We've Got Issues

This week, we are joined by Jared Holt, who researches domestic extremism at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, to talk about how Congressional Republicans are using their power and your tax dollars to harass and attempt to silence those who study and attempt to mitigate dangerous disinformation.Then Joshua Holland welcomes journalist Parker Molloy to consider whether the political press has really failed to learn any lessons about how to cover Trump and his authoritarianism movement over these past eight years. PlaylistCornershop: "Brimful of Asha"Paul McCartney: "Live and Let Die"The Bangles: "Hazy Shade of Winter" 

On this week's show, we are joined by journalist Evan Urquhart, who is transgender, to talk about a topic that's rarely covered by the legacy media: The psychological and emotional toll that the right's relentless assault on the LGBTQ community's rights--and in many cases, on their very existence--takes on queer people. It is hard to be the target of an energized neo-fascist movement with a lot of power. Then we take a look at a more positive side to the same story, as veteran legal reporter Chris Geidner tells us about some important recent wins that civil rights activists have secured in the courts against some of the laws that red states have passed to punish their perceived enemies in the queer community and beyond. Playlist:  The Cramps: "Goo Goo Muck"The English Beat: "Save It For Later"Music Machine: "Talk Talk" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at how the GOP's performative approach to governing led them to stake out a position on the debt limit negotiations that will add hundreds of billions of dollars to federal budget deficits over the next decade. And then we're joined by legal analyst Marcy Wheeler to talk all about the historic federal indictment of Donald Trump--and preview what may lie ahead as our country's most lawless president finally faces some real efforts to hold him accountable for his crimes. Playlist:Talking Heads: "Psycho Killer"Boogie Down Productions: "The Bridge Is Over"A Tribe Called Quest: "I Left My Wallet In El Segundo" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at a... very busy news week marked by some manifestations of the climate emergency that were impossible to ignore in much of the country.  Then we'll speak with The Hill's Saul Elbein about how polluters, the gun industry and private prison companies--among others--are desperately trying to make socially responsible investing a new front in the right's endless "culture wars."  And then we'll be joined by Matt Scott of the Atlanta Community Press Collective to bring us up to date on the latest in the unprecedented campaign to suppress activism against the completion of "Cop City," The Big Peach's massively expensive police training center.PlaylistCourtney Barnett: "If I Don't Hear From You Tonight"Israel Nash: "Down In The Country"Black Pumas: "Strangers" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at how Republicans always derail every effort to combat America's top terror threat: White supremacists and anti-government extremists. Then Heather "Digby" Parton joins us to talk about the deal Joe Biden cut with Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the country's borrowing limit and avert a catastrophic default. There's a glass-half-full reading and also one that's not so rosy. And journalist Evan Urquhart explains how the legacy media tends to obscure the dangers of the right's campaigns of harassment and intimidation against companies that dare celebrate Pride Month.PlaylistCage The Elephant: "Cold Cold Cold"Wild Child: "End of the World"Stevie Nicks: "For What It's Worth" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show by violating his no-presidential-punditry-before-Thanksgiving rule with a look at the shambolic rollout of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's (ill-fated?) presidential campaign on Twitter. Then we're joined by author and analyst David Pepper to talk about his new book, Saving Democracy: A User's Manual for Every American. Pepper sounded an alarm over the growing extremism evident in red state legislatures in 2021 with The Laboratories of Autocracy, and now he's followed up with a plan to fight back.PlaylistAltın Gün: "Yüce Dağ Başında"Bruce Springsteen: "Because the Night" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at why the GOP is incapable of pivoting away from their most unpopular positions. Then we're joined by Oliver Willis from The American Independent to talk about the press and the majestic flop of Special Counsel John Durham's much-hyped report detailing various imaginary grievances against the FBI.And Salon columnist Amanda Marcotte helps us understand how Republican women tolerate their party's misogyny.   

