Half the Answer

It's an unhinged political ad round-up, featuring racist memes from Donald Trump himself and Ken Paxton's rancid, deep-fried AI slop rip-off of one of the most famous ads from history. Author Jonathan M. Katz helps us make sense of the hideous soup of extremism, slander, bad art, and dirty dealings that we're all floating in.Resources:https://www.theracket.newshttps://www.forever-wars.com"Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781250135599"The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781137278975"The Legend of Skokie: A Story of Free Speech and Fascism in America": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781250427519https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-elections/michigan-senate-resultshttps://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/the-right-is-targeting-abdul-el-sayeds-family-members/https://www.wbaltv.com/article/trump-backed-candidate-michigan-loss-dropped-out/73357749https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/racist-book-camp-saints-gains-popularity/https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Turner-Diarieshttps://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/an-infamous-attack-ad-just-got-an-ai-resurrection/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/arts/rachel-pollack-dead.htmlhttps://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/turner-diaries-other-racist-novels-inspire-extremist-violence/

Why does the right keep talking about a handful of critical theorists from the 1960s? Why are they hellbent on rooting out discussion of progressive ideas from the public sphere? What did Theodor Adorno have to do with the release of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"? And does the notion of "Cultural Marxism" imply the existence of seminal thinker Cultural Marx? We talk to A. J. A. Woods, author of "The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy," about all these questions but the last one."The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy" https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781804296967⁠https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-ever-shifting-cultural-marxism/⁠⁠https://nathangoldwag.wordpress.com/2020/06/10/do-we-all-live-on-campus-now/⁠⁠https://www.thefp.com/p/honestly-rufo-mounk-debate-dei⁠"beatles 4" by beatles maniac11 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse⁠.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has somehow jumped the queue, passing Mitch McConnell on the way to the place where Republican senators go at the end of a life full of compromises, betrayals, and cruelty. With the help of author, election strategist, and social justice advocate Maya Rupert, we explore the life and works of the man who occupied the most racist seat in American history.Resources:https://mayarupert.com/The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authentic https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780593475973https://www.instagram.com/maya.rupert/?hl=en https://lemonadamedia.com/show/whenwewin/https://magazine.ucsb.edu/spring-summer-2024/accidental-and-optimistic-political-strategist https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mitch-mcconnell-staff-questions-health-b3018929.htmlhttps://www.wired.com/story/sfpd-drone-video-leak-surveillance/https://theemancipator.org/2026/07/19/investigations/lindsey-graham-occupied-the-most-racist-senate-seat-in-u-s-history/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-state-scs-rep-lindsey-graham-enj/201550004/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/graham100798.htmhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/for-lindsey-graham-years-of-light-duty-as-a-lawmaker-in-the-air-reserve/2015/08/02/c9beb9fc-3545-11e5-adf6-7227f3b7b338_story.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/2011/12/08/143333594/revisiting-newt-gingrichs-1997-ethics-investigationhttps://media.npr.org/assets/multimedia/2011/12/gingrich/Feb_26_1994.pdfhttps://web.archive.org/web/20201117025418/https://apnews.com/article/a1fcceda5e00bfa840afe5a82260c2efhttps://www.wcpinst.org/source/unborn-victims-of-violence-act-heads-to-white-house/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/us/senate-declines-to-resolve-issue-of-american-qaeda-suspects-arrested-in-us.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/04/18/177780665/bipartisan-senate-gang-prepares-to-sell-immigration-planhttps://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/how-lindsey-graham-stomped-the-tea-party/372521/?single_page=truehttps://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/politics/jeb-bush-john-mccain-donald-trumphttps://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/21/politics/donald-trump-lindsey-graham-cell-phone/index.htmlhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-media-attack-lindsey-graham-kook-unfit-office-video-backfires-a8087796.htmlhttps://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/senator-on-gop-backing-trump-party-has-gone-batshit-crazy/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-updates-on-the-2016-election-voting-and-race-results/sen-lindsey-graham-i-voted-evan-mcmullin-for-president/https://www.npr.org/sections/death-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg/2020/09/19/914774433/use-my-words-against-me-lindsey-graham-s-shifting-position-on-court-vacancieshttps://thehill.com/homenews/senate/498133-graham-on-potential-supreme-court-vacancy-this-would-be-a-different/ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-media-attack-lindsey-graham-kook-unfit-office-video-backfires-a8087796.htmlhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-did-they-do-with-lindsey-graham/2019/01/15/c9909e62-1914-11e9-88fe-f9f77a3bcb6c_story.htmlhttps://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/27/lindsey-graham-defends-brett-kavanaugh-amid-christine-blase-ford-accusation.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/27/lindsey-graham-slams-democrats-after-blasey-ford-testimony.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/10/politics/lindsey-graham-wall-emergency-powers/index.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/magazine/lindsey-graham-what-happened-trump.htmlhttps://www.newsweek.com/lindsay-graham-says-people-angry-over-trumps-mccain-attacks-dont-really-care-1377523 https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3664179002"Lindsey Graham" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Ken Paxton isn't the only Looney Toon running for a position in the United States Congress this November. An extremist gun YouTuber is the Republican nominee for a House seat in the district that contains Uvalde, Texas. How did this happen? How is Katy Stout, his Democratic opponent, feeling about suddenly facing a boneheaded boogaloo bro instead of the moderate who was supposed to be there? Journalist Steven Monacelli tells us all about it.Resourceshttps://www.stevenmonacelli.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/stevanzetti.bsky.socialhttps://www.texasobserver.org/brandon-herrera-gun-youtube-uvalde-congress/https://sanantonioreport.org/profile/katy-padilla-stout-2026-candidate-for-texas-23rd-congressional-district/https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/13/texas-tony-gonzales-resigning-congress-sexual-misconduct-affair-staffer-eric-swalwell/https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/12/trump-cease-and-desist-brandon-herrera-tony-gonzales-23rd-congressional-district/https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/22/brandon-herrera-antisemitism-aipac-republicans-texas-00838410https://brandonherreraforcongress.com/news/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/election/2024/article/brandon-herrera-congress-ak-guy-19371667.phphttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/us/politics/brandon-hererra-guns-youtube.htmlhttps://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/07/gonzales-is-out-in-texas-and-dems-see-a-chance-to-beat-the-akguy-00817739https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/gop-candidate-brandon-herrera-mein-kampf-tony-gonzales-1235526685/

