A message from Jane on Juneteenth: Happy Juneteenth! Juneteenth is a holiday to celebrate the end of slavery in the United States and the emancipation of millions of Black Americans held in human bondage. People like my great-great-grandparents. Their grandson, my grandfather, Oscar Coaston, served his country during World War II as part of a segregated unit that landed on Omaha Beach during D-Day. Today, nearly 80 years since the U.S. military was officially desegregated, 20% of the military is...
Jun 19, 2026•20 min
The 2022 Dobbs decision that reversed Roe v. Wade promised to return the issue of abortion back to the states. But for anti-abortion activists, that’s never been good enough. Some anti-abortion activists are pushing bills that could see women who get abortions imprisoned. And with the number of people who have gotten abortions only increasing over the last year, that’s a lot of punishment they want to mete out. Jessica Valenti, founder of the Substack Abortion, Every Day , has been tracking abor...
Jun 18, 2026•20 min
President Donald Trump has been trying to get the SAVE America Act passed for months. The bill would require not just ID, but proof of citizenship to vote — effectively disenfranchising Americans who don’t happen to have their passport or birth certificate handy. Which is… millions of Americans. So what does Trump’s determination to get this bill passed mean for November? To find out, we spoke with Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket. And in headlines: we finally hear what’s in the memorandu...
Jun 17, 2026•19 min
Pride Month is here. It’s a month to celebrate the achievements of LGBTQ Americans and the impact they’ve had on our past and present. But it’s also a weird and very scary time for a lot of people. So what do we do now — at a time that somehow feels both great yet increasingly scary? To find out, we spoke with Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. And in headlines, Iran’s top diplomat says the tentative deal to end the war would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, House Judiciary...
Jun 16, 2026•22 min
If you didn’t tune into Paramount+ to watch the UFC Freedom 250 fight on the White House lawn, because you had better things to do, you're not alone. The entire 250th celebration of America’s founding has felt remarkably Trumpian, implying that the only way to be an American is to be a Trump supporter. So how can those of us who love this country, but hate this bullshit respond? To find out, we talked to Alex Wagner, host of Crooked Media’s Runaway Country. And in headlines, we get limited detai...
Jun 15, 2026•20 min
On today’s show, we are diving into the tough week our commander in chief just had. From MMA fights no one seems very excited about… to the potential end of warrantless surveillance because of an unpopular Trump hire, our dear president has been taking some big losses. Oh, and not to mention, the war with Iran is still going on. But Trump doesn’t seem to care about any of it! So to talk more about Donald Trump’s apparent case of senioritis, we called up Tim Miller, host of The Bulwark Podcast. A...
Jun 12, 2026•20 min
President Donald Trump has changed a lot about American foreign policy – and to many, America itself. But a lot of the issues facing this country were around long before he became president. Ben Rhodes’ new book, All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches , tells the story of this country through speeches by figures like Ben Franklin, Martin Luther King, and yes, Donald Trump. We spoke with Ben about what those speeches reveal about being American, and what Trump’s ac...
Jun 11, 2026•21 min
The World Cup is the biggest annual sporting event in the world. And the first game is tomorrow . This year’s competition is being hosted by three countries for the first time: the US, Canada, and Mexico. Already, fans of Argentina , Cote d’Ivoire , and other countries have flooded social media with their journeys to watch their favorite teams play. But with the World Cup, as with most things, comes… a lot of politics. We spoke with Bill Connelly to find out how politics is impacting the event. ...
Jun 10, 2026•18 min
President Donald Trump officially nominated Todd Blanche to serve as Attorney General. After firing Pam Bondi back in April, Trump went with his former defense attorney to lead more than 10,000 attorneys. And it seems pretty clear why: Trump wants someone to do exactly what he wants. Like prosecute his political enemies or set up a 1.776 billion dollar MAGA "anti-weaponization" fund . But by doing Trump's bidding, Blanche has made many of his own enemies. So what does that mean for Trump's legal...
Jun 09, 2026•21 min
Maine voters will head to the polls tomorrow to decide who will take on five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins. And somehow, Graham Platner still has a sizable lead in the Democratic primary. You probably know a few things about the presumptive Democratic nominee for Maine’s Senate seat. He served in the Marine Corps and now runs an oyster farm . And you’ve probably heard a lot of other things about Platner over the last few weeks – like about a Nazi tattoo, or his allegedly abusive behavior...
