Joe Conason joins to discuss his new book "The Longest Con." In it, he lays out the rich and ugly history of right wing grifters. It's been happening for a long time. Joe goes back to the 1950s with the McCarthy era and takes us all the way through to one of the biggest grifters we've ever seen: Donald Trump. We discuss religious broadcasters and how some of them swindle their viewers regularly. Many of whom have abandoned their values all in the name of making a quick buck. And with Donald Trum...
Sep 08, 2024•56 min•Ep. 187
As we enter the Fall season of the Presidential campaign, we are taking a break for Labor Day. So we're replaying this interview with comedian and actor Martin Short! The fourth season of Only Murderers in the Building just debuted on Hulu, and in this conversation from 2022, he discusses his role on the show and his 50+ years in showbiz. He also examines his relationship with his co-star Steve Martin and breaks down some of his classic characters from over the years.
Sep 01, 2024•42 min•Ep. 186
We're joined once again by Mark Leibovich from The Atlantic and Molly Jong-Fast, host of the Fast Politics Podcast! The Democrats just wrapped up their National Convention and nominated Kamala Harris to be the nominee for President. Can she carry this momentum all the way to Election Day? Meanwhile, Republicans were caught flat-footed when Joe Biden dropped out and Donald Trump is spiraling out of control. There's still a long way to go before Election Day! Read Mark's writing in The Atlantic: h...
Aug 25, 2024•33 min•Ep. 185
Content creator Brian Tyler Cohen joins the podcast for the first time to talk about his new book Shameless: Republicans’ Deliberate Dysfunction and the Battle to Preserve Democracy. In the book, he discusses the many ways that the Republican Party uses confusion, artificial slogans and, of course, flat out lies to remain in power. We also discuss the myth of the liberal media and how so many of Donald Trump's lies are allowed to flourish in the right wing echo chamber. Subscribe to Brian's YouT...
Aug 18, 2024•37 min•Ep. 184
Professor Scott Galloway joins the podcast for the first time! He 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".
Aug 11, 2024•38 min•Ep. 183
Our friend Anne Applebaum has written a new book called Autocracy Inc. She chronicles the rise of authoritarianism around the world and how those autocracies work together to keep themselves in power. With Donald Trump running for President of the United States, could we be heading for a similar fate? We've seen other countries thwart autocracies in recent weeks. Is America ready to do the same? Plus, Donald Trump has one of the most disliked VP candidates in history. We talk to The Liberal Redn...
Aug 04, 2024•53 min•Ep. 182
This past week, we saw President Joe Biden drop out of the Presidential race and VP Kamala Harris emerge as the new nominee for the Democratic Party. The Atlantic's Frank Foer wrote the book "The Last Politician" about Joe Biden's consequential first term and Elaina Plott Calabro, also from The Atlantic, has interviewed Kamala Harris multiple times. We recap some of Biden's biggest accomplishments and examine the radically changed political landscape since Joe Biden withdrew from the race. How w...
Jul 28, 2024•40 min•Ep. 181
The Republican National Convention concluded last week. We heard from Trump's VP nominee, JD Vance, and we heard from Donald Trump for the first time since the assassination attempt. Trump pushed lie after lie during his speech. No surprise. The real question is whether or not Joe Biden can beat him. Mark Leibovich from The Atlantic and Molly Jong Fast from the Fast Politics Podcast join the podcast to lay out the plan forward to defeat Donald Trump. Plus, you've probably heard of Project 2025. ...
Jul 21, 2024•44 min•Ep. 180
The Supreme Court term has ended after a series of punishing decisions that break years of precedent. While there were many horrible decisions made in this term, two stand out: The cases on Presidential Immunity and the Chevron Doctrine. Why are these so important? We're joined by our Supreme Court expert and host of the Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick. Al and Dahlia lay out the devastating consequences ahead in the wake of these decisions and try to lay out a path forward. Listen to Dahlia's Am...
