On today's show, we talk about the indictment of the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, and why the indictment ended up being a way bigger deal, and problem for Trump, than anyone expected. Not only were the charges much more than we thought -- 15 felony charges totalling a max of 105 years in prison -- but the indictment could mean that Trump's creditors all call in their loans en masse, leading the Trump Organization into bankruptcy. We also discuss Liz Chen...
Jul 02, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 395
Cong. Torres is the first openly-gay candidate to be elected to legislative office in the Bronx, was the youngest member of the New York City council, is the first openly-gay Afro-Latino elected to Congress, and he and Mondaire Jones are the first openly-gay black men elected to Congress. Cong. Torres joins talks to us about the Insurrection, and what it was like being in the Capitol building that day. His story is rather scary, and shows just how literal preparation there was for such an emerge...
Jun 30, 2021•49 min•Ep. 394
In late-breaking news, the Supreme Court this morning threw out a challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obamacare) that many observers thought would lead to the the entire law being struck down as unconstitutional, costing 31 million Americans, myself included, their health insurance. Instead, the court threw out the lawsuit! We invited back ACA expert Charles Gaba to walk us through what happened, and what it means for the ACA going forward. The second half of the show we get into the ...
Jun 17, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 393
David Pakman, the host of the YouTube/Twitch talk radio program "The David Pakman Show," joins the UnPresidented podcast's John Aravosis and Cliff Schecter to talk about how Joe Biden is doing as president, what Democrats/the Left should and can do about Joe Manchin obstructing our agenda, how David defines his own politics and why he was happy to support both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, and a discussion at the end of the show about how David has managed to become such a great YouTube success....
Jun 16, 2021•32 min•Ep. 392
Doug Pagitt is executive director of Vote Common Good, a non-profit that tries to invite religious voters to take an off ramp from the Republican party. In today's show, Doug talks to us about how his organization reaches Republican evangelicals, and why it even matters? We also get into a discussion on how religious voters can not only stand Donald Trump, but openly embrace him, and why progressives should welcome efforts to woo religious voters away from the GOP. This is one of our premium epi...
Jun 10, 2021•33 min•Ep. 391
Jun 09, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 390
Today's guest, Julie Oliver -- a two-time congressional candidate from Austin, Texas, and executive director of the non-profit Register to Vote -- joins us to talk about the latest Jim Crow legislation in Texas, voting rights overall, the filibuster, and the problem that is George P. Bush, the Trump-loving son of Jeb. This is one of our free episodes. To hear the rest of our shows, and support our work, please consider becoming a patron over at Patreon, thanks. See Privacy Policy at https://art1...
Jun 03, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 389
Today's big story is Trump's former National Security Adviser, and then felon, Michael Flynn attending a QAnon cult conference in Dallas, where he expressed support for a military coup in the US. Flynn, who is a convicted liar, later claimed that he did not support a coup, but video of the event suggests otherwise. We delve into all of that, and more. This is one of our premium episodes. You can listen to 30 minutes here, and then, if the spirit moves you, head on over to Patreon and become a pa...
Jun 02, 2021•31 min•Ep. 388
On today's show, we discuss the Senate vote on the January 6th Sedition Commission (taped before the vote, but the analysis is the same), and what we think might be motivating Joe Manchin. We also talk about Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, about the maskholes, about our modest proposal to set up Satan statues across country to honor MTG and the Republicans (you have to hear it to get it), why Democrats can't unify their messaging, why Ted Cruz is the second-to-last member of Congress to b...
May 31, 2021•58 min•Ep. 387
Salon writer Amanda Marcotte is back to talk with us about her concerns surrounding the ongoing Republican effort to steal the 2022 and 2024 elections, and what's up with Roe v. Wade and the Supreme Court. This is one of our premium episodes. You can listen to 30 minutes here, and then, if the spirit moves you, head on over to Patreon and become a patron. Thanks so much. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info...
May 25, 2021•32 min•Ep. 386
Longtime Democratic campaign expert James Carville, who was the lead strategist in charge of getting Bill Clinton elected president in 1992, joins us to talk about how Democrats should message in order to win now and in the future. Carville talks about why Democrats aren't as good as Republicans at messaging, how "woke" messaging is hurting us at the polls, why Democrats didn't do better in the 2020 congressional elections, whether we should give Joe Manchin a harder time for opposing the elimin...
