Taking Ship

Today's crew of Frank and Maggie are joined by Kris Goldsmith (@KrisGoldsmith85), Chief Investigator and Associate Director for Policy & Government Affairs at Vietnam Veterans of America to discuss his incredible 191 page report entitled "An Investigation Into Foreign Entities Who Are Targeting Troops and Veterans Online". Researched over the course of two years, the report digs into persistent, pervasive, and coordinated online targeting of American servicemembers, veterans, and their families by foreign entities who seek to disrupt American democracy. As if we didn't need another reason to delete our Facebook page... Check out the full report: http://vva.org/trollreport/ Support Kris' recommended organization of Student Veteran's of America: https://studentveterans.org/

Short one member of the crew, Frank and Elie cover Israeli politics, British politics, impeachment politics and Democratic primary politics all in a tight 70+ minutes. You wanna sound smart at the bar or coffee shop? Give a listen. Here's a transcript of Lindsey Graham's impeachment speech. We urge you to call your member of congress and ask them to read it on the House floor every day. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/grahamtext011699.htm

Fear not, the crew of Salty Jason's Revenge has not been vanquished by the sea. Our War with the Sea continues...but not this week. For overdue return episode we were joined by Saul Austerliz. Saul joined Maggie and Elie (Frank remains on shore leave) to talk about his brand new book, Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show that Defined a Television Era. The books has been great reviews and tons of press. If you are a long time fan of Friends, or one of the newbie fans streaming it on Netflix, you'll want to listen to this and get some of your millennial and Gen Z friends to listen too (you should also buy and read the book). Oh yea, we also get into politics, because ya know #DumbestTimelineAmerica and all... Saul's other book recommendation: Lost Empress: A Novel You can follow Saul at his website and on Twitter @saulausterlitz Our sincere thanks to Stand Up NY and Stand Up NY Labs for once again letting us record in their studio.

The whole damn crew reunites to talk about how the UK elected a failed muppet as prime minister and what that means for_____ (you decide). With a swift shift, the crew calls out which fictional characters are Trump voters (you'll be surprised) and then - believe it or not - offering a take on current events, the crew of Salty Jason's Revenge offers thoughts on the five+ hours of hearings former FBI Director Mueller will be sitting through tomorrow (July 24th). PLUS at least one of the crew sounds like they're talking from a toilet stall.

Do you hate Nazis? Of course you do. But what can you do about it? Do you want to sue them? Then you should listen to this episode and then go directly to: https://www.integrityfirstforamerica.org and donate some money to aid the only law suit against f-cking Nazis. Seriously, if you don't donate, you're basically saying "Hey, I support Nazis" and you don't want to be that person. There are not “very fine people on both sides”. Friend of the pod and fellow Truman National Security Project member, Amy Spitalnick, joins Maggie Moore and Elie Jacobs LIVE AND IN PERSON to discuss the work she's doing with Integrity First for America. The crew touches on the evils of social media, the kid-gloves the media is using in covering this story and a whole lot else. You're going to want to listen to this one and then get 7 of your friends to listen to it to. Be sure to go to: https://www.integrityfirstforamerica.org for more information. Follow Amy @amyspitalnick and her organization @IntegrityforUSA and send them some money. Be like Indiana Jones, Aldo Raine and Jake & Elwood Blues and fight (in a legal case - not the physical sense) some goddamn Nazis.

Short one member of the crew, Frank and Elie go way too deep into the democratic debates (aka clown car pile up) and because this primary season is going to end us all, they get stuck in that blackhole and discuss nothing else particularly valuable. Steve Bullock on CBS Late Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SzkK1qxd8M Mirror Universe: https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/scientists-are-searching-mirror-universe-it-could-be-sitting-right-ncna1023206

