Best Carole Townsend Podcasts (2025)

1
Queen Of Shadows: Marie Laveau 23:26

8d ago23:26

23:26

The streets of New Orleans carry stories like river water—slow, heavy, and charged with memory. We follow those currents into the life of Marie Laveau, a free woman of color who became the city’s most enduring symbol of power, faith, and fear. Between jazz funerals and above-ground tombs, we explore how a healer and hairdresser rose to be called th…

1
Alex Wagner: Team Trump Can't Get Its Epstein Story Straight 58:22

1h ago58:22

58:22

Trump's involvement with Epstein is simultaneously a "hoax," but he was also a "perfect gentleman" when he spent hours with one of Epstein's underage victims, Virgina Giuffre, at Epstein's pad. And Trump was an FBI informant on Epstein's sex trafficking, but again, it's all a hoax. The White House and Fox's defense is not working, and Trump may be …

1
Hell and Gone Murder Line: Karen Mitchell 33:49

22h ago33:49

33:49

On Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1997, 16-year-old Karen Mitchell vanished in Eureka, California. Originally from Whittier near Long Beach, she had moved north a few months earlier to live with her aunt and uncle, hoping the rural setting would suit her nature-loving personality better than Southern California. That afternoon, Karen caught a ride …

1
Introducing: Paper Ghosts 4:46

23h ago4:46

4:46

Hi, Hell and Gone listeners! We're excited to share with you a sneak peek at iHeartPodcasts' latest release, Paper Ghosts! Paper Ghosts: In the heart of Texas, teens are dying. Suspicious suicides, strange accidents, and brutal murders litter 1980's Parker County. Weatherford, the same town where the series “Yellowstone” was filmed, is the hardest-…

1
Mikie Sherrill and Michael Fanone: Full-Time Criming and Corruption 1:11:48

22h ago1:11:48

1:11:48

New Jersey’s governor-elect credits her big win last week to an affordability message—and ignoring the pundits. But Sherrill also tied rising costs and declining economic opportunity to Trump’s laser-like focus on the worldwide extortion racket he’s running out of the Oval Office. Plus, former D.C. cop Michael Fanone says the current FBI won’t foll…

1
Chris Hayes: Trump Has Become 'The Establishment' 1:00:35

2d ago1:00:35

1:00:35

While Trump won the first time as an anti-status-quo hero, the low-trust podcast cranks like Rogan and Tim Dillon who put him back in the White House now see him as the establishment. And they’re making Trump own the economy, the security state of masked marauders and bombing campaigns—and his close ties to the tech companies. The Democrats have no…

1
Will Saletan: Sorry, but the Democrats Won the Shutdown 53:38

3d ago53:38

53:38

The very online crowd is very upset, but Dems did fight like Republicans. This was a longer shutdown than anything the Tea Party pulled and real pain was being caused. And Democrats have now made the cost of healthcare front and center—while Republicans keep showing that they are the party of billionaires, Mar-a-Lago soirées, and golden ballrooms. …

1
Jessica Tarlov: Republicans Are in the Barrel 56:08

6d ago56:08

56:08

Our economy may be in the early days of stagflation, Democrats are winning the shutdown fight, and Republicans aren't getting help from the tariff king—who is just sticking his fingers in his ears and lying about the price of Thanksgiving dinner going down. Maybe it's time for the Dems to declare victory and let them reopen the government. Plus, Je…

1
Jonathan V. Last and Carol Leonnig: The Danger of a Weakened Bully 59:10

7d ago59:10

59:10

Trump took it on the chin in Tuesday's elections, SCOTUS sounds skeptical about his tariffs, and his plan to 'gerry-rig' the midterms looks like it is slipping away—but he is still the most powerful president since FDR. And murmurs about a lame duck may prompt him to take even more extreme actions. Plus, the still infuriating inability to hold Trum…

