Explore every episode of the podcast Half the Answer
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the Tech Bros of Silicon Valley Would Govern Us (with Adrian Daub) | 16 Sep 2026 | 01:14:42 | |
When those at the very top echelon of influence in Silicon Valley think about, talk about, and interact with government, what does that look like? Can we come up with a legible, understandable picture of the tech elites' idea of what governing is and how they relate to it? Adrian Daub says yes, and he says it in his new book "What Tech Calls Governing." Resources "What Tech Calls Governing": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781503648333 "The Cancel Culture Panic: How an American Obsession Went Global": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781503640849 screengrab of Elizabeth Holmes from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGJSRFWALTI Elon Musk photo by Gage Skidmore https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/54349592271/in/album-72177720324044219 Mark Zuckerberg with Trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI-ULy4akl0 Peter Thiel photo by Gage Skidmore https://flic.kr/p/2n3bPZt Tim Cook in Oval Office from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSAGUjY2HIs | |||
| Trump, Israel, the Iran War, and the Death of the Two-State Solution (with Y. L. Al-Sheikh) | 09 Sep 2026 | 01:13:34 | |
What is the current state of affairs in Israel, Palestine, and the surrounding nations? We ask Y. L. Al-Sheikh for her help summarizing and contextualizing recent developments. Resources https://bsky.app/profile/diplomatofnight.com https://www.liberalcurrents.com/author/ylalsheikh/ https://foreignpolicy.com/author/yaseen-al-sheikh/ https://internationalpolicy.org/resource-author/y-l-al-sheikh/ https://foreignpolicy.com/author/yaseen-al-sheikh/ https://www.newyorker.com/news/a-reporter-at-large/new-maps-show-how-israel-has-thwarted-hopes-for-a-palestinian-state https://truthout.org/articles/air-force-is-reviewing-case-of-iran-war-gold-star-widow-being-denied-benefits/ "The One State Reality: What Is Israel/Palestine?": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781501768408 | |||
| Very Normal, Sir: Trump's Canadian and Iranian Quagmires (with Greg Sargent) | 03 Sep 2026 | 01:07:11 | |
Donald Trump's unprovoked trade war with Canada and his chaotic attacks on Iran have him hemorrhaging support in states he won in 2024. Why doesn't he seem to care? What is he thinking? We can't read minds, but we can talk to Greg Sargent from the New Republic about Trump's statements, posts, and actions over the last month or so. Resources https://newrepublic.com https://bsky.app/profile/gregsargent.bsky.social https://newrepublic.com/article/214669/trump-canada-trade-war-backfiring https://newrepublic.com/article/214682/transcript-krugman-trump-reveals-deep-contempt-maga-voters https://newrepublic.com/article/214748/transcript-trump-fury-canada-already-backfiring-badly | |||
| Esther's Army: The Women Who Make Up MAGA (with Katie Gaddini) | 30 Aug 2026 | 00:53:58 | |
Who are the women supporting the rise of the far right in the United States? Are they brainwashed? Confused? Under coercive control? Dr. Katie Gaddini presents her findings after interviewing politically active right-wing women across the country and explains that there can be several distinct classifications of such women, who all are different, complex, and active participants in their political movement. Resources https://katiegaddini.com "Esther's Army: The Christian Women Who Power the American Right" https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781324123767 https://slate.com/culture/2026/07/conservative-women-right-wing-republican-christian-evangelical-trump-politics-maga.html https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/katie-gaddini/esthers-army/ podcast: blessed & stressed https://katiegaddini.com/podcasts https://katiegaddini.substack.com | |||
| For Back-to-School, It's Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (with Caitlin Gilbert) | 22 Aug 2026 | 01:01:23 | |
Vaccination rates are falling across the country, vaccine deniers are occupying positions of power in the United States government, and previously eradicated diseases are reappearing. Tracking all of this is Caitlin Gilbert and her colleagues at the Washington Post health, science, and wellness desk. We asked her to fill us in on the state of the nation when it comes to vaccination, inoculation, and all things disease prevention. Resources https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/caitlin-gilbert/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/08/17/trump-rolls-back-vaccine-recommendations-see-where-your-school-stands/ https://bsky.app/profile/caitlingilbert.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/caitlingilbert.bsky.social/post/3msr4aokzkc2s https://www.tiktok.com/@caitlingilbertdata https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24135-vaccines https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3407399/ | |||
| Midterm Madness: Political Ads from Michigan to Texas (with Jonathan M. Katz) | 18 Aug 2026 | 01:05:07 | |
It's an unhinged political ad round-up, featuring racist memes from Donald Trump himself and Ken Paxton's rancid, deep-fried AI slop rip-off of one of the most famous ads from history. Author Jonathan M. Katz helps us make sense of the hideous soup of extremism, slander, bad art, and dirty dealings that we're all floating in. Resources: https://www.theracket.news https://www.forever-wars.com "Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781250135599 "The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781137278975 "The Legend of Skokie: A Story of Free Speech and Fascism in America": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781250427519 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-elections/michigan-senate-results https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/the-right-is-targeting-abdul-el-sayeds-family-members/ https://www.wbaltv.com/article/trump-backed-candidate-michigan-loss-dropped-out/73357749 https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/racist-book-camp-saints-gains-popularity/ https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Turner-Diaries https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/an-infamous-attack-ad-just-got-an-ai-resurrection/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/arts/rachel-pollack-dead.html https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/turner-diaries-other-racist-novels-inspire-extremist-violence/ | |||
| Was Cultural Marxism Responsible for the Beatles? (with A. J. A. Woods) | 10 Aug 2026 | 02:04:36 | |
Why does the right keep talking about a handful of critical theorists from the 1960s? Why are they hellbent on rooting out discussion of progressive ideas from the public sphere? What did Theodor Adorno have to do with the release of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"? And does the notion of "Cultural Marxism" imply the existence of seminal thinker Cultural Marx? We talk to A. J. A. Woods, author of "The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy," about all these questions but the last one. "The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy" https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781804296967 https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-ever-shifting-cultural-marxism/ https://nathangoldwag.wordpress.com/2020/06/10/do-we-all-live-on-campus-now/ https://www.thefp.com/p/honestly-rufo-mounk-debate-dei "beatles 4" by beatles maniac11 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse. | |||
| Lindsey Graham: "Corporal," Senator, Hypocrite (with Maya Rupert) | 31 Jul 2026 | 01:49:44 | |
