The Supreme Court hears arguments today in a major case related to the January 6th Insurrection that has the potential to undo some of the charges former President Donald Trump faces. The case looks at whether the Justice Department was right to charge some of the people who stormed the Capitol that day with the crime of obstructing an official proceeding. The case has the potential to upend hundreds of prosecutions tied to the riot, and knock out two of the four charges Trump is facing in his f...
Apr 16, 2024•17 min
Description: The Iranian government launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel late Saturday night in what’s believed to be Iran’s first direct attack against Israel from its own soil. Israel reported minimal damage and was able to shoot down most of the drones and missiles, with some help from the U.S. military. Ben Rhodes, former U.S. national security advisor and co-host of Pod Save The World, talks about the significance of the attack and what it means for long-simmering tensions in ...
Apr 15, 2024•22 min
Once upon a time, borrowing money for college was an affordable path towards upward mobility. Today, it’s a crisis. With Americans owing a whopping $1.7 trillion in student loans. So how did the student debt crisis get so out of control? From bungled government programs to Sputnik to the Great Recession, “How We Got Here” unpacks the history behind spiraling student debt…with interest! SOURCES Only 25% of those with student loans went to graduate school—but they owe around 50% of all student deb...
Apr 13, 2024•31 min
The Justice Department announced Thursday, it finalized rules to close a major loophole in gun purchases. Known as 'the gun show loophole' it allowed people to sell firearms online, at gun shows, or in other more informal settings without conducting background checks. The finalized rules are expected to take effect in 30 days. Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, explains how the new rules are a big win for gun control. And in headlines: The directo...
Apr 12, 2024•17 min
A group of House Republicans dealt Speaker Mike Johnson another embarrassing blow on Wednesday when they blocked legislation to extend part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. They did so after former President Donald Trump posted to “kill” the bill on social media. Meanwhile, Republicans struggled to deliver a coherent response to Tuesday’s Arizona Supreme Court decision that said an 1864 law banning almost all abortion was enforceable. Trump said Wednesday, that the ruling w...
Apr 11, 2024•17 min
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, that an 1864 law banning almost all abortions is enforceable. The only exception is if a pregnant person’s life is at risk. The court stayed its decision for at least 14 days pending other legal challenges. Chris Love, one of the lead organizers behind an effort to get an abortion rights amendment on Arizona’s November ballot, explains what the decision means for the fight for reproductive rights in the state. The Environmental Protection Agency issued...
Apr 10, 2024•21 min
President Joe Biden on Monday announced another round of student debt relief that could help tens of millions of borrowers. He made the announcement in Madison, Wisconsin, a major college town in a swing state that’s key to the president’s re-election effort. We talk to Braxton Brewington, press secretary for The Debt Collective, an organization dedicated to student debt cancellation. He gives his opinion on whether Biden’s plan will be enough to energize young voters heading into November. And ...
Apr 09, 2024•19 min
Israel said on Sunday that it was reducing its military presence in Gaza but rejected any suggestion that it was a sign the war was winding down. Sunday also marked six months since Hamas attacked Israel, killed 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. Ceasefire negotiations resumed over the weekend in Cairo amid the ongoing international fallout over an Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen. A rare total solar eclipse will cross a large swath of North America...
Apr 08, 2024•15 min
Why on earth is Wall Street valuing Donald Trump’s little social network at $7 billion despite having few users, scant revenue and tremendous losses? This week on “How We Got Here,” Max and Erin take stock of how wonky and meme-ified investment markets have become, what this means Trump’s legal bills, and why “DJT” shares would never be this high if not for Netscape and GameStop. SOURCES Trump Media’s Business Doesn’t Matter - Bloomberg Pump and Dumps Are Legal Now - Bloomberg Jonathan Lebed's E...
Apr 06, 2024•30 min
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Thursday, the first time since Israeli strikes killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen in Gaza. Biden reportedly told Netanyahu that an immediate ceasefire was necessary and seemed to condition future U.S. support on improved treatment of Gaza’s civilians. Hours later, the White House said Israel agreed to open another border crossing into Gaza so more aid could get into the area. Crooked contributor Max Fishe...
