Episodes
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Donald Trump Is a Criminal Mob Boss
Barely does a day pass when we don’t see some brazen act of corruption by Donald Trump: the myriad ways he’s pocketed literally billions of dollars, taken foreign bribes, lawlessly built vanity projects with our money, demanded payments by private businesses, turned our federal agencies into...
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Confronting the Epidemic of Gun Violence
There are nearly 400 million guns circulating in America—more than one for every man, woman, and child—and 263 mass shootings already in 2026. Yet this deadly reality seems to have all but vanished from the national news. I asked Shannon Watts, who founded Moms Demand Action the day after Sandy...
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What Kind of Leaders Do We Need?
Before we head into another jam-packed week, I wanted to share with you my conversation with the always insightful Stuart Stevens, who explained his righteous anger over the way that Maine’s senate candidate, Graham Platner, exited the race. This was a powerful illustration of the dangerous...
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The Uplifting Power of Music
Lara Downes is premiering “The Declaration Project” this week at Lincoln Center, a multimedia musical event that she has developed over the last two years that draws on a wide range of American music. As my conversation with the renowned pianist and recording artist explores, music has been an...
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"The Work We Need to Do"
It was a delight to be joined by the always-engaging Mary L Trump. We had some ground to cover: News and politics, history and the future, metaphors and political action. We began by reflecting on the meaning of Juneteenth dating back to 1865—now a federal holiday passed in 2021 when Joe Biden…
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The 'Perfect Storm' of Trump's Mental Decline
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.americaamerica.news For my inaugural episode of “Six Questions,” I knew I wanted to talk to Mary Trump. A clinical psychologist, bestselling author of Too Much and Never Enough and Donald Trump’s niece, Mary has been an astute...
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America, America Partners with Lincoln Square to Launch 'Six Questions with Steven Beschloss'
Dear Friend, I’m taking the liberty of resending this in case you didn’t have the opportunity to comment and wanted to do so. I’m excited to share this announcement for my new weekly show in partnership with Lincoln Square Media. You can check out the first episode going live at 7PM ET tonight,...
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Cankles, Courage, Corruption and the Continuing Battle for America's Soul
Thanks to everyone who joined Lincoln Square’s Rick Wilson and me last night for our wide-ranging discussion. On the agenda: the stark contrast in the battle for Texas’ senate seat between the corrupt, criminal and morally rotten Ken Paxton endorsed by Trump (yes, he trounced John Cornyn in the...
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Trump Could Not Care Less About Us
Donald Trump told the truth yesterday. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,” he said. There it was, all you need to know about rising gas and food prices, rising costs for healthcare, rising inflation, rising economic instability, and growing fear that many Americans feel about...
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My Conversation With Olivia of Troye
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.americaamerica.news Thanks to everyone who joined my live conversation with Olivia of Troye, a fearless Trump and MAGA critic who’s now running for Congress in the newly redrawn 7th District in northern Virginia. We started by...
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Yes, Trump Must Go
Yes, it’s good news that Donald Trump did not annihilate a civilization by bombing Iranians “back to the Stone Ages where they belong.” We got a brief moment last night to exhale. But only for a moment. Because this terrorizing White House occupant is no less deranged and reckless today than he…
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My Conversation with Ana Marie Cox
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.americaamerica.news On a day like today—when Donald Trump is threatening “a whole civilization will die tonight”—I was glad to talk with political and cultural journalist and commentator Ana Marie Cox. We discussed the terrorizing...
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Ibram X. Kendi on Our Authoritarian Age
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.americaamerica.news Have you wondered why Elon Musk gave a Nazi salute within hours after Donald Trump was inaugurated last year? Have you pondered why Trump has leaned into the Great Replacement Theory to activate his aggrieved…
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My Conversation with Kirsten Powers
I was pleased to be joined by journalist Kirsten Powers today to talk about the firing of Pam Bondi and other breaking news, as well as some of the larger questions about America’s place in the world as Donald Trump continues to break former allies’ trust in America as a reliable partner. Kirsten...
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No Kings in NYC
Thank you to all those who tuned into the live video. Here’s an early glimpse of the crowd plus a handful of live interviews with protestors. As one said to me, after I asked if I could photograph him and his sign, “We want it to be documented.” As another told his wife, urging her to the center…
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My Conversation with Marc Elias
Attorney Marc Elias is one of the country’s most important legal voices and advocates for voting rights, democracy and justice. Look no further for proof than his role in securing over 60 legal victories against Donald Trump’s efforts to falsely claim voting fraud in the 2020 elections, as well…
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"They Fear Organized Public Power"
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.americaamerica.news Thanks to everyone who joined my live conversation with Indivisible’s Ezra Levin. I’m always uplifted by his enthusiasm and his belief in the power of collective action and the necessity of advocacy to both...