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has somehow jumped the queue, passing Mitch McConnell on the way to the place where Republican senators go at the end of a life full of compromises, betrayals, and cruelty. With the help of author, election strategist, and social justice advocate Maya Rupert, we explore the life and works of the man who occupied the most racist seat in American history. Resources: https://mayarupert.com/ The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authentic https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780593475973 https://www.instagram.com/maya.rupert/?hl=en https://lemonadamedia.com/show/whenwewin/ https://magazine.ucsb.edu/spring-summer-2024/accidental-and-optimistic-political-strategist https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mitch-mcconnell-staff-questions-health-b3018929.html https://www.wired.com/story/sfpd-drone-video-leak-surveillance/ https://theemancipator.org/2026/07/19/investigations/lindsey-graham-occupied-the-most-racist-senate-seat-in-u-s-history/ https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-state-scs-rep-lindsey-graham-enj/201550004/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/graham100798.htm https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/for-lindsey-graham-years-of-light-duty-as-a-lawmaker-in-the-air-reserve/2015/08/02/c9beb9fc-3545-11e5-adf6-7227f3b7b338_story.html https://www.npr.org/2011/12/08/143333594/revisiting-newt-gingrichs-1997-ethics-investigation https://media.npr.org/assets/multimedia/2011/12/gingrich/Feb_26_1994.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20201117025418/https://apnews.com/article/a1fcceda5e00bfa840afe5a82260c2ef https://www.wcpinst.org/source/unborn-victims-of-violence-act-heads-to-white-house/ https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/us/senate-declines-to-resolve-issue-of-american-qaeda-suspects-arrested-in-us.html https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/04/18/177780665/bipartisan-senate-gang-prepares-to-sell-immigration-plan https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/how-lindsey-graham-stomped-the-tea-party/372521/?single_page=true https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/politics/jeb-bush-john-mccain-donald-trump https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/21/politics/donald-trump-lindsey-graham-cell-phone/index.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-media-attack-lindsey-graham-kook-unfit-office-video-backfires-a8087796.html https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/senator-on-gop-backing-trump-party-has-gone-batshit-crazy/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-updates-on-the-2016-election-voting-and-race-results/sen-lindsey-graham-i-voted-evan-mcmullin-for-president/ https://www.npr.org/sections/death-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg/2020/09/19/914774433/use-my-words-against-me-lindsey-graham-s-shifting-position-on-court-vacancies https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/498133-graham-on-potential-supreme-court-vacancy-this-would-be-a-different/ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-media-attack-lindsey-graham-kook-unfit-office-video-backfires-a8087796.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-did-they-do-with-lindsey-graham/2019/01/15/c9909e62-1914-11e9-88fe-f9f77a3bcb6c_story.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/27/lindsey-graham-defends-brett-kavanaugh-amid-christine-blase-ford-accusation.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/27/lindsey-graham-slams-democrats-after-blasey-ford-testimony.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/10/politics/lindsey-graham-wall-emergency-powers/index.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/magazine/lindsey-graham-what-happened-trump.html https://www.newsweek.com/lindsay-graham-says-people-angry-over-trumps-mccain-attacks-dont-really-care-1377523 https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3664179002 "Lindsey Graham" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ | |||
| Ken Paxton and the Potential Boogaloo Congressman (with Steven Monacelli) | 20 Jul 2026 | 01:12:20 | |
Ken Paxton isn't the only Looney Toon running for a position in the United States Congress this November. An extremist gun YouTuber is the Republican nominee for a House seat in the district that contains Uvalde, Texas. How did this happen? How is Katy Stout, his Democratic opponent, feeling about suddenly facing a boneheaded boogaloo bro instead of the moderate who was supposed to be there? Journalist Steven Monacelli tells us all about it. Resources https://www.stevenmonacelli.com https://bsky.app/profile/stevanzetti.bsky.social https://www.texasobserver.org/brandon-herrera-gun-youtube-uvalde-congress/ https://sanantonioreport.org/profile/katy-padilla-stout-2026-candidate-for-texas-23rd-congressional-district/ https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/13/texas-tony-gonzales-resigning-congress-sexual-misconduct-affair-staffer-eric-swalwell/ https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/12/trump-cease-and-desist-brandon-herrera-tony-gonzales-23rd-congressional-district/ https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/22/brandon-herrera-antisemitism-aipac-republicans-texas-00838410 https://brandonherreraforcongress.com/news/ https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/election/2024/article/brandon-herrera-congress-ak-guy-19371667.php https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/us/politics/brandon-hererra-guns-youtube.html https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/07/gonzales-is-out-in-texas-and-dems-see-a-chance-to-beat-the-akguy-00817739 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/gop-candidate-brandon-herrera-mein-kampf-tony-gonzales-1235526685/ | |||
| The Mancunian Candidate and the End of Keir Starmer (with Hunter CG) | 15 Jul 2026 | 00:54:33 | |
Exactly what is going on in England? Why is the Labour Party trying to behave like the Tories—or worse? Is Andy Burnham any better than Keir Starmer? We ask our European expert Hunter CG (RoteRote Media) to lay it out for us. Resources: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/world/europe/buses-andy-burnham-greater-manchester-bee.html https://www.npr.org/2026/06/22/nx-s1-5866429/with-starmers-resignation-the-u-k-is-set-for-its-7th-pm-in-10-years https://www.npr.org/2026/06/25/nx-s1-5869499/starmers-successor-reset-on-uk-us-relationship-strait-latest https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crm0r94mv7jo https://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/nominations-open-contest-uk-leader-andy-burnham-likely-only-candidate-rcna353629 https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-in-waiting-vows-rebuild-hard-power-more-dangerous-world-2026-07-09/ https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/politeness/89113EE2FB4A1D254D4A8D2011E542E4#overview | |||
| Graham Platner: Walking Red Flag (with Marisa Kabas) | 11 Jul 2026 | 01:17:07 | |
Graham Platner is a parade of red flags stuffed into a pair of yellow rubber waders, and yet so many let those things slide with a tsk tsk at best. For others, he was a bad man with bad views who unfortunately represented the only possible way to reverse the GOP majority in the senate. Improperly vetted, he relied on his "everyman" image to skate through the primaries despite several rounds of damning information reveals. But mere weeks from the deadline to finalize the candidacy of contenders, a story finally emerged that nobody could ignore. We ask Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket how it feels to have people suddenly come all the way around, and why it's so frustrating that they didn't figure it out sooner. Resources thehandbasket.co https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/graham-platner-rape-accusation-maine-senate https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/06/graham-platner-sexual-assault-allegation-00987737 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDAWPE5PaWE https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/jul/09/donald-trump-graham-platner-mitch-mcconnell-iran-midterms-latest-news-updates https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/graham-platner-is-a-type-of-guy https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/08/graham-platner-isolated-defies-maine-democrats-they-try-hatch-plan/ https://www.newsweek.com/i-dated-graham-platner-i-believe-jenny-racicot-and-lyndsey-fifield-12172864 https://www.garbageday.email/p/the-curdling-of-the-american-man https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/graham-platner-maine-senate-exit-democrats-b3010473.html https://losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.com/p/we-have-an-even-bigger-problem-than-graham-platner?utm_source=losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=we-have-an-even-bigger-problem-than-graham-platner&_bhlid=725fa1d50927278b100637f3437277b0325dbb16 klippenstein being an ass https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/my-graham-platner-apology "Graham Platner 10-2-25" by m Spiess is licensed under CC BY 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/?ref=openverse. | |||