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at how Trump once again implicated himself in various criminal acts during his controversial CNN 'town hall' event.Then we are joined by John Stoehr, managing editor of The Editorial Board, to talk about some curious polling around the GOP's debt limit hostage-taking, containing autocratic red states, the Dems' geriatric leadership and serial fabulist George Santos's indictment on 13 federal charges.PlaylistBahamas: "Trick To Happy"David Bowie: "Man Who Sold the World"Baby Huey: "Mighty Mighty" 

The benign-sounding "Moms for Liberty" has largely flown under the radar, in large part because political reporters tend to portray it as a grassroots movement of conservative parents fighting for "parental choice." The reality, explains Vice's David Gilbert, is that Moms for Liberty is a dark money-funded organization with close ties to the GOP that has terrorized educators, school board members and other perceived enemies with vicious campaigns of harassment and intimidation.  Then we welcome WaPo's Greg Sargent back to the podcast to talk about the GOP hurtling toward a debt limit breach and the Supreme Court's ethics crisis.PlaylistCannonballers: "Colony House"Meghan Trainor: "Made You Look"King Schascha: "Rudeboy Skankin (feat. Neville Staple)"

Cliff Schecter is joined by Dan Perry for the view on American politics from Israel. Then Matt Robison reflects on how traditional media have characterized debt ceiling negotiations as a "juice political standoff" instead of hostage-taking by Republicans.Cliff Schecter is a former ad writer for President Joe Biden, author of the bestselling book, "The Real McCain" and founder of the Blue Amp Channel w/ Cliff Schecter on Youtube, which features regular commentary, and takedowns of Republican lies & conspiracies.Dan Perry is the former Top Editor for Associated Press in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He writes a substack on politics, international affairs and cultural issues called "Ask Questions Later" that can be found at danperry.substack.com.Matt Robison was Chief of Staff on Capitol Hill to former Congressman Paul Hodes, a congressional and senate campaign manager and co-hosts the podcast "Beyond Politics" with Hodes and creates video commentary for the Blue Amp Channel.PlaylistGarbage: "I Think I'm Paranoid"Allen Halloween: "Crescer"The Beatles: "Sexy Sadie" 

The QAnon movement that emerged with the rise of Trumpism has been marked by a great fluidity, morphing as events dictate. It draws on old antisemitic conspiracy theories and more recent moral panics and has inspired quite a bit of deadly violence, but its inherent goofiness made many people slow to recognize the dangers it poses. This week, we are joined by one reporter who has been covering QAnon since its inception, Will Sommer from The Daily Beast. Sommer is the author of Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America. Will tells us about QAnon's roots, how it has adapted to Trump's loss and what new permutations might change this reactionary movement going forward.  PlaylistMa: "Freedom"Sampa The Great: "Final Form"Mollie Tuttle: 'She's a Rainbow' 

This week, we're joined by Amanda Litman, the co-founder of Run for Something, to talk about how a new generation of younger Democrats who have come to age in an era of right-wing extremism are getting national attention for standing up and fighting back--and offering a model for defending their values and their communities that their older colleagues could emulate.Then Sabrina Talukder, Director of the Women's Initiative at the Center for American Progress, helps us understand how an activist Trump judge hand-picked by a religious-right litigation group has seized the power to regulate abortion drugs from the FDA--and tells us where the case could go from here.  PlaylistWet Leg: "Wet Dream"Leon Bridges: "Smooth Sailin'"Wu-Tang Clan: "C.R.E.A.M." 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at a new effort to pressure the Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics—and a revelation of what appears to be some naked corruption by Clarence Thomas  that drives home the need for some ethics rules. Then we're joined by legal analyst Marcy Wheeler to talk about the 34 felony charges filed this week against Donald Trump and get her view of the likely status of three other criminal probes working their way toward the former president. Wheeler does not think the Manhattan DA is likely to have the final say on holding Trump accountable. PlaylistPatti Smith: "Redondo Beach"Caro Emerald: "Perfect Day"Joy Oladokun & Noah Kahan: "We're All Gonna Die" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at a Florida lawmaker who may perfectly represent the modern GOP--he wrote the state's infamous 'Don't Say Gay' law while swindling tax-payers out of fraudulent covid relief funds. Then we're joined by Dave Karpf, a professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University to talk about how Elon Musk is steering Twitter straight toward bankruptcy, the saga surrounding the Silicon Valley Bank and the pitfalls of covering the right's endless moral panics. PlaylistThe Big Takeover: "Love Understands"Boogie Down Productions: "The Bridge Is Over"Sonny & Cher: "The Beat Goes On" 