1
Hell and Gone Murder Line: Christopher Revak 34:06

8d ago34:06

34:06

On June 10, 2006, 21-year-old Deidre Harm was headed to a night out with friends. She had a four-month-old daughter, Vegas, and had hired a babysitter to watch her. She and her friends went out downtown in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. And then, she never came home. She never called her babysitter. She simply disappeared. For months, Deirdre’s frien…

1
Dave Weigel: Now That's a Landslide 1:04:39

8d ago1:04:39

1:04:39

The huge Democratic wins in Virginia, New Jersey, NYC, and California spoke loud and clear—and make Trump’s 2024 supposed ‘landslide’ margin of 1.5% look even more wimpy. Trump is not delivering on his economic promises and the backlash was across the board. Voters are also rejecting the overreach of Stephen Miller’s nativist immigration policy, pa…

1
Andy Beshear and Terry Moran: The Power of Normal People 1:13:46

9d ago1:13:46

1:13:46

With Trump slashing SNAP benefits, Gov. Beshear is asking the people of Kentucky to look out for their neighbors so they don't go hungry—since the administration won't. Meanwhile, Trump's tariffs are hammering farmers in the Bluegrass State at the same time Republicans are sabotaging rural healthcare. And reporting from Chicago, Moran finds his hom…

1
Bill Kristol: Fake News on '60 Minutes' 59:19

10d ago59:19

59:19

CBS News heavily edited its ‘60 Minutes’ interview with Trump, not only removing his lies about 2020, but also conveniently cutting the part about how the news show paid him off for his bogus lawsuit over a Kamala interview last year. That payoff may well have been how the one-time legendary news network landed a 90-minute interview with Trump to b…

1
Adam Levin Reads David Foster Wallace 1:06:21

11d ago1:06:21

1:06:21

Adam Levin joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “Backbone,” by David Foster Wallace, which was published in The New Yorker in 2011. Levin, a winner of the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, is the author of the story collection “Hot Pink” and the novels “The Instructions,” “Bubblegum,” and “Mount Chicago.” Learn about your a…

1
Catherine Rampell: Who Are the Socialists Now? 59:38

13d ago59:38

59:38

It’s hard to find a better example of seizing the means of production than our government seizing an equity stake in a company—which Trump keeps doing over and over again. And what do the diehard Republican capitalists have to say about all this socializing of the private sector? Nothing, of course. But they definitely were up in arms over Bill Kri…

1
Heidi Heitkamp: How Trump’s Trade Chaos Hurts Farmers 55:34

14d ago55:34

55:34

President Trump meets with Xi Jinping and agrees to an embarrassingly one-sided trade deal, as the “China Hawks” in the administration cower. Meantime, the government shutdown moves to a more painful phase, with funding for SNAP expiring on Nov. 1. Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp joins Tim to discuss how the chaos from Trump’s trade wars has already hur…

1
Hell and Gone Murder Line: Jay Slater (Archive Episode) 41:06

15d ago41:06

41:06

On Sunday June 17, 2024, Jay Slater, a 19-year-old bricklayer’s apprentice who lived in Lancashire, England was on his first ever foreign holiday. And he seemed to be having a blast. He had gone to the island of Tenerife in Spain with a female friend named Lucy and a guy named Brad. That night he and Lucy went out to a music festival called New Rav…

1
Abby Phillip: Governing by Troll 53:50

15d ago53:50

53:50

From the jump, the administration has been all about the memes, owning the libs, and pissing people off. But Abby says she wants Trump’s supporters to have a chance to share their points of view on her show—and be challenged in real time. Meanwhile, during the weirdest shutdown ever, Republicans are at risk on SNAP and Obamacare subsidies. And poli…

1
Sam Stein and Francis Fukuyama: A Coming Deportation Blitz? 1:22:31

16d ago1:22:31

1:22:31

While the inhumane and aggressive tactics unfolding in Chicago are repelling many Americans, they are having the opposite effect among Trump's top aides. The Kristi Noem clique wants more— much more— of the Border Patrol's "Midway Blitz" around the country, and they're busy purging local ICE leadership in a number of cities in an attempt to dramati…

