Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked’s Strict Scrutiny podcast, breaks down all the charges and where the case goes from here. And in headlines: Janet Protasiewicz won the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Republican lawmakers in Tennessee moved to expel three Democrats for leading a demonstration for gun control, and Rupert Murdoch ...
Apr 05, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Former President Donald Trump will make his first court appearance in Manhattan today, to answer to criminal charges handed down by a grand jury on Thursday. He’s expected to face dozens of charges related to hush money he paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Starbucks is facing more scrutiny, after former CEO Howard Schultz was grilled by Senate lawmakers last week over the company’s labor practices and allegations of union-busting. Michelle Eisen, who helped form the chain’s first-ever barg...
Apr 04, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York grand jury, making him the first U.S. president to face criminal charges. Harry Litman, senior legal affairs columnist for the LA Times and a former deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, tells us what we can expect in the coming days and weeks. And in headlines: an explosion in Saint Petersburg, Russia killed a prominent pro-war Russian military blogger, Mexican authorities arrested five people in connection ...
Apr 03, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast We quickly recap the reported indictment against former President Trump for his alleged role to cover-up his relationship with Stormy Daniels.
Mar 31, 2023•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz testified before the Senate HELP Committee on Wednesday. Lawmakers questioned him about the coffee chain’s union-busting activities that have been recorded and reviewed by the National Labor Relations Board over the past several months. The Senate voted 66-30 across party lines to repeal authorizations for the use of military force against Iraq. The vote follows the 20th anniversary of the 2003 Iraq invasion, and its repeal would prevent presidents, current an...
Mar 30, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast A federal judge ruled that former Vice President Mike Pence must testify in the Justice Department's investigation of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He will be expected to testify about any potential illegal acts committed by Trump. At least 40 migrants died Monday night after a fire at a migrant detention center in Ciudad Juarez, a border city in northern Mexico. The blaze reportedly began during a protest by migrants, after they learned th...
Mar 29, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Six people – including three young children – were killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee. Police say the shooter, a 28 year-old, was a former student, and was armed with two assault rifles and a handgun. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to pause a plan to overhaul the country's judicial system until the next parliamentary session next month. The decision comes amid widespread protests against the reforms, which critics say undermine Israel’s democra...
Mar 28, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Severe weather continued across the Deep South, after intense tornadoes struck Mississippi and Alabama over the weekend, leaving at least 26 people dead and destroying rural towns in one of the poorest areas of the country. A collective of New York Times contributors released an open letter to the newspaper last month, calling out widespread editorial bias in its reporting on transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people. Freelance journalist Harron Walker and TV critic Sean Collins...
Mar 27, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified before Congress Thursday. Lawmakers grilled him for more than five hours over their concerns about the app’s safety, and its ties to China. The Michigan state appeals court ruled that the parents of the Oxford High School shooter can face trial for involuntary manslaughter. They’re accused of ignoring warning signs before the attack, and could be the first parents to be held accountable for a mass shooting committed by their own child. And in headlines: President B...
Mar 24, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast As Donald Trump faces possible criminal charges in New York, the former president faces another, and potentially more serious, legal threat. An appeals court ruled Wednesday that one of his own attorneys must testify before the grand jury investigating his handling of classified documents. The Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point. It’s the ninth rate hike in a row the central bank has made over the past year to fight inflation, despite concerns it coul...
Mar 23, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Contrary to what he told his supporters, former President Donald Trump was not arrested on Tuesday — though most observers seem to agree that he’ll be indicted soon, over a 2016 hush money scheme involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels. A Fox News producer filed a pair of lawsuits against the network. She alleges that she was coerced into giving misleading testimony in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against the company, and that she faced discrimination and sexism as a staffer. ...
Mar 22, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The United Nations released a major report on climate change yesterday, offering perhaps the most comprehensive understanding of how the planet is heating. Experts are urging industrialized nations to slash greenhouse gasses roughly in half by 2030. French President Emmanuel Macron survived two no confidence votes in parliament on Monday, all but ensuring that the French retirement age will be raised. This comes amid widespread protests led by labor unions across the country who want the policy ...
Mar 21, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Former President Donald Trump said he expects to be arrested tomorrow in connection with the yearslong investigation into a hush money scheme involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump called on his supporters to protest in opposition. Sunday marked the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Journalist and author Spencer Ackerman, who’s known for his work as a national security correspondent during the Iraq war, joins us to look back on his reporting and how its impact is still fel...
Mar 20, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Eleven of the largest U.S. lenders agreed to deposit $30 billion into First Republic Bank in an effort to rescue it. The move was also meant to stop the ongoing panic in the financial world, following the failure of three smaller banks this past week. Starting next Tuesday, tens of thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District service workers plan to walk off the job for three days. Members of the district’s teacher’s union are also joining the strike in solidarity, shutting down schools acro...
Mar 17, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast A federal judge in Texas held a hearing on Wednesday in a case that could block access to the widely-used abortion medication mifepristone — and suggested he may side with the anti-abortion advocates who want the drug taken off the market. Adult film actress Stormy Daniels met with New York prosecutors, who are investigating the hush money payments she received on behalf of former president Donald Trump in 2016. She agreed to be a witness and provide additional information about her affair with ...
Mar 16, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Pentagon says two Russian fighter jets hit an American surveillance drone over the Black Sea, forcing it to crash into international water. It’s the first known instance of the two countries making contact since the invasion of Ukraine, which U.S. officials warned could lead to a dangerous escalation. North Carolina’s state Supreme Court is rehearing a gerrymandering case that could have major impacts on future elections. The court’s new Republican majority seems ready to reverse an earlier ...
