PODCAST · news
The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich
by Robert Reich
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich exposes where power lies in our system — and how it's used and abused. robertreich.substack.com
Episodes
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Trump’s Midterm Madness | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, October 17, 2026
Friends, Today, with just over two weeks to go until the midterm elections, Michael, Kamau, and I take stock of where we are: Trump is acting weirder than ever (which is saying something), his polls are lower than ever, inflation is higher than it’s been in years, his war in Iran is getting even...
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Trump’s Midterm F*ck-up | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, October 10, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I are joined by our colleague Vishal Shankar to review where the midterm elections now stand and the issues emerging from them. We take a deep dive into what Trump is doing to save — or, in reality, hurt — Republican Senate and House candidates, and what a Democratic...
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Is a Reckoning Coming? | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, October 3, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I take a hard look at the allegations over what occurred in a Cornell fraternity and explore why they’re sending tremors across America. Do they have anything to do with Trump’s toxic masculinity, the misogyny of his regime, and the male-dominant underpinnings of...
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In Conversation with Timothy Snyder: On Tyranny, Trump, and the Midterms
Friends, Five weeks from today, America will make a choice about the future of our democracy. Today I talk about tyranny, Trump, and the upcoming midterm elections with Professor Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny as well as a number of other important books. Snyder specializes in the history…
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Trump’s a Lame D*ck | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, September 26, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I examine Trump’s efforts to silence criticism — not only by banning CNN, Politico, and MSNOW from the White House this week, but, even more worrisome, putting his billionaire buddy Larry Ellison and Larry’s son David in control of CNN as well as CBS News, HBO, TikTok,...
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In Conversation with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
Friends, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor are two of my favorite thinkers who see the large patterns of wealth and power in our world, and the consequences for our daily lives. Their latest book, End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World explains how neofascist groups — religious…
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He’s Out of His Gourd | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, September 19, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into the debate over AI, why Trump is so against regulating it, and whether the CEOs of giant AI corporations who have called for regulation are sincere or seeking cover for the crises to come. We also look at Trump’s increasingly berserk behavior…
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Trump’s Phony $5,000 Bribe | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, September 12, 2026
Friends, I’m taking the day off, and Heather, Kamau, and Michael are taking the reins. As you’ll see, they keep our klatch as lively, informative, and enjoyable as ever. They ask, among other things: How excited are you for that $5,000 Trump check? What the Flock is up with the surveillance…
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The Biggest Loser in the World | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, September 5, 2026
Friends, Today, W. Kamau Bell and Michael Lahanas Calderón join me to take a deep dive into the economy on this Labor Day weekend — which marks the start of the midterm elections. We look at what’s on the minds of voters in terms of jobs, wages, prices, and affordability and ask what all this is...
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Trump’s War on Iran, Canada, and Us | The Coffee Klatch for August 29, 2026
Friends, Today Heather and I examine what Trump is doing as his war on Iran — which he promised would be over in “four to five weeks” — now exceeds six months, with no end in sight. Eager to show that he can still dominate and bully, he’s declared a nonsensical trade war on Canada. And he’s...
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In Conversation with Heather Cox Richardson
Friends, Here’s my conversation today with Heather Cox Richardson, in which we examine the origins of Trumpism. Professor Richardson is, of course, a major resource to all of us on substack. She’s also an historian who has specialized in 19th-century United States history, with a primary focus on...
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My Feud with Trump’s Brainless Treasury Secretary | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, August 22, 2026
Friends, Today Heather and I take a deep dive into the wacko views and decisions of Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent — whose attempts to reduce long-term interest rates before the midterm elections have failed miserably, who believes that inequality is not widening in the United States,...
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How to Dump the Trump | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, August 15, 2026
Friends, Today I’m taking a vacation. (It’s the second Klatch I’ve missed out of 230 since Heather and I began them on March 19, 2022.) But I’ve left you in good hands! Our good friend Kamau Bell is sitting in, and today he and Heather take a deep dive into how America can dump the Trump before…
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Big Money Loses | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, August 8, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I take a deep dive into the so-called “civil war” inside the Democratic Party, between corporate Dems who keep spending enormous sums on primary races and progressives who keep winning them. We also look at the latest jobs report and Trump’s “trickle-down” economy…
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It's Still The Economy, Stupid | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, August 1, 2026
Friends, Today, Michael and I delve into Trump’s plummeting approval ratings and ask whether they’re due to the economy, Trump’s war (which obviously affects the economy), the Epstein files, Trump’s skyrocketing inflation, or Trump’s corruption. Along the way, we explore what Democrats ought to…
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What the Hell Is Trump Doing in Iran? | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, July 25, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I take a dive into the muck of Trump, 101 days before the midterm elections. His war in Iran is worsening, with no end in sight. His economy is dropping, as gas and food prices soar and as his tariffs (import taxes) take their toll. His regime is descending into chaos,...
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Trump's Midterm Election Plot | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, July 18, 2026
Friends, Today, Michael and I take a close look at the sharp contrasts between artificial problems dreamed up by Trump (such as voter fraud) and real problems the nation is failing to deal with (such as big money poisoning our elections). Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join the...
