Podcasts about American Progress

(WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE) Today, 98% of all federal criminal cases are resolved with a guilty plea. Why? "Half a loaf is better than none. . . . When we have a weak case for any reason, we'll reduce to almost anything rather than lose." In modern America, "beyond a reasonable doubt" as determined by a jury has largely been replaced by the discretion of prosecutors to punish defendants for exercising their constitutional right to a trial by jury. So much so, defendants in pretrial detention are agreeing to plea "bargains" at a rate so high, it's difficult to deny the obvious: Innocence is irrelevant. Reb is joined by Hannah Bogen, a Federal Public Defender in the Office of the FPD for the Central District of California, the largest public defense office in the federal system. Hannah shares her firsthand experience with indigent defense, pretrial detention, plea bargaining, and sentencing policy—a rare glimpse into the real lives of her clients in the federal criminal system, and public defenders' enduring fight for dignity and mercy for the people whom society often forgets...Until it happens to you. **DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions discussed in this episode are personal to Hannah and Reb and do not reflect the views or opinions of the Office of the Federal Public Defender.** A huge thank you to Hannah Bogen for her time and unforgettable insight for this episode, and a gracious nod to the Offices of the Federal Public Defender in Los Angeles and around the country. Their attorneys, staff, and investigators are selfless bright sparks in a system shrouded by darkness. See: L.A. public defenders are on a win streak as Trump's Justice Department charges activists , L.A. Times (Feb. 6, 2026) --> Access without a subscription here See also: More than 10,000 lawyers have left the Trump Administration leaving multiple agencies understaffed, report says, Independent (May 31, 2026) Helpful Resources, Information, Statistics: Mass Incarceration—The Whole Pie (Prison Policy Initiative 2026) Mass Incarceration Trends (The Sentencing Project 2026) 1 in 3 Americans has a criminal record (Center for American Progress 2022) The Hidden Law of Plea Bargaining (2018) ("It continues to be driven not by law but by power—the vast, unregulated power of prosecutors") The Unconstitutionality of Modern Plea Bargaining: Curbing Prosecutorial Vindictiveness, 3 Prin.L.J. 2 (2024) Fewer than 1% of federal criminal defendants were acquitted in 2022 (Pew Research 2023) An Offer You Can't Refuse: How US Federal Prosecutors Force Drug Defendants To Plead Guilty (2013) In The Shadows: A Review of the Research on Plea Bargaining (Vera Institute 2020) Detaining the Poor: How money bail perpetuates an endless cycle of poverty and jail time (Prison Policy Initiative 2016) Arrest, Release, Repeat: Who is jailed, how often, and why (Prison Policy Initiative 2024) Report: How Mandatory Minimums Perpetuate Mass Incarceration and What To Do About It (2024) Correcting the Record: Fentanyl Myths & Misinformation (2025) We Can't Go Cold Turkey: Why Suppressing Drug Markets Endangers Society (2018) Addicted to punishment: Jails and prisons punish drug use far more than they treat it (Prison Policy Initiative 2024) *** MERCH STORE IS LIVE! Shop Reb Masel and Rebuttal Pod merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rebmasel.shop/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CLICK HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to PREORDER Reb's book: The Book They Throw At You—A Sarcastic Lawyer's Guide* To The Unholy Chaos of Our Legal System, *God No, Not Actual Legal Advice *** Follow @RebuttalPod on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Follow @Rebmasel on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! *** 00:00 - How America convicts the innocent 04:14 - WELCOME! Hannah Bogen, Federal Public Defender 05:26 - A mantra for public defenders 06:06 - **DISCLAIMER** 06:22 - Typical crimes Hannah sees in federal court 07:40 - WHAT DO FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDERS DO? 10:35 - "We're not gonna get there in time..." 12:46 - Favorite thing a client has said to you 16:05 - REPRESENTING VICTIMS IN THE SYSTEM 19:25 - "Prosecutor won't even make eye contact" 20:42 - ARRESTED IN PAJAMAS: Now what? 26:22 - Poverty and prison 29:30 - Trump's new prosecution policies 34:25 - "THE PURPOSE IS CRUELTY" 36:13 - Drugs and Mandatory Minimums 41:15 - THE PROBLEM WITH PLEA "BARGAINS" 45:38 - Plead or Suffer (Trial Penalty) 49:30 - 10,000 attorneys leave Trump's DOJ since 2025 53:25 - Former FPD Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson! 55:44 - BEST DAYS ON THE JOB 1:00:53 - Final thoughts for Rebuttal listeners Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is this the moment the Global Elite officially declared war on America First?  A secret, closed-door meeting in Toronto just blew the lid off a massive international chess match—and it involves former President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and a coordinated globalist network operating right on America's doorstep. When Mark Carney posted a video of a handshake with Obama, the internet absolutely exploded. While the mainstream media calls it a routine speaking engagement, the truth is far more explosive. This wasn't a friendly visit; it was a high-level "war council" packed with global elites, Clinton-Obama operatives, and international billionaires strategizing on how to crush the populist wave sweeping the West. The epicenter of this gathering? A closed-press gala hosted by Canada 2020—the powerful progressive think tank acting as the literal spine of the Canadian Liberal establishment—paired with the Global Progress Action Summit, co-hosted alongside Washington's influential Center for American Progress (CAP) Action Fund. Backed by the Open Society Institute funding architecture and heavily staffed with World Economic Forum (WEF) alumni, this massive apparatus is no longer operating in the shadows. In this deep-dive episode, we pull back the curtain on the multi-billion-dollar trade rift, escalating 50% tariffs, and Donald Trump's shocking suggestion that Canada become the 51st state. Inside this episode, we break down: The Handshake Scandal: Why the American Right is demanding arrests over Logan Act violations while the Left claims "nothing to see here." The Institutional Blueprint: How Canada 2020 and the Center for American Progress convened a "war council with catering," drawing in heads of state, top-tier 2028 U.S. presidential prospects, and intelligence alumni. The Ultimate Showdown: How Prime Minister Mark Carney—a Goldman Sachs alumnus, Bilderberg Group member, and WEF board member—is leveraging transnational networks to lead the international resistance against Trump. The July 1st CUSMCA Deadline: The ticking economic time bomb that could strip tariff exemptions from 90% of Canadian exports and send shockwaves through American supply chains. The Hidden Strategy: The globalist ecosystem's plan of exhaustion, replication, and entrapment designed to bypass domestic voter mandates and outlast the nationalist movement. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 01:12 - A Silent Coup? 02:08 - The 4 Layers of Trump's Assault on Canada 04:50 - The Ronald Reagan Ad That Broke Negotiations 06:04 - Mark Carney / Ultimate Globalist 07:51 - Carney's Davos Speech: An Iron Curtain for the West 09:42 - The Blackout Gala 11:44 - The Globalist War Council Exposed 14:41 - The CUSMCA Ticking Time Bomb 16:56 - Logan Act Violations & Political Double Standards 22:03 - Washington's Secret Backchannel Punishment 23:47 - The Global Elite's Hidden Interdependence Trap 26:44 - The 3-Step Strategy to Destroy America First 29:27 - Who Truly Holds the Power? They are no longer hiding. They are operating in plain sight. Tune in to find out where the power really lives, who is holding the ultimate leverage, and what this means for the future of the free world. Don't forget to LIKE, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE to stay ahead of the narrative! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stay connected with us at americangroundradio.com, on Facebook, and Instagram. You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for May 20, 2026. We open with what may be the most consequential immigration enforcement move in American history — and it has nothing to do with border walls or patrol agents. President Trump signed a new executive order directing the Treasury Department to scrutinize all financial activity tied to illegal immigration — targeting payroll tax evasion, hidden bank accounts, labor trafficking networks, underground cash economies, and the remittance systems that funnel billions of American dollars back to Mexico and other countries. We explain why going after the money is more powerful than any physical barrier, why Willie Sutton's famous explanation for robbing banks applies perfectly to why illegal immigration exploded, and why choking the financial infrastructure of the entire illegal immigration machine may be Trump's most consequential domestic policy move of either term. In our Top 3 Things You Need to Know, Thomas Massey lost his Kentucky congressional primary to former Navy SEAL Ed Gowran — in the most expensive House primary in American history at $25.6 million — after Trump endorsed Gowran and a district that voted for Trump by 85% finally ran out of patience with a congressman who spent his career blocking the agenda they elected him to advance. We note that Massey primaried himself out. Then Trump endorsed Texas AG Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a Senate runoff — and we raise the concern that while