyping as something on the level of the Yalta Conference, if the Yalta Conference was about domesticating an insane, doll-handed white supremacist. But unifying the party won't be easy: there remains a subset of conservatives that's not given up on stopping Trump's ascension. Joining to talk about what the "NeverTrump" movement plans to do is one of its chief organizers, Republican cons...
May 12, 2016•54 min
This week, New York Magazine's Andrew Sullivan penned an alarming missive to America, contending that our presumed-to-be stable democracy is ripe for an authoritarian takeover. Wondering is he had anyone particular in mind? Well, we're going to find out, because he's joining us to talk about it today.Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is currently hearing an appeal from former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, who was convicted on corruption charges back in 2014, on one of the most open and shut cases ...
May 05, 2016•52 min
This week, someone in the 2016 campaign did something crazy and unprecedented. And for once, it's not something that reality-television star Donald Trump did. I mean, okay, he offered up his fair share of deep weirdness, don't get me wrong, but for once, he was bested in the arena of inexplicableness by his rival Ted Cruz, who...named Carly Fiorina as his running mate. Did he vet Fiorina? Does he understand that he's not winning the nomination? Is his campaign now just an act of live action role...
Apr 29, 2016•50 min
This week, we are taking a look at the possibility -- THE POSSIBILITY! -- that maybe -- MAYBE -- Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is not going to win the Democratic primary. We know how difficult this prospect is for some people to face. We are being gentle. But as it is one, of many possibilities, we're going to ponder what's next for the movement he's engendered and the issues they've elucidated in the event that Sanders' revolution has to start somewhere other than the Oval Office. MTV News' An...
Apr 22, 2016•55 min
This week, Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton took to the debate stage in Brooklyn, in what might be the final debate of the Democratic primary. The setting is key: New York State has loomed as a delegate-heavy prize to the two candidates, both of whom claim the state as their own turf. We will deliver a full after-action report of the proceedings.Meanwhile, we bring you the best in bank dorkery. We're joined by progressive Democrat and U.S. House of Representatives candida...
Apr 15, 2016•48 min
One week after a sheaf of leaked documents fingered Unaoil as a hothouse of global corruption, we get the Panama Papers -- a massive document dump that reveals the extent to which Panama has been used as a tax haven for the world's plutocrats, and the many global leaders who've been swift to stash their cash offshore. Meanwhile, six years ago an explosion at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia claimed the lives of 29 coal miners. This week, a court has rendered a sentence on M...
Apr 07, 2016•1 hr
This week, documents obtained by Fairfax Media, have exposed energy contractor Unaoil as an almost comical practitioner of corporate graft, bribing their way across the developing world on behalf of well-known Western corporations. We'll break down the story.Meanwhile, in some better news for major U.S. corporations, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal defied his party this week in vetoing a religious freedom bill that would have enshrined legal discrimination against the LGBTQ community. Finally, what...
Mar 31, 2016•53 min
This week we witnessed an awful terrorist attack in Brussels, so we'll ask what that means for America's foreign policy. Is Donald Trump a fascist? Kind of, but we asked a history professor and it turns out he may be closer to Jefferson Davis than Benito Mussolini.Also, Bernie Sanders is still running for president, even though it's hopeless. We'll explain why. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 24, 2016•45 min
This week, President Barack Obama picked Judge Merrick Garland to fill Antonin Scalia's vacant seat on the Supreme Court. But who is Merrick Garland, and why? Answers are coming.Meanwhile, is the Democratic Party still the party of the working class and the little guy? Our guest, Thomas Frank, says this is not the case, and he joins us to talk about it.Finally, Wisconsin Representative Reid Ribble is back with us, talking about his plans to travel to Cuba with President Obama. Hosted on Acast. S...
Mar 17, 2016•59 min
This week, the intensity of the 2016 campaign season ratched up another hundred notches or so. On the Democratic side, a surprise win in Michigan from Bernie Sanders flummoxed the pollsters, boosted the Vermont Senator's chances, and put the Clinton campaign back into arrears. But as life bloomed anew for Sanders, on the Republican side, Florida Senator Marco Rubio looked to be headed to his end, with only one debate left to alter his fortunes in Florida. Full coverage of these races are on the ...
