PODCAST · news
Brain Trust Live
by Lila Nordstrom/Brent Thornburg
Brent Thornburg and Lila Nordstrom take you through the political news of the week...in between comedic digressions. A weekly chat with a special focus on election tomfoolery, Washingtonian shenanigans, and anything that proves that nature is hilarious/terrifying.
Episodes
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12/16/25 - Entangling Innocent People
In Which We Discuss: 1. Once again and always and forever. It’s the guns, people. 2. Epstein files are out this Friday so get excited for that Venezuelan ground war you’ve been waiting for! 3. The House GOP finally has a healthcare plan, and it’s somehow even worse than Trump’s own plan to just...
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11/18/25 - Memes of Courage!
In Which We Discuss: 1. It’s Epstein week so…now is not the time to fact check! Spread those memes with courage! 2. As her brain short-circuits, now’s the time to give Marjorie Taylor Green’s brain the correct inputs. 3. Did you know that if you’re elected as a Democratic Socialist you can keep...
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11/4/25 - Let Them Eat Ballrooms!
In Which We Discuss: 1. It’s election day and New York City has predictably stolen the show with the most important election in the nation! 2. Nancy Pelosi makes the shocking decision to not die in office. 3. We’ve entered the “Let them eat cake!” era of the Trump shutdown. 4. Is baseball…
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10/20/25 - Why We're Shut Down
This week, we’re live in the shutdown trenches reporting on a good 2% of the news that’s happened since you last heard from us. (And also the NYC Mayor’s race!) Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of chirping...
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7/29/25 - A Crisis With No Cause
In Which We Discuss: 1. How many times are we going to get breaking news that this guy is in the Epstein files, a thing we’ve known in our hearts since thinking itself was invented? 2. At long last, Barack Obama has finally been told about the crisis in Gaza! 3. Trump health controversy leads us…
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7/1/25 - Sometimes Good Things Still Happen!
In Which We Discuss: 1. Bad things are happening a lot out there, but sometimes good things happen! And that’s okay too! 2. Will John Fetterman ever make it to his beach vacation or will he be stuck forever in the One Big Beautiful Bill vote-a-rama? Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent...
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6/17/25 - What's Math Anyway?
In Which We Discuss: 1. Crowd math is not math, it’s a vibe. 2. There’s no such thing as pointless activism. 3. Maybe Democrats never do the WORST version of the thing, but why are they so complicit in the thing? 4. Can Democrats not put us in the position of having to agree with Tucker Carlson?…
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4/21/25 - The Easter Spectacular: 2025 Edition
In Which We Discuss: 1. It’s our yearly Easter special! This year we learn the story of Jesus’s resurrection from leading biblical expert and improvisational essayist Marjorie Taylor Green! 2. Pete Hegseth: Still drunk texting war plans to his friends. 3. Chris Van Hollen is the one Democrat to…
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4/7/25 - Credible Explanations
In Which We Discuss: 1. The April 5th protests: A great place to be mad about…literally anything. 2. We famously love a filibuster stunt, but save your money. Cory Booker’s presidential campaign will be funded by the “good billionaires,” not your $5. 3. Did you ever wonder if there’s a reason you...
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3/31/25 - Let's Message
Turn off your push notifications - they're not helping you now. There's a major messaging and strategy challenge in front of us, and we're thinking through how to solve it.
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11/18/24 - Let's Brainstorm
Welp....that happened. We're not really sure what the report this week so welcome to our post-election real-time brainstorm session! Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of falling phones, sirens, helicopters,...
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11/4/24 - Let's Vibe
🚨ELECTION DAY IS TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 5th!!! Need help with your CA ballot? Looking for a breakdown of the props? Check out the BTL CA Prop Guide: https://tinyurl.com/CApropguide2024 🚨 In Which We Discuss: 1. What do you do when the one outlier poll is the most respected state pollster in the...
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10/28/24 - Beyhive and KHive Unite!
In Which We Discuss: 1. Early voting numbers. We’ve got ‘em, and we don’t know what they mean! (Don’t worry, nobody does.) 2. The Trump Nazi Rally adds insult to injury by denying New Yorkers their daily bagel run. 3. Harris’ ability to stay on message in front of television cameras is expiring.…
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10/21/24 - Arnold Palmer
In Which We Discuss: 1. Early voting is happening and you should do it! 2. How is it possible that we haven’t left Elon Musk on the moon yet? 3. Donald Trump would like you to know something about Arnold Palmer. 4. Jon Tester’s opponent either got shot in a gunfight in Afghanistan, or shot…
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10/14/24 - The 2024 CA Prop Guide Spectacular!
