Author: LaMonica McIver, Dan Pfeiffer, Jon Favreau

Posted on

Pod Save America - Trump v. Musk: Choose Your Daddy

Donald Trump and Elon Musk's romance comes to a fiery end as the two erupt into an explosive feud, attacking each other across social media. Jon and Dan comb through the insults, including Elon calling for Trump's impeachment, Trump threatening to end all of Elon's government contracts, and, our personal favorite, Elon tweeting that Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. Fun day! The guys also discuss Trump's recent slate of executive orders: another round of attacks on Harvard University, a 2025 version of Trump 1.0’s infamous Muslim ban, and an investigation into the alleged coverup of President Biden's mental and physical health. Then, Jon and Lovett sit down with Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson for an extended interview about their New York Times bestselling book, Original Sin, which reckons with Biden's decision to run for reelection.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

 

Posted on

What A Day - The Big Beautiful Bill Breakdown feat. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly

Some Republican lawmakers are backtracking their support for President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” after realizing it’s …not all that beautiful. Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona joins us to talk about what’s actually in the legislation and what his constituents are saying about it.

And in headlines: Trump’s fifty percent tariffs on nearly all steel and aluminum imports went into effect and some of Musk’s DOGE volunteers are officially government employees.

Show Notes:

Posted on

What A Day - We’re Not Powerless Against Trump’s Climate Sabotage

President Donald Trump has made it his mission to single-handedly reverse basically every accomplishment of the Biden administration. That’s especially true when it comes to the former president’s climate agenda. Trump doesn’t want to just deemphasize the fight against climate change, his policy proposals would give climate change a helping hand. But states are stepping into the void left by the federal government. Longtime climate reporter Bill McKibben tells us how.

And in headlines: Elon Musk came out swinging hard against Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill, Gazans saw another day of violence near an aid distribution site, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon faced a grilling in the Senate.

Show Notes:

Posted on

What A Day - Migrants’ Legal Limbo

In the last few weeks, the Supreme Court has dealt more than half a million migrants a serious blow to their ability to live here in the U.S. legally. In separate orders, the court allowed the Trump administration to lift deportation protections for Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians living here under two programs — humanitarian parole and Temporary Protected Status. While the court’s orders are only temporary, it’s little comfort to the hundreds of thousands of people who are now newly vulnerable to deportation. Dara Lind, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, explains what happens next.

And in headlines: Federal authorities charged a man suspected of an antisemitic attack in Colorado with a federal hate crime, the Supreme Court declined to hear two gun rights cases, and representatives for Ukraine and Russia met in Istanbul for peace talks.

Show Notes:

Posted on

Pod Save America - Can Trump’s Health Care Cuts Be Stopped?

The health care of 10 million Americans is at risk as President Trump's massive tax cut legislation makes its way to the Senate. Will Majority Leader John Thune be able to cobble together a bill that the "Medicaid moderates," budget hawks, and hardliners can all agree on? Meanwhile, Stephen Miller freaks out at ICE leadership for failing to detain and deport enough immigrants, corporate America begins cutting ties with law firms that bent the knee to Trump, and Democratic presidential hopefuls begin testing the waters. Jon and Lovett embrace the schadenfreude, discuss the lies Speaker Mike Johnson is peddling to win over his Senate colleagues, and evaluate Senator Joni Ernst's "we're all going to die" message to her constituents. Then, Jon talks to Senator Brian Schatz about putting an end to Democratic navel gazing and fighting to stop Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill."

Posted on

Strict Scrutiny - It’s Officially Bad Decision Season

Live from Capital Turnaround in Washington, D.C., Leah, Kate, and Melissa wade right into the swamp, breaking down the (very weird, very disturbing) sexual harassment claims against Texas’s ex-solicitor general, Judd Stone and holding their noses to read Coach Brett Kavanaugh’s opinion on the National Environmental Policy Act. Then, the hosts welcome special guests Ambassador Norm Eisen and Emily Amick, author of the Substack, Emily in Your Phone, to talk about the avalanche of litigation against the Trump administration and reproductive rights (and wrongs), respectively.

