Category: 3-DailySometimeCommentary

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What A Day - Will Republicans Slash Medicaid?

As House Republicans prepare to begin voting on their big policy blueprint this week, one of the programs they're targeting for major cuts is Medicaid. The federal healthcare program covers around 80 million Americans, mostly people living near or below the poverty line. While President Donald Trump has endorsed the House's budget plan, he has also said that Medicaid is 'not going to be touched.' Sarah Kliff, investigative health care reporter for The New York Times, explains what the proposed Medicaid cuts would mean for actual people.

And in headlines: Trump had an awkward meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron over Ukraine, Trump officials continued to sow confusion over an email demanding federal workers justify their jobs, and the president picked right-wing podcaster Dan Bongino as the next FBI deputy director.

Show Notes:

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Barron Mania

Barron Trump, the president’s youngest son, isn’t on the public speaking circuit and has no social media presence. But he’s nevertheless become a Gen-Z-aged avatar of Trump masculinity for the MAGA faithful. Where does reality end and speculation begin?


Guest: Dan Adler, staff writer for Vanity Fair.


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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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What A Day - Is The Alt-Right Even ‘Alt’ Anymore?

The Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, wrapped up Saturday. While billionaire Elon Musk ate up a lot of the attention by wielding an actual chainsaw on stage to symbolize his attacks on government waste (and subtlety), the annual conservative conference featured a host of other speakers with far-right ties. That included people like Jack Posobiec, a right-wing influencer who was recently invited to travel with members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet. Elle Reeve, CNN reporter and author of the book ‘Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics,’ talks about how the far-right got a foothold in the U.S. government.

And in headlines: Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’ll step down as president of Ukraine if it means his country can join NATO, President Donald Trump ousted the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Musk issued another ultimatum to federal workers.

Show Notes:

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - What If America Went on Strike?

In 2011, a Republican majority in the Wisconsin State House faced massive protests to their plans to strip power from public sector workers. State Democrats fled across the border and the possibility of a general strike loomed. 


But the strike fizzled out and the legislation ultimately passed. 


And now the situation in the federal government is shaping up in a similar way. Do the workers need to break the glass and do what Wisconsin stopped short of?


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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Ethan Oberman, and Rob Gunther.

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | $Trump

The crypto industry threw its weight and money behind Donald Trump, in hopes of legitimizing the industry. Before his Inauguration Day was over, Donald Trump was already enriching himself via a memecoin, one of the scammier, least legitimate-looking uses of crypto.


Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany, reporter covering cryptocurrency for the New York Times.


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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Are 150 year olds getting social security payments?

Last week Elon Musk revealed that he had been through the Social Security Agencies database and found millions of people aged over 100.

The vast majority of these people are dead, but their accounts and social security numbers remain live.

Elon claimed that he had uncovered ?the biggest fraud ever? prompting some news outlets to speculate that billions of dollars might be being paid to these dead people every month.

But is it true? We look at whether this is new information and what the data actually tells us.

Produced and presented by: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: James Beard

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What A Day - The True Cost Of USAID Cuts

Thursday marked one month since President Donald Trump officially took office. Since then, he’s signed dozens of executive orders. And the fallout from all his unilateral actions is starting to become clear. The administration’s funding cuts for foreign assistance have already hit millions of people receiving aid around the world through USAID, as well as many American businesses and nonprofits who do business with the agency. Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin, who resigned in protest as deputy head of communications in East Africa for USAID this month, describes the toll Trump’s cuts are taking on vulnerable people in Kenya.

And in headlines: The Senate confirmed Kash Patel as the new head of the FBI, former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced he won’t run for re-election, and the administration slashes deportation protections for around 500,000 Haitian migrants.

Show Notes:

  • Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
  • Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
  • What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
  • Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
  • For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday
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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Elon’s Endgame

As someone whose companies receive billions of dollars from the government, it’s worth asking why Elon Musk is so zealous about cutting government spending. 

Guest: Max Chafkin, features editor and tech reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek and cohost of the Elon, Inc podcast.

Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

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