Mar 11, 2016•1 hr 2 min
This week, we had a Tuesday that some would say was far more super than most other Tuesdays, as voters in eleven states took to the polls to weigh in on who should be the presidential nominees. But beyond the winners and losers, what we learned from Super Tuesday is that big realignments are afoot for both the Republicans and the Democrats.Meanwhile, we put a spotlight on the War on Terror this week. Joining us is Amal Alderat, whose father and brother, both Libyan-American businessmen, were det...
Mar 04, 2016•1 hr 2 min
This week, one of President Barack Obama's oldest campaign promises -- his pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility -- is back in the news after the Pentagon put forth the latest version of a plan to finally fulfill this commitment. Meanwhile, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is coming to Washington to testify about the Flint Water Crisis. We'll talk to one member of that committee about the extent to which Snyder is himself culpable for the poisoning of Flint's citizens.Finally, Alexi...
Feb 26, 2016•1 hr 2 min
This week, the passing of Supreme Court Justice has created yet another opportunity for a gigantic political meltdown between President Barack Obama and his opponents in the Senate, as well as a new round of talking points for candidates on the campaign trail. We'll explain where battle lines have been drawn and what's likely to happen next.Meanwhile, our guest this week is Maryland State Senator and law professor Jamie Raskin, who's gotten into the crowded Democratic primary to replace Represen...
Feb 18, 2016•1 hr 3 min
This week, the 2016 campaign went to New Hampshire for the Granite State's first in the nation primaries, and after all the hoopla, we ended up with the blowout wins for Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders that the polls predicted. Meanwhile, payday lenders are scammy, terrible scourge on this earth, preying on the poor in order to profit from consuming their incomes in a cycle of indebtedness. But in the state of Mississippi, there's new hope for everyone who'd like to see these predators brought t...
Feb 12, 2016•1 hr 1 min
This week, Zephyr Teachout wants in! The Fordham law professor has set her sights on New York's 19th District's House seat.Meanwhile, Reid Ribble wants out! The reform-minded Wisconsin Republican announced that he'd be retiring from the House at the end of the year. We'll chat him up about the 2016 scene, his plans for his last year, and what he hopes life after government is like.And Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy joins us to talk about reforming the U.S. relationship with the brutal and warl...
Feb 05, 2016•1 hr 3 min
So, that happened. This week, we have interviews galore. First up, Hollywood Director Adam McKay. Next up, award-winning author and Atlantic reporter-slash-essayist Ta-Nehisi Coates is on hand to offer his perspective on about reparations, Reconstruction, and the Democratic primary. Finally, Florida Representative and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has drawn an opponent in her Democratic primary. We talk to her challenger, Tim Canova. You can listen to our show...
Jan 29, 2016•1 hr 6 min
So, that happened. The water crisis in Flint, Michigan has reached a fever pitch, as 2016 candidates weigh in and various emergency declarations get made. We're going to step away from the sideshow this week and attempt to figure out how all of this actually came to pass. Joining us to discuss this is a man who was there when the fateful decisions got made, former Flint City Councilman Josh Freeman.Meanwhile, we are mere days away from the Iowa Caucus, and across this land, the geek show is in f...
Jan 22, 2016•51 min
So, that happened. Another GOP debate is in the books, as the remnants of the Establishment do battle to preserve their bid against the firebrands currently dominating the race. And what of those two firebrands? Will Donald Trump successfully paint Ted Cruz as...Canadian? Your Huffington Post team is in full effect with post-debate analysisMeanwhile, as a wise man once said, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Or something. The point is, President Barack Obama delivered hi...
Jan 15, 2016•1 hr 5 min
This week, President Barack Obama has kicked off 2016 by issuing a new set of executive actions intended to reduce the number of people who end up as casualties to America's gun culture. But it's an open question as to how significant, and how lasting, these orders will be. Joining us to discuss this is Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy. Meanwhile, out on the 2016 campaign trail, Hillary Clinton has launched some hot broadsides against Bernie Sanders' Wall Street policies. Which is...very strange...