Paxton may win the primary, he may be a harder sell in the general against Democrat James Tallarico. And Alabama's gubernatorial race will be a Tuberville-Doug Jones rematch — and we think Tuberville wins easily as Kay Ivey is term limited out. Our American Mamas Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson tackle the question of whether women have forgotten how to age gracefully in America — from Demi Moore's skin-and-bones appearance at the Met Gala to Madonna's increasingly alarming transformations, from Lori Loughlin's well-done facelift to Helen Mirren as the gold standard of graceful aging. We also get into the GLP-1 revolution, the body positivity pendulum that swung hard in the other direction, and whether there is still room in American culture for a woman to be beautiful, powerful, and visibly her age at the same time. We play the Hakeem Jeffries clip from the Center for American Progress that should alarm every American regardless of party — the House Minority Leader saying out loud that the goal of House Democrats is not to persuade MAGA voters but to break them and break their spirit. We explain why that language is not just offensive but genuinely dangerous — because when the goal of politics shifts from persuasion to breaking half of your fellow citizens, you have crossed into territory that leads somewhere nobody should want to go. In our Digging Deep segment, the NAACP has launched a website called Out of Bounds urging black high school athletes to boycott colleges in the South — Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Clemson, Tennessee, Texas, and Texas A&M — because those states are redrawing congressional districts without race as a primary factor following the Supreme Court's ruling. We call it what it is — the NAACP demanding that 17-year-old black athletes from struggling families sacrifice life-changing scholarships for the Democrat Party's political agenda. No one's right to vote has been suppressed. Every vote still counts exactly one. The Supreme Court said you cannot draw districts based on race — and that is equal protection, not suppression. We also cover California's bizarre new rule allowing a biological female who finishes behind a transgender athlete to share the podium spot with the winner — which we describe as a participation trophy that accidentally acknowledges the injustice without having the courage to fix it. And the mother of the transgender athlete who won the race is upset about the rule. We note that the girl is the problem, apparently. For our Bright Spot, J.D. Vance filled in at the White House press briefing after the mosque attack in San Diego and was asked about religious violence in America. We play his answer in full — because it is one of the most theologically and constitutionally precise defenses of religious liberty we have heard from any public official in years. The right to find God through your own free will is the first right in the Constitution because you cannot force anyone to it. Violence against religious freedom is a violation of the laws of God, not just the laws of man. We call it a bright spot and mean it. And we close with 10-year-old Ernesto Hernandez — who wanted a 3D printer, whose mom told him to save up and buy it himself, who did chores until he had $500, bought the printer, started making keychains and fidget spinners, now runs three printers full time, is selling in local stores, and says he wants to invest in a house for his mom and him when he grows up. May your pursuit of happiness bring you joy. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing virtually every facet of our lives. While there's a lot of doom and gloom predictions, what does a future look like if we're more intentional about using AI to actually better lives? We're sharing a recording of Chris and the New York Times' Ezra Klein's discussion at the Center for American Progress 2026 CAP IDEAS conference. They discuss what a new approach to artificial intelligence might look like–one intended to maximize AI's benefits for the public good. And for more on AI, be sure to check out "WITHpod: The AI End Game," our new special series all about the revolutionary impact of AI, right here on the WITHpod feed.  Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content from this and other shows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing virtually every facet of our lives. While there's a lot of doom and gloom predictions, what does a future look like if we're more intentional about using AI to actually better lives? We're sharing a recording of Chris and the New York Times' Ezra Klein's discussion at the Center for American Progress 2026 CAP IDEAS conference. They discuss what a new approach to artificial intelligence might look like–one intended to maximize AI's benefits for the public good. And for more on AI, be sure to check out "WITHpod: The AI End Game," a new special series all about the revolutionary impact of AI, wherever you get your podcasts.  Want more of Chris? Download and follow his podcast, “Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes podcast” wherever you get your podcasts.To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hakeem Jeffries told a room full of Democrats at the Center for American Progress conference that his plan is to "break" MAGA voters and "break their spirit" — while Gavin Newsom melted down calling for Democrats to "fight fire with fire." Abigail Spanberger announced an executive order banning ICE from Virginia polling places, Chuck Schumer called voter ID "Jim Crow 2.0," and Mike Johnson summed it all up perfectly. Pledge to protect Social Security at https://aarp.org/WeEarnedIt SHOP OUR MERCH: https://store.townhallmedia.com/ BUY A LARRY MUG: https://store.townhallmedia.com/products/larry-mug Watch LARRY with Larry O'Connor LIVE — Monday-Thursday at 12PM Eastern on YouTube, Facebook, & Rumble! Find LARRY with Larry O'Connor wherever you get your podcasts! SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/7i8F7K4fqIDmqZSIHJNhMh?si=814ce2f8478944c0&nd=1&dlsi=e799ca22e81b456f APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/larry/id1730596733 Become a Townhall VIP Member today and use promo code LARRY for 50% off: https://townhall.com/subscribe?tpcc=poddescription https://townhall.com/ https://rumble.com/c/c-5769468 https://www.facebook.com/townhallcom/ https://www.instagram.com/townhallmedia/ https://twitter.com/townhallcomBecome a Townhall VIP member with promo code "LARRY": https://townhall.com/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spam represents nearly half of all global email traffic, from obnoxious ads to dire warnings of impending account closures to absurd invitations to join the Illuminati (just ask our podcast producer). It is a constant, annoying part of online life, but does it have to be that way?. Understanding the efforts to address spam in the early 2000s offers lessons for how we might regulate technologies such as artificial intelligence today. On this episode, host Jason Lloyd is joined by Rebecca Coyne, who recently received her master's degree in public policy from the University of Michigan. Coyne wrote about spam policy in the Spring 2026 issue, in an article titled “Spam Policy and the Myth of the Ungovernable Internet.” Resources:Read “Spam Policy and the Myth of the Ungovernable Internet” by Rebecca Coyne, from our Spring 2026 issue. Learn more about the early internet by reading “A Prehistory of Social Media” by Kevin Driscoll, and listen to his podcast episode. Check out Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet by Finn Burton for more on the history of spam, and read this article to learn about the vigilante hijinks during the “spam wars.” For more on AI regulation, read “The Mirage of AI Deregulation” by Alondra Nelson in Science and “Moratoriums and Federal Preemption of State Artificial Intelligence Laws Pose Serious Risks,” a report from the Center for American Progress.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Matt Duss and Zuri Linetsky about the destabilizing nature of the Abraham Accords; the evolution of the security dilemma and how integration may drive destabilization by fostering aggressive behavior; and whether the Abraham Accords undermined the reinstatement of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - the Iran nuclear deal) by the Biden Administration. Also see: How the Abraham Accords Fueled A New Era of Conflict (Foreign Policy, May 2026), by Matt Duss and Zuri Linetsky; The End of the Axis of Abraham (Foreign Affairs, May 2026), by H. A. Hellyer. Matt Duss is the Executive VP at the Center for International Policy. Before joining CIP, Duss was a visiting scholar in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. From 2017-22, Duss was foreign policy advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt). From 2014-17, Duss was the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. From 2008-14 Duss was a National Security and International Policy analyst at the Center for American Progress. Zuri Linetsky is head of research and analytics for Dandelion Works and an expert on geopolitics and international security. Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. He is an advisory board member of the US Campaign for Palestinian rights, co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books) and is currently writing a book about Palestine. He also currently serves on the board of the Independence Media Foundation. His work has been published in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Nation, and elsewhere. He earned a BA at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP at Harvard University. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com and on X at @AhmedMoor.