This week, we spoke with two journalists about some of their recent reporting. First, we're joined by The Texas Observer's Josephine Lee to talk about how the campus culture wars, which are fueled by deep-pocketed conservative donors, have shifted from an emphasis on "free-market" economics to a violent form of Christian Nationalism. Then, Natasha Lennard shares her reporting for The Intercept on the movement to stop the "Cop City" project in Atlanta--a massive, corporate-funded, environmentally destructive police training facility that's being built in a forested area of a Black community--and local law enforcement's extreme over-reaction to the protesters, some of whom face up to 35 years in prison on flimsy "domestic terror" charges. PlaylistLewis OfMan: "Attitude"Fiona Apple: "Across the Universe"Lewis OfMan: "Attitude" 

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at how election conspiracy theorists in Arizona have turned on some of the very Republicans who fed their fantasies about the 2020 election. Then we're joined by veteran journalist Judd Legum to take a good, hard look at Florida's pint-sized wannabe strongman, Ron DeSantis, who has become a darling of conservative pundits and influencers and has been enjoying some soft coverage from the so-called "liberal media" even as he has launched multiple attacks on press freedom. PlaylistRihanna: "Desperado"Caro Emerald: "Pack Up The Louie"Brothers Johnson: Strawberry Letter

You knew the United States was an outlier when it comes to gun violence but Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at a study that found truly eye-opening disparities. Then we're joined by AR Moxon to talk about Dilbert creator Scott Adams and other bigoted right-wingers who claim that they're being silenced when their real problem is that we can hear them quite clearly and reserve the right to judge them by their words and actions. And then we speak to Parker Molloy about the challenges of criticizing the often slanted reporting from legacy media outlets like the NYT from the left given how deeply entrenched the right's ubiquitous claims that they are "biased" against conservatives have become after decades of working the refs. Playlist:CeeLo Green: "The Way"El: "Mysterioso"Love: "Always See Your Face"

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show by pointing out that the pro-Russian right's attempts to portray themselves as "antiwar" are pure gaslighting--and arguing that cutting support for Ukraine is ultimately the pro-war position. Then we're joined by Washington Post data journalist Andrew Van Dam to try to solve a puzzle: Why do people in the Southern states have significantly worse credit scores than the rest of America? Some of the reasons that first come to mind don't explain it. And then Jennifer Mercieca, a professor of communications and journalism at Texas A&M, helps us understand how fascist movements use control of the language to normalize their extreme ideology and justify their cruelty toward "the other." Think about the American right's current obsession with "wokeness" or obsession with "groomers." But as Mercieca tells us, there are some straightforward strategies to thwart them.  PlaylistSara Bareilles: "Single Ladies"Klaxons: "No Diggity"Vanessa Fernandez: "When The Levee Breaks"  

This week, Joshua Holland offers a rant about all of the nearly identical pieces he's read about how the law is about to catch up to Donald Trump and his minions. Then we speak with Dan Froomkin about how normalcy bias and both-sideism makes America's political press an enabler for an energized far-right movement that poses an ongoing threat to our democratic tradition. And then we're joined by The American Prospect's Jarod Facundo to talk about how the right's relatively new propaganda about "critical race theory" and "wokeness" in our schools is just thin cover for its longstanding project to undermine public education and destroy teachers' unions--and how it isn't working out quite like they'd hoped.  PlaylistThe National: "Tropic Morning News"Maneskin: "Beggin'"Paulina Singer: "Milkshake" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a solemn pledge to not start covering the 2024 election until at least Thanksgiving.Then we are joined by Karoli Kuns, the managing editor of Crooks and Liars, to give us a recap of Joe Biden's State of the Union Speech, which she found to be a master class in dealing with an often unruly audience.And then New York Magazine's Eric Levitz tells us why Republicans are so eager to avoid laying out any concrete demands as they take the full faith and credit of the United States hostage. PlaylistCOIN: "Chapstick"Rolling Stone: "The Spider And The Fly"Dave Matthews Band: "Madman's Eyes"