Exactly what is going on in England? Why is the Labour Party trying to behave like the Tories—or worse? Is Andy Burnham any better than Keir Starmer? We ask our European expert Hunter CG (RoteRote Media) to lay it out for us.Resources:https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/world/europe/buses-andy-burnham-greater-manchester-bee.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/2026/06/22/nx-s1-5866429/with-starmers-resignation-the-u-k-is-set-for-its-7th-pm-in-10-yearshttps://www.npr.org/2026/06/25/nx-s1-5869499/starmers-successor-reset-on-uk-us-relationship-strait-latesthttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crm0r94mv7johttps://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/nominations-open-contest-uk-leader-andy-burnham-likely-only-candidate-rcna353629https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-in-waiting-vows-rebuild-hard-power-more-dangerous-world-2026-07-09/https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/politeness/89113EE2FB4A1D254D4A8D2011E542E4#overview

Graham Platner is a parade of red flags stuffed into a pair of yellow rubber waders, and yet so many let those things slide with a tsk tsk at best. For others, he was a bad man with bad views who unfortunately represented the only possible way to reverse the GOP majority in the senate. Improperly vetted, he relied on his "everyman" image to skate through the primaries despite several rounds of damning information reveals. But mere weeks from the deadline to finalize the candidacy of contenders, a story finally emerged that nobody could ignore. We ask Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket how it feels to have people suddenly come all the way around, and why it's so frustrating that they didn't figure it out sooner.Resourcesthehandbasket.cohttps://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.socialhttps://www.thehandbasket.co/p/graham-platner-rape-accusation-maine-senatehttps://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/06/graham-platner-sexual-assault-allegation-00987737 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDAWPE5PaWEhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/jul/09/donald-trump-graham-platner-mitch-mcconnell-iran-midterms-latest-news-updateshttps://www.unpopularfront.news/p/graham-platner-is-a-type-of-guyhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/08/graham-platner-isolated-defies-maine-democrats-they-try-hatch-plan/https://www.newsweek.com/i-dated-graham-platner-i-believe-jenny-racicot-and-lyndsey-fifield-12172864https://www.garbageday.email/p/the-curdling-of-the-american-manhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/graham-platner-maine-senate-exit-democrats-b3010473.htmlhttps://losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.com/p/we-have-an-even-bigger-problem-than-graham-platner?utm_source=losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=we-have-an-even-bigger-problem-than-graham-platner&_bhlid=725fa1d50927278b100637f3437277b0325dbb16klippenstein being an ass https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/my-graham-platner-apology"Graham Platner 10-2-25" by m Spiess is licensed under CC BY 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/?ref=openverse.

ICE flights are still happening and they are still horrifying. Gillian Brockell brings us updates on some of the major players in the game of torturing innocent people in the sky, their victims, and the regular people who do not want this abusive pack of monsters to continue using their resources.Resourceshttps://gillianbrockell.com/Send tips to: gbrockell.44 on signalhttps://bsky.app/profile/gillianbrockell.comhttps://www.patreon.com/cw/worstairlineeverhttps://gillianbrockell.com/interviews-podcast-and-some-r/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/vietnamese-man-deported-from-u-s-to-south-sudan-repatriated-after-year-in-detentionhttps://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/what-are-third-country-removals-factsheet/https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781324092407https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/deep-swamps-archaeologists-fugitive-slaves-kept-freedom-180960122/https://www.baloproject.org/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/world/africa/trump-deportation-us-judge-congo-colombia.htmlhttps://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/omni-ice-deportations-charter-flight-stonepeak-private-equity/https://theintercept.com/2022/02/17/amazon-ice-deportation-flights-omni/https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/152641-stonepeak-completes-acquisition-of-uss-atsghttps://www.npr.org/2026/01/08/nx-s1-5629234/the-cautionary-tale-of-how-chicago-privatized-its-parking-metershttps://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-parking-meter-deal-city-council-members-seek-block-morgan-stanley-sale-meters-stone-peak/19265309/

Why won't Gregory Bovino stay gone? Why can't Trump keep his pool clean? And how many fireworks is too many fireworks? We asked our friend and yours Amanda Moore to help us get to the bottom of these questions and more.Resources:https://www.instagram.com/noturtlesoup17/?hl=en https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/an-ice-chaser-bovino/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/gregory-bovino-border-patrol-ice-minneapolis-chicago-new-orleans-video/https://bsky.app/profile/noturtlesoup17.bsky.socialhttps://authory.com/AmandaMoorehttps://www.turtlediaries.net/p/update-from-the-great-american-statehttps://www.turtlediaries.net/p/semiquincentennial-and-ice

Why is Albania having anti-Jared Kushner protests? What did he do to them? And what on Earth is going on in the UK? We asked our resident Europe expert to explain it all to us.Resourceshttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-uks-keir-starmer-went-from-election-landslide-to-downfallhttps://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-albania-luxury-resort-protest-movement-overthrow-albanian-socialist-prime-minister-corrupt-government/https://www.wired.com/story/ivanka-and-jareds-island-resort-could-bring-down-albanias-prime-minister/

How did sports betting burst onto the scene so violently in the last half-decade? Danny Funt, author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling explains the legal, regulatory and business changes that have led us here. For immediate help with problem gambling, please call 1-800-MY-RESET (800-522-4700) or visit https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/Resourceshttps://bookshop.org/p/books/everybody-loses-the-tumultuous-rise-of-american-sports-gambling-danny-funt/f7b6cf17f7e3e9b9?ean=9781668062029&next=thttps://newrepublic.com/article/210094/sports-gambling-national-council-big-tobaccohttps://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2026/02/20/everybody-loses-sports-gambling-danny-funt-review/https://bsky.app/profile/dannyfunt.bsky.socialhttps://x.com/dannyfunt?lang=enhttps://dannyfunt.substack.com/https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/senate-bill/474https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-black-sox-scandal/https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/584/16-476/https://sri.siena.edu/2026/04/13/more-than-a-quarter-of-americans-27-have-an-active-online-sports-betting-account-a-third-have-opened-an-account-at-least-once/https://www.masslive.com/politics/2023/03/really-annoying-sports-betting-ads-are-protected-by-1st-amendment-lawmakers-say.html

What does the Callais decision mean for voting rights and other anti-discrimination protections in the United States? How is anybody supposed to defend their rights against race-based discrimination if they're not allowed to use disparate impact as proof? Catch the discriminators confessing on a voice recording carrot pen, "Zootopia"-style? Bust out the mind-reading machine? We ask Madiba Dennie, author of The Originalism Trap, to explain it, and to help us figure out what to do now.Resources:The Originalism Trap: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780593729250https://ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/alito-callais-opinion-voting-rights-act-fifteenth-amendment/https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-15/

