Best Mark Wiley Podcasts (2025)

1
Susan Morrison: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night (Live) 1:22:26

3d ago1:22:26

1:22:26

John is joined by Susan Morrison, articles editor of The New Yorker, to discuss “Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live,” her biography of SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels. Morrison argues that no one has done more to shape modern America’s sense of humor than Michaels, an enigmatic Canadian about whom most Americans know nothing; a…

1
Introducing: What We Spend 11:24

4d ago11:24

11:24

Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. On What We Spend, people from across the country and across the financial spectrum are opening their wallets—and their lives—to tell you everything: what they make, what they want, and—for one week—what they spend. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices …

1
Conway & Stevens: Kilmar’s Fate, Harvard’s Fight & America's Last Best Hope 1:12:13

7d ago1:12:13

1:12:13

John is joined by a pair of former GOP panjandrums turned NeverTrump stalwarts — attorney George Conway and political strategist Stuart Stevens — to discuss the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case and Donald Trump’s efforts to turn the U.S. into a police state. Conway and Stevens argue that the guardrails preventing that outcome are banged up but still holdi…

1
Maya Wiley: The Rule of Lawlessness 1:18:19

10d ago1:18:19

1:18:19

John is joined by Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, to discuss the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and its implications for the rule of law in America. Wiley argues that the case -- and Donald Trump's open defiance of the Supreme Court's unanimous order that the administration facilitate Garcia's rep…

1
Steve Rattner: No Way to Run a Railroad (Let Alone the World Economy) 1:06:53

14d ago1:06:53

1:06:53

John is joined by longtime Wall Street eminence and former “car czar” Steve Rattner to discuss the impact of Donald Trump’s tariff jihad on global financial markets and the American economy. Rattner explains why the theory of the case animating Trump’s protectionist agenda is “disjointed,” “illogical,” and “incoherent,” and its execution has been e…

1
Chris Krebs: Cyberattacks, Cyberdefenses & Trump 2.0’s Cybersurrender 1:08:31

17d ago1:08:31

1:08:31

John is joined by former U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Chris Krebs to discuss the Trump 2.0 rollback of the nation’s cyberdefenses—an interview taped just an hour before Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate Krebs, who earned the president’s enmity four years ago by declaring the 2020 election “the mos…

1
Marc Elias: Trump’s War on Big Law & Most Perilous Power Grab 1:05:07

21d ago1:05:07

1:05:07

John is joined by Marc Elias, the attorney whom Donaled Trump has cast as his bete noire in the legal profession, to discuss the president’s war on the judiciary, the bar, and the rule of law itself. Elias explains why the executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” is designed to do just the opposite, mak…

1
Ron Fournier & Ben Wikler: Appetite for Destruction 1:16:55

24d ago1:16:55

1:16:55

John is joined by former AP Washington Bureau Chief Ron Fournier and current Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler to discuss a week in which America’s de facto co-presidents seemed trying to outdo each other in terms of wreaking havoc and stoking panic. Fournier assesses the motives behind Donald Trump’s market-crashing tariffs and their pot…

1
Peter Baker & Susan Glasser: Moscow on the Potomac 1:20:52

28d ago1:20:52

1:20:52

The Bogie and Bacall of Beltway journalistic power couples — Peter Baker of the New York Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker — return to the show to discuss the fallout from the first true crisis of Donald Trump’s second term and an array of ongoing controversies embroiling the new administration. Peter and Susan explain why, despite the seri…

1
Mark Warner & Rick Wilson: You Cannot Be Serious (But Signalgate Surely Is) 1:22:40

1M ago1:22:40

1:22:40

John is joined by Mark Warner, ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Lincoln Project founder Rick Wilson to discuss the story eclipsing all other political news this week: Signalgate. Although Warner is a consensus-seeking moderate Democrat and Wilson a bomb-throwing NeverTrump Republican, in their long careers both have come acr…

1
Leigh Ann Caldwell: Capitol Hill as Capitol Hell 49:22

1M ago49:22

49:22

John is joined by Leigh Ann Caldwell, Puck’s newly minted chief Washington correspondent, to discuss how congressional Ds and Rs are coping with the new world order of Trump 2.0. Leigh Ann assesses the political aftershocks rippling through the Democratic ranks in the wake of what many in the party see as Chuck Schumer’s disastrous capitulation to …