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Trump's Deadly Iran Folly
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.americaamerica.news Donald Trump may be already declaring victory in Iran and imagining a quick exit, but let’s not miss the newly installed Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei telling Iranians about “avenging the blood of your martyrs” as...
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Ukraine, Iran and Trump's Indifference and Incompetence
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.americaamerica.news I looked forward to this live conversation with Lincoln Square’s Stuart Stevens, who has just gotten back from Ukraine where he participated in an aid mission. Stuart shared his insights on the remarkable…
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A War for What?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.americaamerica.news Thanks to everyone who joined my Substack Live conversation with Black Man Spy - Malcolm Nance! Honestly, this was not an easy conversation, full of reasons for optimism. But I sought out Malcolm to get his…
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Epstein, Accountability and the Growing Outrage
Just as Pam Bondi was contemptuously attacking House Democrats who asked her to take responsibility for her role in the continuing Epstein files coverup—she also refused to even look at survivors in the audience and repeatedly praised Donald Trump’s “great achievements”—Lincoln Square’s Stuart...
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"Can We Go Low Now?"
I always enjoy the chance to talk with Stephanie Miller, the talented progressive radio host whose weekday show can be seen on Free Speech TV and elsewhere. That included yesterday, even though a cold has been rolling through my system and I sounded a bit like a guy talking from inside a box.…
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Jeff Bezos' Assault on the Washington Post
Thanks to all the people who joined my conversation with Merrill Brown, a media analyst and a former Washington Post reporter and business executive, among many other achievements, including the founding editor of MSNBC.com and currently a visiting fellow with Syracuse University’s Institute for...
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Unmasking The Masked Men
In this short On-Target video, Mark Jacob and I discuss the Trump regime’s deadly employment of a lawless secret police force—one that terrorizes communities and abuses its responsibility as a publicly funded organization. Rather than serving the public and the rule of law, these masked men act...
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Nationalize Our Elections? No, No, No.
As I note in this latest video, Donald Trump is escalating his dictatorial effort to seize control of our elections to serve himself. This has been ongoing, but yesterday, Trump said, “We should take over the voting…in at least 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.” This...
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A Conversation with George Conway
Yes, George Conway is running for Congress in New York. But it doesn’t mean this fervent commentator and lawyer is softening his rhetoric or holding back on saying exactly what he thinks about Donald Trump, his criminal regime and the fascist police force he’s empowered. Quite the contrary. “This...
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Mary Trump Live with Steven Beschloss
I was happy to be invited by Mary L Trump for a Substack Live today. I greatly admire Mary, both for her work and the fine and thoughtful person that she is. She has been such an important voice, helping many of us make sense of these deeply challenging and painful times triggered by her uncle,...
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The Rupture with Europe and Other Madness
Thanks to everyone who joined my live conversation with Rick Stengel, the former TIME magazine editor, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and MS-Now analyst. Rick and I had a lot to talk about: Davos, Greenland, the rupture with Europe, Canadian Prime Minister Mark...
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America Is Paying for Not Dealing With Difficult Issues
I want to share with you the summary of my live conversation with the always-engaging Stuart Stevens from my friends over at Lincoln Square. I can tell you that I’ve been researching some different periods in our history to try to get at what happens when we don’t hold the treasonous among us...
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ICE Is Not Law Enforcement
Ice is not about law enforcement. What we are witnessing is a Gestapo-style operation focused on spectacle and fear, coercion, intimidation, violence and abuse. This cannot stand. This must stop. And we the people must keep applying pressure on our elected officials to defend us and to fight...
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Making America Meaner, Uglier, Deadlier
I wrote this snapshot essay yesterday in the hours after the deadly shooting of Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old mother and poet who was murdered in her car as she was trying to get away from Trump’s ICE agents. But I woke today feeling that I had to share more words about my growing outrage…
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CBS News Is Trashing Its Credibility
Mark Jacob and I recorded this On-Target video last night before the latest CBS Evening News broadcast. What we discuss—about the destruction of the legendary news operation—was brought painfully home in the closing moments of that show. Anchor Tony Dokoupil traveled to Miami and talked about...
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A Terrible Tragedy, A Sick Response
I hesitated sharing this video with you. Like so many others, I’m stunned and deeply saddened by the murder of the compassionate human, advocate of democracy and gifted creative artist, Rob Reiner, and his photographer wife, Michelle. This follows two other heartbreaking acts of violence this...
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Trump's Abuse of Female Reporters Must Stop
Donald Trump is getting worse. He can’t stand to be questioned. He especially can’t stand to be questioned by strong female reporters. And he’s increasingly unable to control his abusive, misogynistic behavior. This is wrong—and it needs to stop. I share my thoughts on this topic in less than two...