1
Bill Kristol: Diaper Tantrum 51:14

17d ago51:14

51:14

Trump was so embarrassed by Canada using Reagan’s warnings about tariffs that he had a little hissy fit and decided to punish Americans for buying Canadian goods. And by the way, stuffed shirt Scott Bessent: Real American soybean farmers are being hurt by tariffs while you bail out Argentina and pretend that your dainty hands are tilling the soil o…

1
Ryan Holiday: Life Is Too Short to Be a Bootlicker 1:07:48

21d ago1:07:48

1:07:48

Members of the administration, like Stephen Miller, who spend hours every day kissing Trump’s ass look so pathetic—but since the time of the ancients, courtiers have gone to great lengths to degrade themselves before the vain and vindictive. And one lesson for the ages is to not compromise with an extortionist: it will only lead to more extortion a…

1
Ben Wittes and Anna Bower: Trump's Reparations Demand 46:28

21d ago46:28

46:28

The convicted felon was legitimately prosecuted for hoarding classified docs at Mar-a-Lago. And he was justifiably investigated over the numerous contacts he and his associates had with Russian nationals during 2016. But Trump feels he has endured so much pain and suffering from all the probing that he's owed a quarter of a billion dollars in damag…

1
Hell and Gone Murder Line: Brittany Phillips Part 2 33:12

22d ago33:12

33:12

On Monday September 30, 2004, 18-year-old college student Brittany Phillips was found dead in her apartment in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was a student at Tulsa Community College, went to her evening chemistry class with her friend Lydia. She was found lying next to her bed. Clothing was found scattered all around her in a haphazard way, and the balcony …

1
Jon Favreau: Foundational Freedoms 1:06:48

22d ago1:06:48

1:06:48

One of the promises of this country has been the freedom to walk down the street without being harassed by the government. But even being an American citizen isn't stopping ICE agents from grabbing people with passports or IDs—and detaining them for hours. At the same time, many of the thugs and sadists who want to do the grabbing and snatching are…

1
Michael Weiss and Karine Jean-Pierre: Low Energy Trump 1:16:53

23d ago1:16:53

1:16:53

Putin’s friend in the White House may be back in his safe space with his kindred spirit in Moscow, but Trump is finding that he has limited leverage on Ukraine to end the war on Putin’s terms. He wants so badly to be crowned the ‘Prince of Peace,’ but he has no vim and vigor to get there—and Zelensky actually said “No” to Trump. Meanwhile, the Gaza…

1
Bill Kristol: Trump Hates America 44:01

24d ago44:01

44:01

Nearly seven million Americans peacefully took to the streets out of their love for this country, and Trump in response acted out like a toddler obsessed with his own poop. Indeed, our commander-in-chief really does have more affinity for the Sharia law dictators in the sand kingdoms than he does for Saturday’s true patriots. This may be the moment…

1
Peter Hamby: The Mini Dictator Wants What He Wants 1:17:32

28d ago1:17:32

1:17:32

The administration under sticky fingers Trump is now pretending it cares about the sanctity of classified documents, while it seems that Marco Rubio is the one pushing for regime change in Venezuela. In California, the redistricting ballot measure has been seen as one of the most significant battles in the November election, but the Supreme Court m…

1
Anne Applebaum: The Loss of 'Democratic Faith' 52:04

29d ago52:04

52:04

The U.S. has been a model for other aspiring democracies since 1776. At the same time, the idea of America as the leader of the democratic world has also had a unifying effect at home. It’s what has kept this diverse country of many faiths and ethnicities together, and it has been our national identity. But with Trump actively undermining those ide…

1
Hell and Gone Murder Line: Brittany Phillips Part 1 27:06

29d ago27:06

27:06

On Monday September 27, 2004, 18-year-old Brittany Phillips, a student at Tulsa Community College, drove home from campus with her friend Lydia. They just took a chemistry test, and Brittany was looking forward to hanging out and celebrating her nineteenth birthday, which was coming up on October 4. But then as the week rolled on, Lydia didn't hear…