Tom Moore, from the Center for American Progress, explains a bill that passed to limit corporate influence in elections; singer-songwriter Jack Johnson teases the debut of his new documentary film.

The improbable but true story of how non-profits operating a private intelligence agency to combat terrorism decided to interfere with campaign infrastructure in a U.S. election.This piece includes original public interest reporting, following on the previous episode on how the Southern Poverty Law Center became financial infrastructure. If you have previously read Bits about Money's reporting on this subject, note there are two major additions here: 1) direct evidence of interference in campaign infrastructure for a declared candidate in a U.S. election, which was newly developed after our original reporting and 2) responses (and lack thereof) from the non-profits at issue.–Full transcript available here: www.complexsystemspodcast.com/defendant-censor-politico-spy/–Presenting Sponsors: Mercury, Granola & MeterComplex Systems is presented by Mercury—radically better banking for founders. Mercury offers the best wire experience anywhere: fast, reliable, and free for domestic U.S. wires, so you can stay focused on growing your business. Apply online in minutes at mercury.com.If meetings consistently leave you with hazy action items and lost context, Granola handles the transcription so you can actually participate and gives you searchable notes afterward. Try it free at granola.ai/complexsystems with code COMPLEXSYSTEMSNetworking infrastructure has a way of accumulating technical debt faster than almost anything else in IT. Meter handles the full stack (wired, wireless, and cellular) as a single integrated solution: designed, deployed, and managed end-to-end so there's only one vendor to call when something goes wrong. Visit meter.com/complexsystems to book a demo.–Links:Notes on a non-profit indicted for bank fraud (Bits about Money): https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/nonprofit-indicted-bank-fraud/ –Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(02:50) The coordinated pressure campaign, as experienced by industry(08:13) The coordinated pressure campaign, as narrated by its authors(08:36) Mid-2017: Color of Change dialogue with PayPal begins(09:27) August 11, 2017: Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally(10:58) August 21, 2017: JPMorgan Chase Foundation donates $500k to the SPLC(11:44) 2018: SPLC organizes Change the Terms, which becomes the coalition's nucleus(19:07) March 2021: Color of Change describes the meetings on a podcast(21:42) A brief interlude about causality and communications strategy(22:58) The coalition targets politicians in nonpartisan fashion(28:20) Early 2020: The SPLC describes this campaign to Congress(31:26) June 2020: Widespread protests throughout America; National Guard, Facebook deployed(35:33) July 29, 2020: Antitrust Committee hearing about market power(38:05) January 6, 2021: A riot at the Capitol(42:51) February 25, 2021: The SPLC lobbies Congress to require companies to inform on nonprofits and others to government(44:49) June 4, 2021: Facebook rescinds newsworthiness exception to multiple policies(45:22) July 2021: The Change the Terms coalition attempts nonpartisan interdiction of Trump PAC fundraising(48:16) Later in 2021: Coalition members fundraise in reliance upon this conduct(50:52) 2022 to present: The Change the Terms coalition evolves posture(52:10) January 2023: Change the Terms intervenes in its own name against a declared candidate for the presidency(53:53) A brief parable about maintaining tax-exempt status (55:30) We have invited coalition participants to comment(57:50) We received a statement from the Center for American Progress(01:02:43) No other member of the coalition offered any comment(01:03:13) The moral authority of charities is a commons

“White men are 29 percent of the population but hold 90 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions, 90 percent of venture capital, and 98 percent of all money managed by money managers. Is that because they're smarter? Or is it because there is preference, inequality, and active bias in favor of white men?” — Steve Phillips Are white men really smarter than other Americans? Some white men might think so, but few others are convinced. Especially the Stanford educated Steve Phillips whose new book, Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else? is designed to “play offense” in the fight for American racial justice. The title of Phillips's new book is, of course, a provocation. White men are 29 percent of the population, he tells us, but hold 90 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions, 90 percent of venture capital, and 98 percent of all investment funds managed by money managers. Is that really because they're smarter than everybody else? Or is it because the system is biased in favor of white dudes who graduated from Harvard, Princeton and Stanford. After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Phillips argues, there was, albeit all-too-briefly, broad agreement that systemic racism existed and needed to be addressed. Then came the 2024 election and the MAGA war against DEI. It's time to fight back, Phillips says. Rather than defending affirmative action, Phillips says that the question is why, in the richest country in the world, white men hold 90 percent of the power when they are only 29 percent of the population. Until that mathematical inconsistency is explained, there's no point in pretending that the arc of American history bends toward justice. Five Takeaways •       29 Percent of the Population, 90 Percent of the Power: The book's central data point. White men are 29 percent of the US population. They hold 90 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions. They receive 90 percent of venture capital funding. They manage 98 percent of all investment money in the country. Phillips's argument: you don't need to allege conscious racism to explain this. You just need to acknowledge that a system shaped by centuries of exclusion doesn't self-correct. The question the title asks is the question nobody wants to answer: if the system is meritocratic, why do these numbers look like this? Either white men are smarter than everybody else, or the system is not meritocratic. •       Playing Offense: The book began as a study of what happened to the post-George Floyd consensus. The broad agreement that systemic racism existed — widespread in June 2020 — dissolved within months. By 2024, the political momentum had reversed entirely. Phillips's diagnosis: the left spent the intervening years playing defense — defending DEI, defending affirmative action, defending the language of equity. The result was a retreat. His prescription: stop defending programmes and start prosecuting the inequality. Make the other side explain the numbers. Reframe the question from “should we have DEI?” to “why do white men hold 90 percent of the power?” •       The Biker Gang Analogy: To the objection — common from white Americans — that they personally didn't create the racial wealth gap: Phillips offers the biker gang. A gang comes into someone's house, takes all the resources, occupies the house, and passes it on to their children. The children can say: I didn't do anything. But they inherited a structurally unequal situation. The GI Bill after World War II gave billions of dollars in wealth-building to white Americans while largely excluding people of color. The average white family has more than ten times the assets of the average black family. “I didn't do it” is not the same as “I don't benefit from it.” •       The Confederates Never Stopped Fighting: Phillips's underlying argument: the division in American politics is not left vs. right. It is an existential question that has never been resolved — is this a white country, or is this a multiracial democracy? The Confederates and their ideological heirs never conceded the answer. White fear and resentment at equality is the single most consistent driving force in Republican politics since 1965, the year Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act and no Democratic presidential candidate has won the majority of the white vote since. •       America Can't Pass a Bill to Study Reparations: The wealth of the United States was created by the labour of enslaved black people and on land taken from Native Americans. Banks and insurance companies trace their original capital to the bodies and labour of enslaved people. The racial wealth gap is the direct structural consequence of that history. Congress has repeatedly failed to pass a bill not to pay reparations, but merely to study the question. Not a single vote to begin the conversation. Until America can have that conversation, it hasn't begun to confront what is owed. About the Guest Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color and the author of Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?, How We Won the Civil War, and Brown Is the New White. He is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a former San Francisco school board president. References: •       Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else? Playing Offense in the Fight for Racial Justice in America by Steve Phillips. •       Democracy in Color — Phillips's organisation focused on race and politics. •       Episode 2883: Melvin Patrick Ely on A Terrible Intimacy — the companion episode on interracial life in the slaveholding South that immediately precedes this one. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,900 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters: (00:30) - Introduction: from slavery to the present — has anything changed? (01:11) - The short answer: no. And what it took to end slavery. (02:03) - Why the racial wealth gap persists (03:26) - The Confederates never stopped f...

