Episode description

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Just over a month into Trump's second term, Matt and Sam offer their thoughts on where we're at—and, to be blunt, the assessment is fairly depressing. They take stock of the troubling truth that Pete Hegseth's confirmation reveals about Trump's hold over the Republican Party, new FBI director Kash Patel's conspiratorial children's books, the state of the conservative legal movement, the right's relatively recent embrace of unbounded executive power, what the Democrats can do to fight back, and more.

Sources:

Pope Francis, "Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America," Feb 10, 2025

Jonathan Swan & Maggie Haberman, "Power, Intimidation and the Resurrection of Trump’s Support for Hegseth," New York Times, Dec 12, 2024

Gabriel Sherman, "'They’re Scared Shitless': The Threat of Political Violence Informing Trump’s Grip on Congress," Vanity Fair, Feb 19, 2025

Jude Joffe-Block, et al, "How Kash Patel has Used Children's Books and Podcasts to Promote Conspiracy Theories," NPR, Dec 10, 2024

Heidi Przybyla, "Leonard Leo Used Federalist Society Contact to Obtain $1.6B Donation," Politico, May 2, 2023

James Burnham, Congress and the American Tradition(1959)