Why has Bari Weiss, a liberal-presenting Trump sycophant, been handed the reins to CBS News, one of our most prestigious news organizations? What does her time running the Free Press, a website that publishes commentary, tell us about how she thinks about "doing the f--king news," which is to say, journalism? Radley Balko joins Trent and Caitlin to explain what he found when he dug into the work of one Free Press "reporter" who whitewashed Trump's refugee policy and demonized resettlement NGOs.Resources"How Bari Weiss's Free Press Laundered MAGA Talking Points About Refugees" https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/how-bari-weisss-free-press-laundered"Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781541774537"The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South" https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781541774056Last Week Tonight: https://youtube.com/watch?si=azsf62uWi2915K-6&v=gieTx_P6INQ&feature=youtu.beAcademic freedom: https://theintercept.com/2018/03/08/the-nyts-bari-weiss-falsely-denies-her-years-of-attacks-on-the-academic-freedom-of-arab-scholars-who-criticize-israel/"Inside Bari Weiss's Hostile Takeover of CBS News" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/26/inside-bari-weisss-hostile-takeover-of-cbs-newsIn Bed With the Right: https://www.patreon.com/posts/152713931?collection=1409249

What was the first American Reconstruction after the Civil War? Why are some historians suggesting we just left a second sort of Reconstruction Era? Join Caitlin and Trent as they got into it all with Historian Thomas Zimmer, going from the first period of reconstruction, across the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before pressing through this second reconstruction, which Thomas considers as being from 1965 to 2026. They then turned their attention towards what lays ahead for the United States, as well as why some Germans just don’t care about what’s going on across the Atlantic Ocean.Resources:democracyamericana.comwww.thomaszimmer.online

What was Andrew Jackson's favorite gelatin-based meal? Why did Hilary Clinton feel a deep and urgent need to tell everyone about her fantastic chocolate chip cookie recipe? Did Ronald Reagan really eat that many jelly beans? We answer these questions and more with Bennett Rea, creator and host of Cookin' With Congress. Plus a little taste test!Resourceshttps://www.cookinwithcongress.com/https://www.instagram.com/cookinwithcongress/?hl=enhttps://www.youtube.com/@cookinwithcongresshttps://www.tiktok.com/@cookinwithcongresshttps://cookinwithcongress.substack.com/

Is this chatbot sentient? Is AI my friend? Is isolation hackable? Trent and Caitlin discuss recent AI news, Sam Altman's troubles legal and otherwise, labor organizing as a strategy against the worst fears of AI experts, and whether Richard Dawkins is conscious, in this news digest episode with linguist and AI researcher Hagen Blix.Resourceshttps://bookshop.org/p/books/why-we-fear-ai-on-the-interpretation-of-nightmares-hagen-blix/377a4501006cfc55?ean=9781945335174&next=tLetter to Meta leadership https://mcipetition.com/ https://jacobin.com/2025/02/tech-workers-silicon-valley-trumphttps://jacobin.com/2025/12/hype-artificial-intelligence-vc-capitalhttps://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/meta-start-capturing-employee-mouse-movements-keystrokes-ai-training-data-2026-04-21/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/18/sam-altman-house-attack-aihttps://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/12/technology/openai-trial-sam-altman-elon-muskhttps://www.wired.com/story/meta-layoffs-bad-vibes-mark-zuckerberg-ai/https://tech-insider.org/meta-layoffs-8000-employees-135-billion-ai-capex-2026/https://unherd.com/2026/05/is-ai-the-next-phase-of-evolution/?edition=us https://unherd.com/2026/05/when-claudia-met-claudius/

In a time when the ruling party seems to be totally fine with breaking every law, every rule, and every norm that was holding our country in the general shape and consistency of a democracy, what should the opposition party be willing to do? Are there times when retaliation that goes against one of our principles might serve a greater purpose? Are there times when it would only further erode our values? Trent and Caitlin ask Political Theory Professor Jacob T. Levy what he thinks.Resourcesjacobtlevy.comhttps://bookshop.org/p/books/rationalism-pluralism-and-freedom-tomlinson-professor-of-political-theory-jacob-t-levy/70b7b87a3f2b1667?ean=9780198717140&next=thttps://bsky.app/profile/jacobtlevy.bsky.socialhttps://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/06/supreme-court-john-roberts-voting-criticism-00909592https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a71244450/john-roberts-scotus-political-power/https://ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/louisiana-v-callais-opinion-recap-voting-rights-act/https://theconversation.com/racial-gerrymandering-may-be-here-to-stay-282349https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/04/trump-civil-service-schedule-f/682609/https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/house-lawmakers-press-paramount-ceo-warner-brothers-acquisition-2026-05-12/SCOTUS photo By Fred Schilling - https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/justices.aspx, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=124352288

Progressive messaging is so hot, the cynical opportunists are appropriating it for mass appeal. A combat surgeon returned from Gaza has found financial support in a pro-Palestine super PAC. Public pressure may prevent new ICE facilities. Journalist Whitney Curry Wimbish walks us through these and other recent stories she has worked on for The American Prospect.Resourceshttps://am-quickie.ghost.io/https://prospect.org/2025/12/26/profiting-off-immigrant-illness-abuse-and-terror/https://www.vera.org/news/a-blueprint-for-resistance-how-residents-and-local-governments-are-shutting-down-ice-detention-in-warehouseshttps://prospect.org/2026/04/30/palestine-super-pac-new-jersey-12-district-adam-hamawy/https://prospect.org/2026/04/28/pennsylvania-congressional-race-pits-corporate-defender-crosswell-against-union-organizer/

Apartheid and incursions into Palestinian territory are accomplished by a specific set of tactics. Oren Ziv, an Israeli photojournalist, joins Trent and Caitlin to describe some examples of the strategies he has seen in person and learned of in his reporting.Resourceshttps://www.activestills.org/https://www.972mag.com/writer/orenziv/https://www.972mag.com/israeli-settler-violence-condemnations-smokescreen/https://www.972mag.com/israel-settler-outposts-west-bank-area-b/https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-disinherited-journal-of-a-palestinian-exile-fawaz-turki/0d994329d6134ffc?ean=9780853452485&next=thttps://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114702https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/08/israeli-lawyer-arrested-for-peaceful-protest-leaves-prison-after-110-dayshttps://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2026-04-22/ty-article/.premium/israels-independence-day-ceremony-would-inspire-even-pyongyang/0000019d-b479-dbb2-a19d-b77f446d0000https://www.ft.com/content/2f826acb-c1d2-4144-a9cc-73d008a727a3?syn-25a6b1a6=1https://www.972mag.com/march-of-return-nakba-2026/Map of areas A, B, and C https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Areas-A-B-and-C-after-Oslo-II_fig1_276258691