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First: As millions of Americans filed their 2025 taxes this past week - a discussion with Wall Street Journal reporter Richard Rubin about how the Trump administration is actually scaling back tax enforcement. Then: Congressional hearings began this week on the President's 2027 budget request – including $1.5 Trillion dollars for defense spending. We'll dig into the numbers with Bobby Kogan of the Center for American Progress and Veronique de Rugy from the Mercatus Center. Finally: we end with a conversation with writer and truck driver - Gord Magill on his new book "End of the Road: Inside the War on Truckers." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The wellness industry has a problem, and Ezekiel Emanuel is one of the few people willing to call it out. In his new book, Eat Your Ice Cream: A Contrarian’s Guide to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier, the bioethicist, oncologist, and former White House health advisor challenges both the influencers selling unproven supplements and the culture of wellness-as-self-punishment. In this episode, Emanuel makes a compelling research-backed case that the single most powerful determinant of health, longevity, and happiness is social connection, not sleep scores, protein intake, or VO2 max. Drawing on the Harvard Adult Development Study, the longitudinal study, going strong after 88 years, and other research worldwide, he explains why loneliness is biologically dangerous, and why doctors almost never ask about it. He also makes important points about retirement. When 40 hours of purposeful work becomes 40 hours of passive television, the brain pays a price. Emanuel argues that retirement requires deliberate design to replace the cognitive challenge, social contact, and structured schedule that work once provided. And he offers Ben Franklin, inventor of bifocals at 79, and still inventing at 81, as a model for what staying fully alive in later life actually looks like. Ezekiel Emanuel joins us from Washington, DC. ________________________ For More on Ezekiel Emanuel Eat Your Ice Cream: A Contrarian’s Guide to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier Website ________________________ Bio Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, is the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor. An oncologist and world leader in health policy and bioethics, he is a Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was the founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health and held that position until August 2011. From 2009 to 2011, he served as a Special Advisor on Health Policy to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and National Economic Council. In this role, he was instrumental in drafting the Affordable Care Act. Dr. Emanuel is the most widely cited bioethicist in history. He has over 350 publications and has authored or edited 15 books. His recent publications include Which Country Has the World's Best Health Care (2020), Prescription for the Future (2017), Reinventing American Health Care: How the Affordable Care Act Will Improve our Terribly Complex, Blatantly Unjust, Outrageously Expensive, Grossly Inefficient, Error Prone System (2014) and Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family (2013). In 2008, he published Healthcare, Guaranteed: A Simple, Secure Solution for America, which included his own recommendations for health care reform.Dr. Emanuel regularly contributes to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic and often appears on BBC, NPR, CNN, MS NOW and other media outlets. He has received numerous awards, including election to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Science and awards from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, and the Royal College of Medicine (UK). He has been named a Dan David Prize Laureate in Bioethics and is a recipient of the AMA-Burroughs Wellcome Leadership Award, the Public Service Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation David E. Rogers Award, the President's Medal for Social Justice from Roosevelt University, and the John Mendelsohn Award from the MD Anderson Cancer Center, as well as honorary degrees from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Union Graduate College, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Macalester College. Dr. Emanuel is a graduate of Amherst College. He holds a M.Sc. from Oxford University in Biochemistry and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Harvard University. ________________________ Retirement Podcast Conversations You’ll Also Love   The Good Life – Marc Schulz, PhD Retiring: Creating a Life That Works for You – Teresa Amabile How Not to Age – Dr. Michael Greger _________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You'll get smarter about the investment decisions you'll make about the most important asset you'll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren't quite done yet, discover what's next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn't just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master's degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 2 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He's the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. __________________________ Wise Quotes On Wellness “Wellness should be about joie de vivre — about joy in life. It should not be only self-deprivation…Most of wellness is about don’t do stupid stuff — and most of it, we already know.” On Retirement “Most people when 40 hours of work drops out, 40 hours of TV comes in. Very passive. Not very intellectually challenging. That’s not retirement — that’s a slow decline…We don’t spend nearly enough time thinking about the brain part of retirement. Your brain is probably more important than your money.” On Willpower vs. Habits “If you have to use your willpower every time you do something, you can forget it. You have to make the wellness activity part of your habit. Doing it three to four times a week for about six weeks, that’s about what you need for a new activity to become ingrained.”  

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with foreign policy analyst Matt Duss about whether the US has lost the war on Iran and whether the Israelis drove the US's entry into the war. They talk about prospects for Democratic party intervention on the war and the ways in which US policy towards Israel may be changed over time, looking at party politics as well as elections. Matthew Duss is Executive Vice-President at the Center for International Policy. Before joining CIP, Duss was a visiting scholar in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. From 2017-22, Duss was foreign policy advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt). From 2014-17, Duss was the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. From 2008-14 Duss was a National Security and International Policy analyst at the Center for American Progress. Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. He is an advisory board member of the US Campaign for Palestinian rights, co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books) and is currently writing a book about Palestine. He also currently serves on the board of the Independence Media Foundation. His work has been published in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Nation, and elsewhere. He earned a BA at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP at Harvard University. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com and on X at @AhmedMoor. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

When we recorded this episode two weeks ago, we knew that the Supreme Court was planning on releasing a judgment in Chiles v. Salazar — to decide whether Colorado's law banning conversion therapy (which is similar to laws in 22 other states) likely violated the First Amendment. We thought the decision might come in June. But it fell last week like a hammer, and has the potential to undo years of advocacy to ban treatments that have tried to "ungay" thousands of kids, teens, and adults. The judgment is devastating. But it also reminds us that just because a treatment is "legal" doesn't mean it's ethical — or even that it works. (It doesn't!) Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez endured years of conversion therapy, and joins the pod to talk about the real psychological harms it inflicts, and answer all of your excellent questions about how to spot a therapist using low-key conversion tactics, how to make sure kids growing up in high-control anti-gay environments know you're a safe person, and why this therapy persists despite so much evidence that it doesn't work. This is a hard episode — but an important one. GREAT NEWS: WE HAVE VERY GOOD EPISODE TRANSCRIPTS NOW! They come out within 24 hours of the pod — just come back and click here. We pay an actual human for help with these, so thank you for either being a paid subscriber or listening to the ads that make this model possible!If you're a paid subscriber and haven't yet set up your subscriber RSS feed in your podcast player, here's the EXTREMELY easy how-to .And if you're having any other issues with your Patreon subscription — please get in touch! Email me at annehelenpetersen @ gmail OR submit a request to Patreon Support. Thanks to the sponsors of today's episode!Get $35 off your first box of wild-caught, sustainable seafood—delivered right to your door. Go to:  https://www.wildalaskan.com/CULTUREOllie. Feed the Obsession. Go to ollie.com/culture and use code culture to get 60% off your first box!Thanks to Article for sponsoring this podcast! If you're in the market for a beautiful new sofa, dining table or bed, head over to https://www.article.com/Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to Zocdoc.com/CULTURE to find and instantly book a doctor you love today.Show Notes:Pre-order Conversion Therapy Dropout here: https://bookshop.org/a/56144/9798889835431 Follow Timothy on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/timothy.s.rodriguez/Subscribe to Timothy's newsletter here: https://timothysrodriguez.substack.comThe Center for American Progress report on the Trump administration's efforts to rebrand conversion therapy: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-trump-administrations-campaign-to-rebrand-conversion-practices-puts-lgbtqi-communities-at-risk/A solid overview of some of the ramifications of deeming therapy as protected free speech: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2026/03/chiles-salazar-therapy-free-speechExodus International disbanded in 2013 and released a statement that conversion therapy doesn't actually work: https://www.npr.org/2013/06/20/193965227/group-that-claimed-to-cure-gays-disbands-leader-apologizesFor anyone who needs it, Tim recommends the Q Christian Fellowship, which provides resources for LGBTQ+ Christians - https://www.qchristian.orgMelody's other podcast, Strict Scrutiny, recorded an emergency episode about the opinion, its complications, and its ramifications: https://crooked.com/podcast/scotus-not-cool-with-colorado-ban-on-conversion-therapy/We're currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:WHITE LADY HAIR! Cultural critic Sarah Mesle will be joining us to talk about her new book Tangled: Seven Iconic Moments in White Women's Hair and What They Tell Us About Power, Pleasure, and Complicity. If there's a white lady whose hair interests you, I guarantee you it interests Sarah, too. We can talk about specific celebrity/actress haircuts but also specific styles/trends. I cannot wait for this one. EMILY BLUNT! (and secondary characters becoming primary ones!) with Xochitl Gonzalez — obvi we're gonna talk a lot about Devil Wears Prada and 2000s-era striving but you can take this in so many directions BOOMER MOMS! Tracy Clark-Flory and I need your questions about why boomer moms (very broad designation here, I realize) are the way they are — we're specifically going to talk about the constrictions of growing up in '60s/'70s U.S., particularly around femininity, race, education, body image, employment, and motherhood. This one's gonna be really good, I know it. INTERGENERATIONAL FRIENDSHIP with Andrew Sean Greer, author of Less (and Villa Coco, a new book with an intergenerational friendship at its center). You can ask questions about how to find intergenerational friends, how to sustain those friendships, what people seem to love so much about them, wherever your heart takes you. HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH A CITY with Lilah Raptopoulos, editor of the Financial Times city life vertical. We're going to talk about how to fall in love with cities WHILE VISITING (for fun, for vacation, for work) and how to fall in love with the city where you currently live. What tips do you want? What city are you struggling to fall in love with? Anything you need advice for/want musings about for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything, it's literally the name of the segment.As always, you can submit your questions (and ideas for future eps) hereFor this week's discussion: If you have additional advice on how to highlight that you're a safe person for kids who are growing up in repressive/anti-gay homes, we'd love to hear it.