Jun 08, 2026•20 min
Artificial Intelligence isn't just clogging up your Instagram feed with cartoon cat romance-revenge videos or helping your cousin pass AP European History class. Artificial Intelligence is on the battlefield. The Trump administration has been pushing to supercharge the U.S. military with A.I., and the military is leaning into the powerful new technology, from Venezuela to Iran . But not everyone is so gung-ho about it. So to learn more, we spoke with Mike Horowitz, who worked in the Pentagon on ...
Jun 05, 2026•22 min
CBS News, under the leadership of Bari Weiss, continues to devolve into chaos. On Tuesday, CBS News fired longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley. It came a day after Pelley reportedly said Weiss was "murdering the show" and accused its new producer of having "slender qualifications" for the job. Here to talk about it all is Jeremy Barr, media reporter for The Guardian US. And in headlines, the House for the first time Wednesday approves a war powers resolution that would halt the US mi...
Jun 04, 2026•23 min
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he's appointing the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte , as acting Director of National Intelligence. The news comes after Tulsi Gabbard announced she was resigning from the position amid her husband's battle with cancer. So who is Bill Pulte? From what we know, Pulte is another Trump-henchman type whose only qualification for the high-stakes position seems to be the ability to do just about anything Trump wants him to do. And ...
Jun 03, 2026•17 min
California politics is experiencing a rare moment on the national stage as wacky candidates and local scandals have become a microcosm for the country as a whole, as well as a potential preview of what November’s midterms have in store. We talk to KQED’s Marisa Lagos about what the hell is going on with California politics right now. And in headlines, primary season kicks off nationwide, Trump's Iran War negotiations hit another setback, an appeals court rules Trump's ban on transgender troops i...
Jun 02, 2026•21 min
It’s no secret that what we see on social media is highly choreographed. But a recent article in New York Magazine by Lane Brown confirms it by uncovering the world of artificial hype that drives what we perceive as buzz. The piece dominated the groupchats these last few days, and for good reason: it taps into a general unease about how we’ve ceded our reality to platforms that are manipulated by shadowy ad campaigns. Brown joins the show to lay it all out for us. And in headlines, Trump’s “walk...
Jun 01, 2026•22 min
President Donald Trump's immigration policies haven't been getting much attention lately. But don't be fooled — the immigration detention industrial complex hasn't slowed down. One infamous facility in Florida, known as "Alligator Alcatraz," is reportedly closing . Katie Blankenship is an attorney representing immigrants across the country – including some who have been detained at "Alligator Alcatraz". Jane talked about what she's hearing from her clients and what you need to know about the imm...
May 29, 2026•21 min
Despite whatever President Donald Trump has said over the last few days, his war in Iran does not look like it's ending soon. But here's the thing: a major factor in what happens with Trump's Iran war isn't Trump – it's Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Despite a ceasefire, Israel has continued to bomb targets in southern Lebanon – part of the country's war against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed proxy militia that controls a swath of Lebanon. And on Wednesday, Israel told residents of sou...
May 28, 2026•20 min
You know, President Donald Trump's 1.776 billion-dollar MAGA slush fund? The fund is intended for victims of "DOJ weaponization," like the January 6 insurrectionists Trump pardoned. Shockingly, very few people support it. And now former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and a colleague, actual victims of the January 6 insurrection, are suing the Trump administration to put a stop to this fund. Jane speaks with Dunn about the slush fund, his lawsuit, and why it's so important to him to stand up f...
May 27, 2026•19 min
You may have noticed that misogyny seems to be everywhere right now, especially online. As American women continue to move further to the political left, men on the American Right appear to have responded by losing their minds completely. Helen Lewis, a staff writer for the Atlantic, coined a term for these kinds of people. She calls them "masculinists." And she argues that "masculinism" has become a bonding agent for the American right wing that can paper over other divides. Helen joins the sho...
May 26, 2026•21 min
Republicans had a filibuster-proof immigration bill that would allocate $70 billion to immigration enforcement and fully reopen the Department of Homeland Security. But then, Trump got involved. First, he wanted $1 billion for " security" for his beloved beautiful ballroom . Then, the Department of Justice announced that $1.776 billion slush fund for Trump's allies. After Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Senate Republicans to make the case for the slush fund on Thursday, everyone go...