This week, Joshua Holland looks at how the madness that's taken root among House Republicans may prove to be a decisive advantage for the Biden team. The Max Burns joins us to talk about how Elon Musk's capricious, conspiracy-driven mismanagement of Twitter is the best thing to ever happen to advocates of greater transparency on giant tech platforms--and how Musk is about to run headlong into even more problems as his user base declines and regulators around the world sharpen their tools.Then epidemiologist Stephanie Langel, who teaches at Case Western, helps us understand whether we can just wish an end to a deadly and exhausting pandemic that continues to kill thousands of Americans each week. PlaylistBryan Paul Bell: "Devil's Gotta Dance"The Ting Tings: "That's Not My Name"Snoop Dogg: "My Medicine"

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at how right-wing conspiracism and a massive number of guns is driving a huge wave of mass shootings in America. At some point, we should probably think of it as a policy choice. Then we're joined by Evergreen Action co-founder Sam Ricketts to talk about how the huge package of climate provisions that Joe Biden managed to push through a 50-50 Senate is creating something unusual: A virtuous trade war with our allies and rivals. PlaylistBeastie Boys: "Intergalactic"Shawn Colvin: "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" 

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a short rant about how observers tend to ignore the death toll that has resulted from the proliferation of right-wing conspiracy theories. Then we're joined by The Washington Post's Paul Waldman to talk about the Republican civil wars growing in intensity--and how the party's disarray may constrain its ability to leverage its control of the House to advance its agenda. And then Erin Reed, who writes the Erin in the Morning newsletter, offers us a bird's eye view of the dozens of bills Republican legislatures across the country are considering to target transgender people--and their families and support networks--in ways that should shock you.  PlaylistViagra Boys: "Punk Rock Loser"Cody Brooks: "First World Problems"Citizen Cope: "Brother Lee" 

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at the right's latest culture war idiocy--and how the legacy media is amplifying it. Then we are joined by journalist Euan Marshall from São Paulo, Brazil, to discuss the similarities and differences between this week's riots by supporters of the defeated authoritarian Jair Bolsonaro and the MAGA Insurgency of Dunces almost exactly two years earlier.And then Heather "Digby" Parton previews the next two years of relentless nonsense from the GOP-controlled House of Representatives and talks to us about the maddening false equivalence surrounding the discovery of a handful of classified documents in Joe Biden's old records. Playlist:The Black Keys: "Weight of Love"ZZ Ward: "Tin Cups"Blondie: "Dreaming"

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show throwing some cold water on a couple of bad hot takes about the clown show the Republicans' new House majority is putting on as they try to nominate a Speaker. And then we're joined by David Cay Johnston, who's covered Donald Trump for decades and also won a Pulitzer Prize reporting on our tax system for The New York Times, to talk about what we learned from six years of Trump's returns that the House Ways and Means Committee made public just before the new House majority took over. PlaylistTrick Daddy: "In Da Wind"Elizabeth Moen: "Headgear"Trick Daddy: "In Da Wind" 

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at how the GOP is leveraging their persecution complex to block efforts to study and combat violent extremism--and then some real news from our phony "border crisis." And then we'll be joined by author Brynn Tannehill, whose latest book is titled American Fascism: How the GOP is Subverting Democracy, to talk about the nature of moral panics, how they have led to genocides in the past and why it's important to understand that history as the GOP is poised to claim The House's investigative powers.PlaylistMoonlight Benjamin: "Immigrant Song"Waste: "Withdrawal"