In this weekend's episode, we're featuring three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First: We hear from Global Affairs Journalist Elise Labott on President Trump's address to the nation Thursday night on Iran – and what she's watching in the days ahead as the conflict continues. Then: we look to the skies with Space journalist Kristin Fisher on the future of space exploration with this week's launch of the Artemis II manned rocket. Finally, it's been a year since President Trump announced his "Liberation Day" tariffs. We take a closer look at the impact of the President's tariffs agenda on the economy with Jeff Ferry of the Coalition for a Prosperous America and Michael Negron of the Center for American Progress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 2010, in the campaign finance case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, SCOTUS ruled in favor of Citizens United stating that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions. This then opened the door to unlimited political spending by corporations and outside groups, ultimately reshaping our elections.  Craig welcomes Tom Moore, Senior Fellow for Democracy Policy at the Center for American Progress, to discuss the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. Craig & Tom take a look at the impact of this SCOTUS ruling over 16 years, and in an election year, how a state's authority over corporations can take out dark money in politics.   Mentioned in this Episode: Transparent Election Initiative The Montana Plan

Imagine a blueprint for reshaping America's government, drawn up by conservative powerhouses like the Heritage Foundation and now unfolding in real time. Project 2025, launched in April 2023 as a 900-plus-page manifesto, aimed to dismantle what its authors call the "administrative state" and consolidate power in the presidency. According to the Heritage Foundation's own documentation, it promises a "180-day playbook" of executive orders ready for "Day One" of a new Republican administration, starting January 20, 2025.Fast forward to today: President Donald Trump has embraced core elements, with his Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency accelerating cuts. Government Executive reports agencies like the IRS have gutted 75% of their civil rights offices through reductions in force, while the Agriculture Department shutters its D.C. headquarters and field offices. A White House fact sheet boasts Trump signed an executive order remaking the federal workforce, reinstating Schedule F to strip protections from up to 500,000 career employees, turning policy roles into at-will political posts.Key proposals target federal agencies head-on. The plan calls for abolishing the Department of Education, handing education oversight to states, and eliminating the Department of Homeland Security, privatizing the TSA—agencies born from 9/11's ashes, as AFGE warns, risking national security. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission face erasure, shrinking antitrust enforcement. The DOJ and FBI would fall under direct presidential control, rooted in unitary executive theory, which the Center for American Progress labels an "absolutist view" that shreds checks and balances.Proponents, like Heritage, argue this restores efficiency: "Maximize presidential control to implement conservative priorities," including corporate tax cuts, a flat income tax, and slashing Medicare and Medicaid. Critics, including the National Federation of Federal Employees, decry it as politicizing civil service for "personal and political gain," potentially firing a million workers and ending public unions.These changes ripple outward, from privatizing CDC labs—splitting data from policy, per Project 2025—to blocking DEI hiring and reinstating discriminatory tests. NAACP Legal Defense Fund tracks how executive actions curb civil rights.As agencies submit RIF plans by April deadlines, the real test looms: court battles and midterm elections. Will this ambition hold, or fracture under scrutiny? Tune in next week for updates. Thanks for listening.Some great Deals https://amzn.to/49SJ3QsFor more check out http://www.quietplease.aiThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

On the latest episode of Rising Tide, hosts David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols-Goldstein sit down with Angelo Villagomez, Senior Ocean Fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington D.C. — a man who has spent his career turning conviction into policy at the edges of the map.A longtime activist and advocate for community and indigenous governance, Villagomez was a central force behind the establishment of the Mariana Trench National Marine Monument, doing the hard, unglamorous work of coalition-building from the ground up while based in Saipan, deep in the western Pacific.The conversation turns, as it must, to the present dangers. The Trump administration has set its sights on the nation's marine monuments, thrown open the door to deep-sea mining with reckless enthusiasm, and pursued what can only be described as a vendetta against offshore wind — apparently terrified of a wind-spill — while greasing every available skid for oil and gas expansion. Meanwhile, the institutional backbone of American ocean science, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is being quietly hollowed out from within.But Villagomez and his hosts don't stop at the diagnosis. The episode maps a course forward — from protecting local waters to hitting the streets (signs reading "No Kings but king salmon" are apparently optional but encouraged), registering to vote, and casting ballots with the ocean in mind come November.If information is a weapon for positive change, this conversation is live ammunition.Additional ResourcesBlue Frontier / Substack — Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.Inland Ocean Coalition — Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protectionFluid Studios — Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

With the war in Iran dragging on, its ripple effects are being felt around the world. Beyond the clear questions around regional security, stretching from the Middle East to Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, we are also in the midst of what could be an unprecedented and escalating global energy crisis as strikes on international shipping in the strait of Hormuz, which is critical to the oil and gas industry, have essentially shut this vital chokepoint. The war is also testing transatlantic unity, as President Trump warned in a recent interview with the Financial Times that “it will be very bad for the future of NATO” if European nations do not join the US in reopening the strait of Hormuz. So far, the message from European leaders is that this isn't Europe's war. Despite this message, developments in the Middle East impact Europe, and the case of Cyprus is not only raising questions in Brussels about the EU's ability to defend its own members, but in Washington as well, where the recent targeting of Cyprus is renewing efforts to permanently end the Cyprus arms embargo. Ian Lesser, Zissis Marmarelis, Damian Murphy, and Endy Zemenides join Thanos Davelis this week as we look into Trump's calls for Europe to join the US in the Straits of Hormuz, the unfolding global energy crisis and what it means for Greece, and why now is the time to end the Cyprus arms embargo. Taking us to our “I am HALC” segment, we're highlighting Lexy Prodromos, an emerging leader in the Greek-American community, where she is part of HALC's class of Leadership 2030 fellows, and a recognized leader when it comes to blockchain technology who is now making waves both in the US and internationally as COO at the Prodromos Stem Cell Institute. A little more info on our guests: Ian Lesser is the vice president and Brussels chief of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Dr. Zissis Marmarelis is a Stavros Niarchos Foundation Academy Fellow at Chatham House with a focus on the geopolitics of energy. Damian Murphy is the senior vice president for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress. Endy Zemenides is HALC's executive director. You can support The Greek Current by joining HALC as a member here.

Now with more than half of the measures in Project 2025 implemented by the Trump administration, The Heritage Foundation is now looking to roll back the rights of American women; The New York Times' Maureen Farrell discusses her new reporting on Jared Kushner's attempt to raise billions for his private equity firm from foreign governments, despite serving as an envoy for President Trump; and Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly makes the case for why she should be the next U.S. senator from Illinois. To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Republicans and the Supreme Court have put basically no guardrails on Trump, so he started a global war that is costing taxpayers $1 billion a day. He shrugs about soldiers dying, and he lies about the school full of children that Americans likely killed. And he's downright giddy that because he signed off on all the bombing of Iran, he may get to choose the country's new leader. At the same time, one of the few occasions when Republicans stood up to him resulted in the firing of his first Cabinet member, the scandalous Kristi Noem. Plus, new job loss numbers show how Trump continues to hurt the working class, fuel prices are rising, the administration is again helping Russia in its war on Ukraine, Rand Paul may have an issue with Noem's chosen successor, and have the Dems' chances of retaking the Senate improved?Neera Tanden, with the Center for American Progress, joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.show notes The Center for American Progress web site Catherine on Trump's warflation NPR on Neera's OMB nomination being pulled because of her tweets about GOP senators Follow "Bulwark Takes" for breaking news coverage over the weekend Tim's playlist Tickets for our LIVE show in Austin on March 19: TheBulwark.com/Events.