| ICE Flights: Cattle Cars in the Sky (with Gillian Brockell) | 07 Jul 2026 | 01:06:15 | |
ICE flights are still happening and they are still horrifying. Gillian Brockell brings us updates on some of the major players in the game of torturing innocent people in the sky, their victims, and the regular people who do not want this abusive pack of monsters to continue using their resources. Resources https://gillianbrockell.com/ Send tips to: gbrockell.44 on signal https://bsky.app/profile/gillianbrockell.com https://www.patreon.com/cw/worstairlineever https://gillianbrockell.com/interviews-podcast-and-some-r/ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/vietnamese-man-deported-from-u-s-to-south-sudan-repatriated-after-year-in-detention https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/what-are-third-country-removals-factsheet/ https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781324092407 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/deep-swamps-archaeologists-fugitive-slaves-kept-freedom-180960122/ https://www.baloproject.org/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/world/africa/trump-deportation-us-judge-congo-colombia.html https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/omni-ice-deportations-charter-flight-stonepeak-private-equity/ https://theintercept.com/2022/02/17/amazon-ice-deportation-flights-omni/ https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/152641-stonepeak-completes-acquisition-of-uss-atsg https://www.npr.org/2026/01/08/nx-s1-5629234/the-cautionary-tale-of-how-chicago-privatized-its-parking-meters https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-parking-meter-deal-city-council-members-seek-block-morgan-stanley-sale-meters-stone-peak/19265309/ | |||
| America's 250th Birthday Party and The Green Reflecting Pool (with Amanda Moore) | 01 Jul 2026 | 01:04:01 | |
Why won't Gregory Bovino stay gone? Why can't Trump keep his pool clean? And how many fireworks is too many fireworks? We asked our friend and yours Amanda Moore to help us get to the bottom of these questions and more. Resources: https://www.instagram.com/noturtlesoup17/?hl=en https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/an-ice-chaser-bovino/ https://bsky.app/profile/noturtlesoup17.bsky.socialhttps://authory.com/AmandaMoore https://www.turtlediaries.net/p/update-from-the-great-american-state | |||
| Jared Kushner and Albania's Flamingo Revolution (with Hunter CG) | 27 Jun 2026 | 01:11:37 | |
Why is Albania having anti-Jared Kushner protests? What did he do to them? And what on Earth is going on in the UK? We asked our resident Europe expert to explain it all to us. Resources https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-uks-keir-starmer-went-from-election-landslide-to-downfall | |||
| The Legalization of Sports Gambling in America (with Danny Funt) | 20 Jun 2026 | 01:21:55 | |
How did sports betting burst onto the scene so violently in the last half-decade? Danny Funt, author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling explains the legal, regulatory and business changes that have led us here. For immediate help with problem gambling, please call 1-800-MY-RESET (800-522-4700) or visit https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/ Resources https://bookshop.org/p/books/everybody-loses-the-tumultuous-rise-of-american-sports-gambling-danny-funt/f7b6cf17f7e3e9b9?ean=9781668062029&next=t https://newrepublic.com/article/210094/sports-gambling-national-council-big-tobacco https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2026/02/20/everybody-loses-sports-gambling-danny-funt-review/ https://bsky.app/profile/dannyfunt.bsky.social https://x.com/dannyfunt?lang=en https://dannyfunt.substack.com/ https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/senate-bill/474 https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-black-sox-scandal/ https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/584/16-476/ https://sri.siena.edu/2026/04/13/more-than-a-quarter-of-americans-27-have-an-active-online-sports-betting-account-a-third-have-opened-an-account-at-least-once/ https://www.masslive.com/politics/2023/03/really-annoying-sports-betting-ads-are-protected-by-1st-amendment-lawmakers-say.html | |||
| SCOTUS, Callais, and What's Next for Voting Rights and Other Civil Rights (with Madiba Dennie) | 17 Jun 2026 | 01:10:38 | |
What does the Callais decision mean for voting rights and other anti-discrimination protections in the United States? How is anybody supposed to defend their rights against race-based discrimination if they're not allowed to use disparate impact as proof? Catch the discriminators confessing on a voice recording carrot pen, "Zootopia"-style? Bust out the mind-reading machine? We ask Madiba Dennie, author of The Originalism Trap, to explain it, and to help us figure out what to do now. Resources: The Originalism Trap: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780593729250 https://ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/alito-callais-opinion-voting-rights-act-fifteenth-amendment/ https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-15/ | |||
| Bari Weiss Is Supposed to Do the News Now (with Radley Balko) | 11 Jun 2026 | 01:30:00 | |
Why has Bari Weiss, a liberal-presenting Trump sycophant, been handed the reins to CBS News, one of our most prestigious news organizations? What does her time running the Free Press, a website that publishes commentary, tell us about how she thinks about "doing the f--king news," which is to say, journalism? Radley Balko joins Trent and Caitlin to explain what he found when he dug into the work of one Free Press "reporter" who whitewashed Trump's refugee policy and demonized resettlement NGOs. Resources "How Bari Weiss's Free Press Laundered MAGA Talking Points About Refugees" https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/how-bari-weisss-free-press-laundered "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781541774537 "The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South" https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781541774056 Last Week Tonight: https://youtube.com/watch?si=azsf62uWi2915K-6&v=gieTx_P6INQ&feature=youtu.be Academic freedom: https://theintercept.com/2018/03/08/the-nyts-bari-weiss-falsely-denies-her-years-of-attacks-on-the-academic-freedom-of-arab-scholars-who-criticize-israel/ "Inside Bari Weiss's Hostile Takeover of CBS News" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/26/inside-bari-weisss-hostile-takeover-of-cbs-news In Bed With the Right: https://www.patreon.com/posts/152713931?collection=1409249 | |||
| The Two American Reconstructions: An Appraisal, Reflection (with Thomas Zimmer) | 04 Jun 2026 | 01:28:42 | |