May 20, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 385
In today's show, Cliff and I talk about the battle over Congress establishing an independent commission to investigate the January 6th Insurrection -- or as Cliff and I call it, the Sedition Commission. From that, we move to the Arizona presidential election "recount," where even GOP officials have had enough of the Trumpers' games. We also get into how Trump and his minions, including that Women for Trump lady, have upped their rhetoric about the election having been stolen -- even for them, th...
May 19, 2021•32 min•Ep. 384
Today, Cliff and I do a deep dive on the implications of the House GOP having removed Liz Cheney from leadership, and replaced her with nouveau Trump sycophant Elise Stefanik. This isn't just about the GOP being upset that Cheney was mean to Trump. When you look at this move, alongside the increased noise we're hearing from Republicans defending the Insurrection, the Jim Crow 2.0 laws that GOP is passing in the states, and the fact that Republicans are currently favored to win the House back in ...
May 14, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 383
On today's show, we talk to c, who played a key role getting Bill Clinton elected president in 1992, and is now a Democratic strategist, author CNN contributor. Among our topics: Why Democrats didn't do better in the 2020 elections, both presidential and congressional? How Biden won the Democratic primary? Biden's great new polls, and whether they help Democrats in 2022. Hillary Clinton's "responsibility gene" and whether it handicaps Democrats. What role the Insurrection should play in our mess...
May 10, 2021•34 min•Ep. 382
In today's show, former conservative Republican congressman, and outspoken anti-Trumper, Joe Walsh joins us again to talk about Liz Cheney growing opposition to Trump, her oped in the Washington Post saying that the GOP is "at a turning point," and whether it's already too late for both Cheney and the Republican party. Joe thinks it IS too late for both Cheney and the party, and that a third party will be formed of centrists. But in the meantime, we'll have an increasingly neo-fascist Republican...
May 06, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 381
Chicago Tribune humor columnist Rex Huppke joins us to talk about the growing civil war in the Republican party between Trumpers and the few sane GOPers, like uber-conservative Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who don't believe in violent insurrection. We then segue into a discussion of the 2022 and 2024 elections: Whether Democrats may lose the House in 2022, and whether Trump will run again in 2024. And we end with a chat about good newspapers being taking over by venture capital firms that then dest...
May 04, 2021•33 min•Ep. 380
Today's leitmotif is messaging. Staring with Biden quasi- State of the Union address last night before a joint session of Congress, and then leading to a long conversation about Democratic strategist James Carville's Vox interview about how Democrats are doing a lousy job messaging. Carville's interview is fantastic -- don't believe what you've heard about it. It is a master class on how Democrats should and shouldn't message -- from climate change to defining bad Republicans -- when trying to p...
Apr 29, 2021•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 379
On today's show, Cliff and I talk a lot about lies -- Republican lies, to be precise. How the GOP is lying about Biden, and how they're lying about Kamala. We also get into the topic of why so many people aren't getting their second Covid vaccine, and why we think their reason is pretty bogus. Oh yeah, we also talk about how the media is lying about Biden's approval rating, trying to make some really good numbers sound bad. That sounds like a short show, but it's actually a pretty long one. And ...
Apr 27, 2021•36 min•Ep. 378
On today's show we have Charles Gaba, the editor of ACASignups, one of the top Web sites out there for detailed data about the Affordable Care Act, aka ACA, aka Obamacare. Charles joins us in an almost two-hour episode to talks about: 1. What is Obamacare? Who does it benefit, and what are the details of what it does and what subsidies it provides? 2. The details of the upcoming Supreme Court decision that might strike down the ACA. What are the options for what the court might do, and how will ...
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 377
In today's show, our old friend Amanda Terkel, the DC bureau chief of the Huffington Post -- and before that, longtime ThinkProgress guru -- joins us to talk about the issues of the day, and a smattering of journalistic ethics to boot. Cliff and I conclude with a longer-than-expected discussion of cryptocurrency investing, and the anti-vaxx movement. This is one of our premium episodes. You can listen to 30 minutes here for free, and then head on over to Patreon and become a patron to hear the r...
