PODCAST · news
Systemic Error Podcast
by Paulo Santos
This isn’t a glitch — it’s the design. Commentary from inside the collapse. paulstsmith.substack.com
Episodes
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Trump faces new court battle after GOP judge quotes Orwell in rebuke
What happened AlterNet reports that the Trump administration asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to undermine the Presidential Records Act, the post-Watergate law establishing that official White House records belong to the government, not personally to the president. The...
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Six-figure foreign secret ties an Idaho campaign to Russia
What happened AlterNet reports that political consultant Chris LaCivita, whom Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s reelection campaign named a senior adviser in February, was also paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to advise the Russia-aligned government of Republika Srpska, an entity within Bosnia and...
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The crush of Trump’s corruption is finally settling in
What happened AlterNet reports that economist and Bulwark columnist Catherine Rampell argues the cumulative weight of President Donald Trump’s financial conflicts and economic policies is registering with voters. She cited allegedly suspicious market trades before Trump withdrew threats against...
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The irony of the GOP's election ploy has trapped Republicans into a corner
What happened AlterNet reports that Republicans’ 2026 election strategy of portraying voter fraud as rampant may discourage some of their own supporters from voting. The article argues that voters who accept Republican warnings about fraudulent results may conclude that participation is…
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Americans face a grim choice this winter — thanks to Trump
What happened Americans who heat their homes with oil face a grim choice: absorb sharply higher bills, cut other spending, or lower the thermostat to potentially unsafe levels. AlterNet reports that heating oil had risen from roughly $2.50 per gallon at the same point in 2025 to $4.63, with…
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'Desperate' Trump is 'just making a lot of this up': Wall Street expert
What happened AlterNet reports that investor and former journalist Steve Rattner accused President Donald Trump of misrepresenting inflation and gasoline prices while blaming former President Joe Biden for current economic conditions. Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Rattner said inflation was...
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Judge accuses Trump DOJ of hiding its 'true motives’
What happened AlterNet, citing a ProPublica investigation, reports that federal judges dismissed all 26 resolved Justice Department lawsuits seeking unredacted state voter rolls. Four cases remained pending, one state settled, and the administration appealed most dismissals; the only appeal…
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'Half a Scaramucci': Critics roar as Katie Zacharia reportedly to 'transition out’
What happened Katie Zacharia was reportedly pushed out of the White House press secretary role after only several days—roughly “half a Scaramucci,” in the joke adopted by critics. AlterNet cites Wall Street Journal reporter Meredith McGraw and an unnamed White House official as reporting that...
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Biographer warns Trump hiring new Chief of Staff to 'launch a civil war’
What happened AlterNet reports that Trump biographer Seth Abramson interprets rumors of a possible post-midterm White House chief-of-staff change as preparation for an effort to “launch a civil war.” That is Abramson’s warning, not an established plan. The article provides no direct evidence that...
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'Look in the mirror': Fat-shamed rally victim takes aim at Trump's health
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump mocked the weight and gender of Blake, a 29-year-old protester who called him a “fascist” and wore a homemade “release the Epstein files” shirt at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on October 12. Blake told PunchUp that three men grabbed her,...
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Trumpworld blame game triggers White House 'circular firing squad’
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump’s administration and political network are consumed by overlapping personnel fights, leaks and public recriminations. Politico reported that Trump had privately discussed replacing White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and considered...
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The surreal reason Trump caved on Hasan's livestreamed execution
What happened Donald Trump abandoned a plan to livestream the December 3 firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan after overwhelming public opposition made the spectacle politically costly. AlterNet reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the broadcast on October 8 and called it a...
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The purge — and how the next election may already be decided
What happened AlterNet argues that Republican-led states are removing large numbers of registrations through confirmation notices, database matching and other list-maintenance procedures that can leave eligible voters missing from election-day rolls. The article warns that these practices could...
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Bari Weiss's CBS News rocked by explosive leak of firing threat
What happened AlterNet reports that CBS News foreign editor Shayndi Raice warned journalists during a Tuesday staff meeting that refusing management directives could constitute insubordination and provide legal grounds for firing. Leaked audio captured Raice telling employees that CBS was not…
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Former Guilfoyle pal says her public downfall is a tragic warning
What happened AlterNet reports that Jami Floyd, a former friend and colleague of Kimberly Guilfoyle, considers Guilfoyle’s public trajectory a warning about choosing proximity to power over earlier principles. Floyd knew Guilfoyle as a rising San Francisco lawyer in the 1990s and later watched…
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MAGA superfan turns against Trump after one disturbing Epstein moment
What happened AlterNet reports that Trisha Hope, a Houston resident who attended 42 Donald Trump rallies, broke with him after his response during a July 8, 2025 cabinet meeting to a question about a missing minute in Jeffrey Epstein’s jailhouse surveillance footage. Trump replied, “Are you still...