You can't say anything these days! Especially not on a college campus, and especially not if you're a white man. For evidence, please enjoy this loose assemblage of sixth-hand anecdotes with no detail or reporting to back it up. This is the discursive form that Caitlin and Trent brought Stanford professor Adrian Daub on to discuss, described in his 2024 book, The Cancel Culture Panic: How an American Obsession Went Global.ResourcesThe Cancel Culture Panic: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-cancel-culture-panic-how-an-american-obsession-went-global-adrian-daub/7c3bcd17c60f4e52?ean=9781503640849&next=tAcademic paper on Caitlin's cancellation story: https://journals.linguisticsociety.org/proceedings/index.php/PLSA/article/download/5257/4885/10012 In Bed With The Right podcast https://gender.stanford.edu/podcastsAssorted cancel culture discourse 2020-2022https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/10/new-puritans-mob-justice-canceled/619818/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/steven-pinker-will-be-just-fine/614323/https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/07/09/steven-pinker-wont-be-cancelled-but-you-could-be/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/opinion/campus-speech-cancel-culture.htmlhttps://www.motherjones.com/recharge/2020/07/factually-flawed-anti-pinker-letter/Caitlin's answer to the MJ thing https://c-moriah-green.medium.com/bad-news-about-that-pro-pinker-mother-jones-piece-it-doesnt-make-any-fucking-sense-5efb27a72495Cancel Culture is Overhttps://www.persuasion.community/p/why-woke-failedhttps://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/04/graham-platner-nazi-tattoo-democrats-voters-maine.htmlWe're fixing it with the help of our wealthy donorshttps://www.chronicle.com/article/meet-the-donors-funding-the-civil-dialogue-boom-at-colleges https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/15/harvard-donors-viewpoint-diversity/https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/university-intellectual-freedom-center-creates-100000609.htmlhttps://stevenpinker.com/files/pinker/files/documents/steven-pinker-im-pinned-between-cancel-culture-and-trump-002.pdfThank you Mr. Trump BUThttps://ash.harvard.edu/articles/why-im-excited-about-the-white-houses-proposal-for-a-higher-ed-compact/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/opinion/democrats-trump-midterms-future.html Charlie Kirk Actshttps://wpln.org/post/tennessees-charlie-kirk-act-bans-student-walkouts-protects-conservative-speakers/ https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/free-speech/2026/04/21/tenn-passes-charlie-kirk-act-defending-campus-speakers

Look at my Iran negotiator, dawg, we’re never getting through the Strait of Hormuz. Friend of the program Y. L. Al-Sheikh helps us understand the unfolding diplomatic and military nightmare that is the Middle East, and how the United States plays a role in each.

Goodbye to Viktor Orban! Don't let the door hit you! Trent and Caitlin bring you a discussion with resident Europe expert Hunter CG (also known as @roterote).Resourceshttps://bsky.app/profile/roterote.bsky.socialhttps://www.tiktok.com/@roterotemediahttps://linktr.ee/roterotemediahttps://19thnews.org/2026/04/voting-citizenship-proof-laws-trump-save-america-act/https://www.newsweek.com/viktor-orban-hungary-election-jd-vance-rally-11804123https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-cash-shipment-detained-hungary-745c17643b9a0965024d7a8410c5fc17https://www.euandyou.eu/https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-owned-continent-dave-keating/8629bc69280d3c81?ean=9782960407303&next=thttps://www.rev.com/transcripts/vance-and-orban-press-conferencehttps://newrepublic.com/article/179776/heritage-foundation-viktor-orban-trumphttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/opinion/magyar-orban-hungary-trump-defeat.html

A bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac is in charge of our nation's military for some reason, and he just can't stop saying stuff that confirms that he deeply believes that extreme violence is awesome and God likes it a lot. Trent and Caitlin ask Greg Sargent of the New Republic what he learned from experts about the ideology that underpins Pete Hegseth's attitude toward violence.Resources:https://newrepublic.com/article/208322/pete-hegseth-religion-war-iran-sadism-ragehttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh7CFELPzz6ZOwhBZ4h7d84m8Lg1oTKKahttps://bsky.app/profile/gregsargent.bsky.social"back to the stone age" tweet https://archive.ph/cWADPhttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/14/analysts-say-us-threat-of-no-quarter-for-iran-violates-international-law"Reign of Error" book https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780345806352"Creating the Credibility Gap" book https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781249405627

Delta Airlines brought Liam Ramos back from the child prison in Texas, but they don't seem to want to talk about how they took him there in the first place. Trent and Caitlin debrief with Gillian Brockell about the current status of ICE flights, the fate of the boy in the bunny hat, and the way journalists credit each other (and also sometimes don't) when they rely on each other's reporting.Resources:https://gillianbrockell.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/gillianbrockell.comUzbek deportation story https://newsletter.mariannedhenin.com/asylum-seeker-deported-after-suicide-attempt-in-ice-jail-advocates-say/Video proves Delta flew Liam to Dilley https://gillianbrockell.com/video-proves-delta-flew-liam-ramos-and-his-dad-to-ice-detention-center/Independent version: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/delta-air-lines-liam-ramos-ice-texas-b2940372.htmlAP version https://apnews.com/article/liam-ramos-video-ice-delta-commercial-flight-7b0ed36899da68177a6fdd665fb8a205Liam Conejo Ramos judge rejects asylum claim https://www.npr.org/2026/03/20/nx-s1-5753981/liam-conejo-ramos-family-fights-immigration-judges-ruling-to-deport-them-to-ecuadorKristi Noem F**K Jet details https://gillianbrockell.com/noems-luxury-d-jet-for-deportations-is-the-tip-of-the-ice-berg/The War Zone coverage https://www.twz.com/news-features/new-dhs-gulfstream-jet-now-flying-secretary-noemCareless People https://bookshop.org/p/books/careless-people-a-cautionary-tale-of-power-greed-and-lost-idealism-sarah-wynn-williams/804251bb5d4b06b3?ean=9781250391230&next=tNew Hampshire blizzard flight grounded https://gillianbrockell.com/breaking-shackled-migrants-trapped-on-deportation-plane-stuck-in-blizzard/More on NH flight https://gillianbrockell.com/ice-deportation-flight-leaves-nh-after-31-hours-exposes-chronic-problems/Seth Miller digging into the NH flight https://bsky.app/profile/wandrme.paxex.aero/post/3mfkamntcws24?ref=gillianbrockell.com Ms. Rachel is getting it done https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/03/ms-rachel-ice-dilley-detention-center-accurso/Send tips or request flight info for legal clients to Signal @gbrockell.44

What the hell is going on in Texas? Trent and Caitlin welcome Houston culture reporter Gwen Howerton about the Texas senate primaries, censorship in prisons, and the state of LGBTQ+ rights in the Lone Star State.Resources:https://bsky.app/profile/kissphoria.bsky.socialhttps://www.chron.com/culture/article/cornyn-paxton-texas-senate-ai-22082110.phphttps://www.chron.com/culture/article/texas-prison-book-ban-22079345.php