What was the first American Reconstruction after the Civil War? Why are some historians suggesting we just left a second sort of Reconstruction Era? Join Caitlin and Trent as they got into it all with Historian Thomas Zimmer, going from the first period of reconstruction, across the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before pressing through this second reconstruction, which Thomas considers as being from 1965 to 2026. They then turned their attention towards what lays ahead for the United States, as well as why some Germans just don’t care about what’s going on across the Atlantic Ocean. Resources: democracyamericana.com www.thomaszimmer.online | |||
| Eat Like a Politician? (with Bennett Rea of Cookin' with Congress) | 28 May 2026 | 01:31:52 | |
What was Andrew Jackson's favorite gelatin-based meal? Why did Hilary Clinton feel a deep and urgent need to tell everyone about her fantastic chocolate chip cookie recipe? Did Ronald Reagan really eat that many jelly beans? We answer these questions and more with Bennett Rea, creator and host of Cookin' With Congress. Plus a little taste test! Resources https://www.cookinwithcongress.com/ https://www.instagram.com/cookinwithcongress/?hl=en https://www.youtube.com/@cookinwithcongress https://www.tiktok.com/@cookinwithcongress https://cookinwithcongress.substack.com/ | |||
| Richard Dawkins Finds Love, Isolation as a Societal Norm, and Other AI News (with Hagen Blix) | 21 May 2026 | 01:33:39 | |
Is this chatbot sentient? Is AI my friend? Is isolation hackable? Trent and Caitlin discuss recent AI news, Sam Altman's troubles legal and otherwise, labor organizing as a strategy against the worst fears of AI experts, and whether Richard Dawkins is conscious, in this news digest episode with linguist and AI researcher Hagen Blix. Resources https://bookshop.org/p/books/why-we-fear-ai-on-the-interpretation-of-nightmares-hagen-blix/377a4501006cfc55?ean=9781945335174&next=t Letter to Meta leadership https://mcipetition.com/ https://jacobin.com/2025/02/tech-workers-silicon-valley-trump https://jacobin.com/2025/12/hype-artificial-intelligence-vc-capital https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/meta-start-capturing-employee-mouse-movements-keystrokes-ai-training-data-2026-04-21/ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/18/sam-altman-house-attack-ai https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/12/technology/openai-trial-sam-altman-elon-musk https://www.wired.com/story/meta-layoffs-bad-vibes-mark-zuckerberg-ai/ https://tech-insider.org/meta-layoffs-8000-employees-135-billion-ai-capex-2026/ https://unherd.com/2026/05/is-ai-the-next-phase-of-evolution/?edition=us https://unherd.com/2026/05/when-claudia-met-claudius/ | |||
| To What Lengths Should Democrats Go to Save a Liberal Society? (with Jacob Levy) | 13 May 2026 | 01:11:14 | |
In a time when the ruling party seems to be totally fine with breaking every law, every rule, and every norm that was holding our country in the general shape and consistency of a democracy, what should the opposition party be willing to do? Are there times when retaliation that goes against one of our principles might serve a greater purpose? Are there times when it would only further erode our values? Trent and Caitlin ask Political Theory Professor Jacob T. Levy what he thinks. Resources jacobtlevy.com https://bookshop.org/p/books/rationalism-pluralism-and-freedom-tomlinson-professor-of-political-theory-jacob-t-levy/70b7b87a3f2b1667?ean=9780198717140&next=t https://bsky.app/profile/jacobtlevy.bsky.social https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/06/supreme-court-john-roberts-voting-criticism-00909592 https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a71244450/john-roberts-scotus-political-power/ https://ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/louisiana-v-callais-opinion-recap-voting-rights-act/ https://theconversation.com/racial-gerrymandering-may-be-here-to-stay-282349 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/04/trump-civil-service-schedule-f/682609/ https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/house-lawmakers-press-paramount-ceo-warner-brothers-acquisition-2026-05-12/ SCOTUS photo By Fred Schilling - https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/justices.aspx, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=124352288 | |||
| Dystopian Prisons, Progressive Messaging, and the 2026 Midterms (with Whitney Curry Wimbish) | 07 May 2026 | 00:47:41 | |
Progressive messaging is so hot, the cynical opportunists are appropriating it for mass appeal. A combat surgeon returned from Gaza has found financial support in a pro-Palestine super PAC. Public pressure may prevent new ICE facilities. Journalist Whitney Curry Wimbish walks us through these and other recent stories she has worked on for The American Prospect. Resources https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ https://prospect.org/2025/12/26/profiting-off-immigrant-illness-abuse-and-terror/ https://www.vera.org/news/a-blueprint-for-resistance-how-residents-and-local-governments-are-shutting-down-ice-detention-in-warehouses https://prospect.org/2026/04/30/palestine-super-pac-new-jersey-12-district-adam-hamawy/ https://prospect.org/2026/04/28/pennsylvania-congressional-race-pits-corporate-defender-crosswell-against-union-organizer/ | |||
| Understanding How Israeli Settlers Are Illegally Seizing New Regions of the West Bank (with Oren Ziv) | 01 May 2026 | 01:02:24 | |
Apartheid and incursions into Palestinian territory are accomplished by a specific set of tactics. Oren Ziv, an Israeli photojournalist, joins Trent and Caitlin to describe some examples of the strategies he has seen in person and learned of in his reporting. Resources https://www.activestills.org/ https://www.972mag.com/writer/orenziv/ https://www.972mag.com/israeli-settler-violence-condemnations-smokescreen/ https://www.972mag.com/israel-settler-outposts-west-bank-area-b/ https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-disinherited-journal-of-a-palestinian-exile-fawaz-turki/0d994329d6134ffc?ean=9780853452485&next=t https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114702 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/08/israeli-lawyer-arrested-for-peaceful-protest-leaves-prison-after-110-days https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2026-04-22/ty-article/.premium/israels-independence-day-ceremony-would-inspire-even-pyongyang/0000019d-b479-dbb2-a19d-b77f446d0000 https://www.ft.com/content/2f826acb-c1d2-4144-a9cc-73d008a727a3?syn-25a6b1a6=1 https://www.972mag.com/march-of-return-nakba-2026/ Map of areas A, B, and C https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Areas-A-B-and-C-after-Oslo-II_fig1_276258691 | |||
| The Cancel Culture Panic: Understanding How an American Obsession Went Global (with Adrian Daub) | 28 Apr 2026 | 01:55:27 | |
You can't say anything these days! Especially not on a college campus, and especially not if you're a white man. For evidence, please enjoy this loose assemblage of sixth-hand anecdotes with no detail or reporting to back it up. This is the discursive form that Caitlin and Trent brought Stanford professor Adrian Daub on to discuss, described in his 2024 book, The Cancel Culture Panic: How an American Obsession Went Global. Resources The Cancel Culture Panic: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-cancel-culture-panic-how-an-american-obsession-went-global-adrian-daub/7c3bcd17c60f4e52?ean=9781503640849&next=t Academic paper on Caitlin's cancellation story: https://journals.linguisticsociety.org/proceedings/index.php/PLSA/article/download/5257/4885/10012 In Bed With The Right podcast https://gender.stanford.edu/podcasts Assorted cancel culture discourse 2020-2022 https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/10/new-puritans-mob-justice-canceled/619818/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/steven-pinker-will-be-just-fine/614323/ https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/07/09/steven-pinker-wont-be-cancelled-but-you-could-be/ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/opinion/campus-speech-cancel-culture.html https://www.motherjones.com/recharge/2020/07/factually-flawed-anti-pinker-letter/ Caitlin's answer to the MJ thing