At long last, our Master of Sea War, Frank Spring returns to join Maggie Moore and Elie Jacobs aboard a fully staffed Salty Jason's Revenge. A quick detour into the upcoming clown car pile up which will be the democratic primary debates, before turning into the heavy weight no one has been waiting for: Biden vs. Booker and we end off with the cherry of the New York Times' showcase of just how dumb politicians can be in Dumbest Timeline America. Also, you should get more sleep. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/politics/2020-candidate-interviews.html Does anyone else think Tim Ryan looks like a slightly younger Judge Marshall Eriksen (aka Judge Fudge)? Tweet at us: @takingship (or Maggie: @MaggieM012 or Frank: @frankspring)

Maggie (@MaggieM012) and Elie crew Salty Jason's Revenge alone this week, as Frank (@frankspring) continues to prepare his new offspring to battle against the seas. After discussing the clusterf*ck the upcoming Democratic primary debates promise to be, they go proceed to praise air conditioning and make suggestions for best things to do in said cooled air. Enjoy. Please be sure to subscribe and rate us and follow us on Twitter @takingship. Couple resources for you: https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a26992483/democratic-candidates-primary-debates-2020-election/ https://democrats.org/press/dnc-announces-details-for-the-first-two-presidential-primary-debates/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democratic-debates-here-are-the-candidates-who-have-qualified-for-the-2020-democratic-debates/

Elie Jacobs and Maggie Moore (Frank Spring is holding down the New Mexico office with a new addition) are joined by the irreverent Rose Jackson, co-founder and CEO of Beacon: your one-stop-shop for action and impact. Rose served as chief of staff to the State Department's Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau under the Obama Administration, and previously worked in senior roles on U.S. Senate and statewide political campaigns. A long time, self-proclaimed democracy nerd, Rose spent the bulk of her career supporting people abroad, organizing to hold their governments to account. On this episode, she tells us how she's bringing that experience home through Beacon, and how you can fight back against the madness wherever you are. You can check out more about Rose here and learn more about Beacon here. And If you're sick of the dumpster fire that is your email inbox, don't waste time, go to https://act.beacon.us/taking-ship to download Beacon and cut through the noise. While you're at it, like @BeaconUS on Facebook, follow @Beacon on Twitter, and sign on up at beacon.us Take action. Have Impact. Enjoy the show.

Two thirds* of the crew of Salty Jason's Revenge (Maggie Moore and Elie Jacobs) joined Steve Jaxon of KRSO to talk Biden, Trade Wars and more. No animals were harmed in recording this episode. *Frank Spring is on indefinite shore leave, taking advantage of the generous paternity policy offered to all members of the crew of Salty Jason's Revenge.

Frank Spring and Elie Jacobs take on the challenge of containing the wit and wisdom of Deadspin's David Roth to one podcast and fail miserably as they begin by appropriately tearing apart the very idea of NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio running for president before horrifically turning to a very technical conversation attempting to talk about today's NBA in terms of the 1990s. Thankfully no grunge was involved, although Roth was wearing plaid. THIS. This is what happens when Maggie Moore leaves us to our own devices. Link here to the deep cut on Abdul Rauf's 50 point game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntvlsn7SMWo

We're retooling our format a bit and introducing these mini "emergency" episodes, which you can expect to see relatively - for us - frequently. The impetus for this episode WAS the expected launch announcement of Joe Biden presidential campaign. That has apparently been pushed off yet again. So since we already had this on our schedules, we decided to yammer about some other stuff too. Please be sure to subscribe and rate us, and follow us on Twitter at @TakingShip. We mention this article in the episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/opinion/theres-a-bigger-prize-than-impeachment.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top

Between schedules and Mayor Pete's launch announcement (and we guess Eric Swalwell's announcement too?) the mighty crew of Salty Jason's Revenge couldn't record a new episode, so we're reposting an episode with one of our all-time favorite guests: Chris Frates. Chris Frates has spent his life telling stories. One of Washington’s top journalists, he has been on the front lines of the country’s biggest political and policy battles. A veteran journalist with 20 years of experience, Frates has worked at the highest levels of print, digital, radio and television. Before founding Storyline, Frates was an award-winning on-air investigative correspondent for CNN. He also worked as a reporter for Politico, National Journal and The Denver Post, where he was part of the breaking news team that was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize. His work has appeared in publications such as The Washington Post, The Atlantic and Fast Company and his political analysis has been featured on networks including CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC. Frates hosts the weekly, national SiriusXM radio show Politics Inside Out, which is broadcast to more than 30 million subscribers.