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The N. Korea-Style Trump Cabinet Show Is Deeply Abnormal
This On-Target video by Stop The Press’ Mark Jacob and me focuses on Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, which featured Donald Trump’s sycophantic coterie praising their Dear Leader’s supreme achievements and illustrating (once again) how untethered from reality this regime is. Trump was unable to keep…
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Trump and Hegseth Foolishly Threaten Mark Kelly
So now Trump sycophant Pete Hegseth is threatening to court martial Mark Kelly—Arizona senator, decorated Navy veteran, astronaut—for his part in reminding members of the military that they can refuse illegal orders. Hegseth and Trump have gone after the wrong guy, and they are only further...
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Talking About Defiance with Miles Taylor
What a good day to be talking about defiance. This was the day that we learned that a federal judge threw out the cases against James Comey and Letitia James, asserting that Trump-appointed prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was illegally appointed (making clear who is the one who violated the law).…
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My Conversation with Mary Trump
This afternoon the House is expected to vote overwhelmingly to demand the Department of Justice release all the Epstein files, a fact that led Donald Trump to reverse himself Sunday night and say he supports the release. Yesterday’s essay “Can America Avoid Moral Collapse?” underscored my belief...
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A Conversation with Mary Trump
Thanks to everyone who joined my conversation with Mary L Trump yesterday, who I greatly admire for her honesty, fearlessness and insight. This was an opportunity to get her reading of her uncle’s decision to reverse course on releasing the Epstein files (“Donald’s greatest terror is to be...
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Don't Let Trump Distract You
In this quick two-minute video, I share my thoughts on the increasingly panicked Donald Trump as more details emerge about the contents of the Epstein files and Trump’s involvement with the convicted sex trafficker and child molester Jeffrey Epstein. As I conclude here, “The truth of the Epstein...
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The Epstein Firestorm Is Building
This On-Target video by Mark Jacob and me focuses on new revelations about Donald Trump and his sex predator friends Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. This New York Times article (gift link) provides some of the latest details and background of the unfolding story. A 2011 email from Epstein...
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Election Night Special | Strategy Session with guest Steven Beschloss
Happy to share the recording from this pre-election conversation with my friends at Lincoln Square. While these recordings are shared with paid subscribers, I wanted to give everyone access tonight to this discussion. Becoming a paid subscriber to America, America—for $50 a year or just $5 a...
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News Outlets Dance With Trump and His Ballroom
This On-Target video by Mark Jacob and me examines how some legacy media are seeking to please Donald Trump by soft-pedaling their response to his reckless destruction of the White House’s East Wing to make way for his Mar-a-Lago-style billionaires’ ballroom. The Status newsletter reported that…
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Trump's Reckless Threats With Our Troops
In Japan today, standing before our troops on the USS George Washington, the deranged Donald Trump threatened to deploy more than the National Guard in American cities. This is my brief video comment on what he had to say—and why his threat represents a further transgression against our...
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The Clown With a Fake Crown
This is the latest short video in my ongoing series. As I note here, Donald Trump is a clown wearing a fake crown. Except he’s not funny. He’s never been funny…And it remains up to us to prove that a president’s power still depends on the Constitution and the will of the people, not a fake crown.…
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No Kings Protest in NYC: A Joyful Mood
The gaslighting Republicans insisted this would be a “hate America” rally. Of course, they could not care less about the truth. The truth? The massive New York protest is joyful and even celebratory. The signs express dissent and anger toward Trump and his malignant regime, but the mood is…
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No Kings in NYC
Live shots from New York City at 44th St and 7th Ave. as thousands of New Yorkers were marching toward 14th St. and Union Square. This Substack Live includes short interviews with protestors. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus...
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Stuart Stevens & Steven Beschloss Talk No Kings LIVE
On the eve of the No Kings protest, I’d like to share my conversation with Lincoln Square’s Stuart Stevens, both an astute political observer and a former Republican strategist who authored a powerful and necessary indictment of the Republican Party entitled It Was All a Lie. I’d also like to…
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Trump and Vance Don't Give a Damn
This is the latest installment of the ongoing video series, Got a Minute or Two? Mad Hattery and Other Outrages. Today’s outrage: Donald Trump and JD Vance thinking they can say or do anything without consequence, without shame, with little interest in whether it shows them to be immoral men.…
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Media Coverage and The Assault on Chicago
Thanks to everyone who joined the live conversation with Mark Jacob! We decided to do this format rather than our usual short “On-Target” video so that we could discuss the on-the-ground reality in Chicago right now—amid the Trump thuggery—and also highlight some of the excellent local media...