Today we talk about Trump’s bid to create a sovereign wealth fund by investing in private companies, the parallels these actions have to his shakedowns of elite universities and Zohran’s attempt to throw up 135 on the bench press. We also talk about the “Badasses,” a group of Democrats who are trying to blend suburban mom vibes with their former careers in the CIA and military.
Enjoy!
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Is there a larger cultural meaning to the engagement of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce? Does it connect somehow to Cracker Barrel ditching its redesign? And what does it all say about American happiness and connection? Give a listen.
President Trump’s decision to try to fire a member of the Federal Reserve’s governing board is his most audacious attack yet on the independence of the central bank.
Ben Casselman, chief economics correspondent for The New York Times, discusses why Mr. Trump’s route to controlling the Fed passes through the governor, an economics professor named Lisa Cook.
Guest: Ben Casselman, the chief economics correspondent for The New York Times.
Background reading:
Mr. Trump’s move to fire Ms. Cook is a legally dubious maneuver that could undermine the independence of the nation’s central bank.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
ICE now has the biggest budget of any law enforcement agency in America.
“ICE and Customs and Border Protection have long been the most rogue, kind of renegade and certainly pro-Trump police agencies in the federal government,” explained Radley Balko, a journalist who’s covered policing for decades. “What I think we are seeing right now is Trump is attempting to build his own paramilitary force. They want people whose first, ultimate loyalty in this job is going to be to the president.”
Balko is the author of “Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces.” And he’s been tracking the changes at ICE and the Trump administration’s escalating law-and-order tactics on his excellent newsletter, The Watch.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Jack McCordick. Fact-checking by Will Peischel. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Mixing by Isaac Jones. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Michelle Harris, Rollin Hu, Elias Isquith, Kristin Lin, Aman Sahota, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
What can we learn from the history of the American Right? Zachary and Emma welcome Sam Tanenhaus, historian and author, whose most recent work is his biography Buckley: The Life and Revolution That Changed America. Sam shares insights from his deep dive into the career of conservative icon William F. Buckley, the country’s “first intellectual entertainer.” He discusses how Buckley’s blend of intellect and charisma set the stage for the modern conservative movement, the influence of media in shaping political discourse, and the ways in which Buckley’s legacy continues to shape the Right.
What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and The Podglomerate. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org Watch the podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theprogressnetwork And follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk
Trump has fired Fed governor Lisa Cook for lying on her mortgage, part of a broader pattern of using mortgage fraud as a political weapon while allies skate by. Former FDA head David Kessler joins again to explain how GLP-1 drugs reshape the fight against obesity and what they mean for health long term. In the Spiel, the spectacle of Laura Loomer’s chaotic influence.
Electricity costs have risen 5.5% in the past year, nearly double the national inflation rate. And they are projected to continue to climb. According to a new study, one driver of higher power bills is how the public is subsidizing the energy bills of some of the largest Tech companies in the world. Meanwhile cheap renewable energy (like solar and wind) is being outlawed by the Trump administration.array(3) {
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Some rando far-right social media suck-up, who Trump rewarded with an appointment to his administration, is pushing mortgage fraud investigations of Adam Schiff, Tish James, and now Fed governor Lisa Cook. Trump claims he's fired Cook based on a tweet—but will any institution stand up to these McCarthy-like campaigns against his political foes? Meanwhile, Bolton is being investigated because he went on TV and called out Trump's lies about his embarrassing Alaska summit. Plus, the administration is abusing official resources by having Guard troops just stand around in D.C., Putin wants to devour Ukraine by any means necessary, and we are finding out what it's like to have a live-streaming presidency. Susan Glasser joins Tim Miller.
On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Charles Camosy, professor of moral theology and bioethics at the Catholic University of America, joins Federalist Senior Elections Correspondent Matt Kittle to discuss a rise in physician-assisted killing and share what it means to live and die well while resisting "eugenic death culture."
You can find Camosy's book Living and Dying Well: A Catholic Plan for Resisting Physician-Assisted Killing here.
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We can't overlook the wild swings at American norms being taken by the Trump administration over the past week, from firing someone the president cannot fire at the Federal Reserve Board to sending FBI agents to the home and office of a critic to announcing a new kind of federal police force. So we don't overlook them! Give a listen.