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Trump's Downward Escalator | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, July 11, 2026
Friends, Welcome back to our 250th-plus-one-week anniversary edition! Hope you have had a good week, despite the cacophony out of Washington. Today, Heather and I try to understand the real source of Trump’s power — his power to berate the heads of state at this week’s NATO and yet have them…
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Reading the Declaration of Independence on America's 250th
I appreciate the active vocal participation of my neighbors, the organizing ability of Sally Baack, and excellent filming by Tia Liddell Ivery. RR This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe
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The Truth About America at 250 Years | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, July 4th, 2026
Friends, Today marks 250 years since we declared our independence from a vile, arbitrary, impulsive, capricious, greedy, selfish, narcissistic authoritarian. Oh, wait. Sorry, we’re not yet independent of Trump. But George III was pretty awful, too. Today Heather and I examine where America has…
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Trump's Strait of Warm Ooze | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, June 27, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I examine all sorts of things that went wrong this week for Trump, starting with Iran’s attack on an oil tanker moving through the Strait of Hormuz and including Trump’s latest problems with the Reflecting Pool — the Strait of Warm Ooze. Please grab a cuppa, pull up a...
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President CHUMP! | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, June 20, 2026
Friends, On today’s episode of the Coffee Klatch, Heather and I discuss Trump’s outright surrender to Iran, his algae-infested Reflecting Pool, Democrats’ plan to tackle his staggering corruption, and much more. Please join us. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other...
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Live w/ Robert Reich
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe
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Trillionaire Testosterone | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, June 13, 2026
Friends, Today Heather and I take a deep dive into Elon Musk’s new status as America’s first trillionaire — worth one thousand billion dollars — and its meaning for the future of American capitalism. How much of SpaceX’s valuation is based on hype? How much on connections in the Trump regime? How...
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Trump Gets Screwwormed | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, June 6, 2026
Friends, Today’s weather is so beautiful that Heather and I decided to have our coffee klatch outside on the Berkeley campus. Much to talk about — including the giant initial public stock offerings of the Artificial Intelligence behemoths Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX, in coming weeks, expected…
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Trump's Department of Injustice | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, May 30, 2026
Friends, Heather is back (after a grueling week; we wish her mother a speedy recovery). Today we take a deep dive into Trump’s Department of Injustice, now headed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who’s criminally prosecuting Trump’s enemies — including private citizens such as E. Jean...
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Trump's Gush of Slush | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, May 23, 2026. A bit late this morning!
Friends, Sorry for being a bit late this morning. Today Michael and I take a deep dive into Trump’s corruption — beginning with CBS’s merger deal with Skydance that was conditioned, in part, on its canceling Stephen Colbert’s show (which is why I’m wearing a T-shirt I got when I appeared on...
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Bullsh*t in the China Shop | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, May 16, 2026
Friends, To say Trump’s trip to China was underwhelming is to give it even more credit than it deserves. In fact, Trump’s main purpose for making the trip probably wasn’t to accomplish anything important but to deflect attention, even for a few days, from his failing war in Iran (the strait is...
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Desperate Donald's Debacle | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, May 9, 2026
Friends, This morning, Michael and I (Heather is out today) delve into the redistricting wars — including the decision by the Virginia Supreme Court to cancel that state’s redistricting — and examine strategies still open to Democrats before the midterms. We also try to decipher what’s really...
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Is This the Shittiest Supreme Court in History? | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, May 2, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I ask: Why is Trump so obsessed with his ballroom? What is actually going on in Iran? Is this the worst Supreme Court of all time? We look ahead to the midterm elections in six months and make some predictions. We’re also joined by Ben McKenzie to discuss Trump’s…
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Live with Joyce Vance, on today's shameful and dishonest Supreme Court decision
Joyce Vance was U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. I’m grateful to her for sharing her views on today’s shameful and dishonest Supreme Court decision kneecapping Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, in which Samuel Alito pretends he’s not nullifying Section 2 while doing exactly...
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Trump's Dire Straits: The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, April 25, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I try to make sense out of this week’s riddles: What is Trump’s strategy for reopening the Strait of Hormuz? What’s he doing to stop his base from unraveling over his failed war? How can he avoid a “blue wave” in the midterm elections? And, by the way, why are jobs so...
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The Good Pope vs. The Shitty President | The Saturday Coffee Klatch for April 18, 2026
Friends, Today Heather and I are joined by our colleague Michael, who helps us dissect a wild week. What’s the truth about the Strait of Hormuz? Why did Trump and Vance pick a fight with Pope Leo? Who or what’s behind the booming stock market? We grapple with these and much more on today’s…
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War Criminal-in-Chief | The Coffee Klatch, April 11, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I examine this wildly horrendous week and tackle a basic question: Did the United States win its war with Iran, or lose it? We also take a deep dive into whether Trump is a war criminal for having threatened to cause the death of an entire civilization. And we talk…
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What Planet Is Trump Now On? The Saturday Coffee Klatch for April 4, 2026
Friends, Today Heather and I venture to the far corners of Trump’s galaxy. First, to the planet from which he’s viewing his war in Iran. He says he’s eliminated Iran’s capacities to threaten U.S. air power, but on Friday Iran shot down an American F-15E bomber. Next we travel to planet Bondi…
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Sending a Message to Trump | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, March 28, 2026
Friends, Today is the third (and hopefully the largest) No Kings Day demonstration across the nation — and Heather and Michael and I focus today’s Klatch on how Trump has managed to exert near-regal powers in America. We also give you an update on his calamitous war in Iran and how average...