In this episode of The Horn, Alan is joined by H. A. Hellyer, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, to explore what's behind the rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the competing visions of regional order driving it. They examine where tensions have emerged most sharply, including in Yemen and Sudan, and what these flashpoints reveal about each country's red lines and regional strategy. They look at how, despite the dispute, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are coordinating their response to Iran's attacks on Gulf states following U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran. They also discuss what Saudi-UAE détente might look like, whether Riyadh and Abu Dhabi can manage their disagreements, including over Sudan, if they are unable to fully resolve them and how countries in the Horn of Africa can avoid being drawn into the rivalry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send a textHow dangerous is loneliness to your health? In this clip from our episode “The Wellness Industry Is Misleading You”, host John Driscoll speaks with Zeke Emanuel about the data linking close friendships to longer life, including research showing significantly higher mortality among those with few close relationships.Listen to the full episode here

Welcome to another episode of “On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir.” Today's guest is Abdülhamit Bilici, a veteran journalist, editor, commentator, and media executive with over 25 years of experience in journalism, editorial leadership, and international affairs. He served as CEO of Zaman Media Group until its seizure by the Turkish government in March 2016, after which he went into exile in the United States. In this episode, Alon and Hamit discuss the current war on Iran's impact on Turkey, what role Turkey may play in trying to find an end to the current conflict, and how this and other regional conflicts impact Turkish domestic issues, particularly in relation to the Kurds. Full bio Abdülhamit Bilici is a veteran journalist, editor, commentator, and media executive with over 25 years of experience in journalism, editorial leadership, and international affairs. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of Zaman, formerly Turkey's highest-circulating newspaper, and later as CEO of Zaman Media Group, which included Today's Zaman (English-language daily), Cihan News Agency, and Aksiyon weekly news magazine. From 2008 to 2015, he was General Manager of Cihan News Agency, known for its extensive video news coverage and trusted election reporting across the country. As a columnist for Zaman and Today's Zaman, Bilici wrote on Turkish foreign policy, domestic politics, and broader international developments. He also hosted a political affairs TV program, Democracy Watch, and participated in many national and international news broadcasts. Following the government seizure and closure of Zaman and its affiliated outlets in March 2016, Bilici went into exile in the United States. Since then, he has continued to write, speak, and provide analysis on press freedom, democratic backsliding, and human rights in Turkey. He recently testified before the U.S. Congress, sharing firsthand experience of media repression and institutional erosion under the current Turkish government. He has also spoken at prominent platforms such as the Middle East Institute, Center for American Progress, World Affairs Councils of America, and Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. As part of his outreach, he has addressed more than 20 World Affairs Councils across the U.S. and delivered lectures at Niagara University, Clemson University, University of Central Oklahoma, Elizabethtown College, and others. In addition to his writing in the Miami Herald, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and other publications, Bilici regularly appears in international media including CBS News, NPR, Al Jazeera, Sky News Arabic, and Voice of America. He has been interviewed on a wide range of topics including press freedom, political polarization, and Turkey's role in global affairs. Since 2021, he has co-hosted the weekly YouTube program Kum Saati, where he and his guests explore political, intellectual, and historical topics relevant to Turkey and the wider region. The show provides in-depth discussions on democratic values, identity, power, and public memory, drawing a growing audience of Turkish-speaking viewers around the world. Throughout his career, Bilici has conducted interviews with high-level political leaders, including former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Israeli President Shimon Peres, and Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine Othmani. He holds a BA in Political Science and International Affairs from Boğaziçi University, an MA in International Relations from Istanbul University, and an MBA from Fatih University. He is currently completing a PhD in International Relations, with research focusing on the intersection of media, power, and democratic institutions. Drawing on his firsthand experience as a journalist, editor, and political exile, Hamit Bilici continues to engage in public dialogue on freedom of expression, democratic resilience, and the risks posed by authoritarian governance.

Send a textThe wellness industry is booming, but is it actually helping people live better lives? With trillions spent on supplements, special diets, and longevity hacks, it raises a bigger question about what really matters for long-term health.Dr. Zeke Emanuel, Author, Eat Your Ice Cream joins CareTalk to discuss the wellness industrial complex, the health risks of loneliness, and why social connection, simple habits, and even ice cream may matter more than expensive longevity obsessions.

The UK blocks U.S. use of Diego Garcia. A British operative fights in federal court to keep a censorship nonprofit running in New York. Democrats scramble to stop ballot reviews in Georgia. And Chuck Schumer moves to elevate the Pride flag alongside Old Glory. Tara connects the dots in an episode about sovereignty, speech, and power.

A new report from the Center for American Progress projects that President Donald Trump's so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” could lead to higher federal deficits and significant losses in health care coverage. Critics argue the tax cuts primarily benefit wealthy Americans while increasing financial pressure on working-class and low-income households. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed with the latest news from a leading Black-owned & controlled media company: https://aurn.com/newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new report from the Center for American Progress projects that President Donald Trump's so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” could lead to higher federal deficits and significant losses in health care coverage. Critics argue the tax cuts primarily benefit wealthy Americans while increasing financial pressure on working-class and low-income households. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed with the latest news from a leading Black-owned & controlled media company: https://aurn.com/newsletter Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First: A conversation with Jillian Snider – a former law enforcement officer and senior fellow at the R Street Institute. We talk about ICE operations in Minneapolis – and best practices for law enforcement in the wake of another fatal shooting there. Then: Amid the fallout in Minnesota, President Trump tried to pivot back to the economy and efforts on affordability. We dig into the numbers with Natalie Baker of the Center for American Progress and Brittany Madni from the Economic Policy Innovation Center. Finally: President Trump may have backed off his threat to takeover Greenland – but relations are still frayed between the U-S and Europe. That conversation with Andrew Roth of The Guardian -- and Stefanie Bolzen of the German News channel VELT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Friday Five for January 30, 2026 Meta Announces Premium Subscriptions TikTok USDS Troubles & New Competitors FY 2026 Appropriations Bills 2025 Tax Season & H.R. 7006 CMS 2027 MA and Part D Advance Notice   Get Connected:

Estados Unidos se marcha oficialmente del Acuerdo de París el 27 de enero. Da carpetazo a toda la lucha medioambiental y en especial a la batalla contra el cambio climático. Aunque hay una buena noticia: acaba de entrar en vigor un nuevo pacto para proteger los océanos. Estados Unidos no lo ratifica y, sin embargo, 82 países, entre los que destaca China, se han unido para garantizar que allí donde está el futuro de lo que comamos y de mucha investigación clave no impere la ley del más fuerte. En este episodio hablamos con Frances Colón, investigadora principal del Center for American Progress, que describe los ataques contra la ciencia por parte de la Casa Blanca. El periodista de EL PAÍS Manuel Planelles, experto en medioambiente, da cuenta de los avances que se están llevando a cabo pese a todo. CRÉDITOS: Realiza y presenta: Ana Fuentes Diseño de sonido: Nacho Taboada Edición: Ana Ribera Coordina: José Juan Morales Dirige: Ana Alonso Sintonía: Jorge Magaz Si tienes quejas, dudas o sugerencias, escribe a defensora@elpais.es o manda un audio a +34 649362138 (no atiende llamadas).