What's happened in New York City since Zohran Mamdani became mayor in January? Has it become a Marxist-Islamic bastion, ruled by a soviet in the succeeding three months? Trent and Caitlin discuss the Sharia Socialism of NYC Mayor Mamdani, the naked vice signalling and stove-touching of the GOP with author Ryan Cooper.Resourceshttps://bsky.app/profile/ryanlcooper.comhttps://prospect.org/https://www.leftanchor.com/https://gothamist.com/news/facing-historic-blizzard-mamdani-says-nyc-learned-lessons-from-last-snowstormhttps://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/congestion-pricing-nyc-subways-ridership-report-2025/https://www.liberalcurrents.com/neon-liberalism-30-rethinking-international-trade/

Trent and Caitlin achieve the coveted threepeat guest appearance with journalist Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket, fresh off her incredible legal win obtaining the body cam footage from the DC cops who assisted the DOGE boys in breaking into the USIP office in March 2025. They discuss the total disregard for life, law, and locked doors that was on display that day, as well as the frustrating events following Marisa's FOIA success. Resourceshttps://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.socialhttps://www.thehandbasket.co/p/body-cam-footage-usip-doge-raid-mpd-lawsuithttps://www.404media.co/the-removed-doge-deposition-videos-have-already-been-backed-up-across-the-internet/

Trent and Caitlin catch up with employment litigator Joshua Erlich about the difficulties of holding immigration and border patrol agents to account when they break the law. What happens when you can't be sure which individual attacked you? How can their actions be restricted, and what should Democrats do given their level of power in the government right now?ResourcesJoshua's bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/joshuaerlich.bsky.socialLegal help for federal employees in the DMV: https://mwela.org/Legal help for federal employees nationally: https://NELA.org/Joshua's office: https://www.erlichlawoffice.com/lawyers/joshua-erlich/Federal forces keep shooting people: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/26/ice-minneapolis-shooting-alex-prettiDems coalescing around five restrictions on ICE: https://newrepublic.com/article/205723/dem-senator-harsh-new-takedown-trump-hits-home-breaking-pointSuozzi is sorry https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/us/democrats-ice-funding-vote-dhs.html

Caitlin and Trent talk with Aurelien Mondon about his recent political science paper outlining the limitations of considering all politics through the lens of "polarization." They discuss the pitfalls of the term and the ways "polarizing" events and speech can be drastically different and sometimes even positive.Resourceshttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41296-025-00779-4https://www.searchlightinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Searchlight-Memo-to-Interested-Parties_-Reform-and-Retrain-ICE-Dont-Abolish-It.pdfhttps://prospect.org/2026/01/19/author-dont-say-abolish-ice-memo-corporate-consultant-westexec/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/02/04/ice-minneapolis-287g-tom-homan-sanctuary/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-ice-masks-dhs-shutdown_n_69839db8e4b053ac3e17298d?origin=top-ad-recirchttps://www.majorityleader.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5822https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/06/22/trump-millennial-supporters-washington-dc-218833/https://www.npr.org/2025/11/14/nx-s1-5608204/white-house-dismisses-release-of-epstein-documents-as-a-distraction-from-democratshttps://midutahradio.com/news/local-news/mike-johnson-calls-for-political-rhetoric-to-calm/https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2012/02/10/146691773/euphemisms-concentration-camps-and-the-japanese-internment

Trent and Caitlin reconnect with journalist Walker Bragman to hash out the current state of the NIH and HHS, the ideologies that drive people to promote eugenics and science denial, and the childish nature of fascism.Resources:https://www.importantcontext.news/https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/https://bsky.app/profile/walkerbragman.bsky.socialhttps://publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/resources/us-measles-trackerhttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/trump-means-surgeon-general-congress-state-of-the-union-live-updates-rcna260120https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/bhattacharya-urges-measles-vaccination-us-activity-increaseshttps://www.brookings.edu/articles/audible-reckoning-how-top-political-podcasters-spread-unsubstantiated-and-false-claims/

Happy days are not here again, but at least Trent and Caitlin have Jeff Waldorf, the Logical Leftist, to hang out with while they process it all. The United States has dropped bombs on Iran, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several of his top-ranking officials, civilians, and the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school, in which more than 160 little girls were killed. They talk through the conflicting, nonsensical, and sometimes straight-up Orwellian justifications provided by US politicians for initiating a war of aggression against another country in the Middle East.Resourceshttps://www.youtube.com/@LogicallyLeftisthttps://www.facebook.com/JeffWaldorfShow/https://www.instagram.com/logicalleftist/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:hv7pcnm6u7s544ycmf7xjatchttps://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-tells-congress-no-sign-that-iran-was-going-attack-us-first-sources-say-2026-03-02/https://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5730203/iran-israel-trump-congress-strikes-reactionhttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/nuclear-program-missiles-regime-change-trump-struggles-define-iran-war-rcna261309https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/iran-war-us-israel-trump-03-03-26https://www.npr.org/2026/03/02/g-s1-112151/iran-war-widens-threatens-to-engulf-lebanonhttps://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5730203/iran-israel-trump-congress-strikes-reactionhttps://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-experts-deeply-disturbed-by-child-deaths-escalating-middle-east-conflict-2026-03-04/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/nyregion/merchant-iran-plot-assassination-trump.html

Trent and Caitlin check in with journalist Gillian Brockell after the release of her article on ICE air. They discuss the recent mass layoffs at the Washington Post, the abhorrent treatment of deportees, the justifications used to mistreat humans, and the importance of empathy and being a human.Resources:https://gillianbrockell.ghost.io/https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.socialhttps://www.businessinsider.com/billionaires-richer-and-stingier-than-ever-forbes-400-list-2021-10https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/08/26/emmett-till-william-bradford-huie-carolyn-bryant-civil-rights/https://www.npr.org/2026/02/07/nx-s1-5705413/washington-post-ceo-resigns-will-lewishttps://51st.news/https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/02/17/court-hearings-lawsuit-alleging-ice-agents-racially-profiled-us-citizens-minnesotaGinsburg on Firing Line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBpoZBhvBa4https://discourses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Teun-A.-van-Dijk-2008-News-discourse-and-ideology.pdfhttp://brianb.freeshell.org/a/kddd.pdfhttps://bookshop.org/p/books/wild-faith-how-the-christian-right-is-taking-over-america-talia-lavin/1cf72a0d0396cdce?ean=9780306829192&next=thttps://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-lovejoy-trap-fascism-masquerading-as-care/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/omni-ice-deportations-charter-flight-stonepeak-private-equity/https://newrepublic.com/article/206058/transcript-trump-ice-threats-take-darker-turn-maga-calls-bloodhttps://www.baloproject.org/