Apr 05, 2024•29 min
José Andrés, the celebrity chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, said that Israel “targeted” his aid workers when the country killed seven of them this week. He gave an interview to Reuters on Wednesday, and he also rebuked the claims by the Israeli and U.S. governments, which both say the strikes were a tragic accident. In a statement issued late Tuesday, President Biden said he was “outraged” by the deaths, and he criticized Israel for failing to protect aid workers and civilians during t...
Apr 04, 2024•22 min
World Central Kitchen, an international aid group, said on Tuesday it paused its relief operation in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike killed seven of its workers on the ground there. The strikes happened late Monday night as the aid workers were leaving a warehouse in the central Gaza Strip in vehicles clearly marked with World Central Kitchen’s logo. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the government launched a thorough inquiry into what happened, but he also added...
Apr 03, 2024•16 min
The Florida Supreme Court delivered bittersweet news to abortion rights advocates on Monday. In one ruling, the court gave voters the chance to enshrine abortion rights in Florida’s constitution by okaying a referendum to appear on the state ballot this November. But in a separate decision, the court also cleared the way for Florida’s six-week abortion ban to take effect in 30 days. Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Floridians Protecting Freedom, explained the ballot initiative that now head...
Apr 02, 2024•19 min
Cesar Chavez Day was Sunday, and it’s the day when Americans honor the late Latino civil rights icon and labor activist. Chavez is most known for co-founding the United Farm Workers (UFW) — the nation’s first-ever farmworker union. He dedicated his life to the fight for better working conditions and wages for people who were part of the agricultural workforce — many of whom were migrants. And while Chavez’s track record on immigration is complicated, UFW is one of many organizations that current...
Apr 01, 2024•24 min
Mifepristone revolutionized abortion access in America, so much that, two years after the fall of Roe v. Wade, abortions in the United States are up. But now “Mife” is taking its turn in the crosshairs of the anti-abortion movement, facing a challenge before the Supreme Court that could cut off access to the drug. Can it survive this challenge? And, if so, would that mean the pro-choice movement is quietly winning the fight for abortion access in America? This week on “How We Got Here,” Hysteria...
Mar 30, 2024•30 min
The federal government announced on Thursday some upcoming changes to the next Census. The form will consolidate two existing questions about race and ethnicity into one question. There will also be a longer list of race categories for people to select from, along with the ability to choose more than one. The list will include, for the first time, the option to select “Middle Eastern or North African.” This Sunday is International Transgender Day of Visibility. It comes amid a legislative, polit...
Mar 29, 2024•24 min
Democrats scored a surprise landslide win on Tuesday when Marilyn Lands prevailed in a special election for an Alabama State House seat previously held by a Republican. Lands made abortion rights and access to IVF central to her campaign. Democrats hope Lands’ win is more evidence that abortion access and reproductive rights remain potent issues for voters heading into the November election. Divers on Wednesday recovered the remains of two victims from the wreckage of the Baltimore bridge that c...
Mar 28, 2024•15 min
The Supreme Court justices on Tuesday seemed skeptical of a case that challenged expanded access to the abortion medication mifepristone. It was brought by anti-abortion doctors looking to roll back access, but during oral arguments both liberal and conservative justices questioned whether the group had the right to bring the case, a concept known as standing. Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked’s legal podcast Strict Scrutiny, explained why the justices kept coming back to the issue, and what it co...
Mar 27, 2024•23 min
The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Monday calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the month of Ramadan. The United States abstained from the vote, allowing the resolution to pass. While it’s unclear how the ceasefire resolution will affect the trajectory of the war, it’s yet more evidence of the deteriorating relationship between the Biden Administration and the Israeli government. The company that owns former President Donald Trump’s social media app Truth Soci...
Mar 26, 2024•20 min
More than 130 people are dead after a terrorist attack Friday night at a concert in Moscow. An offshoot of the Islamic State known as ISIS-K claimed responsibility, and U.S. officials said there’s evidence to support that claim. Four suspects from Tajikistan were arrested. But Russian President Vladimir Putin instead pushed the idea that Ukraine was involved in the attack, despite the fact that there’s no evidence to support it. The Texas Medical Board on Friday released its proposed definition ...