https://c-moriah-green.medium.com/bad-news-about-that-pro-pinker-mother-jones-piece-it-doesnt-make-any-fucking-sense-5efb27a72495 Cancel Culture is Over https://www.persuasion.community/p/why-woke-failed https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/04/graham-platner-nazi-tattoo-democrats-voters-maine.html We're fixing it with the help of our wealthy donors https://www.chronicle.com/article/meet-the-donors-funding-the-civil-dialogue-boom-at-colleges https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/15/harvard-donors-viewpoint-diversity/ https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/university-intellectual-freedom-center-creates-100000609.html https://stevenpinker.com/files/pinker/files/documents/steven-pinker-im-pinned-between-cancel-culture-and-trump-002.pdf Thank you Mr. Trump BUT https://ash.harvard.edu/articles/why-im-excited-about-the-white-houses-proposal-for-a-higher-ed-compact/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/opinion/democrats-trump-midterms-future.html Charlie Kirk Acts https://wpln.org/post/tennessees-charlie-kirk-act-bans-student-walkouts-protects-conservative-speakers/ https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/free-speech/2026/04/21/tenn-passes-charlie-kirk-act-defending-campus-speakers | |||
| Understanding Israel, Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon (with Y. L. Al-Sheikh) | 23 Apr 2026 | 00:53:48 | |
Look at my Iran negotiator, dawg, we’re never getting through the Strait of Hormuz. Friend of the program Y. L. Al-Sheikh helps us understand the unfolding diplomatic and military nightmare that is the Middle East, and how the United States plays a role in each. | |||
| Orban Out!: Understanding Viktor Orban, Peter Magyar and the Hungarian Election (with RoteRote) | 17 Apr 2026 | 02:45:52 | |
Goodbye to Viktor Orban! Don't let the door hit you! Trent and Caitlin bring you a discussion with resident Europe expert Hunter CG (also known as @roterote). Resources https://bsky.app/profile/roterote.bsky.social https://www.tiktok.com/@roterotemedia https://linktr.ee/roterotemedia https://19thnews.org/2026/04/voting-citizenship-proof-laws-trump-save-america-act/ https://www.newsweek.com/viktor-orban-hungary-election-jd-vance-rally-11804123 https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-cash-shipment-detained-hungary-745c17643b9a0965024d7a8410c5fc17 https://www.euandyou.eu/ https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-owned-continent-dave-keating/8629bc69280d3c81?ean=9782960407303&next=t https://www.rev.com/transcripts/vance-and-orban-press-conference https://newrepublic.com/article/179776/heritage-foundation-viktor-orban-trump https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/opinion/magyar-orban-hungary-trump-defeat.html | |||
| "No Quarter, No Mercy": Understanding Pete Hegseth | 09 Apr 2026 | 00:50:23 | |
A bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac is in charge of our nation's military for some reason, and he just can't stop saying stuff that confirms that he deeply believes that extreme violence is awesome and God likes it a lot. Trent and Caitlin ask Greg Sargent of the New Republic what he learned from experts about the ideology that underpins Pete Hegseth's attitude toward violence. Resources: https://newrepublic.com/article/208322/pete-hegseth-religion-war-iran-sadism-rage https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh7CFELPzz6ZOwhBZ4h7d84m8Lg1oTKKa https://bsky.app/profile/gregsargent.bsky.social "back to the stone age" tweet https://archive.ph/cWADP https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/14/analysts-say-us-threat-of-no-quarter-for-iran-violates-international-law "Reign of Error" book https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780345806352 "Creating the Credibility Gap" book https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781249405627 | |||
| Liam Ramos, Kid Prisons, and ICE Flights | 04 Apr 2026 | 01:29:14 | |
Delta Airlines brought Liam Ramos back from the child prison in Texas, but they don't seem to want to talk about how they took him there in the first place. Trent and Caitlin debrief with Gillian Brockell about the current status of ICE flights, the fate of the boy in the bunny hat, and the way journalists credit each other (and also sometimes don't) when they rely on each other's reporting. Resources: https://gillianbrockell.com https://bsky.app/profile/gillianbrockell.com Uzbek deportation story https://newsletter.mariannedhenin.com/asylum-seeker-deported-after-suicide-attempt-in-ice-jail-advocates-say/ Video proves Delta flew Liam to Dilley https://gillianbrockell.com/video-proves-delta-flew-liam-ramos-and-his-dad-to-ice-detention-center/ Independent version: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/delta-air-lines-liam-ramos-ice-texas-b2940372.html AP version https://apnews.com/article/liam-ramos-video-ice-delta-commercial-flight-7b0ed36899da68177a6fdd665fb8a205 Liam Conejo Ramos judge rejects asylum claim https://www.npr.org/2026/03/20/nx-s1-5753981/liam-conejo-ramos-family-fights-immigration-judges-ruling-to-deport-them-to-ecuador Kristi Noem F**K Jet details https://gillianbrockell.com/noems-luxury-d-jet-for-deportations-is-the-tip-of-the-ice-berg/ The War Zone coverage https://www.twz.com/news-features/new-dhs-gulfstream-jet-now-flying-secretary-noem Careless People https://bookshop.org/p/books/careless-people-a-cautionary-tale-of-power-greed-and-lost-idealism-sarah-wynn-williams/804251bb5d4b06b3?ean=9781250391230&next=t New Hampshire blizzard flight grounded https://gillianbrockell.com/breaking-shackled-migrants-trapped-on-deportation-plane-stuck-in-blizzard/ More on NH flight https://gillianbrockell.com/ice-deportation-flight-leaves-nh-after-31-hours-exposes-chronic-problems/ Seth Miller digging into the NH flight https://bsky.app/profile/wandrme.paxex.aero/post/3mfkamntcws24?ref=gillianbrockell.com Ms. Rachel is getting it done https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/03/ms-rachel-ice-dilley-detention-center-accurso/ Send tips or request flight info for legal clients to Signal @gbrockell.44 | |||
| What the Hell Is Happening in Texas?! (with Gwen Howerton) | 01 Apr 2026 | 00:58:39 | |
What the hell is going on in Texas? Trent and Caitlin welcome Houston culture reporter Gwen Howerton about the Texas senate primaries, censorship in prisons, and the state of LGBTQ+ rights in the Lone Star State. Resources: https://bsky.app/profile/kissphoria.bsky.social https://www.chron.com/culture/article/cornyn-paxton-texas-senate-ai-22082110.php https://www.chron.com/culture/article/texas-prison-book-ban-22079345.php | |||
| Sharia Socialism in NYC, Or Just Smarter Governance? (with Ryan Cooper) | 25 Mar 2026 | 00:58:24 | |
What's happened in New York City since Zohran Mamdani became mayor in January? Has it become a Marxist-Islamic bastion, ruled by a soviet in the succeeding three months? Trent and Caitlin discuss the Sharia Socialism of NYC Mayor Mamdani, the naked vice signalling and stove-touching of the GOP with author Ryan Cooper. Resources https://bsky.app/profile/ryanlcooper.com https://prospect.org/ https://www.leftanchor.com/ https://gothamist.com/news/facing-historic-blizzard-mamdani-says-nyc-learned-lessons-from-last-snowstorm https://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/congestion-pricing-nyc-subways-ridership-report-2025/ https://www.liberalcurrents.com/neon-liberalism-30-rethinking-international-trade/ | |||
| DOGE Dunces, Depositions, DC Cops and Scoop Ethics (with Marisa Kabas) | 20 Mar 2026 | 01:12:08 | |
Trent and Caitlin achieve the coveted threepeat guest appearance with journalist Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket, fresh off her incredible legal win obtaining the body cam footage from the DC cops who assisted the DOGE boys in breaking into the USIP office in March 2025. They discuss the total disregard for life, law, and locked doors that was on display that day, as well as the frustrating events following Marisa's FOIA success.