1
Andrew Weissmann: Law & Disorder 1:15:19

1M ago1:15:19

1:15:19

John is joined by former federal prosecutor and FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann to discuss Donald Trump’s escalating attacks on the judiciary and what it means for the rule of law. Weissmann explains why the showdown between the Trump administration and federal district judge James Boasberg over the deportation of some 200 alleged Venezuelan g…

1
Liev Schreiber: Slava Ukraini! 1:24:53

1M ago1:24:53

1:24:53

John is joined by acclaimed actor Liev Schreiber to discuss his humanitarian aid work in Ukraine, his friendship with Volodymyr Zelensky, and the efforts to bring an end to the war in his ancestral homeland. Schreiber explains why the apparent strategy behind Donald Trump’s efforts to forge a ceasefire and force both sides to the negotiating table …

1
Jake Auchincloss: Acquiescing to Chaos & Corruption 1:15:03

1M ago1:15:03

1:15:03

John is joined by Massachusetts Democratic congressman Jake Auchincloss to discuss how his party is handling the clash over a government shutdown and the broader challenges of Donald Trump's second term. Jake argues that voting for the Republican measure to fund the government is a mistake in terms of both policy and politics; the freakout in the w…

1
M. Gessen: What Putin Wants (Beyond Making Trump His Bitch) 1:12:56

2M ago1:12:56

1:12:56

John is joined by New York Times opinion columnist M. Gessen to discuss Donald Trump’s affinity for Vladimir Putin and what it means for Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine, and the whole of Europe. Gessen, winner of the 2017 National Book Award for The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, contends it’s now crystal clear that the U.S. h…

1
Robert Reich: Donald Trump’s Stagflation Nation & Why Dems Can’t Play Possum 1:18:16

2M ago1:18:16

1:18:16

John is joined by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich to discuss Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress and his already beleaguered economic agenda. Reich argues that Trump’s speech was most striking for its lack of focus on the concerns (notably, the high cost of living) most responsible for his reelection; his administration's policies (incl…

1
Marty Baron: Why Bezos Is Debasing the Post & Bending Both Knees to Trump 1:15:16

2M ago1:15:16

1:15:16

John is joined by Marty Baron to discuss the changes being wrought by Jeff Bezos at the Washington Post, where Baron served as executive editor from 2013 to 2021, and how the Fourth Estate is faring in the Trump 2.0 era. Baron explains his reaction (disgust, shock, fury) to Bezos's recent ban on opinions at odds with his own from the Post's op-ed p…

1
Michael McFaul: Whose Side Are We On? 1:17:11

2M ago1:17:11

1:17:11

John is joined by Michael McFaul, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford and former U.S. ambassador to Russia, to discuss Donald Trump's efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. McFaul explains why the rare earth minerals deal between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky amounts to an act of pure extortion by A…

1
Joyce Vance: Eric Adams & The Quid Pro Quo That Dare Not Speak Its Name 1:08:50

2M ago1:08:50

1:08:50

John is joined by Joyce Vance, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, to discuss the Eric Adams case. Joyce explains why the decision by Donald Trump’s Justice Department to dismiss the corruption charges against New York’s mayor was so unusual, unwarranted, and improper; why the extraordinary fallout from that decision—resignat…

1
Preet Bharara: Canaries, Coal Mines & Batshit Crazies 1:06:11

2M ago1:06:11

1:06:11

John is joined by Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and current host of the podcast Stay Tuned With Preet, for the first of two back-to-back episodes on the pitched battle playing out in the federal courts over Donald Trump’s agenda. One of the most prodigious federal prosecutors of the modern era, Bharara ex…

1
Robert Draper: Travels with Charlie 1:14:02

2M ago1:14:02

1:14:02

John is joined by New York Times Magazine writer and bestselling author Robert Draper to discuss his new profile of the unrivaled leader of the MAGA youth movement, Charlie Kirk. Draper explains how, at just 31 and without a college degree, Kirk has emerged as a dominant force on the right through a deft combination of donor courtship (bolstering h…

