Elon Musk and DOGE have been taking a chainsaw to the federal government since Trump was re-elected. It could take us generations to fully recover from the damage inflicted by the careless and cruel nature of these cuts. We're joined by American surgeon, author, and public health advocate Atul Gawande to discuss just how devastating these actions are. During the Biden administration, Gawande was a senior official at USAID. He walks us through many of the great works the program did around the wo...
Apr 13, 2025•44 min•Ep. 219
Despite widespread warnings about what economic havoc they could cause, Donald Trump announced his plan to put tariffs on nearly every nation in the world. Catherine Rampell, opinion columnist for The Washington Post and co-host of MSNBC’s The Weekend, gives her instant reaction to Trump's plan. If history (and the current stock market) is any indication, we're in for a painful road ahead. Catherine also discusses Elon Musk and how his Department Of Government Efficiency has created painfu...
Apr 06, 2025•53 min•Ep. 218
A potentially catastrophic breach of security within The White House has set off alarm bells for both Republicans and Democrats in D.C. Independent journalist Jessica Yellin joins us to discuss SignalGate. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz are both under fire after The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a group chat that contained top secret war plans (or was it just attack plans?). Will anyone get fired for this? Plus, we talk about the Trump admin...
Mar 30, 2025•38 min•Ep. 217
It's been another chaotic week in Donald Trump's America, and we're thrilled to have our good friend, Norm Ornstein, back on the podcast. We talk about Trump's Executive Order TO dismantle the Department of Education and what that could mean to communities across the country. We also break down the divisions in the Democratic Party and why Leader Chuck Schumer didn't help the situation by caving to Donald Trump. Plus, what is the future of Ukraine and America's standing in the world as we abando...
Mar 23, 2025•35 min•Ep. 216
In this Best Of episode, we revisit our conversation with Trae Crowder, the viral comedian from Tennessee aka The Liberal Redneck. We talk about Trae's upbringing in a red state, why rednecks are Trumpies, and what happens to a community when the jobs leave. Listen to Trae’s take on Trump's appeal to voting rednecks, even though they might have seen him as a New York elite (from his TV show, The Apprentice) before he entered politics. Learn more about Trae Crowder, The Liberal Redneck: htt...
Mar 16, 2025•43 min•Ep. 215
We're joined by our friend Mark Leibovich of The Atlantic to break down a wild week in Washington D.C.! Donald Trump gave his address to Congress. It was the longest one ever and didn't seem to say much (except blame Joe Biden for all of the country's problems). We also take a look at America's deteriorating relationship with Ukraine and how Republicans who USED TO support Ukraine are turning their backs when our ally needs it the most. Plus, we discuss the ongoing drama around tariffs and why T...
Mar 09, 2025•40 min•Ep. 214
As Trump and his administration try to rewrite history and say that Ukraine started the war with Russia, we're joined by Tim Mak, war correspondent and founder of The Counteroffensive. Tim has been living in Kyiv since the beginning of Russia’s invasion and discusses the toll that the war has taken on the people of Ukraine. He examines what kind of leader Donald Trump is - will he exploit America’s longstanding friendships or choose to abandon them? We also discuss the future of President Zelens...
Mar 02, 2025•50 min•Ep. 213
A month into Donald Trump's second term, how do voters feel about the job he's doing? We talk to Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark and host of The Focus Group podcast. We discuss how Trump is currently in the "honeymoon" period of his presidency and how plenty of voters are just happy that Trump is doing SOMETHING. Sarah also gives advice to Democratic leaders about messaging and how to fight back against the onslaught of bad policy coming from the White House. Listen to Sarah's...
Feb 23, 2025•49 min•Ep. 212
We're celebrating the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live this week! This special episode changes things up a bit as Executive Producer Peter Ogburn asks Al about his history with the show. We pull the curtain back on what a typical week looks like building up to the live show on Saturday and learn about how Al and his writing partner, Tom Davis, found themselves writing on the first season of the show. We also chat about some iconic sketches and the birth of Al's legendary Stuart ...
Feb 16, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 211
Donald Trump ran on a platform of mass deportations. Now that he's back in the White House, what does that look like? We're joined by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Molly O'Toole, whose upcoming book “The Route” details global migration through the Americas. Molly has spoken to hundreds of migrants making their way from war-torn countries to be in the U.S. and sheds some light on the VERY difficult American immigration process. We discuss Trump's rhetoric versus what is ACTUALLY happening wit...