May 22, 2026•22 min
A swath of President Donald Trump’s handpicked candidates won their primary elections Tuesday night – and one of Trump's biggest opponents in Congress, Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie, lost. It was the continuation of Trump’s weeks-long revenge tour against Republicans he views as disloyal. So, for more about what we learned from Tuesday’s primaries, we spoke with Alex Wagner. She’s the host of Crooked Media’s Runaway Country. And in headlines, President Donald Trump gives a com...
May 21, 2026•21 min
The World Health Organization met on Tuesday in Switzerland to discuss a deadly outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. According to the WHO, the outbreak, which has killed more than 130 people and infected more than 500, could last for months. Those numbers could be much, much higher than what they've been able to report. The Ebola outbreak comes in the midst of another deadly health crisis you've probably heard a lot about: hantavirus. It's part of a family of ext...
May 20, 2026•19 min
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, 2022 . And despite President Donald Trump's promise to end the conflict on his first day back in office, the two countries are still at war. So far, over 300,000 Russian soldiers have died in the war, compared to roughly 150,000 Ukrainian soldiers. The fighting is brutal, and it seems to keep… going. So how can both sides end this conflict – and what will the U.S. do to help (or hurt) the peace process? To find out, we spoke with Lucian Kim. He's a senior...
May 19, 2026•20 min
It's rather obvious Americans have not exactly been … cheerful for the last few years. And it's showing up in the data – the General Social Survey , the Consumer Sentiment Survey from the University of Michigan , the World Happiness Report , and even the Federal Reserve all report that Americans are less happy than they were a decade ago. Whether that's with their jobs, the economy, the state of the world – no matter the metric, Americans are not having it . To find out why we're feeling down, w...
May 18, 2026•19 min
Life is pretty expensive right now – and Americans are not happy about it . Trump came into office claiming he would lower prices, QUOTE , “on day 1.” But that didn’t happen – and his own policies are partially to blame. To talk more about the economy, inflation, and what we can do when our lives feel way too expensive, we spoke with Stacey Vanek Smith. She’s a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and co-host of the Bloomberg podcast, Everybody’s Business . And in headlines, Trump says Chinese Pr...
May 15, 2026•17 min
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais last month dismantled a critical portion of the Voting Rights Act. And since then, a slew of states — largely in the South — have moved to redraw voting maps. In doing so, they’re eliminating majority-Black voting districts. There are not many people who have done more to fight for Black voting power and for the rights of Black voters in the South than Stacey Abrams, host of Crooked Media’s Assembly Required . So we talked to her about the racis...
May 14, 2026•19 min
President Donald Trump is arriving in Beijing today on a long-awaited trip – one that got delayed even further by Trump’s war in Iran . It’s Trump’s second trip to China and his first in nearly a decade. It’s also a trip where both sides see big opportunities (mostly to make money). But, the global balance of power has shifted – arguably, in China’s favor . Trump is in the midst of an unpopular war with no clear exit plan and he’s looking to make deals , not problems. Meanwhile, China has become...
May 13, 2026•19 min
The impact of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes has been felt in so many places, from the halls of Congress to the royal families of Britain and Norway. Here in the U.S., it’s taken the work of student journalists to uncover the worrying details about Epstein’s hidden relationship with another important institution: Harvard University. Epstein didn’t go to Harvard (actually, he didn’t graduate from college at all). But back in 2020, Harvard released a report aiming to detail its re...
May 12, 2026•24 min
Over the last year and a half, the Trump Administration has made a big effort to limit which words are used in federal documents. Across government memos and wide-ranging agency material, hundreds of terms and ideas have been explicitly or implicitly forbidden from use. These terms include words like “accessible” or “activism.” Another example? Intersectionality. It’s been nearly 40 years since Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality.” And in that time, the word has been twisted int...
May 11, 2026•23 min
There’s a lot going on in this year’s midterm elections. Tennessee Republicans approved a new map on Thursday, splitting the majority-Black voting district that encompasses the city of Memphis – and possibly eliminating the state’s only blue congressional seat. The president also got to flex his muscles this week in Indiana’s Republican primary. Candidates with his support beat at least five Republican incumbents who had voted against his redistricting plans in the state . So what does all of th...
May 08, 2026•20 min