The entire crew is back aboard Salty Jason's Revenge. Maggie, Frank and Elie talk Brexit, and an update on the 2020 Democratic field of dreams. You wanna listen. You know you want to and get several of your friends to listen to.

Sans Frank, who's positioning himself to be the next PM of the UK and finally straighten out Brexit, Maggie and Elie do the impossible and go a full 30+ minutes without talking politics. It's a refreshing change for all of us aboard the Salty Jason's Revenge cruising through Dumbest Timeline America. Take a listen. Leave a review! Follow us on the Twitters: @takingship Maggie: @MaggieM012 Frank: @frankspring Elie: @eliejacobs

Frank Spring and Maggie Moore are joined by the incredible Julie Zebrak, who served in the U.S. Department of Justice from 1997-2015, including as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General and agency counsel for the Criminal Division. From 2015-2016, she served as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. We dig into how to get away with financial crimes, organizing for a candidate you love, and the reports around Amy Klobuchar. Follow her on Twitter @YesMomsCan.

Maggie and Frank discuss the latest in 2020 candidates coming and going, as well as digging into the reality TV level drama happening in UK Labour Party politics.

Colin Kaepernick settled, Bob Kraft got in deep doodoo and this week may set the record for most dumb things in DumbestTimelineAmerica, so for all you sports ball fans out there, we're reposting our episode from March 2018 with David Roth. Also we go hella deep on politics. It's a good one. You should listen.

For Presidents (or President's or Presidents' or Washington's Birth)Day, former Deputy Secretary of Labor, Cabinet Secretary and assistant to President Obama (and a whole bunch of other cool things), Chris Lu becomes one of the few Taking Ship repeat guests and we couldn't be more excited about it. We talk DNC (he's a member at large), we talk about #GoodBrainBestWords' "National Emergency" and wrap it up with the smartest conversation you'll hear anywhere about the 2020 field. You absolutely want to check this episode out. THEN you want to be sure to follow Chris on Twitter at: @ChrisLu44.

Much like an "unprecedented economic boom" is really just "a boom that has rarely been seen before", in an unprecedented move, the crew of Salty Jason's Revenge - Maggie Moore, Elie Jacobs & Frank Spring - go LIVE on The Drive with Steve Jaxon show on KSRO. The Taking Ship crew are huge fans of Steve's and have been thrilled to join Steve and Mike DeWald as individual crew members, but this time, all of the crew joins at the same time. TECHNOLOGY!! Take a listen.

Reunited, the crew of Salty Jason's Revenge delves into one of the dumber weeks in America. From President Good Brain Best Words having to call Speaker Pelosi "mommy" to Roger Stone's half naked body and Starbucks coffee just being the worst. This is a quick episode to start your week of off right. articles briefly mentioned: https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/you-cant-get-there-from-here-1831622949 https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/426331-use-it-or-lose-it-seagoing-nations-must-defend-embattled-waterways

With Frank Spring possibly trying to fashion an axle out of guano, an iPhone charging cord and the wrapper from a rest stop microwavable burrito, Maggie Moore and Elie Jacobs celebrate National "Good Day" Day by speculating wildly (some may say irresponsibly) about the shutdown and then play everyone's favorite parlor game: "Who should play the democratic presidential candidates on SNL". Articles mentioned: Buzzfeed: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonleopold/trump-russia-cohen-moscow-tower-mueller-investigation Special Counsel response: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/inside-the-mueller-teams-decision-to-dispute-buzzfeeds-explosive-story-on-trump-and-cohen/2019/01/19/d89dba5b-fa0f-445b-9fd3-72f0e911e28d_story.html?utm_term=.1a1678876087 Kodiak, Alaska: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/18/us/politics/coast-guard-government-shutdown.html Elizabeth (not Nancy) Drew: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/27/opinion/trump-impeachment-resign-drew.html