Feb 09, 2025•42 min•Ep. 210
With a confusing ceasefire deal underway in Gaza, we take a look at the path forward with Peter Beinart. Beinart serves as editor-at-large for Jewish Currents, is a frequent analyst on MSNBC, and has authored a new book, "Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning." The book examines the history of Israel and how Jews have responded to the events of October 7th and its horrifying aftermath. Beinart discusses Israeli power and his hopes for its...
Feb 02, 2025•37 min•Ep. 209
President Donald Trump was sworn in (again) this week. Who better than Molly Jong-Fast from the Fast Politics podcast to join us to discuss his first week in office? We relive some quotable moments from his inaugural address and look at his most damaging executive orders. We also rundown some of the Cabinet nominees. Is anyone going to be stopped? Or are the Republican Senators too afraid of Trump? Plus, Molly shares her roadmap of things to be hopeful for. Maybe it's not all bad! Listen to Moll...
Jan 26, 2025•43 min•Ep. 208
Donald Trump's unprecedented second term is upon us. As we prepare to endure another (at least) 4 years of this, we are joined by Ian Bassin, the co-founder and Executive Director of Protect Democracy. Trump has already promised to undermine democracy in America. How can we fight back? And how can we mount a defense to the coming onslaught? We also discuss where Democrats went wrong trying to counter Trump's message during the election and, more importantly, how to address it moving forward...
Jan 19, 2025•45 min•Ep. 207
Dana Milbank, Washington Post Opinion columnist joins us this week! His latest book, "Fools on the Hill: The Hooligans, Saboteurs, Conspiracy Theories and Dunces who Burned Down the House", chronicles the ineffectiveness of the members of the U.S House. He makes the case that the MAGA members in the House have turned it into a dysfunctional nightmare with no interest in making policy. From Lauren Boebert to Marjorie Taylor Greene, they have turned the "conservative" party into a party that exist...
Jan 12, 2025•42 min•Ep. 206
Professor Scott Galloway is our guest in this New Year's Best Of. Galloway has thoughts on the current political climate and how extreme most of the Republican agenda is these days. He also speaks about how modern politics and policies have left our young people disaffected and feeling left out of the political process. From minimum wage to college admissions, Galloway shares policies and solutions that can help ease his declared "war on young people". Lis...
Jan 05, 2025•37 min•Ep. 205
In this Best Of episode, we revisit the conversation from earlier this year with SNL writer and producer Jim Downey. Al and Jim worked on several iconic sketches and remember some of their favorite political bits from the history of the show. They also discuss the importance of rewarding audiences for knowing stuff but not punishing them for not knowing stuff. Plus, Jim answers to Al's allegation that he helped George W Bush win the 2000 election! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pri...
Dec 29, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 204
The Atlantic's George Packer joins us to discuss his recent piece titled The End of Democratic Delusions. Packer discusses the new era that Donald Trump has ushered in and what that means to politics moving forward. Trump won a close election, but it's a moment for the Democratic establishment to take a look at their shortcomings and redevelop their messaging and platform in the years ahead. Read George Packer's piece in The Atlantic: https://www.theatla...
Dec 22, 2024•42 min•Ep. 203
We're joined by two of our favorite foreign policy writers to examine what the end of Bashar al-Assad’s regime means to Syria and the region. Frank Foer and Anne Applebaum from The Atlantic also look toward the incoming Trump administration and what lies ahead. Can Trump be a steady hand to stop escalating war around the world? How will Israel react? And what happens to our support of Ukraine in their efforts against the tyrant Putin? Read Anne's book Autocracy, Inc: https://www.penguinran...
Dec 15, 2024•44 min•Ep. 202
As we move closer to the second Trump administration, we are learning more about his incoming Cabinet. Aaron Blake, senior political reporter and author/host of The Campaign Moment newsletter and podcast for the Washington Post joins us to discuss some of Trump's Cabinet picks and their struggles to be confirmed. Also, the American people seem to overwhelmingly want a check on Trump's power. What will that look like with an administration that believes it has a mandate? Plus, we break ...
Dec 08, 2024•36 min•Ep. 201
In this Thanksgiving Best Of, we revisit our conversation with our friend Anne Applebaum! We aired this a few months ago when Anne's newest book, Autocracy Inc., had been released. She chronicles the rise of authoritarianism around the world and how those autocracies work together to keep themselves in power. With Donald Trump elected President once again, could we be heading for a similar fate? Other countries thwarted authoritarian candidates over the last year, but America deci...