Trent and Caitlin talk with author and journalist Andrea Pitzer about the modern concentration camp model, its history and public perception, and the concentration camps the United States government is operating and hopes to open in the near future.Resourceshttps://andreapitzer.com/Andrea's newsletter: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/Andrea's book on camps: https://bookshop.org/p/books/one-long-night-a-global-history-of-concentration-camps-andrea-pitzer/ea53c06c993f6ad0?ean=9780316303569&next=tAndrea's book on Nabokov: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-secret-history-of-vladimir-nabokov-andrea-pitzer/fe47f57e9a2b2a73?ean=9781639361182&next=t https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-buys-warehouses-immigration-detention/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/us/politics/ice-warehouses-trump-voters.htmlhttps://bookshop.org/p/books/friendly-fascism-the-new-face-of-power-in-america-bertram-gross/414671ea6a34dd2c?ean=9781497689404&next=thttps://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/black-lives-matter-movement-not-covid-19-encouraged-voters-toward-biden-2020-election

Trent and Caitlin chatted with Hunter CG of RoteRote Media and Democrats Abroad, looking at the GOP's latest assault on voting rights, the SAVE America Act. This act has passed the House of Representatives and will be addressed by the Senate in the next couple of days. They talk about all the different ways this piece of legislation disenfranchises voters in the US and abroad, and they exhort everyone to reach out to their senators and make it clear that its passing would be unacceptable.Resources:https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/9-things-to-know-about-the-proposed-save-america-acthttps://www.tiktok.com/@roterotemediahttps://www.advocate.com/politics/national/save-act-lgbtq-voters https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/senate-to-vote-on-save-america-act-as-voter-id-debate-intensifies-susan-collins-chuck-schumer-photo-id

Caitlin and Trent talk with journalist Amanda Moore about her work tracking the DHS "surges" all over the United States, her efforts to get close to former commander at large Gregory Bovino, and her experience trying to form conclusions about the broader patterns of immigration forces' violence over time.Resources:https://substack.com/@noturtlesoup17https://www.instagram.com/noturtlesoup17/?hl=enhttps://bsky.app/profile/noturtlesoup17.bsky.socialBovino's legacy of violence https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUbhHF7jCI8/Trump's War on History https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/america-freedom-task-force-250-trump-anniversary-history-smithsonian-kennedy-center/The Horns and Whistles Work https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/12/the-horns-and-whistles-work/

Trent and Caitlin boogie with friend-of-the-program, journalist Jonathan M. Katz of The Racket. They talk Super Bowl, Bad Bunny, the TPUSA halftime safe space show, and immigration detention.Resources:theracket.newshttps://bsky.app/profile/katz.theracket.newshttps://www.tiktok.com/@katzonearth?lang=enSchools Closed in Puerto Rico: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/12/magazine/puerto-rico-schools-hurricane-maria.htmlInfrastructure in Puerto Rico: https://katz.substack.com/p/the-cluster-in-puerto-rico?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webGangsters of Capitalism: https://bookshop.org/p/books/gangsters-of-capitalism-smedley-butler-the-marines-and-the-making-and-breaking-of-america-s-empire-jonathan-m-katz/c1ca55fd36f1b6d4?ean=9781250135599&next=tThe Big Truck That Went By: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-big-truck-that-went-by-how-the-world-came-to-save-haiti-and-left-behind-a-disaster-jonathan-m-katz/b3ca7a131069f3ac?ean=9781137278975&next=t

Trent and Caitlin catch up with political science assistant professor Matt McManus. They discuss the narratives surrounding resistance in the twin cities, the loud and ugly voices on the right describing an ideology of cruelty and dehumanization, and the power of regular people to puncture false claims from the government.Resources: https://www.factcheck.org/2026/01/as-ice-arrests-increased-a-higher-portion-had-no-u-s-criminal-record/https://im1776.com/2022/07/01/christopher-rufo-interview/https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-is-post-modern-conservatism-essays-on-our-hugely-tremendous-times-matthew-mcmanus/270db00d6106d9a7?ean=9781789042450&next=thttps://bookshop.org/p/books/the-political-theory-of-liberal-socialism-matthew-mcmanus/f7f9b79be796b7ec?ean=9781032647234&next=t

Trent and Caitlin talk to Chris Geidner of Law Dork about the absolute deluge of legal news that seems to be crashing over us like a tsunami. What are the current assaults on our constitutional rights? What are judges and lawmakers doing to defend those rights? Why is Mike Johnson pretending the Fourth Amendment doesn’t exist?Resources: https://www.lawdork.com/https://bsky.app/profile/lawdorknews.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.socialMike Johnson being wrong about the 4th amendment: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mdxoltnsyz2aPerdomo decision: https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/case-files/noem-v-perdomo/Bondi demands voter rolls: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/pam-bondi-letter-to-minnesota-voter-roll-data-alex-pretti-ice-midterms-trump/MN US attorneys resigning: https://www.startribune.com/another-wave-of-departures-in-minnesotas-us-attorneys-office/601575569Mark Zaid security clearance case: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/13/trump-mark-zaid-restore-clearanceTulsi Gabbard at Georgia elections office raid: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/29/tulsi-gabbard-georgia-fbi-elections-raid

Caitlin and Trent talk with journalist Gillian Brockell about her work tracking the flights and airline companies that move people in unsafe conditions to third-party recipient countries, where they will be imprisoned, mistreated, tortured, and possibly sent to their country of origin in violation of international law.ResourcesICE flight monitor https://humanrightsfirst.org/ice-flight-monitor/Unsafe Conditions on Deportation planes: https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ice-air-deportation-flightsGillian "interferes" in illegal ICE flight https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.social/post/3lpnjho77jc25Linda Brent (Harriet Jacobs) autobiography https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780486419312Protest Key Lime Air Jan. 31 in Alamosa https://arkvalleyvoice.com/demonstration-against-key-lime-airs-ice-connections-set-for-january-31-in-alamosa/Key Lime Air https://boulderreportinglab.org/2025/12/28/cu-boulder-keeps-key-lime-air-contract-as-denver-ends-its-deal-over-ice-flights/Denver Air Connections https://cnycentral.com/news/nation-world/denver-colorado-city-council-rejects-airline-contract-for-its-association-with-president-donald-trumps-administration-ice-immigration-agendaGillian's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.socialWhat is ICE Air? https://gillianbrockell.ghost.io/what-is-ice-air/

Trent and Caitlin ask Evan Urquhart about his 2025 wrap up piece on Assigned Media: "The Year We Lost Everything." They discuss the need to take stock of where we are on trans rights, autonomy and the various freedoms we hold dear, and the value of acknowledging that we are not hysterical or out of touch with reality when we feel those freedoms being wrenched from our grasp. We talk about the intense pressure in corporate media to maintain anti-trans bias and the wonderful work independent journalists are doing to find and share the truth.