Taking the week off the high seas, the crew of Salty Jason's Revenge decided to repost an old interview with one of our incredible guests: Chris Lu. Chris is currently a Practitioner Senior Fellow at the Miller Center and has been: Deputy secretary of labor in the Obama Administration White House cabinet secretary and assistant to President Obama Executive director, Obama-Biden Transition Project Deputy chief counsel, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

With one crew member off this week, Frank and Elie are joined by Aaron ____ (aka: @BobbyBigWheel) for a lengthy conversation about what lessoned can be learned from the 2018 race, how donors should be thinking about making donations and general states of play. This is a good one for all you political nerds out there.

Together for the last voyage of 2018, Frank, Maggie and Elie put forth their nominations for dumbest thing, dumbest person and dumbest enterprise in the year of our lord 2018. This year lasted so long, we've all aged multiples of what was though to be physically possible. Remember the torture device in The Princess Bride? Yea... kinda like that. Anywho, tweet back at us @takingship to give us your nominees. The only prize is the end of 2018 and the start of what is surely going to be an even dumber 2019.

The podcast you didn't know you needed, brings you the LIVE audience episode you don't want to miss. Frank, Maggie & Elie - together in the same location for only the 2nd time since the full crew was aboard - decided to invite all their friends to go "tourney-style" on the 2020 Democratic primary field. If this is already Dumbest Timeline America, the 2020 primaries will prove there's still a ways to go towards peak dumb... If you'd like to download your own bracket and play along: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1axRvdq7pj3cLOP0tAWkrSvZXgBJGjdgk

In a super brief episode, Frank, Maggie and Elie spend about as much time as any of them could stomach discussing His Eminence Ross Doutat's takes (links below). More importantly, they announce more details about their live show on Monday December 17th at 7p in Union Square, NYC (Eventbrite link below). LIVE EVENT: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taking-ship-live-registration-53316614429?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=esfb&utm-source=fb&utm-term=listing&fbclid=IwAR0XWZW4RjZVOLAz-j84xP60w3hkirApxTtJg1genZ30m5o8JvzpP3Lf4xU "Why we miss the WASPs": https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/opinion/george-bush-wasps.html "The case again meritocracy": https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/08/opinion/sunday/wasps-meritocracy-ross-douthat.html

Joined by long overdue superstar guest, Barbi Appelquist, Frank Spring and Elie Jacobs talk California politics, national politics, the importance of state legislatures and they try to figure out what's the matter with Kansas. You're gonna wanna take a listen. You're also going to want to reserve the evening of Monday December 17th on your calendar for the *probably* live Taking Ship recording in New York City. Stay tuned for details...

You've waited for it, so we delivered. Together on the high seas once again, Frank, Maggie & Elie skip the pleasantries and useless election "hot takes" and get down to business talking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and why both the left and right are terrified of her, the future of the House under Pelosi (or someone else...hm??), a quick skip across the pond for an update on the sh!t show that is Brexit and other hijinks...as to be expected. Interested in us hosting a live podcast recording? Let us know. Drop us a line or even better tweet at us @takingship.

Frank Spring was out pounding pavement and doors to get out the vote, so Maggie and Elie recorded this week's episode behind his back. We cover GOTV, make our predictions and hope for death by black hole. Check us out.

Frank and Maggie are back, but this time they are joined by the amazing Charlie Bonner (@CharlieKBonner) , contributor to Progress Texas, Democratic operative, and road warrior. Charlie completed a road trip across America, learning and listening along the way. Tune in to hear what he learned. Recommendations from Charlie: The Trevor Project (https://www.thetrevorproject.org)

Frank and Maggie are back this week to discuss how all of our democratic institutions are crumbling and how they manage to get through these troubling times. Hot tip: drinking rosé always helps. Also on the docket: DC initiative 77, ignoring SCOTUS, and Instagram accounts to keep you laughing even when you feel like crying.