1
Heather Cox Richardson: An Attack on Our System of Government 50:23

30d ago50:23

50:23

Republicans in Congress know that what they’re doing is deeply unpopular—on healthcare, supporting troops in the streets, and on redistricting. That’s why they’re basically in hiding, plotting new ways to try to shift the narrative. But because they’ve given their Constitutional power away to Trump & company, unelected officials in the administrati…

1
JB Pritzker and Franklin Foer: Like Living in an Authoritarian Regime 58:00

1M ago58:00

58:00

After a court temporarily blocked the deployment of Guard troops in Illinois, ICE agents began ramping up their operations around Chicagoland. They are now demanding that residents produce their papers—particularly if they have brown skin. Officers stand outside churches holding Spanish-language Mass or they go into tourist areas to confront people…

1
Bill Kristol and Ty Cobb: Recapturing America 1:14:48

1M ago1:14:48

1:14:48

Peaceful protesters in Chicago and Portland have been so clever and effective at ridiculing the masked Stasi agents in their cities that the political momentum for putting troops on the street feels like it’s petering out. And while Republicans keep smearing this weekend’s No Kings day as about hating America, the real ‘Hate America’ side is the on…

1
Jacob Soboroff and Sarah McBride: Democracy at the Ground Level 1:15:37

1M ago1:15:37

1:15:37

The administration may be trying to lay the groundwork for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act by invading Chicago, but the real human stories are breaking through: ordinary Chicagoans are outraged that good, decent immigrants are being snatched off the street and their families’ lives ruined. And while Kristi Noem keeps promoting the bad guys tha…

1
Sam Stein: A Bunch of Violent Keystone Cops 1:04:59

1M ago1:04:59

1:04:59

ICE and other armed federal agents are doing their best to incite violence in blue cities so they can help Trump realize his unfulfilled dream from 2020 to impose a military crackdown. At the same time, Trump can only point to what happened in Portland five years ago during Black Lives Matter protests to try to bolster his case. Meanwhile, Comey ha…

1
Hell and Gone Murder Line: Jennifer Wix Part 2 28:51

1M ago28:51

28:51

This week, we continue with the disappearance of Jennifer Wix and her daughter Adrianna. Could Jennifer have left voluntarily and started a new life? Could she have left with someone in that white car and then that person harmed her or Adrianna? Or, could, as the Wix family suspects, the answers lie closer to where Jennifer was last seen on or arou…

1
Casey Newton: Lawlessness and Danger in Tech's Brave New World 1:02:26

1M ago1:02:26

1:02:26

Trump's TikTok deal looks like classic crony capitalism as well as open theft. But China has bigger fish to fry with trade than its TikTok algorithm—which led Congress last year to ban the app in the U.S. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley thinks they're building a machine god with AI, but we really may be heading into catastrophe. Plus, the armed invasion …

1
The McRaven House 22:15

1M ago22:15

22:15

Night settles on the porch, the river hums in the distance, and we follow that sound to a Vicksburg mansion that refuses to grow quiet. McRaven House isn’t just “the most haunted home in Mississippi”—it’s a three-part time machine where an outlaw’s bedroom, a grieving mother’s lullaby, and a war-torn hospital all occupy the same breath. We walk the…

1
Jake Tapper: Trump Is Making the Country Less Safe 1:07:24

1M ago1:07:24

1:07:24

By The Bulwark

1
Bill Kristol and Jane Fonda: The New 'Fierce Urgency of Now' 1:07:16

1M ago1:07:16

1:07:16

By The Bulwark

1
Tom Nichols: All The Circuit Breakers Are Gone 1:01:08

1M ago1:01:08

1:01:08

President Trump’s loyalty purges continue. Prosecutors are fired from the U.S. attorney’s office in Eastern Virginia, including people who had nothing to do with the Comey case. And Kash Patel pushes out an FBI agent in training for displaying a rainbow flag in his workspace. Meanwhile, reports surface that Marco Rubio is leading a push among Trump…