Jan 07, 2016•1 hr 3 min
This week, it's time to bid farewell to an old year and move on to a new one. And in a few short months, at last, we'll have the Iowa Caucus -- you know, when the story we spent all of 2015 talking about finally starts. Some things don't change, though: the GOP, with Donald Trump, is having a hot mic moment. But is this a dark cloud or a silver lining? Joining us to discuss is our friend Ana Marie Cox of the Daily Beast and the New York Times and the Brouhaha podcast.Meanwhile, you know who else...
Dec 31, 2015•54 min
This week, it's Christmas, and we're celebrating the holidays by talking about our favorite Christmas movies, and adding a lot of silly economic and political wonkery. What do our Christmas entertainments teach us about our life and times? Let's find out. Meanwhile, in America, you can't have Christmas without also having a war on Christmas. So how did this year's war go? Here to discuss everything from blood red Starbucks cups to the Lifetime Channel's quick shots of false Yuletide hope is come...
Dec 24, 2015•58 min
This week, the Mayor of Flint, Michigan declared a state of emergency over the amount of lead that's been in the city's drinking water. But why did it take so long? Joining us to talk about it is the woman who's been beating the drum about this emergency for months, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. Meanwhile, for months, political observers have been struggling to understand what it is about Donald Trump that has made him so appealing. Well, for once we're going right to the source -- a self-professed Tr...
Dec 17, 2015•1 hr 8 min
This week, Donald Trump said some crazy stuff -- but what does it matter? How to solve a problem like Donald Trump? We've got guests who'll do their best to answer just that including Wisconsin Republican Congressman Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wisc), and writer and podcaster Ana Marie Cox. Meanwhile, Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders seem to want to have a serious debate over the future of the Democratic party. So why doesn't the Democratic party want anyone to watch? Can Clinton's plan to r...
Dec 10, 2015•1 hr 6 min
This week, we live through the horrors of two mass shootings -- one in Colorado Springs, one in San Bernadino. We'll fight this battle of broken records with our August 28 interview with Senator Chris Murphy. In hopeful news, world leaders have assembled in Paris to discuss the next steps to combat climate change, and observers are coming away feeling fairly optimistic about what's unfolding. And closer to home, a few lawmakers have hit upon one of those small ideas that make a big difference --...
Dec 03, 2015•59 min
This week, it's Thanksgiving, and we've got a diverse array of guests around our table. Here to join us to talk about his biennial budgeting reform proposal, Wisconsin Representative Reed Ribble. And giving us a lesson in how to get along with everyone at Thanksgiving dinner is the host of the Brouhaha podcast, our pal Ana Marie Cox. Meanwhile, by the time you hear this, it will be Black Friday. Do you remember when Black Friday didn't use to start on Thanksgiving Day? We'll talk about the backl...
Nov 27, 2015•53 min
It's been a week since a cell of European ISIS-supporting death cultists launched a horrific attack on the city of Paris. None of us would be here were it not for France, we are going to try to do right by them. But why have so many American politicians chosen this moment to demonize the most defenseless people on the planet, refugees from war-torn Syria? We'll talk about this with Massacusetts Representative Jim McGovern. Meanwhile, what do the terrorists of the so-called Islamic State hope to ...
Nov 20, 2015•1 hr 7 min
This week, students at the University of Missouri, angry about the school's indifference to racist incidents on campus, forced the resignation of the anthropomorphic shrug emoticon that had managed to become the school’s president. What next? Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, the GOP met for their fourth debate and, it didn't end in tears and angry remonstrations like the last debate -- but are we any closer to a candidate? Finally, it was a big week for the Fight for $15 movement, with their fast food s...
Nov 12, 2015•1 hr
This week, the GOP candidates, furious at the rough treatment they received at the hands of CNBC, rebelled against the debate process. The first casualty of all this nonsense was a debate scheduled to take place on Telemundo. It's just one of a series of slights suffered by the Latino community so far this election cycle. Meanwhile, if you've ever applied for a job, you've seen the box on the application, asking you to detail any history of criminal conviction. This week, President Obama ordered...
Nov 05, 2015•53 min