With the entire crew together again, Frank, Maggie and Elie talk about a 19th century British conspiracy theory, how we don't deserve Ben Carson and ride a Blue Wave to try and do math in Texas. The sea is angry, friends, you don't want to miss this episode. An article that was mentioned can be found here: https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/brett-kavanaugh-is-a-man-the-right-can-get-behind-1829225731

This week, Maggie and Frank offer up their top picks for who authored the anonymous op-ed in the New York Times, roll their eyes at the New Yorker Festival's invitation to Bannon, shake their heads at the NFL, and laugh at Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings.

Frank Spring is taking a leisurely European-like August so is off ship again leaving Maggie Moore and Elie Jacobs to on their own. Making the most of their time, they say nice things about John McCain, talk about the fire hose of news last week, a dude named Duncan and his bunny and round it all out with a review of good books and podcasts.

Reunited (and joined by Batgirl) at last, Maggie, Frank and Elie prognosticate about the races they're paying attention to and what we can divine from Frank's travels about the future prospects of the Democratic Party. Then things get interesting. Come to find out about a trench coat full of ferrets, stay for toddlers wearing their father's suit. If you're interested in Paula Deen's English Peas Recipe (really you just wanna read the comments) https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/english-peas-recipe-1946124

This week, Maggie and Frank dig into the finer points of Supreme Court history and current cases with Alexandra Meise (the attorney we all wished we had, Partner, MSK LLP; adjunct professor of int’l Human Rights Law at Georgetown Law). Come for the updates on the latest items before the court, stay for hot takes fictional judges. Organization Alexandra is supporting: Tahirih Justice Center (https://www.tahirih.org)

With Frank on shore leave (again...we know), Maggie and Elie go all Socratic and ask each other questions. If you wanna know your podcast hosts a little better, you wanna listen to this one. Couple things to flag: http://bulletcatcherstheplay.com https://israelguidedog.org

Joined by Shauna Dillavou, of Security+ Frank Spring & Elie Jacobs (Maggie Moore is on shore leave) talk about cyber security, what campaigns do wrong, what the Russian did -and may do-, why the Twitters sucks, the idiocy of campaigns, senate staffers and all white male board rooms. They also almost talk about the idiocy of the Blockchain. This is one you won't want to miss, in particular because it is chock full of VALUABLE actual real information, advice and explanations of things you've felt too awkward to ask about. [The brief Maggie Haberman was in reference to this: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/sunday-review/maggie-haberman-twitter-donald-trump.html]

Join Maggie Moore - sounding resplendent - and Elie Jacobs sounding like he's been thrown into the trunk of the missing Frank Spring's car as they review the NATO summit, talk about how and if the country can recover from Trump, the new White House Communication Director's wife and revisit the ghosts of the aughts via Sacha Baron Cohen and Sarah Palin.

In this steaming hot summer in Dumbest Timeline America, Maggie, Frank and Elie hand out some of the hottest takes imaginable on SCOTUS, the NY14th and what it means for Dems, what PM May is thinking (or not) and we sing a dirge for Scott Pruitt.

Frank & Elie welcome Maggie Moore as an official crew member of Salty Jason's Revenge and then things get weird. For your listening pleasure we reevaluate and define Dumbest Timeline America, the incompetence/malice scale and then spend way too much time on AltCenterism and dragging on DaveBro and JRube. You should listen, eat turkey and buy tshirts.