Resources https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/body-cam-footage-usip-doge-raid-mpd-lawsuit https://www.404media.co/the-removed-doge-deposition-videos-have-already-been-backed-up-across-the-internet/ | |||
| Holding ICE and Border Patrol Accountable (with Joshua Erlich) | 17 Mar 2026 | 01:07:37 | |
Trent and Caitlin catch up with employment litigator Joshua Erlich about the difficulties of holding immigration and border patrol agents to account when they break the law. What happens when you can't be sure which individual attacked you? How can their actions be restricted, and what should Democrats do given their level of power in the government right now? Resources Joshua's bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/joshuaerlich.bsky.social Legal help for federal employees in the DMV: https://mwela.org/ Legal help for federal employees nationally: https://NELA.org/ Joshua's office: https://www.erlichlawoffice.com/lawyers/joshua-erlich/ Federal forces keep shooting people: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/26/ice-minneapolis-shooting-alex-pretti Dems coalescing around five restrictions on ICE: https://newrepublic.com/article/205723/dem-senator-harsh-new-takedown-trump-hits-home-breaking-point Suozzi is sorry https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/us/democrats-ice-funding-vote-dhs.html | |||
| Political Polarization Across the U.S.A. and Europe (with Aurelien Mondon) | 13 Mar 2026 | 01:13:14 | |
Caitlin and Trent talk with Aurelien Mondon about his recent political science paper outlining the limitations of considering all politics through the lens of "polarization." They discuss the pitfalls of the term and the ways "polarizing" events and speech can be drastically different and sometimes even positive. Resources https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41296-025-00779-4 https://www.searchlightinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Searchlight-Memo-to-Interested-Parties_-Reform-and-Retrain-ICE-Dont-Abolish-It.pdf https://prospect.org/2026/01/19/author-dont-say-abolish-ice-memo-corporate-consultant-westexec/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/02/04/ice-minneapolis-287g-tom-homan-sanctuary/ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-ice-masks-dhs-shutdown_n_69839db8e4b053ac3e17298d?origin=top-ad-recirc https://www.majorityleader.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5822 https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/06/22/trump-millennial-supporters-washington-dc-218833/ https://www.npr.org/2025/11/14/nx-s1-5608204/white-house-dismisses-release-of-epstein-documents-as-a-distraction-from-democrats https://midutahradio.com/news/local-news/mike-johnson-calls-for-political-rhetoric-to-calm/ https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2012/02/10/146691773/euphemisms-concentration-camps-and-the-japanese-internment | |||
| Making America Sick Again: How MAGA is Hurting Healthcare & Science (with Walker Bragman) | 10 Mar 2026 | 01:16:21 | |
Trent and Caitlin reconnect with journalist Walker Bragman to hash out the current state of the NIH and HHS, the ideologies that drive people to promote eugenics and science denial, and the childish nature of fascism. Resources: https://www.importantcontext.news/ https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/ https://bsky.app/profile/walkerbragman.bsky.social https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/resources/us-measles-tracker https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/trump-means-surgeon-general-congress-state-of-the-union-live-updates-rcna260120 https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/bhattacharya-urges-measles-vaccination-us-activity-increases https://www.brookings.edu/articles/audible-reckoning-how-top-political-podcasters-spread-unsubstantiated-and-false-claims/ | |||
| America and Iran: Another Forever War? (with The Logical Leftist) | 06 Mar 2026 | 01:09:59 | |
Happy days are not here again, but at least Trent and Caitlin have Jeff Waldorf, the Logical Leftist, to hang out with while they process it all. The United States has dropped bombs on Iran, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several of his top-ranking officials, civilians, and the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school, in which more than 160 little girls were killed. They talk through the conflicting, nonsensical, and sometimes straight-up Orwellian justifications provided by US politicians for initiating a war of aggression against another country in the Middle East. Resources https://www.youtube.com/@LogicallyLeftist https://www.facebook.com/JeffWaldorfShow/ https://www.instagram.com/logicalleftist/ https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:hv7pcnm6u7s544ycmf7xjatc https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-tells-congress-no-sign-that-iran-was-going-attack-us-first-sources-say-2026-03-02/ https://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5730203/iran-israel-trump-congress-strikes-reaction https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/nuclear-program-missiles-regime-change-trump-struggles-define-iran-war-rcna261309 https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/iran-war-us-israel-trump-03-03-26 https://www.npr.org/2026/03/02/g-s1-112151/iran-war-widens-threatens-to-engulf-lebanon https://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5730203/iran-israel-trump-congress-strikes-reaction https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-experts-deeply-disturbed-by-child-deaths-escalating-middle-east-conflict-2026-03-04/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/nyregion/merchant-iran-plot-assassination-trump.html | |||
| The WaPo Defenestration and ICE Flight Brutality (with Gillian Brockell) | 03 Mar 2026 | 01:29:48 | |
Trent and Caitlin check in with journalist Gillian Brockell after the release of her article on ICE air. They discuss the recent mass layoffs at the Washington Post, the abhorrent treatment of deportees, the justifications used to mistreat humans, and the importance of empathy and being a human. Resources: https://gillianbrockell.ghost.io/ https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.social https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaires-richer-and-stingier-than-ever-forbes-400-list-2021-10 https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/08/26/emmett-till-william-bradford-huie-carolyn-bryant-civil-rights/ https://www.npr.org/2026/02/07/nx-s1-5705413/washington-post-ceo-resigns-will-lewis https://51st.news/ https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/02/17/court-hearings-lawsuit-alleging-ice-agents-racially-profiled-us-citizens-minnesota Ginsburg on Firing Line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBpoZBhvBa4 https://discourses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Teun-A.-van-Dijk-2008-News-discourse-and-ideology.pdf http://brianb.freeshell.org/a/kddd.pdf https://bookshop.org/p/books/wild-faith-how-the-christian-right-is-taking-over-america-talia-lavin/1cf72a0d0396cdce?ean=9780306829192&next=t https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-lovejoy-trap-fascism-masquerading-as-care/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/omni-ice-deportations-charter-flight-stonepeak-private-equity/ https://newrepublic.com/article/206058/transcript-trump-ice-threats-take-darker-turn-maga-calls-blood https://www.baloproject.org/ | |||
| What’s the Deal with Concentration Camps? (with Andrea Pitzer) | 27 Feb 2026 | 01:11:45 | |
Trent and Caitlin talk with author and journalist Andrea Pitzer about the modern concentration camp model, its history and public perception, and the concentration camps the United States government is operating and hopes to open in the near future. Resources https://andreapitzer.com/ Andrea's newsletter: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/ Andrea's book on camps: https://bookshop.org/p/books/one-long-night-a-global-history-of-concentration-camps-andrea-pitzer/ea53c06c993f6ad0?ean=9780316303569&next=t Andrea's book on Nabokov: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-secret-history-of-vladimir-nabokov-andrea-pitzer/fe47f57e9a2b2a73?ean=9781639361182&next=t https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-buys-warehouses-immigration-detention/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/us/politics/ice-warehouses-trump-voters.html https://bookshop.org/p/books/friendly-fascism-the-new-face-of-power-in-america-bertram-gross/414671ea6a34dd2c?ean=9781497689404&next=t https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/black-lives-matter-movement-not-covid-19-encouraged-voters-toward-biden-2020-election | |||
| The SAVE America Act’s Assault on Voting Rights (with Hunter CG) | 25 Feb 2026 | 01:11:31 | |