Here's a shortened, tight one-paragraph summary:This episode of Living with Invisible Learning Challenges explores how rising health insurance premiums and government policy decisions affect everyone, while hitting neurodivergent individuals especially hard. Because many neurodivergent people rely on ongoing, specialized care, even small increases in premiums, deductibles, or cost-sharing can limit access to therapy, diagnoses, and mental health services. Drawing on research from KFF and the Center for American Progress, the episode highlights gaps in mental health parity, threats to Medicaid, and how policy choices directly shape who can afford essential care—underscoring the need for advocacy, informed decision-making, and community support.⁠https://linktr.ee/JenniferPTTS?utm_source=linktree_profile_share⁠Articles & Research Referenced (Links):Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) – Effects of premiums and cost sharing on low-income populations:https://www.kff.org/report-section/the-effects-of-premiums-and-cost-sharing-on-low-income-populations-updated-review-of-research-findings-table-3/KFF / STAT – Health insurance premiums continue to rise:https://www.statnews.com/2025/10/22/health-insurance-premiums-up-6-percent-kff-reports/Center for American Progress – The Behavioral Health Care Affordability Problem:https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-behavioral-health-care-affordability-problem/Commonwealth Fund – Behavioral health parity challenges:https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2026/behavioral-health-parity-takes-step-backward-under-trump-administrationAmerican Bar Association – Weakening Medicaid and health equity:https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/resources/human-rights/2025-october/weakening-medicaid-erodes-progress/Reuters / KFF Poll – Public support for extending ACA tax credits:https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/most-americans-back-extending-aca-tax-credits-kff-poll-shows-2025-10-03/

1.15.2026 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: MLK’s Warning Comes Alive. ICE Terror in Minneapolis. Trump Chaos Mounts. Crockett Sets Jan. 6 Straight. Tonight, as we head into the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the America Dr. King warned us about is on full display. Minnesota is currently under fire. Secretary Kristi Noem defends ICE as they intimidate residents. Immigration Attorney Yesenia Planco will join later with advice on what to do if stopped by ICE. And, speaking of ICE. A recent poll by CNN shows that America is afraid of ICE, and they aren't making cities feel safer. On Monday, a Minneapolis councilman feared for his life as ICE agents assaulted him for recording them, and just two days later, an ICE raid in the same city led to a second shooting of a man on Wednesday, following protestors and tear gas. We'll be covering it all. Trump's second term is already producing more chaos and corruption than the first, and the damage is compounding fast. The Center for American Progress is tracking it all with its new Trump Global Weakness Watch--and the senior vice president joins us to break it down. And, to add more injury, the Trump administration is laying off employees who are part of a civil rights agency founded in the 1960s with the U.S Department of Justice. While maga is trying to rewirte the history of January 6, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett sets the record straight. #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is first joined by Center for American Progress's Natasha Murphy, Director of Health Policy at the Center for American Progress.The two breakdown the latest on the efforts by Congressional Democrats to get healthcare subsidies reinstated for the over 20 million Americans who purchase their health insurance through the ACA marketplace.  Since Republicans let the credits expire at the end of last month, many families have had the cost of their premiums more than double. Then, Brad's joined by Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, an Immigration Attorney and Advocate. The pair discusses the shooting death of Renee Good, the unarmed civilian who was shot to death by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last week.  They also analyze the Trump administration's gaslighting of the facts about the shooting, including their unwarranted claims that the 37-year old poet, artist and Mother of three was a 'domestic terrorist.' Finally, they have a broader discussion on the topic of ICE, and how it has made America less safe, the opposite of what Trump promised it would do for the country. Natasha Murphy is the director of Health Policy at American Progress, where she develops and advances policy proposals to lower health care costs and improve health care coverage, affordability, and quality. Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch is also the Owner and CEO of Lincoln-Goldfinch Law. Their website is www.LincolnGoldfinch.com. Kate's handle is @AttorneyKLG on X, @attorneykatelg on Instagram, and @abogadakate on TikTok. Additionally, she's currently running for State Representative for Texas House district 50 as a Democrat. Brad is on the National Journal's panel of political insiders, is an American political analyst for The Times of India TV, and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles. Brad also writes a political column every Sunday for 'The Hill.' You can read his columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His handle on BlueSky is @bradbannon.bsky.social.

On this episode of the America's Work Force Union Podcast, Michelle Eisen, a barista and spokesperson for Starbucks Workers United, shared her experience working at Starbucks, how she witnessed the company's transformation over the years and her role in the Buffalo organizing drive that galvanized a nationwide movement. On today's episode of the America's Work Force Union Podcast, Aurelia Glass, Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress, discussed research on union support among young Americans. Glass's work focuses on the American Worker Project, which advocates for policies that make organizing easier and strengthen workers' rights.

As the number of elderly Oregonians surpasses the number of children, demand for long-term care is rising. But the workers who provide this essential care are underpaid, overworked, and leaving the industry at alarming rates. Melissa Unger, Executive Director of SEIU Local 503, which represents tens of thousands of long-term care workers across Oregon, describes the physically and emotionally demanding nature of care work, the low wages and poor benefits many workers face, and the devastating impact of high turnover on both workers and the seniors and people with disabilities they care for.The episode also explores a potential policy solution: workforce standards boards. David Madland of the Center for American Progress explains how these boards work, where they've already been implemented, and how they could help stabilize Oregon's long-term care workforce.

The Trump administration's executive order targeting state regulations on artificial intelligence is a gift to big tech. They say it eliminates a tangle of regulations that stifle innovations, while critics say gives companies freedom to do whatever they please. So what's the truth? Adam Conner of the Center for American Progress joins David Rothkopf to explore the relationship between federal and state regulations, the economic impacts of AI, and the importance of steering AI development towards a positive future for all of us.  This material is distributed by TRG Advisory Services, LLC on behalf of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the U.S.. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration's executive order targeting state regulations on artificial intelligence is a gift to big tech. They say it eliminates a tangle of regulations that stifle innovations, while critics say gives companies freedom to do whatever they please. So what's the truth? Adam Conner of the Center for American Progress joins David Rothkopf to explore the relationship between federal and state regulations, the economic impacts of AI, and the importance of steering AI development towards a positive future for all of us.  This material is distributed by TRG Advisory Services, LLC on behalf of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the U.S.. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My conversation with Dr Emanuel begins at about 34 minutes Subscribe and Watch Interviews LIVE : On YOUTUBE.com/StandUpWithPete ON SubstackStandUpWithPete Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. This show is Ad free and fully supported by listeners like you! Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 750 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous soul In Eat Your Ice Cream, renowned health expert Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel argues that life is not a competition to live the longest, and that "wellness" shouldn't be difficult; it should be an invisible part of one's lifestyle that yields maximum health benefits with the least work Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, is the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, the Co-Director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute, and the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Emanuel is an oncologist and world leader in health policy and bioethics. He is a Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, and member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  He was the founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health and held that position until August of 2011. From 2009 to 2011, he served as a Special Advisor on Health Policy to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and National Economic Council. In this role, he was instrumental in drafting the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Emanuel also served on the Biden-Harris Transition Covid Advisory Board. Dr. Emanuel is the most widely cited bioethicist in history.  He has over 350 publications and has authored or edited 15 books. His recent publications include the books Which Country Has the World's Best Health Care (2020), Prescription for the Future (2017), Reinventing American Health Care: How the Affordable Care Act Will Improve our Terribly Complex, Blatantly Unjust, Outrageously Expensive, Grossly Inefficient, Error Prone System (2014) and Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family (2013). In 2008, he published Healthcare, Guaranteed: A Simple, Secure Solution for America, which included his own recommendations for health care reform. Dr. Emanuel regularly contributes to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and often appears on BBC, NPR, CNN, MSNBC and other media outlets. He has received numerous awards including election to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, and the Royal College of Medicine (UK). He has been named a Dan David Prize Laureate in Bioethics, and is a recipient of the AMA-Burroughs Wellcome Leadership Award, the Public Service Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation David E. Rogers Award, President's Medal for Social Justice Roosevelt University, and the John Mendelsohn Award from the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Emanuel has received honorary degrees from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Union Graduate College, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Macalester College. In 2023, he became a Guggenheim Fellow. Dr. Emanuel is a graduate of Amherst College. He holds a M.Sc. from Oxford University in Biochemistry, and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his Ph.D. in political philosophy from Harvard University. On YOUTUBE.com/StandUpWithPete ON SubstackStandUpWithPete   Listen rate and review on Apple Podcasts Listen rate and review on Spotify Pete On Instagram Pete on Blue Sky Pete on Threads Pete on Tik Tok Pete on Twitter Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page All things Jon Carroll  Gift a Subscription https://www.patreon.com/PeteDominick/gift Send Pete $ Directly on Venmo  

Big Boss Trump, who claims the power to run the whole government via executive order and pushes all our allies around, suddenly is a man with no agency when it comes to the economy. He says the high cost of living is a Democratic hoax, or in true Christmas spirit, he's back to blaming parents for spoiling their daughters with too many dolls. And while his approval rating slips into the the 30s, voters keep rewarding Democrats at the ballot box. On the healthcare front, Republicans have been promising an alternative to Obamacare for 15 years with nothing to show for it. Plus, the corruption of Trump & Co is so pervasive, it's hard for voters to get their minds around it, and Dems have to go all-in on winning the Senate next year—which means winning independents and non-MAGA republicans in red states. Neera Tanden, at the Center for American Progress, joins Tim Miller. show notes The "Trump's Take" tracker at the Center for American Progress Tim and Andrew's 'Bulwark Take' after Trump's rally Tuesday night Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/BULWARK. Promo Code BULWARK F*%k your khakis and get The Perfect Jean 15% off with the code BULWARK15 at theperfectjean.nyc/BULWARK15 #theperfectjeanpod

