Today I’m traveling. Heather and Michael make sense of a memorable week. My thanks to both of them. See you next Saturday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe
Friends, Today Heather and I grapple with the inescapable reality that Trump has turned America into a fascist state. From the streets of Minneapolis to the shores of Greenland, violence and the threat of violence prevail. By contrast, we talk with Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission and co-chair of Mayor Mamdani’s transition team, about how Mayor Mamdani has launched his social-democratic administration in New York. And Heather and I explore specific steps you can take to fi...
Friends, Today, Heather and our friend Kamau Bell join me to examine this horrific week in which Trump took control of Venezuela and its oil and unleashed his ICE and Border Patrol agents on Americans. Trump’s deadly forces here and abroad — unconstrained by law or oversight — seem to have shifted the nation from being endangered by a pending dictatorship to becoming a dictatorship. What do you think? Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the discussion. This is a public episode. If ...
Friends, Today, Heather and I look into our crystal balls and attempt to predict what’s going to happen in 2026. First, what do we hope for? What are the major positive things we anticipate? Second, what do we fear? What are our biggest worries about the upcoming year? Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe...
Friends, What do we make of 2025, other than that it was a horrible and cruel year? On today’s Klatch, Heather and I sift through your questions about what we’ve been through, what it means, what are the big lessons from 2025, and who are the real heroes. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation. Happy New Year! You look great! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/s...
Friends, I recently had the delight of conversing with acclaimed author Michael Lewis ( The Big Short , Liar’s Poker , Moneyball , Flash Boys , Going Infinite , The Fifth Risk , The Premonition , The Blind Side , The Undoing Project , Boomerang , and, most recently, Who Is Government? ). I asked him to join me to discuss our recent books. Our subject was Trump, but our conversation ranged from the political to the personal. It occurred before a live audience and was great fun. I thought this hol...
Friends, Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into Trump’s increasingly addled brain — seeking to understand how quickly he’s losing his capacities and the dangers this poses for the rest of us. We begin with his bizarre response to the killings of Rob and Michele Reiner earlier this week, followed by his lie-filled speech to the nation and his chief-of-staff’s description of him as having the personality of an “alcoholic” who believes he’s omnipotent. We also examine his mounting losses: congr...
Friends, Today, Heather and I — along with our Gen Z associates Katie Milne and Vishal Shankar — explore why the Republican Party is in near revolt against Trump. Congressional Republicans repeatedly rebuked him this week. Twenty House Republicans joined Democrats in passing a discharge petition to restore union rights to federal workers; 14 signed on to another discharge petition to prevent members of Congress from trading stocks. Meanwhile, a Democrat won the race to become mayor of Miami (for...
Friends, Trump evidently persuaded Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, the world football league, to award him the first (and likely last) annual FIFA Peace Prize, along with a hagiographic video. It’s all part of Infantino’s efforts to craft a close alliance with Trump. And Trump has just had his name engraved on the U.S. Institute of Peace — now renamed the “Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace.” The absurd award and equally absurd engraving are parts of Trump’s pathetic campaign to get th...
Friends, Hope you had a good Thanksgiving and are now enjoying a restful post-Thanksgiving weekend. Today, Heather and I discuss the Thanksgiving holiday — from our own childhood memories, to Norman Rockwell’s iconic “freedom from want” Thanksgiving cover for The Saturday Evening Post. To Trump’s terrible Thanksgiving week — pardoning turkeys, criminals who support him and other criminals who pay him off. Also: American consumers’ exceedingly costly Thanksgiving — due to Trump policies. Please p...
Friends, The big story this week is that Trump is losing it — losing his grip, losing control over the narrative, losing power over the Republican Party, and losing even more of his mind. Today, we examine at it all: Trump’s abrupt turnaround on the Epstein files. His demand that the Democratic lawmakers who urged members of the military not to follow illegal orders be executed. His disgusting celebration of the Saudi Crown Prince (“Mr. Bonesaw”) Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, who oversaw the brut...
Friends, Today Heather and I take a deep dive into an extraordinary week that featured the surrender by Senate Democrats to Trump Republicans on ending the government shutdown, as well as the resurrection of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal threatening Trump’s presidency. Also news on some critical political races and the economy. And Pope Leo and me. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the discussion. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...
Friends, Will Zohran Mamdani actually be able to turn his ambitious agenda into public policy?Today, I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Dean Fuleihan, Mamdani’s newly named first deputy mayor and a seasoned veteran of New York politics, on what to expect when Mamdani takes office in January. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/su...
Friends, It was an amazing week. By wide margins, New York City elected a Social Democrat mayor who thinks there shouldn’t be billionaires, while Tesla’s board gave Elon Musk a $1 trillion pay package. Today, Heather and I, along with our colleague Vishal Shankar, take a deep dive into what all this means — for American politics, for the American economy, and for the future. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the conversation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this w...
Friends, Today, Heather and I are joined by the talented writer and comedian W. Kamau Bell to assess the latest week’s dark saga of Trump et al. We start with the horrifying reality that 42 million of America’s most vulnerable people — the poor, the very young, the very old, the disabled — will not be receiving nutrition assistance starting today because of …. Why? There are funds to pay them, but Trump and his lapdog Republicans in Congress won’t release them, although they’re happy to keep on ...