Trent and Caitlin chatted with Hunter CG of RoteRote Media and Democrats Abroad, looking at the GOP's latest assault on voting rights, the SAVE America Act. This act has passed the House of Representatives and will be addressed by the Senate in the next couple of days. They talk about all the different ways this piece of legislation disenfranchises voters in the US and abroad, and they exhort everyone to reach out to their senators and make it clear that its passing would be unacceptable. Resources: https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/9-things-to-know-about-the-proposed-save-america-act https://www.tiktok.com/@roterotemedia https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/save-act-lgbtq-voters https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/senate-to-vote-on-save-america-act-as-voter-id-debate-intensifies-susan-collins-chuck-schumer-photo-id | |||
| CBP and ICE Report: New Orleans, Minneapolis, Greg Bovino & Apple Pie (with Amanda Moore) | 19 Feb 2026 | 00:57:04 | |
Caitlin and Trent talk with journalist Amanda Moore about her work tracking the DHS "surges" all over the United States, her efforts to get close to former commander at large Gregory Bovino, and her experience trying to form conclusions about the broader patterns of immigration forces' violence over time. Resources:https://substack.com/@noturtlesoup17https://www.instagram.com/noturtlesoup17/?hl=enhttps://bsky.app/profile/noturtlesoup17.bsky.social Bovino's legacy of violence https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUbhHF7jCI8/ Trump's War on History https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/america-freedom-task-force-250-trump-anniversary-history-smithsonian-kennedy-center/ The Horns and Whistles Work https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/12/the-horns-and-whistles-work/ | |||
| Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show, Warehouse Prisons & the El Paso Laser Fiasco (with Jonathan Katz) | 17 Feb 2026 | 01:10:59 | |
Trent and Caitlin boogie with friend-of-the-program, journalist Jonathan M. Katz of The Racket. They talk Super Bowl, Bad Bunny, the TPUSA halftime safe space show, and immigration detention. Resources: theracket.newshttps://bsky.app/profile/katz.theracket.news https://www.tiktok.com/@katzonearth?lang=enSchools Closed in Puerto Rico: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/12/magazine/puerto-rico-schools-hurricane-maria.html Infrastructure in Puerto Rico: https://katz.substack.com/p/the-cluster-in-puerto-rico?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Gangsters of Capitalism: https://bookshop.org/p/books/gangsters-of-capitalism-smedley-butler-the-marines-and-the-making-and-breaking-of-america-s-empire-jonathan-m-katz/c1ca55fd36f1b6d4?ean=9781250135599&next=t The Big Truck That Went By: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-big-truck-that-went-by-how-the-world-came-to-save-haiti-and-left-behind-a-disaster-jonathan-m-katz/b3ca7a131069f3ac?ean=9781137278975&next=t | |||
| Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself? (with Matt McManus) | 11 Feb 2026 | 01:06:36 | |
Trent and Caitlin catch up with political science assistant professor Matt McManus. They discuss the narratives surrounding resistance in the twin cities, the loud and ugly voices on the right describing an ideology of cruelty and dehumanization, and the power of regular people to puncture false claims from the government.Resources: https://www.factcheck.org/2026/01/as-ice-arrests-increased-a-higher-portion-had-no-u-s-criminal-record/https://im1776.com/2022/07/01/christopher-rufo-interview/https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-is-post-modern-conservatism-essays-on-our-hugely-tremendous-times-matthew-mcmanus/270db00d6106d9a7?ean=9781789042450&next=thttps://bookshop.org/p/books/the-political-theory-of-liberal-socialism-matthew-mcmanus/f7f9b79be796b7ec?ean=9781032647234&next=t | |||
| SCOTUS, the Fourth Amendment, and the Resistance (with Chris Geidner) | 04 Feb 2026 | 01:49:29 | |
Trent and Caitlin talk to Chris Geidner of Law Dork about the absolute deluge of legal news that seems to be crashing over us like a tsunami. What are the current assaults on our constitutional rights? What are judges and lawmakers doing to defend those rights? Why is Mike Johnson pretending the Fourth Amendment doesn’t exist? Resources: https://www.lawdork.com/https://bsky.app/profile/lawdorknews.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.socialMike Johnson being wrong about the 4th amendment: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mdxoltnsyz2aPerdomo decision: https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/case-files/noem-v-perdomo/Bondi demands voter rolls: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/pam-bondi-letter-to-minnesota-voter-roll-data-alex-pretti-ice-midterms-trump/MN US attorneys resigning: https://www.startribune.com/another-wave-of-departures-in-minnesotas-us-attorneys-office/601575569Mark Zaid security clearance case: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/13/trump-mark-zaid-restore-clearanceTulsi Gabbard at Georgia elections office raid: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/29/tulsi-gabbard-georgia-fbi-elections-raid | |||
| ICE Flights and Accountability in Journalism (with Gillian Brockell) | 29 Jan 2026 | 01:24:06 | |
Caitlin and Trent talk with journalist Gillian Brockell about her work tracking the flights and airline companies that move people in unsafe conditions to third-party recipient countries, where they will be imprisoned, mistreated, tortured, and possibly sent to their country of origin in violation of international law. Resources ICE flight monitor https://humanrightsfirst.org/ice-flight-monitor/ Unsafe Conditions on Deportation planes: https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ice-air-deportation-flights Gillian "interferes" in illegal ICE flight https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.social/post/3lpnjho77jc25 Linda Brent (Harriet Jacobs) autobiography https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780486419312 Protest Key Lime Air Jan. 31 in Alamosa https://arkvalleyvoice.com/demonstration-against-key-lime-airs-ice-connections-set-for-january-31-in-alamosa/ Key Lime Air https://boulderreportinglab.org/2025/12/28/cu-boulder-keeps-key-lime-air-contract-as-denver-ends-its-deal-over-ice-flights/ Denver Air Connections https://cnycentral.com/news/nation-world/denver-colorado-city-council-rejects-airline-contract-for-its-association-with-president-donald-trumps-administration-ice-immigration-agenda Gillian's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.social What is ICE Air? https://gillianbrockell.ghost.io/what-is-ice-air/ | |||
| The Year We Lost Everything: Appraising 2025 and Fighting Back in 2026 (with Evan Urquhart) | 22 Jan 2026 | 00:55:39 | |
Trent and Caitlin ask Evan Urquhart about his 2025 wrap up piece on Assigned Media: "The Year We Lost Everything." They discuss the need to take stock of where we are on trans rights, autonomy and the various freedoms we hold dear, and the value of acknowledging that we are not hysterical or out of touch with reality when we feel those freedoms being wrenched from our grasp. We talk about the intense pressure in corporate media to maintain anti-trans bias and the wonderful work independent journalists are doing to find and share the truth. | |||
| 2025's Word of the Year (with Savi Namboodiripad and Daniel Midgley) | 18 Jan 2026 | 02:12:26 | |
Caitlin and Trent chat with linguistics scholars Savi Namboodiripad and Daniel Midgley on what word most exemplifies 2025. Was it a new coinage? A pre-existing word that gained a new meaning or usage this year? A word that seemed to be on everybody's lips in 2025? Resources: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year "6 7" song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xpV4ix2K8 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/27/more-than-20-of-videos-shown-to-new-youtube-users-are-ai-slop-study-finds https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/12/03/and-the-economists-word-of-the-year-for-2025-is https://www.dictionary.com/articles/word-of-the-year-2025 https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/ https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-dictionary-reveals-word-of-the-year-2025 https://blog.collinsdictionary.com/language-lovers/collins-word-of-the-year-2025-ai-meets-authenticity-as-society-shifts/ https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/2147118/is-that-grocery-product-really-canadian-or-is-it-maple-washing "getting sendy" song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYAQEJyqR7E group 7 https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2025/10/27/tiktoks-group-7-meme-explained/ https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/lore