1
Symone Sanders-Townsend: The White House’s Goal Is Enacting Pain 54:12

1M ago54:12

54:12

The Trump administration is turning up the heat now that the government has shut down, cancelling billions for green projects, targeting funding for infrastructure in New York and threatening mass firings of federal workers. Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to hold the line in the Senate with their demands about health care. Elsewhere, the White Ho…

1
Hell and Gone Murder Line: Jennifer Wix Part 1 35:45

1M ago35:45

35:45

On March 25, 2004, 21-year-old Jennifer Wix was in crisis. Jennifer lived in Robertson County, Tennessee and was a single mother to her two-year-old daughter, Adrianna, who she adored. She and Adrianna had moved in with her boyfriend, William Joseph “Joey” Benton, and his parents, Cynthia and Franklin Joseph Benton, a few months before in December.…

1
Ken Burns: You Have To Be A Bulwark 59:41

1M ago59:41

59:41

A government shutdown begins, as a standoff over spending enters what could be a painful phase. And President Trump kicks off the week warning his military leaders about facing an invasion from within. Ken Burns joins Tim Miller to talk about his new documentary, “The American Revolution,” what lessons from history he tries to apply our current pol…

1
Karen Russell Reads Louise Erdrich 49:19

1M ago49:19

49:19

Karen Russell joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “The Stone,” by Louise Erdrich, which was published in The New Yorker in 2019. Russell is the author of six books of fiction, including the story collections “Vampires in the Lemon Grove” and “Orange World and Other Stories” and the novels “Swamplandia!,” which was a finalist for the Pulitzer…

1
Van Lathan and David Jolly: How To Beat Middle Finger MAGAism 1:26:52

1M ago1:26:52

1:26:52

Pete Hegseth convenes the military’s top leaders to complain about fat troops and generals and plug his book. Meanwhile, Charlie Kirk’s assassination continues to drive debate about how to confront MAGA as a cultural and political movement. David Jolly, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Florida, joins Tim to talk about his campaign, why he sw…

1
Bill Kristol: Trump Wants Troops in Portland 53:15

2M ago53:15

53:15

President Trump orders the National Guard to be deployed to Portland, Ore., after declaring it a war-ravaged city. And reports surface that the administration is considering strikes in Venezuela. Meanwhile, the military’s top generals are on their way to Quantico for a mysterious meeting called by Pete Hegseth that the president now wants to crash.…

1
Adam Kinzinger: We Can’t Be Intimidated 51:28

2M ago51:28

51:28

President Trump’s quest for revenge escalates, as a grand jury indicts former FBI Director James Comey days after Trump forced out a prosecutor who refused to bring charges against his political enemies. Trump, meanwhile, is cheerleading the indictment and publicly encouraging prosecutors to go after more Democrats and left-leaning organizations. A…

1
Ezra Klein: Protecting People Means Winning Power 1:10:00

2M ago1:10:00

1:10:00

The White House readies plans for mass firings in the federal government as Democrats weigh the stakes of forcing a government shutdown. The Justice Department prepares to seek an indictment for former FBI Director James Comey as President Trump hunts for revenge against his political enemies. Ezra Klein of The New York Times joins Tim to discuss w…

1
Hell and Gone Murder Line: Etan Patz 36:07

2M ago36:07

36:07

The morning of Friday May 25, 1979, started out like just another day for Julie Patz; her husband Stan, a photographer; and their children, eight-year-old Shira, six-year-old Etan and two-year-old Ari. It was a busy morning. Julie ran a daycare out of her Soho loft at 113 Prince Street in New York City, and she was getting her own kids ready for th…

1
Angie Craig and Glenn Thrush: Don’t Be Called Weak Sauce 56:55

2M ago56:55

56:55

A government shutdown creeps closer as President Trump cancels a meeting with Democratic leaders. Former Vice President Kamala Harris embarks on a press tour to promote a score settling book about her campaign. Plus, Trump taps one of his former personal lawyers to replace a U.S. attorney he dismissed for not targeting his political enemies after p…

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Carole Townsend Podcasts

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