Caitlin and Trent chat with linguistics scholars Savi Namboodiripad and Daniel Midgley on what word most exemplifies 2025. Was it a new coinage? A pre-existing word that gained a new meaning or usage this year? A word that seemed to be on everybody's lips in 2025?Resources:https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year"6 7" song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xpV4ix2K8https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/27/more-than-20-of-videos-shown-to-new-youtube-users-are-ai-slop-study-findshttps://www.economist.com/culture/2025/12/03/and-the-economists-word-of-the-year-for-2025-ishttps://www.dictionary.com/articles/word-of-the-year-2025https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-dictionary-reveals-word-of-the-year-2025https://blog.collinsdictionary.com/language-lovers/collins-word-of-the-year-2025-ai-meets-authenticity-as-society-shifts/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/2147118/is-that-grocery-product-really-canadian-or-is-it-maple-washing"getting sendy" song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYAQEJyqR7Egroup 7 https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2025/10/27/tiktoks-group-7-meme-explained/https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/lore https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/unchttps://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/choppedhttps://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/huzzhttps://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-performative-male-how-young-men-are-experimenting-with-masculinity-online-268742https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051221126040https://dailyillini.com/opinions-stories/columns-opinions/culture/2025/10/25/opinion-unmasking-performative-male/https://www.forbes.com/sites/kianbakhtiari/2025/09/28/performative-males-gen-z-irony-and-the-death-of-sincerity/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/us/rapture-tiktok-sept-23.htmlEpstein's email simulator https://www.jmail.world/https://othermeans.io/p/the-glonzo-strategyhttps://www.theverge.com/policy/798491/frog-portland-trump-national-guardhttps://the-monsters.fandom.com/wiki/The_Monstershttps://lafufu.art/blog/labubu-vs-lafufuhttps://www.thelist.com/1817157/what-is-mar-a-lago-face-who-has-tried-the-trend/https://bsky.app/profile/canadiandictionary.bsky.social/post/3m7tf3jm2fc2chttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/oprah-podcast-no-contact-adult-children-parents_n_69389e85e4b0fb6244b0daa8https://fortune.com/2025/12/29/trump-tariffs-cost-25000-per-month-small-business-importers-center-american-progress/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/us/politics/doge-musk-trump-analysis.htmlhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-doge-government-spending-2025-b2890243.htmlhttps://www.vox.com/culture/376401/r-word-slur-return-euphemism-treadmill-cyclehttps://www.lawdork.com/p/the-kavanaugh-stop-50-days-laterhttps://www.cnn.com/2025/05/30/politics/trump-taco-angry-tariffhttps://www.buzzfeed.com/abbyzinman/canadians-elbows-up-explainerhttps://pen.org/banned-words-list/https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2025/03/15/these-197-terms-may-trigger-reviews-of-your-nih-nsf-grant-proposals/https://www.dailydot.com/memes/everythings-computer-trump-quote-meme/https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/trump-promises-harsher-ice-crackdownshttps://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/27/chatgpt-suicide-openai-raine/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/snap-welfare-queen-ai-memes-1235460824/https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/10022/who-coined-the-phrase-rapid-unscheduled-disassembly#10219https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/rapid-unplanned-disassembly-rudhttps://becauselanguage.com/131-wotwoty-2025/

Trent and Caitlin catch up with Greg Sargent from The New Republic about his recent piece exploring the family history and ideology of Stephen Miller. How did the product of Russian Jewish refugees come to see today's refugees as incapable of integration in American society? What are the white nationalist positions on who is a real American, and how does Miller navigate his position in relation to those ideologies? Why do these unlovable jerks insist on the myth that community and empathy are suicidal?Resources:The New Republic: https://newrepublic.comThe Daily Blast Podcast: https://newrepublic.com/podcastsGreg's piece on Miller: https://newrepublic.com/article/204191/stephen-miller-maga-terror-state-dark-plotStephen Miller on Somali immigrants: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/11/politics/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-law-somaliaFacts about Somali community in MN: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/5-things-to-know-about-the-somali-community-in-minnesota-after-trumps-attacksHatemonger: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780062986726 When The Clock Broke: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781250390417 Furious Minds: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780691255262 DHS Twitter Account: https://archive.ph/Vg8c7Stephen Miller's cousin: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/stephen-miller-cousin-alisa-kasmer/

Caitlin and Trent speak with Mark Copelovitch, a political science professor from University of Wisconsin–Madison. They discuss the problem of a world power going rogue, the lack of viable responses for countries like Venezuela and Denmark, and the costs to international trust when the US is so unreliable.Resources:https://polisci.wisc.edu/staff/mark-copelovitch/https://www.markcopelovitch.com/https://bsky.app/profile/mcopelov.bsky.socialhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfXZxn2z8U0https://archive.is/OriWG

Trent and Caitlin check in with the Handbasket’s Marisa Kabas about the year that has been the first week of 2026. What are we doing in Venezuela, and why is corporate media being so weird about it? What are the ethics of publishing scoops that involve military actions? Why are we doing our war crimes from a resort ballroom in Florida?Resources:https://www.thehandbasket.co/https://www.semafor.com/article/01/03/2026/new-york-times-washington-post-held-off-on-reporting-venezuela-raidhttps://www.cnn.com/2026/01/05/politics/video/trump-mar-a-lago-war-room-maduro-venezuela-vrtchttps://www.wsj.com/world/americas/trumps-donroe-doctrine-aims-to-dominate-the-americas-b31208dd?mod=Searchresults&pos=3&page=1