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with the latest reporting in the bizarre story of Representative-elect George Santos, whose entire biography appears to be a pack of lies--and who just might be some kind of Manchurian Candidate. Then we're joined by Michael Grunwald, the veteran journalist and co-host of the Climavores podcast, to talk about his recent New York Times piece looking at how destructive our agricultural processes are for the environment--and what innovative solutions we may see in the future.And then Brandi Buchman, a senior staff writer at Daily Kos, tells us about the significance of the January 6 Select Committee issuing criminal referrals for Donald Trump and several of his henchmen and also gives us a preview of the Proud Boys' upcoming trial for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the Insurgency of Dunces. PlaylistThe Raveonettes: "The Christmas Song"The Killers: "Don't Shoot Me Santa"Dropkick Murphys: "The Season's Upon Us" 

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at how the FBI is at the same time pursuing more investigations into increasingly violent right-wing extremism and also making subtle changes to its definition of terrorism that are resulting in a lower priority for some of that extremism.Then we are joined by Oliver Willis to talk about how the GOP's messaging apparatus has become so successful that it's left the party wildly out-of-touch with the concerns of normal Americans and, in many cases, just kinda weird.  We also preview the coming GOP House majority and inevitable intra-party crackup. Then we're joined by Lindsay Beyerstein to talk about the real scandal that lies at the heart of the right's clumsy conspiracy theories about Twitter, big tech and Hunter Biden's laptop.PlaylistVéronique Sanson "Chanson Sur Ma Drôle De Vie"Eddy Mitchell: "Fortissimo"Sylvie Vartan: "La Plus Belle Pour Aller Danser" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a deeper dive into the Democrats' remarkably strong showing in the 2022 midterms in down-ballot races, and a look at some new evidence for keeping those masks on in indoor spaces. Then we're joined by Grand View University historian Thomas Lecaque to talk about the alarming significance of the right doubling down on their anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry after their rhetoric led to the deadly massacre of five in a gay bar in Colorado Springs rather than deflecting blame as they usually do in similar circumstances. 

This week, we're taking a week off from politics with a special episode looking at the history of North America that European colonizers took great pains to obscure--a continent populated by sophisticated civilizations that were largely wiped out by disease and war. We're joined by Dr. Edwin Barnhart, Director of the Maya Exploration Center and host of the ArchaeoEd podcast, for his insights about ancient North American societies whose archeological artifacts dot modern America. PlaylistViolent Femmes: "American Music"House of Pain: "Jump Around"

The 2022 midterm results came as no surprise to Joshua Holland, who kicks off this week's show with a look at how the political press's groupthink is shaped in the Trump era. Then we're joined by Business Insider's Linette Lopez, who spent years reporting on Elon Musk's business practices and sees his disastrous early stewardship of Twitter as par for the course. And then we recap the midterms and talk to Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch about what the real story is in Trump finally making his 2024 campaign official.PlaylistCurtis Harding: "I Won't Let You Down"TOUCH & GO: "Would You..."Quincy Jones: "The Streetbeater" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at research into why even the most ludicrous propaganda is still so effective. And then we are joined by Parker Molloy, who writes The Present Age newsletter, to talk about what it's like for transgender people who are just trying to live their lives at a time when their very existence has become a right-wing moral panic. PlaylistAaron Frazer: "Can't Leave It Alone"The Civil Wars: "Billie Jean" 

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at how Elon Musk is turning Twitter into a massive vector for right-wing disinformation. Then we are joined by Slate's Dahlia Lithwick to talk about her new book, Lady Justice, and the new challenges journalists face covering a Supreme Court that decides cases on vibes rather than the law in order to achieve conservative goals.  Finally, we speak with Oregon Public Radio reporter Jonathan Levinson about some eye-opening revelations in a newly redacted Department of Homeland Security report of how relentless pressure from above resulted in a blatantly political and often violent response to Portland racial justice protests in 2020 by federal law enforcement.PlaylistWillie Nelson: "Time of the Preacher"Sampa The Great: "Final Form"Molly Tuttle: "She's A Rainbow"