Mar 15, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Following the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the federal government has taken drastic action to protect the financial system, and to make the bank's depositors whole. Business and tech journalist Jo Ling Kent joins us to discuss the backlash from both sides of the political aisle about the intervention — and whether or not it was technically a “bailout.” And in headlines: Donald Trump’s one-time lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen testified before a New York grand jury investigating the form...
Mar 14, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Silicon Valley Bank abruptly shut down on Friday, in what was the second biggest bank failure in U.S. history. The bank serviced many startups and other tech companies, and the federal government is now taking steps to protect its deposits, and stop a potential financial crisis. The 95th Academy Awards were held Sunday night, though the ceremony has been criticized over its lack of diversity. April Reign, the creator of the #OscarsSoWhite movement, joins us to discuss whether the conversations i...
Mar 13, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Biden unveiled his $6.8 trillion budget plan for the 2024 fiscal year. The plan would cut deficits by $2.9 trillion over the next decade while shoring up Medicare, bolstering military spending, and raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. A third Norfolk Southern train derailed in Alabama, just hours before the company’s CEO testified before Congress about the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio last month. And in headlines: Russia launched its largest airstrike in weeks into Ukraine,...
Mar 10, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast A fresh round of public anger is growing in Iran, and the focus is now on a series of suspected school poisonings, which may be targeting girls and young women. Suzanne Kianpour, a foreign affairs correspondent for BBC News, explains why Iranians fear it could be “retaliation” for the women-led protests over the death of Mahsa Amini. And in headlines: Israeli military forces killed at least six Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank, the Justice Department found widespread racist a...
Mar 09, 2023•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Five women who were denied abortions have filed a lawsuit against Texas over the state’s near-total abortion ban. It’s the first time that pregnant patients who are affected by such laws are taking legal action. Florida Republicans have introduced bills that would further restrict abortion in the state, including one that would prohibit the procedure before most people even know they’re pregnant. If passed, the measures could also jeopardize abortion access across the South. And in headlines: tw...
Mar 08, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Florida’s 2023 legislative session begins today. Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled state legislature are expected to push Governor Ron DeSantis’s conservative agenda, ahead of his widely-expected 2024 presidential bid. Police in Atlanta, Georgia charged 23 people with domestic terrorism this week for allegedly attacking police during a protest against “Cop City” — a proposed $90 million police training center in a wooded area near a predominantly Black neighborhood. And in headlines: Israel...
Mar 07, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast A second Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio over the weekend, just over a month after the crash in East Palestine. Local hazmat teams verified that toxins were involved in this latest accident, though it’s raising more questions about rail safety and regulations. President Biden visited Selma, Alabama to mark the anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Biden renewed his promise to protect voting rights, which he said was "under assault" by...
Mar 06, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast The House Ethics Committee is officially investigating New York Rep. George Santos over whether he broke campaign finance laws. He’s also facing scrutiny over allegations of sexual misconduct from a prospective staffer. Lawmakers are sounding the alarm over TikTok, with some members of Congress calling for a total ban of the video-sharing app in the U.S. TikTok has been under scrutiny for its data privacy practices, and because its parent company is based in China. And in headlines: Tennessee Go...
Mar 03, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her re-election bid on Tuesday, becoming the first one-term mayor of the city in 40 years. Lightfoot failed to capture enough votes to make it to the April 4th runoff, in a campaign marked by growing concerns over crime. Drug maker Eli Lilly announced that it would cap the out-of-pocket cost of insulin it makes to $35, bringing relief for the millions of Americans who rely on it to treat diabetes. Vernessa Shih, the story bank director for the U.S. Surgeon Gener...
Mar 02, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Supreme Court heard arguments over President Biden’s plan to cancel more than $400 billion in federal student loans, and whether his administration has the authority to do so. We cover the two cases challenging the loan relief program, and how the court's conservative majority responded. And in headlines: a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey, California ended its statewide coronavirus emergency order, and President Biden announced that he will nominate Julie Su to be the next Se...
Mar 01, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Biden administration has promised new measures to crack down on child labor. It follows a recent investigation by the New York Times, which found that many migrant children are being forced to work in dangerous, labor-intensive jobs. Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Lee said he will sign House Bill 9, a measure that would ban public drag performances in the state. The law would be the first in the country specifically targeting drag, and comes amid an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation...
Feb 28, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Abortion rights advocates are bracing for a ruling in a case that could revoke the FDA’s decades-old approval of mifepristone — the most common and effective drug used for medication abortions. Dr. Kristyn Brandi, chair of the advocacy group Physicians for Reproductive Health, tells us how the decision could impact access to reproductive care nationwide. And in headlines: at least 59 migrants have died after their boat sank off southern Italy, Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Jordan over...
Feb 27, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today marks the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Rolling Stone correspondent Jack Crosbie joins us from Kyiv to reflect on his time covering the conflict. We also check in with Julia Knyupa, a Ukrainian refugee who fled the country on the first day of the invasion, about how her life has changed. And in headlines: federal safety investigators said there was little warning before the Ohio train derailment, R&B singer R. Kelly received more prison time for child sex abuse, and...
Feb 24, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Wes Moore made history this year when he was sworn in as Maryland’s first Black governor. He joins us to discuss his vision for his home state — and his improbable journey to its highest office. And in headlines: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were reportedly subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating the insurrection, Norfolk Southern plans to spend $7.5 billion to buy back its own shares, and National Public Radio announced it will cut 10% of its workforce. Show Notes: What A Day – Honori...
Feb 23, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