Hosts’ favorite things:

Leah: Taylor Swift's letter about buying back her art; Why Is This Supreme Court Handing Trump More and More Power?, Kate Shaw (NYT); Living by the Ipse Dixit, Steve Vladeck (One First); The New Dark Age, Adam Serwer (The Atlantic); Elon Musk’s Legacy Is Disease, Starvation and Death, Michelle Goldberg (NYT)

Kate: Beware: We Are Entering a New Phase of the Trump Era, M. Gessen (NYT), How YOU Helped Knock Musk Out of DC–& of Politics, Norm Eisen (Substack); On the Campaign Trail, Elon Musk Juggled Drugs and Family Drama, Kirsten Grind and Meghan Twohey (NYT); Cowboy Carter

Melissa: Her incredible shoes from the show; seeing Cowboy Carter; the newest season of Just Like That; Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson

Emily: Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu); Everyone Is Lying to You by Jo Piazza

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

  • 6/12 – NYC
  • 10/4 – Chicago

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

Posted on

What A Day - How Trump’s Chaos Is Becoming Normal

Can you believe it’s already June? So much has happened since President Donald Trump returned to the White House four and a half months ago, it’s hard to process. In that short amount of time, Trump has unilaterally thrown the global trading system into chaos and tried to end the constitutional right of birthright citizenship. His administration has stripped billions in federal grants from universities, arrested international students, and put tens of thousands of federal workers out of jobs. The constant din of chaos is exhausting, and it’s easy to grow numb to it, to normalize it. New York Times opinion columnist M. Gessen explains the parallels they see with early 2000s Russia, when President Vladimir Putin consolidated power, and what we can — and can’t — learn from that period.

And in headlines: Ukraine said it destroyed dozens of Russian military bombers in a massive drone attack deep inside Russian territory, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump Administration to temporarily lift deportation protections for around half a million migrants, and Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst told constituents worried about proposed Medicaid cuts that ‘we all are going to die.’

 

Show Notes:

Posted on

Pod Save America - High Crimes and Piss-demeanors

Elon Musk is back in the news, with a New York Times investigation detailing his rampant drug use right as he hightails it out of Washington. Lovett and Dan compare notes on their own White House drug tests, then dig into Trump’s most recent comments on his Big Beautiful Bill, the legislation’s fate in the Senate, and Sen. Joni Ernst’s psychopathic consolation for people being kicked off Medicaid. Then Lovett sits down with author and history professor Erik Loomis to talk about whether the U.S. is still capable of mass mobilization—do liberals actually care about workers? How do we meet people where they’re at? And are we all too individualistic to show true solidarity?

Posted on

What A Day - In Israel And Gaza, War Opposition Grows

This week marked more than 600 days since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. In the wake of Hamas' horrific Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, Palestinian health officials say at least 50,000 people – including thousands of women and children – have died from Israeli airstrikes and bombings in the Gaza Strip. As the war drags on, protesters on both sides are speaking out and demanding that their governments do more to end the conflict. Shaiel Ben-Ephraim, an Israeli academic and host of the 'History of the Land' of Israel podcast, talks about the nuances of the protests and what they could mean for a potential end to the war.

And in headlines: A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated most of President Donald Trump's Liberation Day tariffs, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will begin "aggressively" revoking the visas of Chinese college students, and the White House acknowledges errors in the hotly anticipated 'Make America Healthy Again' report.

Show Notes:

Posted on

Pod Save America - Trump Always Chickens Out

Donald Trump loses his cool when a reporter asks him about a newly popular Wall Street phrase: TACO, aka Trump Always Chickens Out. A federal court unanimously rules that the majority of Trump’s tariffs are illegal — before an appeals court allows them to remain in place (for now). And after 128 days of destruction, Elon Musk's time as a Special Government Employee officially comes to a close. Jon and Dan discuss the future of DOGE after Musk, check in on Trump’s ongoing war with Harvard University, and deliver a new Corrupt-date — this time on Trump’s clemency spree. Then, Jon talks to Liz Oyer, a former DOJ Pardon Attorney, about her MAGA successor’s very political approach to a historically nonpartisan job.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.