Friends, I recently spoke with my old friend Katie Couric, the longtime and much-admired TV host. I was thrilled to oblige when Katie asked me to explain the current government shutdown. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe
Friends, Today I had the pleasure of speaking with New York Assemblyman — and New York City mayoral candidate — Zohran Mamdani. Zohran Mamdani is the bright future of the Democratic Party — brimming with excellent ideas about what working families need. My own granddaughter is knocking doors for him in the final stretch of the NYC mayoral race. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Please be sure to also read my previous piece about Mamdani here . This is a public episode. If you'd...
Friends, I used to think of presidents as having dignity and stature, and the White House as being the “People’s House” — the essence of simple taste and modest grandeur. No longer. In the week after No Kings Day — the largest demonstration in American history — Trump has found new ways to defile and desecrate his office and the nation. He’s taken a battering ram to the White House, literally as well as figuratively, to create a giant garish gold-leafed ballroom financed by Trump’s favorite bill...
Friends, Today, millions of Americans are standing up for their values and standing up to Trump. Millions are saying clearly and powerfully — and peacefully — that this is a nation of laws, not of people who put themselves above the law. That we are a nation that values self-government, not a government by an authoritarian dictator. That we are a people whose forebears have sacrificed much — some have sacrificed their lives — so that democracy and freedom shall be preserved. We will not allow th...
Friends, Today Heather and I discuss Trump’s sending Texas National Guard troops into Chicago, Illinois — over the objections of Chicago’s mayor and Illinois’s governor. His indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, after having indicted James Comey — both of whom tried to hold him accountable for some of his actions during his first term. And his targeting of so-called “liberal” organizations. We also examine the government shutdown, his peace plan for Israel and Hamas, his aid to ...
Friends, Today, Heather and I assess the government shutdown and explore its connection to Trump’s meeting this week with the military’s top brass, his attempt to create a police state in America, declare war on Venezuela, make war on “the enemy within,” occupy big Democratic cities, and lead an anti-democracy movement. We also find some reasons for hope. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscri...
Friends, Today we’re trying something of an experiment. I’ve asked several of my young colleagues — all 50 years younger than me! — to join in discussion about a remarkable week in which Trump has fully bared his authoritarian self. Trump is visibly and unapologetically targeting his political enemies for criminal prosecution. He’s unilaterally and capriciously raising import taxes (tariffs) that will cost Americans dearly. He’s threatening the media with more punishment should it continue to cr...
Friends, Today Michael and I take a deep dive into ABC’s decision this week to fire late-night entertainer Jimmy Kimmel — and why ABC caved to Trump and Trump’s FCC. The decision came barely two months after CBS canceled Stephen Colbert’s contract, for similar reasons. What’s the underlying story? Are we on the verge of an authoritarian clampdown on criticism of the Trump regime? If so, what are our options and responsibilities? We explore the economics and the politics of free speech, what it r...
Friends, Today Heather and I take a hard look at political violence in America — not just this week’s heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk but other violence I’ve witnessed, and the nation’s history of violence in politics — and we ask whether there’s something unique to American culture that harbors such deep hatred that people feel compelled to murder others for their political beliefs. Yesterday, Trump doubled down on blaming what he calls the “radical left” for political violence in the Uni...
Friends, Trump’s economy is going down what he describes as a “sh*thole.” Job growth has stalled and prices continue to rise. The problem is it’s not just Trump’s economy; it’s also our economy. Today, Heather and I try to give some context to the bad economic news — looking at what it means politically, who is suffering most, and how it can possibly be turned around. Along the way, we talk about the extraordinary push-back by the federal courts and the hopes for the Democrats, and we venture in...
Friends, Today Heather and I come to you from one of our favorite local bookstores to emphasize the importance of free speech, free expression, and freedom to criticize the current regime — even as it seeks ever-greater control over the media, universities, museums, and our cities. Our neofascist emergency worsens. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, take our poll, and join in the conversation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonu...
Friends, Michael and I are coming to you today from the Empire Café in Houston, Texas, where the coffee is superb and the service comes with a smile (the café’s motto is “corporate coffee sucks”). It’s a bit noisy here (for which I apologize) but, hey, that’s what you get when you mix it up with real people. While I’m apologizing, I also want to apologize for the petition that was inadvertently posted on this page yesterday. When its provenance couldn’t be validated, I had it taken down. I shoul...
Friends, Today, Heather and I discuss Trump’s occupation of Washington, D.C.; his meeting with war-criminal Putin; his takeover of key industries; his demands that Republican governors gerrymander their states to find more Republican seats; and his widening corruption. (If I had written the previous sentence several years ago, I would have thought it a parody. But it’s not. It’s real, and it’s fascist thuggery) Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, take our poll, and join in the discussion. This...
Friends, Today Heather and I look into Trump’s efforts to get payoffs (such as the 24-karat gold bar that Apple’s Tim Cook gave him apparently in return for exempting Apple from import taxes on semiconductors); Trump’s attacks on facts he doesn’t like (such as the latest jobs report); and his methods of achieving political outcomes he wants (such as instructing Texas to come up with five more House seats). We explain how each of these connects to one another, and how the result is the opposite o...
Friends, Today, Heather and I look at how Trump has moved almost all law and policy into personal deal-making — whether it’s what tariff rate (that is, import tax) is to apply to which country, which corporations will be exempted from import taxes, which universities have to do what to satisfy him, which law firms have to do what to avoid his penalties, which media corporations have to genuflect in which ways to gain his approval or avoid his wrath, and so on. It’s a form of government completel...
