Underhandedness. Trickery. Unscrupulous behavior. Skullduggery breaks down the conduct of Washington's political class, tracks the latest in conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns coursing through social media — and who is pushing them — and keeps you up to date on the latest investigations into misbehavior by members of Congress as well as current and former government officials. Yahoo News’ veteran investigative journalists Michael Isikoff, Editor in Chief Daniel Klaidman, and Se ...
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Skullduggery's Jan. 6 Farewell (w/ Rep. Jamie Raskin and Judge J. Michael Luttig)
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Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin laid out the four criminal referrals the January 6th Committee made to the DOJ recommending that Donald J. Trump and others be investigated for the events relating to the attack on the US Capitol. The report included some startling new disclosures including testimony from a former White House staffer that is a pote…
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JFK: The Mother of all Conspiracy Theories (w/ Phil Shenon & Jeff Morley)
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In the Pantheon of American conspiracy theories, the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy is the gift that keeps on giving. For nearly 60 years it has been dissected and debated by partisans of countless conspiracy theories. So what does the newly released material on the matter show? And what are they still keeping secret? We talk to two leading …
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The Autocrat in your Phone (w/ Ron Deibert)
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On this episode of the podcast, we sit down with Ron Deibert, who runs the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, to discuss the “mercenary spyware” industry - and its proclivity for providing “almost god-like” spyware programs to governments who’ve been proven to use them to surveil “opposition politicians, human rights activists, journalists, acade…
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The Wild World of Marjorie Taylor Greene (w/ Robert Draper & Marquise Francis)
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The violent insurrection at the Capitol last year was a sobering day for American democracy, and yet many people thought that - at the very least - it would break the fever that had overcome the Republican Party and push it to separate itself from Trump and move on from his repeated lies with respect to “the big steal.” That is not what happened - …
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Buried Treasure: Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis (w/ Adam Hochschild)
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“I have been accused of having obstructed the war. I admit it. I abhor war. I would oppose the war if I stood alone. I believe in free speech, in war as well as in peace.” So said Eugene Debs on September 12th, 1918 to members of a jury tasked with deciding whether he had, as prosecutors argued, during a speech given a few weeks earlier to a crowd …
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“Every so often over the past quarter-century, analysts have predicted that Iran was on the cusp of major change. They always turned out to be wrong. Now, unrest is engulfing the country yet again.” So writes Jason Rezeian in a recent piece for the Washington Post about the threats the Iranian government is facing, what people are saying - and why …
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Garland's Special Council Bombshell (w/ Michael Zeldin & Sarah Leah Whitson)
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Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday announced what amounts to a legal bombshell in the two most high profile investigations being carried out by his department. He's appointing a Special Council to oversee the ongoing probes into whether Donald Trump illegally sought to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. And whether he v…
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Donald Trump on Tuesday night announced to no one’s surprise that he will once again run for President. By Trumpian standards he seemed subdued as he described America’s decent into war, crime, and economic catastrophe ever since he left the White House twenty-two long months ago and Joe Biden took office. And yet the timing seemed curious. And to …
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The House GOP’s Circular Firing Squad (w/ Juliegrace Brufke)
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Even while still reeling from their disappointing performance in Tuesday's election, Republicans are bracing for more turmoil, as they prepare to likely take over the House of Representatives with the thinest of majorities. Instead of celebrating the election results as he had expected, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy is now facing serious unrest w…
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The "Red Wave" that wasn’t (w/ Matt Bai and Andrew Romano)
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For weeks the conventional wisdom in Washington couldn't have been clearer. There was a red wave coming that would sweep Republicans to a historic victory. Winning back control of the US House by wide margin and potentially control of the Senate as well. But then the voters spoke and the conventional wisdom of the pollsters and pundits was wrong on…
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How dangerous is Elon Musk? (w/ Vivian Schiller)
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When Vivian Schiller signed on as a Senior Executive at Twitter in 2013, she was excited to be joining a company that seemed poised to remake the world. It was a heavy time for the social media start-up. Just a few years early, it had been messages on Twitter that connected Democracy activists throughout the Middle East leading to a revolutionary m…
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The Case for Diplomacy in Ukraine (w/ George Beebe)
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This week, thunderous explosions rocked the Ukrainian Capitol of Kiev, as Russian forces unleashed another blistering attack of cruise missiles on the city and other regions throughout the country. The attacks targeted energy facilities and other critical infrastructure, cutting off the water supply for 80% of Kiev's residents. It was yet another r…