With the Supreme Court giving anti-choicers decisive wins in red America, those who advocate using state power to force women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term are turning their efforts to drawing new battlelines in blue states. Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at a campaign that is just getting underway. And then we are joined by Assal Rad, research director for the National Iranian American Council and author of State of Resistance: Politics, Culture & Identity in Modern Iran, to talk about the popular uprising that has spread across Iran after the apparent murder of a young woman who was detained by Iran's "morality police" for not wearing a head covering. Rad explains why these protests have cut across demographic and class divides despite often deadly suppression by Iarnian security forces. PlaylistReza Pishro: "Freedom"Stevie Nicks: "For What It's Worth" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at a Congressional report on how Donald Trump set a course early on in the pandemic that would ultimately lead the US to have the highest Covid death rate in the wealthy world. Then we're joined by The Guardian's Luke Harding to talk to us about why Russia's stunning invasion of its neighbor appears likely to end in defeat. Luke's new book, Invasion: Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival, is coming out in November.And then we're joined by Salon's Amanda Marcotte to discuss Kanye West's jaw-dropping anti-semitism and the "misogyny-to-fascism pipeline" that may have sent the artist into the right-wing fever swamps. PlaylistRUN DMC: "It's Tricky"Tom Jones: "Little Green Bag"Lipps Inc.: "Funkytown" 

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a broadside against a common but very dishonest bit of whataboutism that's become popular among right-wingers when the topic of their "big lie" about the 2020 election comes up. Then we're joined by Melissa Jo Peltier, who has a new film out about erstwhile Trump supporters who at some point, and for varied reasons, came to reject Trump and the movement he leads.And then journalist Ben Lorber tells us about the rise of a neofascist movement that seeks to pursue MAGA's white nationalist project with more discipline and less chaos than Trump and his inner circle brought to it.PlaylistJohn Lennon: "(Just Like) Starting Over"Lana Del Rey: "Young and Beautiful"Prince Buster: "Enjoy Yourself" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at how Tucker Carlson's pro-Russia propaganda is so shameless that it might make the Kremlin's own masters of spin blush. We'll then be joined by Ilya Yablokov, a professor of journalism and digital media at The University of Sheffield, to talk about how Putin's "partial mobilization" is changing the way Russians see the Ukrainian conflict. And finally, we'll catch up with Michigan Advance Editor-in-Chief Susan Demas to get some insights into how the race for Michigan governor went from one of the GOP's best pick-up opportunities to one in which they are poised for a drubbing.  PlaylistKirsty MacColl: "In These Shoes"Nané: "Always On My Mind"Brandi Carlile: "Space Oddity" 

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at two cases in which right-wingers tasked with upholding the law appear to be targeting their political adversaries with dubious prosecutions. Then we're joined by Scott Hechinger, a veteran public defender and executive director of the advocacy group Zealous, to help us sort fact from fiction in the debate over cash bail reform. Contrary to a lot of lazy media narratives, the policy, which once enjoyed very broad support across the ideological spectrum, has been correlated with a reduction in recidivism and Scott explains why. Finally, we talk midterms and a Republican Party that appears to be trying its best to lose them with Salon columnist and OG blogger Heather "Digby" Parton. PlaylistThe Pretenders: "Angel of the Morning"Nina Simone: "Sinnerman"Angelina Jordan: "Suspicious Minds" 

This week, fresh off of his victory in a closely watched special election in New York's 19th district, Pat Ryan (D-NY) joins us to talk about how Democrats can take back the mantle of freedom and the GOP's "political malpractice" in pushing deeply unpopular abortion bans at a moment when they could win control of Congress. Then, a related segment as progressive messaging guru Anat Shenker-Osorio talks to us about how to cut through right-wing propaganda by leading with your values--and warns that the Democrats are failing miserably in coming up with a coherent narrative on policing and safety. PlaylistRihanna: "Desperado"Jetta: "I'd Love to Change the World (Matstubs Remix)"Amy Winehouse: "Some Unholy War"  