Dec 01, 2024•34 min•Ep. 200
Donald Trump's Cabinet selection is about as chaotic as we expected it to be. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name for Attorney General after a number of Republican Senators expressed concern with the pick. We're joined by David Axelrod, who says that Republicans in the Senate have more power than you might expect. David also examines how Democrats, the party of working people, lost so many working class voters in the Presidential election. Listen to David's podcast, The Axe Files: http...
Nov 24, 2024•41 min•Ep. 199
The incoming Trump administration has started announcing some of the picks for the incoming Cabinet. Somehow, they're worse than you could have imagined. We break down some of the unsavory characters who might be making policy in Trump's second term with political reporter for Semafor, David Weigel. Weigel also explains how the right wing media ecosystem has moved away from TV and onto the internet. Right wing and right wing-adjacent programming is dominating YouTube and podcasts...
Nov 17, 2024•54 min•Ep. 198
The nightmare we all feared came true last week. Donald Trump has been elected for a second term as President of the United States. We're joined by our friend Norm Ornstein to make sense of it all. If we take Trump at his word, we should expect mass deportations, economic instability, further deterioration of women’s rights, attacks on public education, constant fights with the media and his critics and much worse. Norm discusses the long road ahead that could include devastation especially for ...
Nov 10, 2024•51 min•Ep. 197
Live from New York, it’s our pre-election podcast. After a contentious and exhausting election cycle, we have made it to Election Day. Last week, we gathered with some of our favorite guests to help us understand what we might see in the coming days and weeks. Can we finally vanquish Donald Trump? Can he actually win? And if so, what does that mean for America? We’re joined by Jessica Taylor from the Cook Political Report to break down the Senate races around the country. We also talk to Jeremy ...
Nov 03, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 196
The economy is always one of the most important issues in any election. So how does Kamala Harris's vision for America's economy stack up against Donald Trump's? Catherine Rampell from the Washington Post joins us to discuss. Trump's economic plan seems to revolve around tariffs, an issue that he seems to have a hard time understanding. Not only that, his threat to deport millions of undocumented workers will undoubtedly drive up the cost of goods around the country. It's clear that Trump cannot...
Oct 27, 2024•45 min•Ep. 194
This election could all come down to abortion. Laura Bassett from The Cut and Sarah Zhang from The Atlantic have both been writing about the issue and how it's playing into this election. Sarah's recent piece in The Atlantic examined how Idaho's draconian abortion laws have set the state's healthcare back for women. Laura has been writing about the issue for years and says that it poses a serious threat to Ted Cruz's reelection campaign in Texas. NYC! Come see a live taping of th...
Oct 20, 2024•41 min•Ep. 193
It's been a year since the horrific attack in Israel that set off the current wars in the Middle East. Frank Foer from The Atlantic and David Rothkopf from The Daily Beast to talk about the painful year and what happens moving forward. If a ceasefire is worked out, what is the future of Gaza and how will it rebuild? What political price is America paying for its role in the wars? And does anyone actually think Donald Trump would be the best person to manage this crisis? Plus, Nob...
Oct 13, 2024•49 min•Ep. 192
It's been a wild week and we're lucky to have Tim Miller from The Bulwark and Aaron Blake from the Washington Post to help break it all down. Special counsel Jack Smith's case against Donald Trump was unsealed this week. We got the best look yet at Trump's behavior on January 6th. It's filled with criminal activity and contradicts many of Trump's previous defenses about that day. We also had the much-anticipated Vice Presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance. Will America buy the co...
Oct 06, 2024•37 min•Ep. 191
With so much happening on the campaign trail, we turn to Jamelle Bouie for his first visit to the podcast. We discuss Donald Trump and JD Vance's attacks on the truth with their harmful comments on Haitian immigrants and their lies about abortion. We look at different Senate races around the country and what they could mean for the next President. And we get into Project 2025 and examine just how far Republicans are willing to let Trump go should he become President again. Spoiler alert: it...
Sep 29, 2024•42 min•Ep. 190
Trump and the GOP are working harder to disenfranchise voters NOW than they were in 2020. They are no longer a majoritarian party and want to disrupt our electoral process as much as they can. How will we preserve the integrity of this election? What are some of the ways that Trump and GOP lawyers will attempt to derail the will of the people? Our friend and top Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias from Democracy Docket joins us to break down some of the ways that our democracy is under attack ...
Sep 22, 2024•45 min•Ep. 189