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“He’s a Worthless Pile of S**t” | The Coffee Klatch for March 21, 2026
Friends, That quote comes from someone who voted for Trump three times and now feels betrayed by his war in Iran and its consequential price increases for gas, food, and much else. Today, Heather and I delve into why Trump is losing his MAGA base, why he’s losing his war in Iran, why he’s losing...
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Who’s America’s Abuser-in-Chief? | The Coffee Klatch for March 14, 2026
Friends, Today Heather and I are joined by E. Jean Carroll — journalist, author, advice columnist (her “Ask E. Jean” column appeared in Elle magazine from 1993 through 2019) … and target of Trump’s sexual assault. Her book Not My Type, subtitled One Woman Against a President, chronicled what...
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Unconditional Surrender? Really? | The Coffee Klatch for March 7, 2026
Friends, Heather is traveling. I’m delighted that our friend Kamau Bell has stepped into the breach. Today, Kamau and I take a deep dive into Trump’s War — his shifting rationales for it, his changing goals, his ambiguous endgame, the human costs of the war so far, the American public’s…
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The State of the Trump | The Coffee Klatch for February 28, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I ask and try to answer: Why is Trump attacking Iran? Also: Why is he so gracious to Mayor Mamdani? Why does ICE continue to be so out of control? Why did the Republican House Oversight Committee want Hillary Clinton to testify about Jeffrey Epstein? Are the Epstein...
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King Trump, Prince Andrew, and the Supreme Court | The Coffee Klatch for February 21, 2026
Friends, A big week, including the arrest of Prince Andrew, the best of the Supreme Court, and the stress of the sociopath in the Oval Office. We get into all of this, along with our special guest David Hogg, on today’s Klatch. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and join in the conversation....
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Trump, Epstein, and America’s Ruling Class | The Coffee Klatch for February 14, 2026
Friends, Happy Valentine’s Day. Thanks for joining us. Today, Heather and I delve into the extremely un-Valentine-like world of Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and America’s ruling class. What do they have in common, and what does this tell us about America? Along the way we examine Pam Bondi’s...
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Bad Bunny’s Backlash Against Trump | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, February 7, 2026
Friends, Today Heather and I examine the unchecked power that now pervades our political system — starting with the Justice Department’s (and Trump’s) unwillingness to turn over more than 3 million of the more than 6 million Epstein files in its possession (in which Trump is already mentioned…
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In conversation with Julie Su, Deputy Mayor of New York
Friends, Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Julie Su, former Secretary of Labor and current Deputy Mayor of Economic Justice in New York City. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...
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Making Sense of Trump’s Mess | The Coffee Klatch for January 31, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I try to unravel some tricky questions: Will Democrats rein in ICE? What’s behind the sham arrests of Don Lemon and other journalists? Will Minneapolis be the tipping point that brings Trump down? Or will it be the latest Epstein files? We discuss all this and more....
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What a Week | The Coffee Klatch for January 24, 2026
Today I’m traveling. Heather and Michael make sense of a memorable week. My thanks to both of them. See you next Saturday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe
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Trump Gives America the Finger | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, January 17, 2026
Friends, Today Heather and I grapple with the inescapable reality that Trump has turned America into a fascist state. From the streets of Minneapolis to the shores of Greenland, violence and the threat of violence prevail. By contrast, we talk with Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade...
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Trump’s Deadly Forces | The Coffee Klatch for January 10, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and our friend Kamau Bell join me to examine this horrific week in which Trump took control of Venezuela and its oil and unleashed his ICE and Border Patrol agents on Americans. Trump’s deadly forces here and abroad — unconstrained by law or oversight — seem to have…
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What Will Happen in 2026? The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, January 3, 2026
Friends, Today, Heather and I look into our crystal balls and attempt to predict what’s going to happen in 2026. First, what do we hope for? What are the major positive things we anticipate? Second, what do we fear? What are our biggest worries about the upcoming year? Please pull up a chair…
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The Big Lesson from 2025? | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, December 27, 2025
Friends, What do we make of 2025, other than that it was a horrible and cruel year? On today’s Klatch, Heather and I sift through your questions about what we’ve been through, what it means, what are the big lessons from 2025, and who are the real heroes. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich exposes where power lies in our system — and how it's used and abused.
robertreich.substack.com
HOSTED BY
Robert Reich
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The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich currently has 479 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich about?
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich exposes where power lies in our system — and how it's used and abused. robertreich.substack.com
How often does The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich release new episodes?
The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich publishes regularly with 479 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich is created and hosted by Robert Reich.
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