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is first joined by Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, an Immigration Attorney and Advocate. The pair discusses Trump's new efforts to block immigration from 19 countries he deemed 'high risk.' Kate also explains the details of the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing to take up one of President Trump's most contentious policies by reviewing the American legal principle of "birthright citizenship," potentially upending a 127-year-old understanding of who gets to be a U.S. citizen.  Kate and Brad also discussed how alarmingly frequent it has been for ICE to arrest and detain U.S. citizens for hours to even days, with some of them being assaulted in the process. Then, Center for American Progress's Natasha Murphy talks with Brad about healthcare, including premiums that are set to skyrocket at the end of the month if Republicans refuse to extend ACA tax credits. Natasha also breaks down why the Health Savings Account options, which many congressional Republicans are pushing as a replacement for ACA tax credits, do nothing to help pay for skyrocketing health insurance premiums themselves. Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch is also the Owner and CEO of Lincoln-Goldfinch Law. Their website is www.LincolnGoldfinch.com. Kate's handle is @AttorneyKLG on X, @attorneykatelg on Instagram, and @abogadakate on TikTok. Additionally, she's currently running for State Representative for Texas House district 50 as a Democrat. Natasha Murphy is the director of Health Policy at American Progress, where she develops and advances policy proposals to lower health care costs and improve health care coverage, affordability, and quality. Brad is on the National Journal's panel of political insiders, is an American political analyst for The Times of India TV, and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles. Brad also writes a political column every Sunday for 'The Hill.'  You can read his columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His handle on BlueSky is @bradbannon.bsky.social.

From $400 million planes to $300 million ballrooms, from cryptocurrency to just plain… currency, President Donald Trump and his family have profited massively from his return to the White House. According to the Center for American Progress, the Trump family has received nearly $2 billion in cash and gifts since President Trump won the 2024 presidential election. This week, during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the White House, the president downplayed his family's dealings in Saudi Arabia, but the reality is that those business ties have grown significantly during his second term. For more on just how much money Trump and his family are making from his return to the Oval Office, we spoke to Andrea Bernstein, podcast host and author of "American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power."And in headlines, President Trump threatens Congressional Democrats with violent rhetoric, Customs and Border Patrol prepares more immigration crackdowns in Louisiana and Mississippi, and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is set to meet with President Trump at the White House.Show Notes:Check out Andrea's book – wwnorton.com/books/american-oligarchsCall Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today's Headlines: The House finally voted on releasing the Epstein files, and it was a blowout: 427–1, with Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins as the lone no vote. Speaker Mike Johnson is still trying to get the Senate to redact names (interesting), but survivors held a powerful press conference beforehand urging Trump to stop playing politics and just release the files himself. Meanwhile, the first real accountability domino fell: Larry Summers is stepping back from Harvard and the Center for American Progress over his deep Epstein ties — though OpenAI's board is staying suspiciously quiet about whether he's out there too. Over in the Oval Office, Trump hosted Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman for what was supposed to be a big investment-and-F-35s photo op, but it immediately derailed when reporters asked about Epstein and, awkwardly, MBS's role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Trump waved that off with a casual “things happen,” then snapped at ABC's Mary Bruce for asking why he hasn't released the Epstein files, calling her a “terrible reporter” and demanding ABC lose its broadcast license. Very normal, very innocent behavior. In foreign policy news, the UK has reportedly stopped sharing intel on drug smuggling boats over concerns about recent U.S. strikes — something Secretary of State Marco Rubio swears is absolutely not happening because “it didn't come up once.” The courts were also busy. A federal judge said the DOJ's case against James Comey may have been tainted by “profound investigative missteps,” another court blocked Texas's new gerrymandered congressional map for 2026 (pending the inevitable SCOTUS appeal), and a bankruptcy judge finally approved a $7 billion Purdue Pharma settlement after six years of legal trench warfare — money that will go to families, governments, hospitals, and tribes devastated by the opioid crisis. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: CNN: Live updates: Trump presidency, Epstein files release heads to House for vote AP News: Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers steps down from public commitments after Epstein emails ABC News: Trump defends Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi killing, threatens ABC News in White House meeting – as it happened | Mohammed bin Salman People: Donald Trump Lashes Out at ABC Reporter over Another Epstein Question, Saying 'Your Crappy Company' Should Lose Its FCC License NBC News: U.K. withholds intelligence on alleged drug boats over U.S. strikes, sources say CNN: Judge says James Comey indictment may be tainted by ‘profound investigative missteps' Democracy Docket: Federal Court Blocks Texas Gerrymander - Democracy Docket Financial Times: Judge rules Purdue Pharma must pay $7bn in bankruptcy settlement Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good policy is good politics, or so the saying goes. So, uh, how do we agree on what that is? Jane Coaston talks with three of the left's most prominent policy thinkers: Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid, Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress, and writer Matthew Yglesias of Slow Boring. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A group of Montana activists is pushing a ballot initiative attacking Citizens United, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that granted corporations the right to spend unlimited money in politics. While Montana's Republican Attorney General  attempted to block the ballot initiative this week, the fight is far from over. In the third episode of Lever Time's MONEYBOMB series, David Sirota sits down with political strategist Tom Moore from The Center for American Progress. That nonprofit is spearheading the Transparent Election Initiative, Montana's new plan to purge dark money from the state, which could potentially rewrite national politics. Could this effort deal a blow to the corporate takeover of politics? And could it blaze a path for other states to follow? Click here to order our new book, MASTER PLAN: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America. To read more of Tom Moore's writing about The Montana Plan, click here. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism.

Emily Bazelon talks with Yale law professor John Witt about his new book The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America. They explore the remarkable story of the Garland Fund—a small 1920s foundation that bankrolled early work by A. Philip Randolph, and others who would go on to shape the civil rights and labor movements. Witt traces how the fund connected race and class politics, supported the intellectual groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education, and anticipated today's challenges around misinformation, inequality, and political disconnection. He and Bazelon also discuss what lessons progressives might take from this forgotten story of organizing during political exile. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Nina Porzucki. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Bazelon talks with Yale law professor John Witt about his new book The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America. They explore the remarkable story of the Garland Fund—a small 1920s foundation that bankrolled early work by A. Philip Randolph, and others who would go on to shape the civil rights and labor movements.Witt traces how the fund connected race and class politics, supported the intellectual groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education, and anticipated today's challenges around misinformation, inequality, and political disconnection. He and Bazelon also discuss what lessons progressives might take from this forgotten story of organizing during political exile.Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)Podcast production by Nina Porzucki. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Bazelon talks with Yale law professor John Witt about his new book The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America. They explore the remarkable story of the Garland Fund—a small 1920s foundation that bankrolled early work by A. Philip Randolph, and others who would go on to shape the civil rights and labor movements. Witt traces how the fund connected race and class politics, supported the intellectual groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education, and anticipated today's challenges around misinformation, inequality, and political disconnection. He and Bazelon also discuss what lessons progressives might take from this forgotten story of organizing during political exile. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Nina Porzucki. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a serious high-stakes policy fight at the heart of this.The Democrats didn't pick a fight over authoritarianism or tariffs or masked immigration agents in the streets. They picked one over health care. And the issue here is very real. Huge health insurance subsidies passed under President Joe Biden are set to expire at the end of this year, threatening to make health care premiums skyrocket and kick millions off their insurance.Neera Tanden was one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act and has worked in Democratic policymaking for decades. She is the president of the Center for American Progress and was a director of Biden's Domestic Policy Council. I asked her on the show to lay out the policy stakes of the shutdown and what a deal might look like.Mentioned:KFF Health Tracking PollThe Time Tax by Annie LowreyOne Big Beautiful Bill ActBook Recommendations:Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. RobinsonThe Sirens' Call by Chris HayesEnd Times by Peter TurchinThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris and Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Kristin Lin, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.