The Latest

Is the world on the brink of permanent instability? In this episode Rick Wilson sits down with renowned author and geopolitical analyst Robert D. Kaplan to discuss his latest book, Wasteland: A World in Permanent Crisis. Together, they explore the challenges of our increasingly interconnected and unstable world, from the decline of great powers and the erosion of democracy to the disruptive forces of AI and automation. Kaplan offers a sobering comparison to the Weimar Republic and stresses the urgent need to rediscover the principles of historic liberalism in the face of rising global disorder.

Rick addresses the most dangerous man on Trump’s lineup… RFK Jr. Follow Rick Wilson at @TheRickWilson on X and all the other social media platforms, and subscribe to his Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. Join the fight with Lincoln Project at www.lincolnproject.us and follow us on X at @ProjectLincoln.

Joe and Alex lead today's pod with some good news - but not for Trump! Why wins in Minnesota and Iowa are good signs as we gear up for Virginia and NJ this year - and for 2026. How can Democrats' message evolve? Why Joe views this as a long-term battle - and we can win it. What does Trump's freeze fiasco tell us about what's coming? Turns out, when you put the Project 2025 guys in charge... they try to implement Project 2025. And one radical idea Democrats might want to look to as a way to unify against Trump.

We’ve seen the world coming down around us, and the democrats - who are supposed to be our opposition leaders - are basically silent, with a few notable exceptions. It can feel like we’re just screaming into the void, and the void is like, “Mailbox full.” So the people we expect to represent us - to guide us through this hellscape - are gone. But that doesn’t mean we’re alone. There are leaders out there who come with receipts. Black. Women. Black women have always voted overwhelmingly on the right side. To everyone else, MAGA bullshit looks like a smokescreen. Totally inscrutable. But black women can read it like the Rosetta Stone, and they’ve been trying to tell you for DECADES. Maya's guest, Reecie Colbert, knows how to fight. They talk about how to pick a fight & how to win it.

"When it comes to messaging, Democrats cannot be afraid to go big. Zoom out. Speak to people's emotions right now and propose concrete plans to improve their lives."

It was said that FDR's president saved capitalism in eight days. Robert McElvaine writes that "in the opening days of Donald Trump’s second term, it seems much more like democracy and the American Republic are being destroyed in a week."

What happens when traditional media faces off against a generation raised on TikTok and influencers? In this episode Rick chats with political scientist and journalist Jason Johnson for a discussion on the evolving landscape of media, politics, and culture. They explore how generational shifts and platforms like TikTok are reshaping news consumption, the deeper racial and gender dynamics fueling Trumpism, and the media's struggle to adapt to a rapidly changing audience. From the rollback of DEI policies to the future of journalism, this conversation dives into the critical challenges facing the press and its role in holding power accountable in the Trump era and beyond.

Week 1 of Trump 2.0 is in the books and, ya know, it wasn’t so bad. Maybe we all need to settle down and give the guy a chance. Kidding! He is as bad as we knew he would be and he’s only getting started. Not only are Trump’s actions predictable, they were published prior to the election in the Project 2025 manifesto. We sounded the alarms with help from all of you, so what now? Molly Jong-Fast joined the Strategy Session with Rick Wilson and Stuart Stevens to break it all down.

Rick dissects "MAGA Granny" Pamela Hemphill's journey on J6 and with the MAGA cult, exploring what led her to join the group and what ultimately opened her eyes and prompted her exit.