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Concern raised over another elderly GOP senator giving off McConnell vibes
What happened AlterNet, citing reporting by The Bulwark, says concerns about Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley’s ability to serve have grown after several public incidents: a rambling answer about Judge James Boasberg, reportedly mistaking a staffer for a journalist, and apparent difficulty…
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Eyebrows raised as Susie Wiles appears to be on chopping block
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump has asked allies whether he should replace White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and has discussed possible successors, including Stephen Miller, Steve Witkoff and Bill Pulte. Politico attributed those conversations to four people it…
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Trump administration chaos laid bare in explosive new leaked emails
What happened AlterNet, citing emails obtained by POLITICO, reports that Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau repeatedly ordered special representative Paolo Zampolli to stop conducting foreign-policy work beyond cultural diplomacy. Zampolli nevertheless met foreign officials about…
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Republican faces backlash from Trump loyalists in new Iowa focus group
What happened AlterNet reports that none of the rural and suburban Iowa voters in a focus group—all of whom voted for Donald Trump in 2024—said they were supporting or leaning toward Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson. Some were considering Democrat Josh Turek, though they wanted...
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Top Republican scoffs at 'manchild' Trump’s tiger meme
What happened AlterNet reports that former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele called President Donald Trump an “immature child” and a “man child” after Trump posted an AI-generated video of himself playing with a tiger. The post followed Trump’s comment on the October 10, 2026,...
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The behind-the-scenes strategy Trump is using to silence his loudest critics
What happened AlterNet argues that President Donald Trump’s strategy for silencing critics is selective intimidation: use federal investigations, prosecutions, employment actions, regulatory pressure, and private legal threats against visible opponents so others anticipate the cost of speaking.…
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The 'Torture Tour' trapping Republicans
What happened AlterNet columnist D. Earl Stephens argues that Donald Trump’s campaign appearances were hurting Republican candidates shortly before midterm elections. He calls the schedule a “Torture Tour”: Republicans had tied themselves to Trump, could not restrain him and, in Stephens’s…
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Secret Service director interview tanks 60 Minutes ratings
What happened AlterNet reports that a 60 Minutes episode featuring Secret Service director Sean M. Curry drew 6.061 million viewers, including 767,000 adults ages 25–54, and finished behind the CBS dramas that followed it. The reporting does not establish that Curry’s interview caused the weak...
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Not over — Guilfoyle nemesis vows to expose Trump family with 'subpoenas’
What happened Trump donor Eric Deters told Daily Beast podcast host Joanna Coles that he plans to sue Kimberly Guilfoyle for defamation and, through that lawsuit, seek subpoenas and depositions from Donald Trump Jr. and others. As AlterNet reported, no suit or subpoena had yet been filed; Deters...
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Longtime Trump pal fired from admin over 'bizarre' feud
What happened AlterNet reports that the State Department fired Paolo Zampolli, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, on Thursday after Politico exposed his monthslong feud with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. A U.S. official told ABC reporter Shannon Kingston that Zampolli’s...
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Distraught GOP pollster says Trump blew Republican 'recovery' to bits
What happened Republican pollster Frank Luntz told CNN that President Donald Trump had squandered what Luntz called an extraordinary political recovery. He blamed Trump’s confrontational rally rhetoric, failure to show empathy over economic anxiety, and recent dismissal of affordability concerns…
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Sleeping giant awakens as Trump drops thousands on dubious light show
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump had four gold chandeliers installed in the West Wing for his June birthday through a $50,000 no-bid contract awarded to a small firm after the White House bypassed normal procedure. The “sleeping giant” in the headline is the American...
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'Let the wheels fall off': Insiders say ousting Wiles could accelerate White House chaos
What happened AlterNet reports that Bill Kristol and Andrew Egger of The Bulwark believe removing White House chief of staff Susie Wiles could accelerate disorder inside the Trump administration. Their assessment is speculative: Politico reportedly said President Donald Trump had asked whether...
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Epstein-linked banks face judgment day as Trump deteriorates
What happened AlterNet reports that Democratic lawmakers introduced the Epstein Wall Street Records Act, which would require federal regulators to publish supervisory records and internal communications concerning Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell within 120 days. The proposal would also…
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Leavitt's admission evidence Trump doesn't care about working mothers
What happened AlterNet reports that former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she resigned in August because the job required more than 60 hours a week, worldwide travel, and constant availability—conditions she could not reconcile with raising two children. On October 14, she...
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'Best way to insult Canadians': How Trump cracked a questionable code
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump’s tariffs, repeated description of Canada as a potential “51st state,” and involvement favoring Alberta separatism have intensified Canadian anger toward the United States. Carleton University professor Stephen M. Saideman told the outlet...
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Trump’s budget rips nearly $3 billion from swing state’s coffers
What happened AlterNet reports that Wisconsin could forgo as much as $2.76 billion in state income-tax revenue from 2028 through 2037 if lawmakers adopt deductions for tipped and overtime income resembling federal policy. Trump’s federal tax law does not itself remove that money from Wisconsin’s...
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CNN rolls out comprehensive supercut of Katie Zacharia’s many lies
What happened AlterNet reports that CNN aired a compilation of Katie Zacharia, described as President Donald Trump’s new press secretary, repeatedly presenting herself as a lawyer even though she graduated from law school but did not pass the California bar. The clips included appearances in…
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Top historian explains Russia's magic grip on the GOP
What happened AlterNet reports that historian Timothy Snyder rejected the idea that Russia holds some mysterious “magic grip” over the entire Republican electorate. In an interview with podcaster Shane Smith, Snyder attributed the Republican leadership’s shift toward Russia to Donald Trump’s...