1
Adrian Wojnarowski: Luka's Lebron Love, Boosting the Bonnies, & Life Beyond Woj Bombs 1:31:06

2M ago1:31:06

1:31:06

On the eve of NBA All Star weekend, John is joined by former pro basketball reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, whose breaking news prowess and social media savvy made him a star at ESPN and ushered in a new era in sports journalism. Having shocked the world last fall by leaving his TV job to become general manager of the hoops squad at his alma mater, St…

1
Laurence Tribe: God Save This Dishonorable Court 1:16:14

3M ago1:16:14

1:16:14

John is joined by constitutional scholar nonpareil Laurence Tribe to discuss the radical challenge to the prevailing legal order by Donald Trump's actions and agenda. Tribe maintains that it’s no exaggeration to say, just three weeks into the new administration, that Trump, Elon Musk, and their allies are engaged in an incipient coup d’etat; and th…

1
Ezra Klein: Don’t Call It A Coup — Yet 1:17:42

3M ago1:17:42

1:17:42

John is joined by New York Times columnist, podcaster, and idea merchant extraodinaire Ezra Klein to chop up his latest conversation-sparking Times essay “Don’t Believe Him” about Donald Trump's initial blizzard of executive actions, grifts, and power grabs. Ezra argues that, although Trump's flurry legal and constitutional trespasses has thrust us…

1
Jonathan V. Last: Bullet Train to the Dark Place 1:19:19

3M ago1:19:19

1:19:19

John is joined by Jonathan V. Last to discuss The Bulwark editor's contention that, less than three weeks into Trump 2.0, “we are in a constitutional crisis already.” JVL argues that the new administration’s early moves reflect a strategy of subjugating the legislative branch and daring the courts to stop it, then raises the question of whether the…

1
Brian Schatz: Signal v. Noise in Trump 2.0 57:55

3M ago57:55

57:55

John is joined by Brian Schatz, the senior U.S. senator from Hawaii, to discuss the second week of Trump 2.0 and where Democrats go from here. Schatz pulls no punches in describing Trump’s attempt to politicize the tragic midair collision over the Potomac by blaming DEI initiatives as“disgusting” and in arguing that “millions could die” if RFK Jr. …

1
Jennifer Palmieri: Deja Vu All Over Again 1:16:11

3M ago1:16:11

1:16:11

John is joined by longtime Democratic communications strategist—for Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and, in the 2024 campaign, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff—to discuss the first week of Trump 2.0 and how Democrats are coping. Palmieri explains why her team’s loss in November didn’t feel as bad as in 2016, but the sucking-u…

1
Beschloss & Meacham: We Don't Have the Words for What We're Seeing 1:13:41

3M ago1:13:41

1:13:41

John is joined by presidential historians Michael Beschloss and Jon Meacham for a much-needed group therapy session at the end of the first week of Trump 2.0. The historians weigh in on Donald Trump’s decision to issue pardons and commutations to each and every one of the nearly 1600 individuals criminally implicated in the January 6 insurrection; …

1
Joe Scarborough: A Tale of Two Speeches – and Two Trumps 1:19:57

3M ago1:19:57

1:19:57

John is joined by Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, to discuss the kickoff of Trump 2.0 Joe riffs on the contradictions within Trump’s official, State of the Union-style inaugural address, and between that speech and the backward-looking, aggrieved oration he uncorked immediately thereafter; the tension between Trump’s yearning for e…

1
Mike Schmidt: If Past Is Prologue, Buckle Up 1:16:02

3M ago1:16:02

1:16:02

John is joined by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Time scribe Michael S. Schmidt on the eve of Donald Trump’s second inauguration to discuss the road ahead. Proceeding from the premise that what Trump says matters less than what he actually does, Schmidt details the myriad ways in which 45/47 attempted to weaponize the government against h…

1
Scott Galloway: Oligarchy Or Bust 1:20:19

3M ago1:20:19

1:20:19

John is joined by Scott Galloway to discuss the impending Tech Bro tableau at Donald Trump’s inauguration and Joe Biden’s warning about America’s incipient transformation into an oligarchy. Galloway—professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, host of the Pivot and Prof G podcasts, and author of The Algebra of Wealth, The Algebra of Happiness, and …