Jul 14, 2024•52 min•Ep. 179
One of my favorite episodes from this year (so far). The historian on her bestseller "Democracy Awakening" and how America's democracy is on a knife's edge. Perfect for July 4th weekend!
Jul 07, 2024•56 min•Ep. 178
Jefferson reflects on the glaring error he made 248 years ago.
Jul 04, 2024•7 min•Ep. 177
Donald Trump lied over and over again at the debate. But it's been overshadowed by President Biden's terrible performance. Political scientist and an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute Norm Ornstein joins us to recap Thursday evening's debacle. Is there a plan forward for the Democratic Party if Biden drops out? How can Biden prove that the debate was an anomaly and win his party back? Plus, the latest round of Supreme Court decisions dropped on Friday. Norm breaks down the te...
Jun 30, 2024•42 min•Ep. 176
Bulwark Founder Sarah Longwell and former Republican operative and host of the Bulwark podcast Tim Miller are worried about a dangerous potential second term of Donald Trump. The first step for Joe Biden defeating Trump? Have a good showing in this week's coming debate. Tim has prepped Presidential candidates to face Trump and shares his insight. And what messages should President Biden hit on during the debate? Sarah hosts The Focus Group podcast and shares what voters are looking for this Nove...
Jun 23, 2024•37 min•Ep. 175
One of the biggest issues in the coming election will be the economy. So how has President Biden done on that front? We talk to Catherine Rampell about Bidenomics and how the President should tout his economic record. His opponent, Donald Trump could be a disaster for the economy if his previous term is any indication. Catherine discusses what a second Trump term could look like and the difficulty even Republicans have with working with him. Read Catherine’s latest here: https://www.washingtonpo...
Jun 16, 2024•39 min•Ep. 174
My friend Howard Fineman died this week. He had a long career as one of Washington's most respected political reporters and began his career at the Louisville Courier Journal. There, he was able to witness the rise of Mitch McConnell and learn what kind of politician he was. In this episode from 2019, we discuss what makes McConnell tick and Howard's career. May his memory be a blessing.
Jun 14, 2024•54 min•Ep. 173
The war in the Middle East continues, but is a ceasefire in sight? The Biden administration has an outline of a plan. Two of our leading foreign policy experts join us to discuss. Plus, now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, what could that mean for this election? And how does the Biden administration sell the undeniable success of the economy to the American people? Read Frank's latest work in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/franklin-foer/ Read David Rothkopf in The Daily ...
Jun 09, 2024•52 min•Ep. 172
Donald Trump has been convicted on all 34 charges in his NYC hush money trial. What does that mean for his future? We get the latest from our legal expert Harry Litman. Plus, longtime political reporter Dan Balz from the Washington Post joins for a wide ranging political discussion! Will these convictions help or hurt Trump? We also discuss the state of the Presidential race and what President Biden's strengths and weaknesses are as election season ramps up. Read Harry's coverage of the Trump tr...
Jun 02, 2024•53 min•Ep. 171
My friend, basketball legend Bill Walton died this week after a private battle with cancer, I wanted to share our interview with Bill from March of 2022, You will hear the unbounded life force of his generous spirit. RIP Bill.
May 28, 2024•41 min•Ep. 170
Former U.S. Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman joins to discuss the Trump hush money trial. Both sides have rested. Harry has been in the courtroom watching the trial. With closing arguments coming next week, we break down what has transpired and all the possible outcomes Trump could expect as his verdict looms. Harry has been covering the trial for the Los Angeles Times. Read his reporting here : https://www.latimes.com/people/harry-litman...
May 26, 2024•38 min•Ep. 169
Trae Crowder, the viral Tennessean comedian joins to discuss his upbringing in a red state, why rednecks are Trumpies and what happens to a community when the jobs leave. Learn why he understands Trump's appeal to rednecks, and how and why they transitioned from not liking Trump to supporting his every move.