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Trump drops cold reaction to ex-ambassador on her way out the door
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump publicly minimized Kimberly Guilfoyle’s connection to his family after she was asked to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece amid misconduct allegations. Trump said she had merely dated his son “a long time ago,” although Guilfoyle and...
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NYT columnist exposes glaring flaw in Marco Rubio's history lecture
What happened According to AlterNet, New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie argued that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s October 7 speech in Greece celebrated democratic values through a distorted history while ignoring the Trump administration’s rejection of those same principles. Rubio praised...
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Deja vu: New Siberian lab leak leaves Trump officials scrambling
What happened AlterNet reports that a 28-year-old technician at a Siberian laboratory died within 48 hours of an apparent occupational exposure on September 25. One Russian report alleged that she broke a test tube containing a pneumonic-plague pathogen, but the World Health Organization said the...
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Clandestine Kremlin meetings just sent tremors through CIA headquarters
What happened AlterNet reports that Donald Trump suspended sanctions for six months against countries buying Russian oil or refined products, a move the outlet says could deliver billions of dollars to Russia during its war against Ukraine. Trump publicly thanked Vladimir Putin and later…
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Trump humiliates top aide as insider warns of first-term chaos: report
What happened President Donald Trump chose conservative commentator Katie Zacharia as White House press secretary without consulting chief of staff Susie Wiles, according to AlterNet’s account of Daily Mail reporting. Four unnamed sources said the decision took roughly 72 hours and lacked the...
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Emails expose power play behind Trump's latest Kennedy Center shake-up
What happened AlterNet, citing Washington Post reporting, says emails show how consultant Rick Canny expanded his authority at the Kennedy Center after President Donald Trump’s takeover of the institution. Canny was subsequently named artistic director “in a designated executive consulting...
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Trump now a 'cornered animal' as he faces major new threat: NYT columnist
What happened AlterNet reports that Department of Homeland Security agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence as part of a potentially criminal inquiry into whether her father put incorrect information on naturalization documents years ago. Omar called the search political...
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Trump's empty-seat problem gets worse as CNN issues humiliating reality check
What happened AlterNet reports that White House press secretary Katie Zacharia claimed Trump campaign events were drawing “record highs” in attendance, even as CNN aired footage showing entire sections of empty seats at a Monday rally in Youngstown, Ohio. On Tuesday, CNN anchor Erin Burnett said...
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Trump is 'making America little at last' by abdicating global power: experts
What happened AlterNet reports that political scientist and historian Rahmane Idrissa argued that President Donald Trump is “making America little at last” by abandoning the United States’ traditional role as the dominant organizer of the post-World War II global order. In a Wednesday episode of...
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The plan to bring a lawless Supreme Court to heel next month
What happened AlterNet argues that if Democrats win the House and Senate in the November 3 elections, they should use congressional power to confront the Supreme Court’s 6–3 conservative majority. The proposed agenda includes imposing meaningful ethics rules, investigating judicial conduct,...
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Trump's Social Security promise has a $169 billion problem: report
What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax law is projected to reduce Social Security revenue by $169 billion over a decade, contradicting his promise that Republicans should not cut “a single penny” from the program. The chief actuary’s estimate concerns lost program...
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Trumpworld erupts with 'MAGA blood feud' over missing money
What happened AlterNet reports, citing Axios, that President Donald Trump directed White House lawyers to examine allegations that former adviser Ric Grenell failed to deliver nearly $6 million intended for the Kennedy Center. The allegation came from former Trump attorney Alina Habba after her...
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NYT: A dairy entrepreneur convinced Trump of a sci-fi nuclear threat
What happened AlterNet reports that New York dairy entrepreneur Henry Schwartz helped persuade Donald Trump and prominent Republican officials that Iran could cripple the United States with a high-altitude nuclear detonation producing an electromagnetic pulse. In 2019, Trump signed an executive...
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Trump and his MAGA enablers keep lowering the bar — and there is no bottom
What happened At a midterm campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, Donald Trump said of the reported Iran war, “Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego,” while arguing that higher gasoline prices were a small cost for keeping the country safe. AlterNet reports that the crowd...
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Judge openly mocks Trump's golf project excuse in brutal ruling
What happened AlterNet reports that U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes rejected the Trump administration’s claim that a rushed tree-removal operation at Washington’s East Potomac Golf Links was merely routine maintenance based on a 2019 preservation report. On the limited record before her, Reyes...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Systemic Error Podcast have?
Systemic Error Podcast currently has 998 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Systemic Error Podcast about?
This isn’t a glitch — it’s the design. Commentary from inside the collapse. paulstsmith.substack.com
How often does Systemic Error Podcast release new episodes?
Systemic Error Podcast releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 998 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.
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You can listen to Systemic Error Podcast 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 Systemic Error Podcast?
Systemic Error Podcast is created and hosted by Paulo Santos.
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