Special guest host Stuart Stevens introduces the topic of today's episode, Trump's disastrous first week and the incoming deportation calamity likely to take place. The story that leads off Chapter 6 of Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal, Mass Deportation Disaster captures the struggles of 12-year-old Alvaro and his mother in a fictional detention center in West Texas. Alvaro expresses his hunger to his mother, who is too weak to properly care for herself. As they navigate the deteriorating conditions of the camp—overcrowded with diminishing food supplies, hostile guards, and a sense of fear from both authorities and fellow detainees—Alvaro reflects on lost friendships and longing for better times. His mother’s health declines as she sacrifices for him, giving him her piece of bread despite needing it more herself. This highlights Alvaro’s growing awareness of their desperate situation. He learns from a friend, Manuel, about possible escape routes and decides to plan his own escape to ensure both his and his mother’s safety. In the second half of Chapter 6, in a parallel narrative, soldier Jake Caldwell describes the chaos of the detention center from his perspective. As he witnesses the overwhelming influx of women and children, he feels the systemic failures of the camp. The environment strips away humanity, leading children to escape in search of freedom. As both narratives unfold, Alvaro attempts to escape the camp, filled with hope for a future where he can see his mother smile again even as Jake grapples with the moral dilemmas of his role in the oppressive system. Their stories intertwine themes of resilience, sacrifice, and the harsh realities faced by both detainees and guards in the unjust conditions of the camp. We'd like to thank all the artists who volunteered their time to make this episode: Mark Ruffalo and Andrea Guidry who read the chapters and others who contributed character voices. Sound design by Marilys Ernst and Jon Moser. Trump’s Project 2025:Up Close and Personal is available on all the podcast apps and at 2025pod.com. We'd like to thank all the artists who volunteered their time to make this episode: Laurie Burke, Leigh McGowan who read the chapters & Audrey Hakes, Joe Walsh, & others who contributed character voices. Sound design by Marilys Ernst and Jonathan Moser. Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal was written by David Pepper and produced by Pepper, Melissa Jo Peltier and Jay Feldman and is a production of Ovington Avenue Productions and The Bill Press Pod. This special series is a joint production by David Pepper and Resolute Square. The book, “Trump’s Project 2025: Up Close And Personal” by David Pepper, is available for purchase at https://a.co/d/adWcJ4S.

Joe and Alex discuss how everything you've probably read about this week was a distraction from Trump's endgame. We all have to pay very, very close attention to what's happening behind the curtain. Why Trump's crypto capture scheme could be the biggest story in our lifetimes. And how social media is quickly becoming an arm of the state. TikTok, X, and now even Facebook... and why in the face of all Trump's distractions this week and beyond, Joe explains why we have to be more vigilant than ever.

How do we manage the non-stop real and manufactured political, social, and environmental crises we're living through? Maya May's guest crisis expert Juliette Kayyem says we need to break it all down into categories of "What? So What? and What Now?" She and Maya broke it down on tonights show - catch up now!

Special guest host Stuart Stevens starts by detailing the potential horrors to come from Trump's cabinet. From Kash Patel, Pam Bondi and the rest, this is a group specifically designed to carry out the President's unchecked retribution against his political enemies. In Chapter 5, Part one, the fictional characters Congresswoman Louise Getty and Senator Wade Stiller, former rivals, meet at the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. They reflect on their pasts and express concern over a hostile political climate under Trump’s second term, feeling fear and paranoia about being surveilled and targeted by the government. Their conversation reveals a sense of vulnerability as they confront the reality that many of their colleagues have abandoned principles out of fear. Louise recalls the intense political maneuvering and betrayals leading up to and following the January 6 insurrection. In Part Two, Woody Nuxhall, the newly appointed head of the Treason and Political Crime Section of the DOJ, oversees his zealous young team of prosecutors, eager to pursue investigations and vendettas against political enemies. The group discusses tactics to surveil and undermine former colleagues and opposition figures, planning a strategy fueled by partisan loyalty and vengeance, while embracing a radical transformation of the DOJ's role in politics. The narrative emphasizes the deeply entrenched fear and moral compromise within Washington's political landscape, contrasting the idealistic memories of past sacrifices with the present-day weaponization of governmental power. Overall, the story highlights the erosion of democratic norms, and the personal toll this environment takes on the individuals involved. While these stories are fictional, they are based on Trump's own words and Project 2025. In fact, the New York Times, just last week reported just how Trump would use the Justice Department to go after his enemies. We’d like to thank the artists who contributed their time to make this episode: Richard Schiff and Morgan Fairchild read the chapters and others who contributed character voices. Sound Design by Marilys Ernst and Jon Moser. Trump’s Project 2025:Up Close and Personal is available on all the podcast apps and at 2025pod.com. We'd like to thank all the artists who volunteered their time to make this episode: Laurie Burke, Leigh McGowan who read the chapters & Audrey Hakes, Joe Walsh, & others who contributed character voices. Sound design by Marilys Ernst and Jonathan Moser. Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal was written by David Pepper and produced by Pepper, Melissa Jo Peltier and Jay Feldman and is a production of Ovington Avenue Productions and The Bill Press Pod. This special series is a joint production by David Pepper and Resolute Square. The book, “Trump’s Project 2025: Up Close And Personal” by David Pepper, is available for purchase at https://a.co/d/adWcJ4S.