1
Mallory McMorrow: Women Are (Still) Pissed — But Also Patient 1:16:08

3M ago1:16:08

1:16:08

John is joined by Democratic Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow to discuss the commencement of Trump 2.0 and where her party goes from here. Mallory opines on the Pete Hegseth confirmation hearing and explains why women are greeting Trump's second term so differently than his first, despite the profusion of appointees and advisers accused of s…

1
Tim Miller: Staving Off Nihilism in the Face of Trump 2.0 1:22:00

4M ago1:22:00

1:22:00

John is joined by his pal Tim Miller—OG Never Trumper and host of The Bulwark Podcast—for an extended therapy session a week out from the start of Donald Trump’s second term. Tim explains why he finds it impossible to care about Trump non-sentence sentencing or the impending release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on Trump’s role in January …

1
James Fallows: The Jimmy Carter Conundrum 56:49

4M ago56:49

56:49

John is joined by Jim Fallows—former Atlantic national correspondent, National Book Award winner, and author of Breaking The News on Substack—to discuss Jimmy Carter’s life and legacy. Fallows, who served as Carter’s chief White House speechwriter, discusses the qualities that made Carter an initially mesmerizing but deeply flawed and historically …

1
Jiore Craig: The Year Ahead Online (Everything is Broken) 1:34:51

4M ago1:34:51

1:34:51

John is joined by Jiore Craig—next-gen Democratic digital strategist, counter-disinformation specialist, and senior research fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue—to discuss the role of social media in the 2024 election and where the political information ecosystem is headed in 2025. Jiore argues that, for all the focus on deep fakes, A.I.…

1
Kara Swisher: The Year Ahead in Tech & Politics (Elon for President — of Mars) 1:04:09

4M ago1:04:09

1:04:09

John is joined by Kara Swisher—longtime chronicler of the Silicon Valley cinematic universe, host of two hit podcasts, and author of the bestselling Burn Book: A Tech Love Story—to discuss why 2025 will be the year of slap fights among bitchy tech billionaires competing for Donald Trump's affections. Swisher analyzes the relationships between Trump…

1
Wright Thompson: Why Emmett Till Still Matters 1:18:00

4M ago1:18:00

1:18:00

John is joined by Wright Thompson, master of long-form narrative non-fiction and author of the book Heilemann adjudges the best of 2024 — The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi. Wright explains how he came to write The Barn, in which he blends history, journalism, and memoir to offer a new account of the 1955 torture and murder of …

1
Will Leitch & Pablo Torre: The Year In Sports (Shut Up & Dribble? Sure!) 1:24:50

4M ago1:24:50

1:24:50

John is joined by Deadspin founder, New York magazine columnist, and rising-star novelist Will Leitch, and Pablo Torre, former ESPN tyro and current host of the endlessly entertaining podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out to discuss the year in sports and sports culture. The guys discuss Caitlin Clark and the rise of the WNBA; the remarkably hitch-free, th…

1
Dylan Byers: The Year In Media (Falling Stars, Tolling Bells, & Self-Abasing Billionaires) 1:13:31

4M ago1:13:31

1:13:31

John is joined by his partner and Puck Superfriend Dylan Byers to look back on the year that was on the Byers beat. John and Dylan shake their heads and let the brickbats fly at the sight of a procession of mega-rich entertainment and tech CEOs bowing and scraping before Donald Trump. They also dig into Dylan’s year-end lists of the media industry’…

1
Rob Sheffield: The Year in Music (Taylor’s Version) 1:22:55

4M ago1:22:55

1:22:55

John is joined by Rob Sheffield—longtime Rolling Stone writer and author of the recent bestseller Heartbreak Is The National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music—to size up the past year in music. Sheffield discusses the final show of the Eras tour (which, naturally, he attended), the otherworldly success of the tour and the album it spawn…

1
Chris Murphy: “It’s Happening Right in Front of Our Eyes” 45:23

4M ago45:23

45:23

John is joined by Democratic Senator Chris Murphy to discuss Murphy's view that the events of this week are a preview of the assault on the rule of law that Donald Trump intends to wage once he takes office. Murphy connects the dots between House Republicans’ call on the FBI to launch a criminal investigation of Liz Cheney, Trump’s lawsuit against …

