Ep. 40: The Most Important Forgotten Part Of Democracy
Former New York state Sen. Daniel Squadron, the executive director of Future Now, a group that tries to turn state legislatures blue, explains why state races are so important. He lays out several scenarios for how state elections could go on Election Day. Listen
Ep. 39: The Final Stretch Of The 2018 Campaign
After a brief hiatus, we are back. This week we are diving into the 2018 campaign as we enter the final stretch of election season. We discuss a few key races to watch and why what’s going on in state elections is just as important to pay attention to as... Listen
Ep. 38: TPM Reporters Take You Inside The Manafort Legal Saga
TPM’s own Tierney Sneed and Caitlin MacNeal have been covering Paul Manafort’s legal woes for months. On this week’s episode, they share what it was like to cover his weeks-long trial in Virginia and his guilty plea last week. They also discuss where the Mueller investigation goes from here. Listen
Ep. 37: The Most Disturbing Thing In A 50-Year Intelligence Career
Josh talks to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper about his new book, “Facts and Fears: Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence.” Their conversation ranges from his early days in the military during Vietnam to the Obama presidency and President Trump’s perplexing relationship with Russia. “I’ve seen a... Listen
Ep. 36: Where The Voter Fraud Myth Comes From
Historian Rick Perlstein talks to Josh about how the 1960 presidential election helped catalyze decades of bogus voter fraud claims which we’re still hearing, constantly, today. Listen
Ep. 35: Holy Cow! We Talk to John Dean about Watergate and Trump/Russia
We talk to fabled Watergate figure John Dean, Richard Nixon’s White House Counsel who was part of the cover-up and then went to the authorities. Find out why Dean trusted Nixon not to cross some lines he believe Trump will cross. Is Dean talking to Michael Cohen’s lawyer? And how... Listen
Ep. 34: Donald Trump Jr. Is More Central To The Russia Story Than People Think
Marcy Wheeler, the investigative journalist behind the blog Empty Wheel, joins the podcast to dig deeper into the infamous Trump Tower meeting. She also shares one aspect of the Trump-Russia story that people aren't necessarily following closely enough. Image Credit: Getty Images / TPM Illustration Listen
Ep. 33: Explaining Rudy’s Not Great, Bad, Totally Not Good Day
We attempt to pick up the pieces Rudy Giuliani left all over cable news this week. Did Trump's lawyer inadvertently reveal damaging information about his client, or was his revelation of yet another Trump Tower meeting part of his master plan all along? Image Credit: Getty Images / TPM Illustration Listen
Ep. 32: How The South Borrowed Its Voter Suppression Tactics From The North
Historian Gregory Downs discusses his feature article for TPM — the first in TPM’s ten-part series on voting rights and democracy. He discusses how today’s voter suppression battles date back to the post-Civil War period, how voter suppression tactics were developed not just to target freed slaves in the south... Listen
Ep. 31: Is Donald Trump A Russian Asset? It’s Not That Simple…
John Sipher, a former member of the CIA Clandestine Service, helps us figure out what in the world is going on with Trump and Putin. Sipher draws on his decades of experience in the CIA to explain that matters of intelligence and tradecraft are not always black and white. Image... Listen