May 19, 2024•43 min•Ep. 168
In the two years since Elon Musk bought Twitter, he's turned irt into a leading source of right wing propaganda. He spreads hateful rhetoric, platforms white nationalists and engages with unfounded conspiracy theories. He lies about President Biden, promotes racist ideology and pushes his own commentary onto X users whether they follow him or not. All of this is working to do get Donald Trump elected President again. Judd Legum from the very popular newletter Popular Information explains the dam...
May 12, 2024•41 min•Ep. 167
Molly Jong-Fast, special correspondent for Vanity Fair and host of the Fast Politics podcast joins us for a wide ranging conversation covering Congress, abortion, the protests happening around the country and the Presidential election. She also discusses the ongoing Trump hush money scandal happening in NYC. She says the trial is "over-delivering," which could mean a guilty verdict for Trump. Read Molly's latest pieces for Vanity Fair! https://www.vanityfair.com/contributor/molly-jong-fast Al is...
May 05, 2024•46 min•Ep. 166
The GOP is undermining democracy all over the country. The will of the people is being subverted for a loud and active minority. In his new book, guest Ari Berman explains how and where this is happening in America. And, more importantly, what we can do to fight back.
Apr 28, 2024•54 min•Ep. 165
The first criminal trial for Donald Trump is underway. The hush money trial over Stormy Daniels might be the first, but it won't be the last. But will we see the other trials before the election? And what are the consequences if Trump is found guilty? We talk to The Bestselling Authors on The Trump Indictments Andrew Weissmann and Melissa Murray!
Apr 21, 2024•44 min•Ep. 164
The Republican Party has spent years undoing the will of the people in the state of Wisconsin. With gerrymandered voting maps, they've been able to lose the popular vote and still have a huge majority in the state legislature. But things are changing thanks to Ben Wikler and the Wisconsin Democratic Party! In our first Battleground State episode, Ben explains the work that is being done to preserve democracy in this critical swing state and how they are organizing to secure a win for Joe Biden i...
Apr 14, 2024•36 min•Ep. 163
The 2024 election is less than 8 months away. How do Democrats defeat Trump? How do they retain the Senate? Our guests say that it all comes down to messaging. It's important to remind voters that on issues like abortion and the economy, the Democratic Party represents their interests. Al is on tour! Come see his NEW standup https://www.alfranken.com/appearances
Apr 07, 2024•49 min•Ep. 162
We begin our wide-ranging conversation by discussing the attack on a Moscow concert hall last week. What are the implications of that violence? And who is behind it? Then delve into the US's failure to fund the Ukrainian effort and the resulting loss of life. Will we help them? Or will Republicans continue to enable Putin? Anne also lays out the dangers of a second Trump term. With autocracy on the rise around the world, what would it look like here in America?
Mar 31, 2024•43 min•Ep. 161
Domenico Mantanaro joins us to cover the political landscape! Trump trials, the general election, the Robert Hur report, and Congress. Plus, is Donald Trump taking over the RNC to help bail him out of his financial problems? And as a reporter, how does Domenico maintain objectivity vs neutrality? See all of Domenico's reporting here! https://www.npr.org/people/392602474/domenico-montanaro Al is going on tour! See if he's coming to your town and grab tickets today! https://www.alfranken.com/appea...
Mar 24, 2024•51 min•Ep. 160
Former Republican operative Tim Miller joins the podcast to discuss a wide range of topics! We cover Biden's re-election strategy and react to his State of the Union speech. (Plus the GOP response from Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), With Congress as dysfunctional as it is, is there any chance of funding the effort in Ukraine? And does Tim still find common ground with his old Republican Party? See more of Tim's work at The Bulwark Al is going on tour! Get your tickets today!...
Mar 17, 2024•46 min•Ep. 159
While anti-Semitism has run rampant among the far right, it has been growing among the political left. In Frank Foer's recent piece for The Atlantic, he explains how we got to this point. How have college campuses and schools become the center for anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic speech? How did college presidents mishandle the hate speech on their campuses? And what is the future of American Jews if Trump is elected again? Read Frank Foer's entire piece in The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com...
Mar 10, 2024•57 min•Ep. 158