Our ballots have arrived in the mail, and now we have to actually fill them out. It's not such an easy task, though. In every election, Californians are asked to parse a truly unconscionable number of ballot propositions and make informed votes on a number of obscure topics. But here at Brain…
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10/8/24 - No Constituency for Dick Cheney
In Which We Discuss: 1. Californians, if you just got your 94 page sample ballot, never fear! Our prop guide is on the way! 2. Eric Adams: He’s not just bad at funding libraries, he’s bad at criming too! 3. What is going on with the Nebraska senate seat? A question we never thought we’d ask! 4.…
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9/23/24 - Scandal Mad Libs
In Which We Discuss: 1. This week’s Police Commissioner FBI raid in New York felt eerily similar to last week’s Police Commissioner FBI Raid. 2. Mark Robinson is playing GOP scandal Mad Libs. 3. Donald Trump’s assassination attempt sequel is a ratings flop. 4. Somehow RFK’s sex scandal is the…
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9/12/24 - BTL's Harris/Trump Debate Extravaganza!
Hold onto your dogs and cats, it’s a Brain Trust Live Harris/Trump Debate Extravaganza (the first of what we *hope* will be many)! Plus, don't miss Lila's appearances on NPR: WNYC's All Things Considered:...
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9/4/24 - Our Greatest Philosopher on the Nature of Time
In Which We Discuss: 1. Polling: Not sure if you’ve heard, but the presidential election is close 2. New York Times makes unforced error using in an extended tennis metaphor during coverage of Kamala Harris’s CNN interview 3. Kamala Harris, our greatest philosopher on the concept of time, shows...
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8/24/24 - A DNC AND 500th Episode Spectacular!
YOU MADE IT TO OUR 500TH EPISODE! We're so happy you're here and hope that in honor of this milestone we hope you'll subscribe and share this special episode featuring Grant Sloss! This Week We Discuss: 1. Our favorite guest and secret research consultant Grant Sloss is here to celebrate this...
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8/7/24 - You Need Joy
In Which We Discuss: 1. We have a VP candidate! We like him! 2. Democrats are making a slew of good decisions and nobody has any experience with this so we don’t know how to act. 3. What if we all just tried to enact the Democratic party platform? Is that a thing? 4. Trump’s interview with the...
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7/29/24 - 2024's Most Important Endorsement
In Which We Discuss: 1. The French don’t want their love of ménage à trois to get lost in the olympic frenzy. 2. British pop star Charli XCX makes most important endorsement of the US campaign season. 3. Kamala Harris could set herself apart from past democratic candidates by not making an…
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7/22/24 - Unburdened by What Has Been
It's a Presidential chaos spectacular! Listen, we’d write a rundown, but it’s not worth it. Just listen. Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of falling phones, sirens, helicopters, barking dogs, and computer...
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6/30/24 - June Gloom
It’s a June debate and SCOTUS season spectacular with special guest Ben Softness! (Plus the presidential pep talk you’ve been needing.) Brain Trust Live is Lila Nordstrom and Brent Thornburg's look at the week in electoral and political news. Join the millions of falling phones, sirens,...
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6/17/24 - More Physical Comedy Than Content
In Which We Discuss: 1. Sadly Donald Trump is not yet a political prisoner! If only. 2. GOP frustrated that the Hunter Biden conviction they’ve long sought is now here. 3. First presidential debate shaping up to be more physical comedy than content. 4. Democrats mysteriously unbothered by spooky...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Brent Thornburg and Lila Nordstrom take you through the political news of the week...in between comedic digressions. A weekly chat with a special focus on election tomfoolery, Washingtonian shenanigans, and anything that proves that nature is hilarious/terrifying.
HOSTED BY
Lila Nordstrom/Brent Thornburg
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Brain Trust Live have?
Brain Trust Live currently has 25 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Brain Trust Live about?
Brent Thornburg and Lila Nordstrom take you through the political news of the week...in between comedic digressions. A weekly chat with a special focus on election tomfoolery, Washingtonian shenanigans, and anything that proves that nature is hilarious/terrifying.
How often does Brain Trust Live release new episodes?
Brain Trust Live has 25 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Brain Trust Live?
You can listen to Brain Trust Live on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Brain Trust Live?
Brain Trust Live is created and hosted by Lila Nordstrom/Brent Thornburg.
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