1
Dan Pfeiffer: Mystery Drones, Corporate Lackeys & Resistance 2.0 1:24:41

4M ago1:24:41

1:24:41

John is joined by Pod Save America cohost, Message Box author, and former top Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer to discuss Donald Trump’s flood-the-zone transition strategy and the Democratic Party’s future. Pfeiffer argues that the Biden administration’s failure to address the mystery drone story is part of a larger abdication that has let Trump present …

1
Kurt Andersen & Michael Hirschorn: Reality Used to be a Friend of Mine 1:17:17

4M ago1:17:17

1:17:17

John is joined by writer/editor/producers Kurt Andersen and Michael Hirschorn—longtime friends, former business partners, and intellectual entrepreneurs extraordinaire—to take stock of the Trump Era in our politics and culture. The three old friends discuss the once and future president’s reelection, his cabinet picks (one of whom, Kurt reveals, wa…

1
Alex Wagner: Trump Gets Triggered, Luigi Gets Caught & Guilfoyle Gets Exiled 1:13:46

5M ago1:13:46

1:13:46

John is joined by Alex Wagner, MSNBC primetime host and Heilemann’s former co-star on The Circus, to discuss the big news stories of this past week and cultural touchstones of this past year. Wagner explains how Trump’s efforts at appearing reasonable in his recent Meet The Press interview were foiled by his “spikes of insanity” around freeing impr…

1
Hakeem Jeffries on Trump, Johnson, McCarthy, Biggie & Wu Tang (Oh, My) 55:38

5M ago55:38

55:38

John is joined by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to discuss this year’s election, next year’s Congress, and the agita about his party’s future. Jeffries argues that although the Democratic performance on November 5 was undeniably “disappointing,” it was hardly catastrophic; that of all of Donald Trump’s disconcerting appointments, RFK, Jr.…

1
Pete Wehner: Hegseth’s Redemption Bromides, Trump’s Rampant Blasphemies & Fast Car’s Radiant Beatitude 1:15:36

5M ago1:15:36

1:15:36

John is joined by Pete Wehner—veteran of the Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43 administrations turned eloquent Never Trumper—to discuss the once and future president's transformation of the GOP, his perplexing appeal to the Christian Right, and more. Wehner explains why the best summation of Trump’s agenda comes from Michel Caine as Alfred in The Dark K…

1
Tina Brown: Trump’s Extended Middle Finger, Biden’s Shambolic Exit, & Martha’s Sad Denouement 1:16:07

5M ago1:16:07

1:16:07

John is joined by Tina Brown, the legendary magazine editrix and his former boss at The New Yorker, to discuss American politics and media at the end of a year of convulsive upheaval in both. Tina riffs on Donald Trump’s reality show transition and its freak show appointments; the soap operatic, still largely untold story of Joe Biden’s family and …

1
Figliuzzi & Weissmann: Trump’s Rough Justice & The Looming Kash Clash 1:11:19

5M ago1:11:19

1:11:19

John is joined by two renowned veterans of the Federal Bureau of Investigation—Frank Figliuzzi, former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence, and Andrew Weissmann, former FBI general counsel under Robert Mueller—to discuss Donald Trump’s plan to appoint one of his most controversial loyalists, Kash Patel, to be the bureau’s next director. …

1
Griffin Dunne: All in the Family 1:26:27

5M ago1:26:27

1:26:27

John is joined by the actor, director, writer, and producer Griffin Dunne to discuss The Friday Afternoon Club, his recent memoir about his famous literary family. Dunne offers intimate portraits of his sister Dominique, an actress on the rise four decades ago (having starred in Steven Spielberg's Poltergeist in 1982) who was strangled to death by …

1
David Remnick: Fear & Loathing Over Trump, Israel & the Dylan Biopic 1:13:59

5M ago1:13:59

1:13:59

To kick off Thanksgiving week, John is joined by David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, to discuss what, if anything, we have to be thankful for. Remnick observes that, on the basis of all early evidence, the most alarmist prospective fears about Donald Trump’s second term are looking more prescient than paranoid; there are encouraging signs that…

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Mark Wiley Podcasts

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