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Supreme Court Time Bombs (w/ Leah Litman & Jess Bravin)
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There may be no institution in American more consequential or divisive than the United States Supreme Court. Under the leadership of Justice John Roberts, the court has upended campaign finance laws, undermined the 1965 voting rights act, affirmed a previously unrecognized constitutional right to gun ownership, and this year embolden by its new 6-3…
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Dems Midterm Blues (w/ Mark Mellman and Brian Robinson)
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A few month ago, Democrats were upbeat, believing fervently that they had a decent chance of beating the historical odds and retaining the control of the United States congress. The Supreme Court Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade had energized women across the country, while President Biden scored some major legislative successes. Most notably …
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The Lincoln Project Gunslingers w/ (Fisher Stevens & Karim Amer)
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"We don't have a client, we weren't here to move some legislative agenda item. We were here to kick the s**t out of Donald Trump." That's from veteran political consultant Rick Wilson talking in a new five part documentary about the groundbreaking SuperPac he and a handful of other Republican consultants founded called The Lincoln Project. The grou…
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With three weeks before the midterms, the outlook for control of the US Senate and possibly even the House, remains as it's been for some time. A jump ball in which either party can yet prevail. But there is little doubt that there is growing anxiety among Democrats, with inflation, gas prices, and crime, consistently ranking as the top concern amo…
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Jan. 6th Committee's Closing Arguments (w/ Matt Miller)
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Liz Cheney, Wyoming's Congresswoman, revealed the January 6th Committee's final card at yesterday's hearing. Subpoena to Donald Trump to testify and to provide documents about his role in the events that lead to the attack on the US Capitol. It was a surprise move by the panel at the end of its final public hearing in which it revealed some new det…
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President Biden in an exchange with CNN's Jake Tapper, vowed there will be consequences for Saudi Arabia in light of their decision to join with Russia in cutting back oil production, a move guaranteed to help Vladimir Putin and his war with Ukraine, while at the same time, jacking up gas prices for American consumers. The Saudi move jolted the Whi…
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Walker & the GOP Abortion Crisis (w/ Roger Sollenberger & Dahlia Lithwick)
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It may have been the biggest investigative scoop of this year's election. This week, The Daily Beast reported that Herschel Walker, the Republican candidate for the US Senate in Georgia and a staunch opponent of abortion rights, paid for a girlfriend's abortion in 2009 - sighting documents that included a receipt from the abortion clinic, an image …
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Putin’s Nuclear Threats (w/ Joe Cirincione)
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It may be the most pressing question facing the world at this perilous moment. Is Vladimir Putin bluffing or not when he threatens to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine? Nuclear weapons analyst Joe Cirincione says we need to take the Russian president seriously. "We should believe Putin that this is not a bluff," he writes in a recent op ed in The Wash…
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Trump: The Divider in Chief (Susan Glasser and Peter Baker)
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The election of Donald Trump six long years ago began an unimaginable period of time in our history, when the United States was lead for the first time by a President who neither knew or subscribed to the fundamental tenants of our Constitution. And frequently acted to undermine them. So write Peter Baker and Susan Glasser in their new book, The Di…
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BONUS: Conspiracyland S4 EP3 - "It’s Not What We Thought It Was"
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The third and final installment of the series recounts how senior U.S. officials became increasingly dubious about sensational claims about Havana Syndrome pointing to the lack of any hard evidence that a secret microwave weapon even exists. It features interviews with Fulton Armstrong, former CIA analyst, Jim McGovern, U.S. congressman, Mark Zaid,…
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BONUS: Conspiracyland S4 EP2 - "The Mystery of the Moscow Signal"
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The second installment of the series examines the Cold War mystery over suspected microwave attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and how Pentagon fears about such bombardments heavily influenced the initial response to Havana Syndrome. It features interviews with John Fitzsimmons, the former deputy secretary of state for diplomatic security, Sharo…
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BONUS: Conspiracyland S4 EP1 - "A Broken Heart"
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In the first installment of the series, Isikoff and his producer Mark Seman travel to Cuba where they interview Johana Ruth Tablada de la Torre, the deputy director for U.S. affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry about how the reports of Havana Syndrome were viewed by the country's leadership. The episode also features interviews with a leading Cuba…
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What Happened to Rudy Giuliani (w/ Andrew Kirtzman)
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In the fall of 1974, a young ambitious prosecutor was grilling a powerful US Congressman on trial for corruption. The prosecutor's cross examination was unforgiving. He had confronted the Congressman with checks from business interests that he had promoted and bombarded him relentlessly with tough questions. After a break, the Congressman threw in …
