Today we’re popping into your feed to tell you about a new series, What’s The Plan?
What’s The Plan is one of America’s largest live, participatory political conversations, designed to inform, mobilize, and grow the pro-democracy movement.
A weekly guide to the state of democracy and how we fight back against authoritarian threats in the United States.
Hosted by Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, Co-founders of Indivisible. What’s The Plan isn’t punditry, it’s people-powered politics in real time.
New episodes every Friday wherever you get your podcasts. Head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/WhatsThePlanwithLeahandEzrafd
Paul D. Miller joins the show to argue that international law is a set of norms, not a moral court. A former CIA analyst and Army intelligence officer now at Georgetown, Miller explains why post-conflict reconciliation only works when locals accept it, why Israel faces a unique double standard, and how democracies navigate war without becoming what they're accused of being. We discuss Rwanda, denazification, Kosovo, Gaza, civilian casualty ratios, and why just war theory still matters after the shooting stops. Plus, the arrest of Don Lemon—why it's less a First Amendment crisis than another example of selective punishment, pretextual enforcement, and politics disguised as law.
Produced by Corey Wara
Coordinated by Lya Yanne
Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig
Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com
In the wake of the massive winter storm, the power is still out in some places, trees are down, and the death toll continues to rise. And where is FEMA? Don’t pester Trump about it because he is very busy going after political opponents like Don Lemon, re-litigating once again his 2020 loss in Georgia, and keeping up his terror campaign in Minnesota in hopes of invoking the Insurrection Act. Plus, he’s got a side hustle orchestrating the payment of $10 billion in taxpayer money to him and his family. Meanwhile, there’s a pretty stinky smell of corruption around the new Fed chair pick, Lindsey Graham wants in on the grift, and where are all the bros who just had to vote for Trump because of Biden’s supposed reign of cancel culture?
Michael Steele joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
A man rushed towards Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar during an event in her home state on Tuesday, spraying the congresswoman with a liquid authorities later identified as vinegar. President Donald Trump told reporters later that evening he thought there was a chance that Omar had staged the attack herself as a stunt.
And more acts are pulling out of scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center. Composer Phillip Glass announced his decision to not debut a symphony he wrote in honor of Abraham Lincoln written for the Center’s 50th anniversary.
A quiet revolution is underway on the Temple Mount, where for six decades Jews have been forbidden to pray due to the rules established by a Muslim authority with dominion over the Dome of the Rock mosque—rules allowed to stand by the Israeli government. What changed and why is this so important? And why are the grounds for arresting former CNN anchor Don Lemon for participating in the disruption of a church service in Minneapolis stronger than you might think? Give a listen.
On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Mark Chenoweth, president and chief legal officer of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, joins Federalist Senior Elections Correspondent Matt Kittle to discuss the NCLA's ongoing Supreme Court battle over President Donald Trump's firing of Federal Reserve Chair Lisa Cook and unpack the legal and constitutional limits on executive power.
The Federalist Foundation is a nonprofit, and we depend entirely on our listeners and readers — not corporations. If you value fearless, independent journalism, please consider a tax-deductible gift today at TheFederalist.com/donate. Your support keeps us going.
President Trump was elected in 2024 on the promise that he would fix the economy. Now, a new poll from The New York Times/Siena reveals that the issue may be driving voters away.
Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst at The Times, explains what the poll tells us.
Guest: Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.
Background reading:
Few voters say Mr. Trump’s second term has made the country better, a new poll found.
The old world order is dying. What new world order — if any — is struggling to be born?
I can’t think of a week when it felt clearer that an era was coming to an end. Whatever people thought America was, at least for a couple of decades, it’s something else now. The killing of Alex Pretti and the fact that it was recorded on video that plainly contradicted the Trump administration’s initial narrative made that clear. Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, also drove home that point when he declared at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the world was in the midst of a “rupture.”
What do people think of America now in Europe? In China? And if American hegemony is coming to an end, what comes after that?
Adam Tooze is a historian at Columbia University and a chronicler of crises. The Guardian recently called him “the crisis whisperer.” He’s written a number of books about the times when systems fall apart and new orders emerge, including “Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World.” And on his Substack, Chartbook, he tracks the unfolding crises and power shifts, in particular the rise of China. He also had a front-row seat to the chaos of Davos last week, moderating a panel that included Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary.
I wanted to talk to Tooze about what he saw at the World Economic Forum, how the world’s understanding of the U.S. is changing and how he’s making sense of this moment.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, 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.
Outrage over the killing of Alex Pretti spreads to nonpolitical and Trump-friendly spaces, even as Border Czar Tom Homan promises to "draw down" the DHS presence in Minneapolis and the White House caves to Democrats' demands on debating DHS funding. Could this be a turning point in the Trump presidency? Jon and Dan discuss all the latest, including Anderson Cooper's extraordinary conversation with Stella Carlson, the woman who filmed the crucial angle of the shooting. Then they turn to the FBI's deeply troubling raid on the election headquarters in Fulton County, Georgia, and the premiere of "Melania," a multi-million dollar bribe from Jeff Bezos to the first family disguised as a documentary. Then, Jon sits down with MSNOW's Joe Scarborough to talk about why Republicans in Congress still put up with Trump, and why he hopes the next Democratic nominee returns to the party's organizing roots. Plus: a special preview of our new subscriber-only show, Pod Save America: OnlyFriends.
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Mike contemplates the hierarchy of American attention, contrasting the 50 million eyes on the AFC Championship game with the obscurity of the men leading the "Metro Surge" in Minnesota. Then, Ruy Teixeira (The Liberal Patriot) and Jesse Adams (The Ivy Exile) join for Not Even Mad. The panel debates whether the chaos in Minnesota is a strategic "theater" of enforcement or a policy failure that's alienating the very public that requested it. They also dissect Trump's Davos "Greenland" rhetoric—is it a serious expansionist play for America's 250th anniversary, or just a loud way to bully NATO into paying up? Plus, a blizzard of "Goat Grinders" covering the Dodgers' billions, the "black Jewish" reboot of Blue Bloods, and the pharmaceutical ads keeping broadcast TV alive.
Produced by Corey Wara
Coordinated by Lya Yanne
Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig
Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com