https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/unc https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/chopped https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/huzz https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-performative-male-how-young-men-are-experimenting-with-masculinity-online-268742 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051221126040 https://dailyillini.com/opinions-stories/columns-opinions/culture/2025/10/25/opinion-unmasking-performative-male/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/kianbakhtiari/2025/09/28/performative-males-gen-z-irony-and-the-death-of-sincerity/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/us/rapture-tiktok-sept-23.html Epstein's email simulator https://www.jmail.world/ https://othermeans.io/p/the-glonzo-strategy https://www.theverge.com/policy/798491/frog-portland-trump-national-guard https://the-monsters.fandom.com/wiki/The_Monsters https://lafufu.art/blog/labubu-vs-lafufu https://www.thelist.com/1817157/what-is-mar-a-lago-face-who-has-tried-the-trend/ https://bsky.app/profile/canadiandictionary.bsky.social/post/3m7tf3jm2fc2c https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oprah-podcast-no-contact-adult-children-parents_n_69389e85e4b0fb6244b0daa8 https://fortune.com/2025/12/29/trump-tariffs-cost-25000-per-month-small-business-importers-center-american-progress/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/us/politics/doge-musk-trump-analysis.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-doge-government-spending-2025-b2890243.html https://www.vox.com/culture/376401/r-word-slur-return-euphemism-treadmill-cycle https://www.lawdork.com/p/the-kavanaugh-stop-50-days-later https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/30/politics/trump-taco-angry-tariff https://www.buzzfeed.com/abbyzinman/canadians-elbows-up-explainer https://pen.org/banned-words-list/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2025/03/15/these-197-terms-may-trigger-reviews-of-your-nih-nsf-grant-proposals/ https://www.dailydot.com/memes/everythings-computer-trump-quote-meme/ https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/trump-promises-harsher-ice-crackdowns https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/27/chatgpt-suicide-openai-raine/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/snap-welfare-queen-ai-memes-1235460824/ https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/10022/who-coined-the-phrase-rapid-unscheduled-disassembly#10219 https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/rapid-unplanned-disassembly-rud https://becauselanguage.com/131-wotwoty-2025/ | |||
| Understanding Stephen Miller (with Greg Sargent) | 15 Jan 2026 | 01:15:43 | |
Trent and Caitlin catch up with Greg Sargent from The New Republic about his recent piece exploring the family history and ideology of Stephen Miller. How did the product of Russian Jewish refugees come to see today's refugees as incapable of integration in American society? What are the white nationalist positions on who is a real American, and how does Miller navigate his position in relation to those ideologies? Why do these unlovable jerks insist on the myth that community and empathy are suicidal? Resources: The New Republic: https://newrepublic.com The Daily Blast Podcast: https://newrepublic.com/podcasts Greg's piece on Miller: https://newrepublic.com/article/204191/stephen-miller-maga-terror-state-dark-plot Stephen Miller on Somali immigrants: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/11/politics/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-law-somalia Facts about Somali community in MN: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/5-things-to-know-about-the-somali-community-in-minnesota-after-trumps-attacks Hatemonger: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780062986726 When The Clock Broke: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781250390417 Furious Minds: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780691255262 DHS Twitter Account: https://archive.ph/Vg8c7 Stephen Miller's cousin: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/stephen-miller-cousin-alisa-kasmer/ | |||
| The U.S. in Venezuela: The International Community and the Donroe Doctrine (with Mark Copelovitch) | 12 Jan 2026 | 00:58:58 | |
Caitlin and Trent speak with Mark Copelovitch, a political science professor from University of Wisconsin–Madison. They discuss the problem of a world power going rogue, the lack of viable responses for countries like Venezuela and Denmark, and the costs to international trust when the US is so unreliable. Resources: https://polisci.wisc.edu/staff/mark-copelovitch/ https://www.markcopelovitch.com/ https://bsky.app/profile/mcopelov.bsky.social https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfXZxn2z8U0 https://archive.is/OriWG | |||
| The U.S. in Venezuela: Why Is Corporate Media Being So Weird? (with Marisa Kabas) | 09 Jan 2026 | 00:59:19 | |
Trent and Caitlin check in with the Handbasket’s Marisa Kabas about the year that has been the first week of 2026. What are we doing in Venezuela, and why is corporate media being so weird about it? What are the ethics of publishing scoops that involve military actions? Why are we doing our war crimes from a resort ballroom in Florida? Resources: https://www.thehandbasket.co/ https://www.semafor.com/article/01/03/2026/new-york-times-washington-post-held-off-on-reporting-venezuela-raid https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/05/politics/video/trump-mar-a-lago-war-room-maduro-venezuela-vrtc https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/trumps-donroe-doctrine-aims-to-dominate-the-americas-b31208dd?mod=Searchresults&pos=3&page=1 | |||
| The Imaginary "War on Science"—and the Real One (with Nathan Oseroff-Spicer) | 26 Dec 2025 | 02:42:26 | |
Trent and Caitlin talk with philosophy of science expert Nathan Oseroff-Spicer about his review of the book "The War On Science," how the book misses the mark, what strategies its authors use to downplay the threats from the right and fabricate a threat from the left, and what motivations could possibly lead thirty-nine scholars to create such a meritless collection of propaganda under the leadership of someone like known pest Lawrence Krauss. Resources: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/wars-on-science-real-and-otherwise/ https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/warscience/ https://www.dailynebraskan.com/news/administration/breaking-this-hurts-unl-eliminates-4-programs-despite-faculty-student-pleas/article_e0d11a61-0fcc-4e66-b364-d16e89bea336.html https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-chatbot-journal-research-fake-citations-1235485484/ https://blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/13/llm-usage-and-manipulation-in-peer-review/ https://www.advocate.com/news/second-ou-instructor-suspended https://www.facebook.com/OUNightlyTV/posts/pfbid02nieL7PmXwUDAnNcHzK9HLBWdCQ1EyjA7S1pDvrRxEaGw7qkqAR3oGtjXwFXkb4KBl UPDATE: grad student no longer teaching https://www.koco.com/article/samantha-fulnecky-professor-graduate-instructor-no-longer-at-ou-oklahoma/69841882 https://pen.org/trumps-compact-for-higher-education-faq/ https://www.science.org/content/article/nsf-pares-down-grant-review-process-reducing-influence-outside-scientists https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/12/17/aap-hhs-funding-rfk/ https://bsky.app/profile/crampell.bsky.social/post/3ma7aivcros2a https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-shutdown-has-led-to-hundreds-of-thousands-of-deaths/ https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/rumeysa-ozturk-what-i-witnessed-inside-an-ice-womens-prison?srsltid=AfmBOoqRks5pzgFv2QyjsvuUvNt6E41InSCPQmXwWOoFvxftjMoRvkSy https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-releases-palestinian-student-at-columbia-who-was-arrested-at-citizenship-interview https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/11/20/columbia-denies-mahmoud-khalil-sipa-24-campus-access-for-planned-events-citing-security-reasons/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-emails-reveal-ties-to-prominent-scientists/ | |||
| What Do Republicans Know? (with Matthew Sheffield) | 18 Dec 2025 | 01:39:34 | |
Caitlin and Trent talk with Matthew Sheffield about his experiences as a former Republican strategist and the information he wants progressives to know about their strategies and successes. Resources: https://plus.flux.community/p/what-republicans-know https://www.patreon.com/posts/142008768?utm_campaign=postshare_fan https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4qwwk0g0yo https://www.seattletimes.com/business/sinclair- known-for-conservative-political-tilt/ https://deadline.com/2025/12/nexstar-trump-tegna-merger-trump-1236642435/ https://www.xfang.studio/books/we-are-definitely-human-wcnat | |||