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How the GOP Went Crazy (w/ David Corn)
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New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller addressed the Republican Convention of 1964, denouncing the extremists that appeared to be taking over his party. Only to be drowned out by boos and shouts by delegates backing that year's nominee Barry Goldwater. Rockefeller's all but forgotten speech is the opening scene in journalist David Corn's new book, Am…
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Kabul Falling (w/ Nelufar Hedayat & Bradley Hope)
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It was 21 years ago this week that 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hi-jacked commercial airplanes and crashed them in to the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon killing nearly three thousand Americans. That murderous act prompted the US Government to invade Afghanistan and where Taliban rulers were protecting Osama Bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda leaders. It w…
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Biden’s FDR Playbook (w/ Jonathan Darman)
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There's no President that Joe Biden and his aides like to compare themselves to more than Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After all, FDR and his new deal transformed the American economy and helped rescue the country from The Great Depression, providing a model for the transformative policies that Biden embraced in his Build Back Better proposals. It wa…
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Trump and the Espionage Act (with Bradley Moss)
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“I have finally seen enough. Donald Trump will be indicted by a federal grand jury.” So wrote national security lawyer Bradley Moss, our guest, in a column for the Daily Beast after release of a heavily redacted FBI affidavit detailing the justification for the extraordinary search of Donald Trump’s home in Mar A Largo to retrieve stacks of governm…
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The Afghan Tragedy: One Year Later (w/ Elliot Ackerman)
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One year ago this week, the United States hastily pulled out of Afghanistan, an ignoble end to a twenty year experiment in nation building. As armed Taliban fighters swarmed into government buildings and took over the country, the world was privy to gut wrenching scenes as thousands of Afghans who served as translators, co-workers, and allies on th…
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The Mar-a-Lago Raid (w/ Mary McCord & Dana Milbank)
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On a Monday morning in August, the United States Justice Department as well as the FBI, may have crossed the proverbial rubicon. For the first time in American history, agents showed up unannounced at the home of a former President of the United States in a court authorized search for classified documents that were removed from the White House. It …
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Many chilling images and voices were displayed by the January 6th Committee on Thursday Night including audio tapes of some of the rioters talking among themselves about hunting down and possibly even killing members of Congress. The Rioters wreaked havoc on the US Capitol, smashing windows, detonating smoke bombs, assaulting police officers, while…
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The Sycophants of Trump World (w/ Mark Leibovich)
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"The point with Trump is he's in on the joke." So said South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham about his odd relationship with the 45th President as quoted by veteran journalist Mark Leibovich in his new book Thank You For Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the price of admission. The idea that Trump's entire chaotic rollercoaster presiden…
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The Jan 6 Georgia Connection (w/ Charlie Bailey)
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Liz Cheney dropped one more nugget at the end of Tuesday’s January 6th Committee hearing, new evidence that Donald Trump may be contacting witnesses who are being called to testify in an apparent effort to influence what they might say. If true, it’s a federal crime. And Cheney’s statement that the Department of Justice had been alerted immediately…
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Tim Miller’s Road to Hell (w/ Tim Miller)
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"Nobody on planet earth was more horrified by the notion of Donald Trump as President." So writes Tim Miller in his new book Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell. Miller was a longtime GOP operative, a spinmeister, a dirt disher, who worked for the McCain and Romney and Jeb Bush Presidential campaigns. And also served as a t…
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"We're going to get charged with every crime imaginable." So said the White House Counsel, Patrick Cipollone on January 6th to White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson. The 26 year old former Deputy to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Hutchinson presented some of the most jaw dropping testimony yet to the January 6th Committee. Recounting how Trump was i…
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The end of Roe (w/ David Kaplan & Don Ayer)
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On Friday, the most consequential Supreme Court decision in decades came down, a 6-3 ruling overturning Roe v Wade. For nearly half a century women have had a Constitutional right to abortion, now they don't. Because, as Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion, Roe was, "egregiously wrong from the start." Informed by what he called, "exc…
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January 6th: Will it matter? (w/ Julie Pace & Stephen Engelberg)