With #DumbestTimelineAmerica turning into the low-budget Bulgarian sequel to the Airplane! movies, the crew of Salty Jason's Revenge by special Igles correspondent, Mike Connolly to talk patriotism, stupidity and the meaning of life. After another dumb football conversation, Frank and Elie turn to reviewing this week's primaries and a deep dive into New Mexico. Articles discussed: https://deadspin.com/the-nfl-is-too-dumb-to-realize-that-donald-trump-is-nev-1826558748

With audio quality leaving much to be desired, the crew of Salty Jason’s Revenge are joined by the Commodore himself: Jason Stanford. Recording from a restaurant in NYC and the VanStanford’s kitchen in Austin, Frank, Elie and Jason talk about the most recent batch of primaries, the legal decision that forces #PresidentGoodBrainBestWords to unblock people on Twitter. This week’s voyage ends with a game of “yes or no” in which Jason and Frank do their best to make Elie blush after resurrecting the “Area Man” gag and deeming Elie as “adorable”. Jason said he had the initial idea for the podcast to be a lifestyle podcast and he finally got it and he’s recognized a new Upper Midwest fetish of Buttermilk Subs and Doms. Insider Guide: BOFA: According to Urban Dictionary, Bofa is a slang shortening of “both of,” and is generally followed by deez nuts, which means “testicles.” These words, when used in combination, are part of an online pranking meme. “Area Man” is an old gag, for example:

In a shorter episode than usual, Frank (recovering from being ill) & Elie (beset by allergies), talk about the American Embassy moving to Jerusalem and how only "top men" should be sent to preside over the occasion. They also have a lengthy chat about Negative Sentiment Override and figure out a way to link it to electoral politics. Somehow college football comes up not once, but twice and both times Frank craps on the Irish. Tshirts are here! Go to the Taking Ship website: www.takingship.com to order yours. They're on sale through the end of the month and can be delivered in person to #TruCon18. We're trying a new think and offering links to any articles we discuss, so here's the only one we mention this week: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/11/opinions/us-embassy-move-jerusalem-shapiro-opinion-intl/index.html?no-st=1526224913

ATTN SOUNDCLOUD listeners: we have moved to anchor.fm. Please be sure to update how you listen to us. Frank and Elie are joined for the second time by Ngiste Abebe, to talk about "Fuck it, we'll do it ourselves", the Democratic party's social mission, a deep dive into why conservatives lose and if/how the left may be owning itself. We are the owned, trolled and furious, but do we have to be? Please be sure to visit our new website: www.takingship.com and drop us a line about your t-shirt orders. Remember it's like whiskey: what size and how many.

ATTN SOUNDCLOUD listeners: we are in the process of moving to anchor.fm. Please be sure to update how you listen to us. With new intro music in hand, the crew of Salty Jason's Revenge invites the Corps of Discovery to visit our brand spanking new website: www.takingship.com In today's cruise through #DumbestTimelineAmerica, Frank Spring & Elie Jacobs talk North Korea, Iran deal, get in the weeds on Democratic politics and speculate on why the President of the United States may be trolling them. Finally, they tease the interview everyone's been waiting for. Please be sure to subscribe and rate us and visit the new website! www.takingship.com

WE HAVE NEW INTRO MUSIC!!! Joined by data guru Laila El Gohary, Frank & Elie FINALLY learn about data and politics. Long has the crew of "Salty Jason's Revenge" spoken about data, now they actually learn about it. This is THE episode you need to listen to if you want to stop bull sh!tting and actually know what you're talking about. Follow us at @takingship on Twitter (or @frankspring or @eliejacobs) and email us at takingship(at)gmail.com to tell us about your t-shirt desires.

Alone at sea for the first time in a few weeks, Frank and Elie dive straight into the reality that we're all just living the same Tuesday in #DumbestTimelineAmerica over and over. P90Pauly (aka Paul Ryan), takes his ball and goes home, DaveBro says new and dumb things related to AltCenterism and oh yea, impeachment. Take a listen and subscribe and rate us. We need that Casper mattress money!

Multimedia superstar Chris Frates (podcast co-host, SiriusXM host, former CNN, National Journal, Politico and more reporter) joins Frank and Elie to talk politics and media and they provide an update on the war with the sea. You really don't want to miss this episode.

David Roth (@david_j_roth) joins the crew of "Salty ____'s Revenge" to talk NFL, Trump, NCAA, coaches sartorial choices and more. This is one you want to listen to. Please subscribe and rate us on iTunes and follow us on Twitter at @TakingShip