Federal judges are starting to do something most elected Republicans won't: say no to Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The question now is, will Trump obey their orders? Jon, Lovett, and Tommy break down all the latest, including new onslaughts against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Institutes of Health, and new allegations of Trump family grift. Then, Jon sits down with Strict Scrutiny's Leah Litman to unpack how Trump is testing the limits of presidential power and pushing constitutional guardrails to the brink.
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.
Trump is canceling the US penny… because our cheapest coin is our most expensive.
The biggest diss track in the SB wasn’t Kendrick Lamar… it was from advertisers.
SpaceX and T-Mobile just shockingly teamed up… to kill the cell phone dead-zone.
Plus, the untold origin story of Ben & Jerry’s… and their most disruptive flavor: Phish Food.
$SBUX $TMUS $T
Want more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Ben & Jerry’s 🍦. Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.
“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.
A growing number of couples who are choosing to live apart together (LAT) seem to think so. These lovers are in a committed relationship but live or sleep separately.
Between 2000 and 2022, the percentage of married couples who decided to live apart grew by more than 40 percent. The trend has been driven mainly by older women.
New research from a U.K. household study found that older couples who decided to live in separate places have better mental health.
With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we discuss what living apart together looks like.
President Donald Trump has already made noise with tariff threats against the United States' North American trading partners. And soon, the United Kingdom could become another target which has a chance to drive a wedge between the U.K's trade relationship with the EU.
Today on the show, we explore what the U.K. could possibly offer the United States to ease trade tensions.
In Ali Smith's Gliff, two children wake up to find that someone has painted a red line around their home. They've been marked "unverifiable" and they're at risk of being captured. The dystopian near-future in which they live is a world of government surveillance and environmental destruction – and one without libraries. In today's episode, Smith talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the authoritarian themes in her novel. They discuss what makes authoritarianism feel attractive and safe, Smith's former career as an advertising copywriter, and the connection between slogans and tribalism.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
As Donald Trump has demonstrated, losing an election is no reason to admit you lost an election. In fact, in North Carolina, the Republican challenger, who lost a race for the state’s Supreme Court, is testing a bold new strategy of disqualifying ballots until he gets the result he wants. And if he succeeds, it could start a trend.
Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, Slate senior writer covering courts and the law.
Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the What Next show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.
The U.S. tested nuclear weapons until the early 1990s. Since then, scientists have been using supercomputers and experiments to simulate nuclear test detonations, without detonating any nukes. But there are signs the world's nuclear powers may be readying to test again: Russia, China and the U.S. are all upgrading their nuclear test sites.
NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel was among a small group of journalists allowed to tour an underground laboratory where this research happens.
Read more of science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel's reporting here.
Help shape the future of Short Wave by taking our survey: npr.org/shortwavesurvey
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Kath joins us for our annual review of the Big Game spectacle. We give our appraisal of what this year’s ad slate says about the state of American culture, plus reactions to Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show, and how conservatives continue to be oppressed by the TV. Then the Washington Post’s Jeff Stein joins us to discuss his reporting on what exactly Elon Musk & the DOGE team are trying to do to the federal government.
Jeff’s piece on Elon & DOGE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/08/doge-musk-goals/
If you’re in LA, check out Jacques & Grace’s Game Show Pig variety show at the Loge Room this Wednesday, 2/12: https://www.lodgeroomhlp.com/shows/game-show-pig/