Trent and Caitlin talk with philosophy of science expert Nathan Oseroff-Spicer about his review of the book "The War On Science," how the book misses the mark, what strategies its authors use to downplay the threats from the right and fabricate a threat from the left, and what motivations could possibly lead thirty-nine scholars to create such a meritless collection of propaganda under the leadership of someone like known pest Lawrence Krauss.Resources:https://www.liberalcurrents.com/wars-on-science-real-and-otherwise/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/warscience/https://www.dailynebraskan.com/news/administration/breaking-this-hurts-unl-eliminates-4-programs-despite-faculty-student-pleas/article_e0d11a61-0fcc-4e66-b364-d16e89bea336.htmlhttps://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-chatbot-journal-research-fake-citations-1235485484/https://blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/13/llm-usage-and-manipulation-in-peer-review/https://www.advocate.com/news/second-ou-instructor-suspendedhttps://www.facebook.com/OUNightlyTV/posts/pfbid02nieL7PmXwUDAnNcHzK9HLBWdCQ1EyjA7S1pDvrRxEaGw7qkqAR3oGtjXwFXkb4KBlUPDATE: grad student no longer teaching https://www.koco.com/article/samantha-fulnecky-professor-graduate-instructor-no-longer-at-ou-oklahoma/69841882https://pen.org/trumps-compact-for-higher-education-faq/https://www.science.org/content/article/nsf-pares-down-grant-review-process-reducing-influence-outside-scientistshttps://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/12/17/aap-hhs-funding-rfk/https://bsky.app/profile/crampell.bsky.social/post/3ma7aivcros2ahttps://hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-shutdown-has-led-to-hundreds-of-thousands-of-deaths/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/rumeysa-ozturk-what-i-witnessed-inside-an-ice-womens-prison?srsltid=AfmBOoqRks5pzgFv2QyjsvuUvNt6E41InSCPQmXwWOoFvxftjMoRvkSyhttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-releases-palestinian-student-at-columbia-who-was-arrested-at-citizenship-interviewhttps://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/11/20/columbia-denies-mahmoud-khalil-sipa-24-campus-access-for-planned-events-citing-security-reasons/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-emails-reveal-ties-to-prominent-scientists/

Caitlin and Trent talk with Matthew Sheffield about his experiences as a former Republican strategist and the information he wants progressives to know about their strategies and successes.Resources:https://plus.flux.community/p/what-republicans-knowhttps://www.patreon.com/posts/142008768?utm_campaign=postshare_fanhttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4qwwk0g0yohttps://www.seattletimes.com/business/sinclair-known-for-conservative-political-tilt/https://deadline.com/2025/12/nexstar-trump-tegna-merger-trump-1236642435/https://www.xfang.studio/books/we-are-definitely-human-wcnat

Trent and Caitlin catch up with journalist Amanda Moore to hear about her tour of American cities that have been targeted for ICE and Border Patrol operations.Resources: https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/broadview-ice-cbp-gregory-bovino/https://www.clippings.me/users/noturtlesoup17https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/us/illinois-broadview-ice-protesters-chargedhttps://abcnews.go.com/US/border-patrol-commander-admitted-lied-tear-gas-incident/story?id=127283392 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-top-border-patrol-goon-gregory-bovino-roasted-for-nazi-look/ https://www.npr.org/2025/12/02/nx-s1-5627502/national-guard-shooting-latesthttps://www.reuters.com/world/us/how-plastic-whistles-are-becoming-an-anti-ice-resistance-tool-chicago-2025-10-23/https://www.thenation.com/article/society/new-orleans-immigration-raids-operation-catahouls-crumch/

Caitlin and Trent talk with Jonathan Howard, a neurologist, psychiatrist, and author of *Everyone Else Is Lying to You* and *We Want Them Infected*, both books analyzing the policies and discourses around the COVID-19 pandemic.ResourcesScience-Based Medicine website: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/*Everyone Else Is Lying to You*: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781959346999*We Want Them Infected*: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781959346036Zeb Larson, "Propaganda, Rather than Pandemic Policies, Caused the War on Public Health" https://www.liberalcurrents.com/propaganda-rather-than-pandemic-policies-caused-the-war-on-public-health/"crank magnetism" https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-pseudoscience/crank-magnetism-weston-price-foundation

Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist and author Jonathan Katz about the gangsters of capitalism, the imperial boomerang, and the moral injuries inflicted when officers, agents, and soldiers engage in the inhumane and depraved acts that are demanded of them.ResourcesJonathan's book https://jonathanmkatz.com/gangstershttps://theracket.newshttps://www.tiktok.com/@katzonearth?lang=enhttps://www.instagram.com/katzonearth/?hl=enimperial boomerang https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/4383-the-imperial-boomerang-how-colonial-methods-of-repression-migrate-back-to-the-metropolis?srsltid=AfmBOorPodSS76ia1ZcpE5D7F77PSU84p0owKWfM2ukUp0s1E10FaYmrthe wrongest war https://theracket.news/p/the-wrongest-warmoral injury https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/cooccurring/moral_injury.aspLA agents drive away with toddler https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-11-04/ice-border-patrol-dodger-stadium-parking-lotUS-Mexico restriction https://www.cbsnews.com/news/warning-signs-mexico-beach-us-department-of-defense-property/Controlled Pod Into Terrain https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNrA2-FWoOnpgOS-ywSQlowThumbnail image https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/unauthorized-us-signs-on-mexican-beach-along-texas-border-lead-to-international-dispute-mexico-president-trump-military-action-marines-drug-war-rio-grande

Trent and Caitlin speak with journalist Spencer Ackerman about the CIA, DHS, and other parts of the US government ostensibly protecting us from terrorism. How have they achieved this level of impunity? What are the precedents for the intolerable level of human rights and privacy violations we see today? What have we allowed to be done to the “other” in the past and present?Resourceshttps://www.forever-wars.com/Spencer's upcoming book https://www.forever-wars.com/book-two-majid-khan-iran-troops/Spencer’s Iron Man issue https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/114934/iron_man_2024_1Homan Square https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-siteUSS Gerald Ford in Caribbean https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/uss-gerald-r-ford-caribeean-venezuela-rcna244193Sexual abuse in ICE detention https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/hundreds-of-immigrants-have-reported-sexual-abuse-at-ice-facilities-most-cases-arent-investigatedCIA abusive practices https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/enhanced-interrogation-tactics-included-lunch-tray-gruesome-force-feeding-methodsSusan Sontag https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/09/24/tuesday-and-after-talk-of-the-townStellar Wind https://www.theguardian.com/nsa-inspector-general-report-document-data-collection"surveillance capitalism" https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/03/harvard-professor-says-surveillance-capitalism-is-undermining-democracy/Palantir and the CIA https://www.fastcompany.com/91446398/cia-police-palantir-alex-karp-predictive-peter-thiel-paypal-sequoia"white innocence" https://www.dukeupress.edu/white-innocence

Caitlin and Trent speak with educational policy researcher Derek Gottlieb about what it's like to research education in a country whose administration thinks public education shouldn't really even be a thing.Resources: https://www.derekgottliebphd.com/"Building a Better Teacher" https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.htmlKristof, "Obama and Our Schools" https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/opinion/13kristof.htmlCavell, "The Claim of Reason" https://academic.oup.com/book/49825Malcolm Gladwell's quarterback problem https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/12/15/most-likely-to-succeed-malcolm-gladwellReduction in Force notices https://www.k12dive.com/news/education-department-layoffs-what-to-know-special-education-civil-rights-lawsuits/802779/Reduction in Force halted https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/nx-s1-5585083/government-shutdown-trump-rif-layoffsAhmed, "On Being Included" https://www.dukeupress.edu/on-being-included