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at how far-right leaders use public money to cause real hardship for real people in service of propaganda campaigns.Then we're joined by Greg Sargent from The Washington Post to discuss the latest courtroom drama over the search of Mar-a-Lago, the tantrums MAGA has been throwing in response to Trump's constant incitement and why this is all very bad for his party as we race toward the midterms. And finally, Slate's Mark Joseph Stern will run down why Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's election police squad's first, highly selective arrests for "voter fraud" are likely to blow up in his face. PlaylistAllen Halloween: "Crescer"Veronika Fischer with Panta Rhei: "Nachts"Verdena: "Trovami un modo semplice per uscirne" 

This week we are joined by Jesse O'Connell, senior vice president of education policy at The Center for American Progress, to talk about the student debt relief plan unveiled by the Biden administration this week. It's a much bigger deal than you might have been led to believe and it's causing a meltdown among those who hate seeing the government actually help ordinary people. Then we'll speak with Alec Karakatsanis, the executive director of Civil Rights Corps and author of the Alec's Copaganda Newsletter, about how police agencies, prison companies and their unions leverage sophisticated PR operations to shape how the media covers crime and ultimately how the public views the issue. PlaylistPoe: "Hey Pretty"Garbage: "I Think I'm Paranoid"Luna: "Bonnie and Clyde"

Joshua Holland kicks this week's show off with a rant about the over-the-top coverage of Liz Cheney's easily predicted primary defeat in a party that has become slavishly devoted to Dear Leader--coverage that pushed a generational effort to combat climate change off of the front page. And then we'll be joined by Sarah Posner, whose beat is the religious right. Sarah has been monitoring the disturbing reaction to the FBI's low-key execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago in the Evangelical Christian media, which has featured a mishmash of conspiracy theories, whataboutism and calls for retribution. PlaylistOl' dirty bastard: "Baby I Like It Raw"Melania: "Brand New Key"

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at the dangerous but also totally ridiculous tantrum the entire right is throwing in response to a search warrant being executed at Mar-a-Lago--and the Republican propaganda that's fueling it.Then we are joined by journalist and legal analyst Marcy Wheeler to talk about the overlapping investigations that appear to be closing in on Trump and his inner circle and to give her best estimate of what the FBI's action at Mar-a-Lago might portend. And then we have some rare good news as David Roberts from Volts tells us why the climate provisions of the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act represent a game-changer not only for the country but perhaps for the planet. PlaylistNichelle Nichols: "Know What I Mean"Delta Spirit: "People C'mon"The Analogues: "Sexy Sadie" 

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a look at the rapidly-expanding scandal surrounding security officials scrubbing their texts from the January 6 coup attempt. Then we're joined by Salon's Amanda Marcotte to talk about the Kansas abortion referendum--an earthquake that shook the religious right and may have given Democrats a roadmap for beating back the authoritarian right's assaults on our liberties.Finally, we speak with Jackson Hurley, political director for Voters of Tomorrow, about what inspires and worries young voters--and whether they will turn out for the 2022 midterms. PlaylistPatti Smith: "Redondo Beach"MoNa a.k.a Sad Girl: "Girls It Ain't Easy"Shawn Colvin: "This Must Be the Place"

This week, we embrace a rare good week in America!Joshua Holland kicks off the show looking at a new study which found that the sanctions regime enacted against Russia by Ukraine's allies is doing much more damage to Vladimir Putin's economy than many observers believe. Then we speak with WaPo's Paul Waldman about the surprising deal on climate and prescription drug prices that West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced this week. Democrats' chances of holding control of Congress in November were already looking a lot better before the announcement. Will this prove a game-changer? And then we are joined by historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, to talk about the January 6 Committee hearings and a bunch of new reporting that reveals that Trump and those in his inner circle may not be above the law after all. 