Mar 25, 2024•25 min
Background: Los Angeles Times: Behind the calamitous fall of hip-hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs LA Times: Russell Simmons and Brett Ratner face new allegations of sexual misconduct Reuters: R. Kelly challenge to sex abuse conviction draws skepticism from US appeals court The New York Times: Music Mogul Russell Simmons Is Accused of Rape by 3 Women Variety: Russell Simmons Sued for Alleged Rape of Def Jam Producer in '90s Hollywood Reporter: Writer Jenny Lumet: Russell Simmons Sexually Violated Me ...
Mar 23, 2024•24 min
The Justice Department and more than a dozen states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple on Thursday for “smothering” the smartphone industry. Among the claims, the suit accused Apple of limiting virtual wallets other than Apple Pay, making chats with Android products less secure, and blocking new apps, all to maintain a monopoly. Apple rejected the claims of the suit and said it would fight it. The New York Times reported this week that the Democratic Party is preparing to mount an aggressi...
Mar 22, 2024•24 min
Texas’ draconian immigration law SB4 is back on hold after a ruling late Tuesday night by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. SB4 would allow state law enforcement officials to arrest and detain anyone they suspect of crossing the border illegally. It also would allow judges to issue orders to deport people to Mexico. The Fifth Circuit’s decision followed an earlier decision by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority to let the law go into effect. Texas Tribune immigration reporter Uriel Garcí...
Mar 21, 2024•22 min
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday reiterated his plans to do exactly what President Joe Biden keeps advising him not to do: launch a ground offensive into the crowded city of Rafah in southern Gaza. Netanyahu’s comments came after Biden directly warned him against it in a phone call, their first in more than a month. Netanyahu insists a ground offensive in Rafah is the only way to eliminate Hamas, despite the fact that more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering ...
Mar 20, 2024•14 min
Ohio is one of five states holding primary elections on Tuesday. A few big races there will make it a key state to watch in November. Democrat Sherrod Brown is looking to hold on to his Senate seat in what’s likely to be a tight race that could make or break control of the chamber. There’s also an open seat on the state’s Supreme Court that could lead to Republicans losing their majority. Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters talks about what’s at stake there this election cycle. And in headli...
Mar 19, 2024•21 min
The Georgia racketeering case against Donald Trump can proceed with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in charge. However, on Friday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled that if Willis stayed on, her lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade, would have to leave the case. He stepped down later that day. One of Trump’s co-defendants accused Willis of misconduct for having a romantic relationship with Wade, but Judge McAfee said it did not constitute the kind of conflict of interest ...
Mar 18, 2024•19 min
This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he’s invading the Palestinian city of Rafah despite strong opposition from the Biden administration. Why does Israel, a country that seems to rely on the U.S. for so much, increasingly ignore and defy its long time American patron? And at what point is a defiant ally not really an ally at all? This week on How We Got Here, Israel’s decades-long effort to break free of their military, economic, and diplomatic dependence on the United ...
Mar 16, 2024•34 min
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday called for new Israeli elections to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the U.S., called Netanyahu an “obstacle to peace.” Ben Rhodes, co-host of Crooked’s ‘Pod Save The World’ and former deputy national security advisor to President Barack Obama, explains what Schumer’s comments could signal about Democrats’ shifting attitudes toward Israel over the war in Gaza. And in headlines: Vice Pr...
Mar 15, 2024•23 min
Americans have considered the idea of reparations for more than a century, but there’s real momentum around the movement to make it happen right now. Multiple states and localities have launched studies into doing it and California has even introduced legislation. We’ll talk to Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award-winning journalist Trymaine Lee whose podcast “Uncounted Millions” looks at ways reparations could reshape the lives of the descendants of formerly enslaved people. And in headlines: The Hous...
Mar 14, 2024•20 min
The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a bill that could force the Chinese owners of TikTok to sell the social media platform or face a ban on U.S. app stores. Lawmakers say TikTok is a potential national security threat. The bill has bipartisan support in the House. Tech journalist Louise Matsakis explains why banning TikTok is one of the few issues lawmakers can agree on these days. And in headlines: The House Judiciary Committee grilled Special Counsel Robert Hur over his investigation in...
Mar 13, 2024•20 min