Apr 20, 2021•31 min•Ep. 376
In today's show, French-American cooking writer Jamie Schler joins us to talk baking and politics. We get into the whole Coronavirus situation in Europe, and how things got so out of control over there, and also delve in to the resurgence of far-right politics there and here at home. But a good portion of our show is in fact devoted to food! I admittedly had fun with this one. Hope you do too. This is one of our free episodes. To hear the rest of our shows, and support independent journalism, pl...
Apr 16, 2021•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 375
In today's show, we talk about the ongoing effort of the GOP to rewrite the history of the January 6h Insurrection, while rehabilitating Donald Trump and his role in the bloody coup attempt. We also start with a discussion of the breaking news about the potential troubles surrounding the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine. This is one of our premium episodes. You can listen to 30 minutes of it here for free, then head on over to Patreon and becoming a patron for the price of a pricey cup of cof...
Apr 13, 2021•31 min•Ep. 374
In our show we discuss conservative-Democratic Senator Joe Manchin's (D-WV) call for Democrats to pander to the Insurrectionists, the latest on Matt Gaetz's FBI investigation for child sex trafficking, and lots of other little topics, including a somewhat lengthy discussion about the merits of the TV show "The Americans." This is one of our free episodes. To listen to all our shows, and support our independent journalism & activism, please consider becoming a patron over at Patreon, thanks. ...
Apr 12, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 373
In today's show, Cliff and I talk about the Republicans whining about "cancel culture," because Major League Baseball just pulled from the All-Star game from Atlanta over the state's draconian new Jim Crow voter suppression laws, then we have a little update about Matt Gaetz's child sex trafficking investigation, and finally a rather lengthy Covid update. This is one of our premium episodes. You can listen to half an hour here for free. Then head on over to Patreon and become a patron to hear th...
Apr 06, 2021•32 min•Ep. 372
The Matt Gaetz sex scandal just got a whole lot bigger. It's our big story for today. And boy, it's a doozie. We lay out the details, and discus why it matters. And we laugh, and laugh, and laugh. This is one of our free episodes. To hear the rest of our shows, and support our work, please consider becoming a patron over at Patreon, thanks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Apr 02, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 371
Today's show is heavy on messaging. We start with a discussion of former top Trump Covid adviser Dr. Birx's claim that while the first 100,000 US Coronavirus deaths were unavoidable, the next 450,000 deaths were eminently avoidable. We get into the issue of why Democrats aren't embracing this talking point more, that Trump's own top adviser says the Republicans murdered 450,000 Americans last year. We then segue to a discussion of the merits of institution a "Vaccine Passport" for air travel and...
Mar 31, 2021•31 min•Ep. 370
In today's show, we talk a lot about Georgia's horrific new voter suppression law, Dominion suing Fox news, and Trump claiming the Insurrectionists loved the police, and we hugging and kissing them on January 6, when they were actually beating them up and murdering them. This is one of our free episodes. To hear the rest of our shows, and support our work, please consider becoming a patron over at Patreon, thanks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at h...
Mar 28, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 369
In today's show, Cliff and I talk about Lindsey Graham having the vapors of the new omnibus LGBT rights legislation in Congress, then we talk about guns, the filibuster, immigration, and some concerns we have about Biden's new tax bill -- it just might hit the middle class, including you and me -- and why we think that's a problem. This is one of our premium episodes. You can hear a half hour here for free, then become a patron over at Patreon to hear the rest of our show, and support independen...
Mar 25, 2021•31 min•Ep. 368
In today's show, the big topic is of course hate crimes, particularly anti-Asian bigotry on the rise over the past year, and of course, the horrible mass shooting in Atlanta. Cliff talks a bit about how tougher gun laws could have helped. We then talk about the technical definition of hate crimes, and why it matters to get the designation right, and about whether Asians and Latinos are getting enough attention. That leads us into a discussion about discussion, and how we need to have a bit freer...
Mar 20, 2021•49 min•Ep. 367
On today's show, Cliff and I talk about: - My Covid vaccine, I got one! (But it was J&J, and I'm still unsure about it.) - Biden learning from the past, and understanding he needs to defend the Covid Stimulus bill. - And the GOP onslaught against voting rights in over 40 states. This is one of our premium episodes. You can listen to 30 minutes for free here, then to hear the rest of the show, and help support independent media, please become a patron over at Patreon. See Privacy Policy at ht...
Mar 12, 2021•31 min•Ep. 366