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"Do you know what it feels like to have the President of the United States target you?" Those were the haunting words of Ruby Freeman, an election worker in Fulton County Georgia describing to the January 6th Committee what it was like when Donald Trump and his allies spread grotesque lies about Freeman and her daughter Wandrea Shaye Moss, accusing…
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January 6th Committee Delivers (w/ Hugo Lowell)
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An excerpt from the video taped testimony of Trump White House lawyer Eric Herschmann revealed this past Thursday described a phone call he got from John Eastman the day after Jan 6th in which the supposed constitutional scholar was unrepentant. Still clinging to the idea somehow some way, the results of the 2020 election could still be overturned.…
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The "definitely intoxicated" Rudy Giuliani (w/ Matthew Miller & Sol Wisenberg)
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An excerpt from one of the video clips played at Monday's January 6th Committee Hearing in which Donald Trump's campaign manager, Bill Stepien, recounts the debate that went on within the White House on election night. Stepien and other top campaign aides were telling Trump to hold off on declaring victory that night, that there were still lots mor…
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Buried Treasure: The CIA's Watergate Moment (w/ Jeff Morley)
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“Stay the hell out of it!” Those were the key words from the so-called smoking gun tape, the conversation between Richard Nixon and his Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman about how to get the FBI to back off its investigation into the Watergate break-in that occurred fifty years ago this week, June 17th, 1972. The plan they came up with in the days after …
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Holder: Democracy is on the Line (w/ Eric Holder)
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Congresswoman Liz Cheney Thursday night laid out the case that Donald Trump orchestrated an attempted coup to block the peaceful transfer of power. And then sat back and watched in apparent approval while his supporters ransacked the US Capitol. It was the opening night of six public hearings on the January 6th attack that committee members will ho…
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Jan. 6th’s Primetime Moment (w/ Norm Eisen & Tom LoBianco)
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They may be the most anticipated and consequential of congressional hearings in decades. After eleven months of work and over one thousand interviews the committee investigating the January 6th 2021 attack on the US Capitol will premiere this week in primetime on Thursday at 8pm. With all the TV networks except for Fox News of course planning full …
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Secrets of Gay Washington (w/ James Kirchick)
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Uniquely Nasty, a Yahoo News documentary from 2015, explored the little known story of the US Government’s relentless persecution of gays in the Cold War era, focusing in part on how the FBI under Hoover’s direction, tracked the names of tens of thousands of suspected gays and lesbians working for the Federal Government. And then took steps to have…
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Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy addressed the Senate on Tuesday afternoon after the gut-wrenching news out of Texas. Another school massacre in which twenty-two people were killed, nineteen of them young children. Murphy could barely control himself. It was in his state where ten years ago there had been another slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary …
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Trump’s Georgia Bust (w/ Brian Robinson & Chris Huttman)
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Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger spoke to a small group of supporters Tuesday night explaining how he pulled off his surprise victory for re-election over a Donald Trump backed opponent. It was a truly extraordinary comeback for Raffensperger, barley a year ago his chances were viewed as hopeless. After refusing Trump's entreaties to…
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Things Are About To Get "Wild" (w/ Andrea Bernstein & Ilya Marritz)
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The new podcast series Will Be Wild focuses on the run up to and the aftermath of the January 6th assault on the US Capitol. It's a deeply reported and at time astonishing series that explores the violent undercurrents that were circulating amongst far-right circles in the years leading up to the attack. The encouragement that those activists got f…
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We've Got It On Tape (w/ Jonathan Martin & Alex Burns)
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Recent tapes of Senator Lindsay Graham talking to New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin on the afternoon of Jan. 6th, 2021 have now been released. It reaffirms what many Republicans were thinking that day about the riot that Donald Trump had just unleashed upon the US Capitol. And expressed hope that the new Democratic President, Joe Biden, could…
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The Leak & Battle Over Abortion (w/ Josh Gerstein & Carolyn Shapiro)
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Politico dropped a bombshell story that stung the political and legal world last week after obtaining a leaked draft opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito that would appear to be an overturning of Roe v Wade, the 1973 opinion that gave women the constitutional right to abortion. The story was astonishing on multiple levels. It showe…
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LIVE from Politics & Prose (w/ Bob Woodward, Carol Leonnig, & George Conway)
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As hundreds of reports gather for this weekend's White House Correspondents Dinner, there's one burning issue that remains a lively topic of discussion and debate. Will Donald Trump finally be indicted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election? To address that question, we assembled an All-Star panel to dissect the complicated legal and politic…
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