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show looking at a new analysis of Americans' average life expectancy, which declined in 2021 for the second year in a row. There are some interesting demographic details to that story, which follows other public health analyses that revealed a growing life expectancy-gap between red and blue states. Then we're joined by Thomas Zimmer, a historian at George Washington University, who argues that while there is a consensus among experts that American democracy is teetering on the brink of collapse, that reality is being obscured by outdated journalistic standards, Democratic leaders desperately trying to restore a bygone status quo and widespread belief in right-wing propaganda painting progressives as extreme. PlaylistSharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: "Stranger To My Happiness"Bruce Springsteen: "Viva Las Vegas"Pierrot: "Safety Dance" 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show with a look at some egregious media malpractice surrounding the story of a 10-year-old rape victim forced to flee Ohio to access abortion care--and warns that it's likely just a taste of what's to come as the press both-sides right-wing officials imposing their religious beliefs on their constituents. Then we speak with Grid misinformation reporter Anya van Wagtendonk about the far-right's latest obsession with the purported plight of Dutch farmers. It may seem obscure but it's a story being promoted by Tucker Carlson and other propagandists. And then we are joined by John Stoehr, founding editor of The Editorial Board, to talk about what we learned in this week's January 6 Select Committee hearing and discuss why polling on the 2024 presidential contest is both beyond worthless and also consistent with the relentlessly hostile press coverage that has dogged Joe Biden's presidency from the start. 

Joshua Holland kicks off this week's show talking about how after dodging it for almost three years, the 'rona finally caught up with him--and explains how our semi-official policy of pretending the pandemic is over is helping to spread the disease.Then we're joined by Cliff Schecter, host of The Takedown, to talk about how public opinion polls are shifting toward the Democrats as a result of the Trump Supreme Court striking down Roe. It's looking increasingly possible for Dems to hold onto the House and perhaps expand their Senate majority if they have the will to fight for it, but it's not clear that the party's current leadership share's the Democratic base's sense of alarm. PlaylistMethod Man: "Release Yo' Delf"The Beautiful Girls: "The Biggest Lie I Ever Told"The Sound Defects: "Take Out" 

This week, we speak with Salon columnist Heather "Digby" Parton about Republicans' alarming embrace of threats and political violence against everyone from their own elected representatives whom they deem insufficiently right-wing to election workers just doing their jobs to count votes. Then we're joined by Jezebel's Susan Rinkunas, who has a preview of the dystopian anti-abortion laws that prominent anti-choice groups are already pushing ahead of the widely anticipated overturn of Roe v Wade.PlaylistLone Didion: "Andrew Bird"Lucinda Williams: "Righteously"First Aid Kit: "King Of The World"  

We kick off this week's show with Brandi Buchman from Daily Kos, who joins us to discuss what we've learned so far from the January 6 Select Committee hearings--and to what end this historic process may be leading.Then we speak with Jeff Hauser, executive director of The Revolving Door Project, about the serious structural obstacles the White House faces in its efforts to cut through the noise and get its message out--and how Joe Biden can leverage the powers of the executive branch to communicate his priorities to the public ahead of the midterms.PlaylistAloe Blacc: "I Need A Dollar"Caro Emerald: "Pack Up The Louie"Cee-Lo: "Gettin' Grown" 

This week, Joshua Holland offers a few easy predictions for the first hearings of the January 6 Select Committee.Then, if a far-reaching executive order to ramp up America's renewable energy production falls in the forest, does it make a sound? Maya Golden-Krasner, deputy director of the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute, tells us all about an encouragingly bold move the Biden administration made this week on climate that barely registered as a news story. And then we're joined by historian and radio host Thom Hartmann to talk about how a modern fascist government arising in the US might differ from the totalitarian fascist governments of the 20th century. Thom warns us that it could indeed happen here.   PlaylistFirst Aid Kit: "King Of The World"Alanis Morissette: "King of Pain"Amy Winehouse: "The Girl From Ipanema"