You can't look at Trump's first 36 hours and legitimately deny that there is a fascist administration in the White House. That is our reality, so what is the strategy for fighting back against his abhorrent agenda, unacceptable nominees, and to win in '26 and beyond? To break it all down and start charting a go-forward strategy, Sen. Doug Jones joined the Strategy Session - and it's an smart as you'd expect it to be.

Last week the folks on Fox were angrier than ever that Joe Biden lasted until the end of his term and that Vice President Kamala Harris declared it was not in her nature to go “quietly into the night.” Fox News personalities claimed that Trump negotiated the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Sean Hannity and others declared that the FDA’s decision to ban a food dye. The network also bolstered Melania Trump’s false claim that the Obama administration impeded her move into the White House during her husband’s first term even though Mrs. Trump lived in Manhattan for the first five months of her husband’s presidency.

Special guest host Stuart Stevens kicks off the episode reminding us of the true danger of RFK Jr. and Trump's willingness to put the nation's health at risk with his confirmation. So what could happen if RFK is confirmed? Today's story helps illustrate that potential reality. This episode tells the fictional story of a middle school that opens its doors to unvaccinated students after a possible second -term President Trump eliminates Federal funding for schools with vaccine mandates. The story follows the school nurse, Stephanie Morris, as she navigates the influx of unvaccinated students and the resulting disease outbreaks that spread rapidly through the school and community. The narrative illustrates the real-world implications of the president's policy, with outbreaks of diseases like measles, whooping cough, and the flu causing hospitalizations and even deaths among vulnerable students and staff. The story highlights the challenges faced by the school nurse in trying to protect the health of all students, including her own daughter who has an autoimmune condition, without the backing of mandatory vaccination policies. Overall, the episode demonstrates how Donald Trump’s promise to defund schools with vaccine mandates could have devastating consequences for children's health and safety. Trump’s Project 2025: Up Close and Personal is available on all the podcast apps and at 2025pod.com. We'd like to thank all the artists who volunteered their time to make this episode: Laurie Burke, Leigh McGowan who read the chapters & Audrey Hakes, Joe Walsh, & others who contributed character voices. Sound design by Marilys Ernst and Jonathan Moser. Trump's Project 2025: Up Close and Personal was written by David Pepper and produced by Pepper, Melissa Jo Peltier and Jay Feldman and is a production of Ovington Avenue Productions and The Bill Press Pod. This special series is a joint production by David Pepper and Resolute Square. The book, “Trump’s Project 2025: Up Close And Personal” by David Pepper, is available for purchase at https://a.co/d/adWcJ4S.

We're back with our last show of Joe Biden's presidency. Why Joe thinks the Gaza ceasefire is an American diplomatic triumph - not Trump's. And looking back at the last four years - why Joe Biden's grade is NOT an "incomplete." Trippi looks back and honestly grades the Biden presidency. And - looking back even farther - how do we make sure what happens next isn't just a flash in the pan? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Of the Pete Hegseth confirmation hearing, Amee writes, "We should be calling it the 'Kavanaugh: The Redux' considering how well Hegseth is able to lie through his smirks, and distract from the real questions at hand with his boisterous Fox News Narratives."

Prepare to be inspired! The MAGA response to the California fires reinforces a really hard truth - we're going to have to save ourselves. They want to argue about bathrooms and genders and debate how many rounds can fit in a standard issue magazine. But they are not here to solve real problems. Tonight, Maya welcomed Alfredo Morales - and we are all better for it. Alfredo fought fires in California for two years while incarcerated. His work - and the work of some 3,000 other inmates involved in California fire suppression each year - saves countless lives and huge swaths of land and property. In a world where the powerful spend their time placing blame and sucking up as much wealth as possible, it’s Americans like us - and Alfredo - who are going to have to step into the breach and solve problems.