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John is joined by writer/editor/producers Kurt Andersen and Michael Hirschorn to take stock of the Trump era in our politics and culture. The three friends discuss the once-and-future president’s reelection, his cabinet picks (one of whom, Kurt reveals, was his college cocaine dealer), and the ways in which the logic of reality TV not only explains the Trump phenomenon but that of Elon Musk, R.F.K. Jr., and Luigi Mangione. Kurt and Michael also riff on the books, movies, and TV shows that floated their boats this year, from Wicked and Somebody Somewhere to Kendrick Lamar’s GNX.

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LATEST EPISODES

Chris Murphy: Everything Is Broken

John welcomes back Democratic Senator Chris Murphy to discuss his new book “Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America.” Murphy lays out his book’s argument that America is in the grip of a set of interlocking cults (the Cult of Profit, Cult of Everywhere, Cult of Technology, […]

Jonathan Martin: Crooked Ken v. Tofu Talarico

John welcomes back Politico’s Jonathan Martin to discuss the Texas Senate race: how scandal-soaked Attorney General Ken Paxton thrashed incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the GOP primary run-off; Democratic nominee James Talarico’s “race against time” to define himself before Paxton's effort to cast him as a weak, weird, ultra-woke vegan sinks in with voters; and […]

James Traub: When the Bough Breaks

John welcomes author James Traub to discuss his latest book, “The Cradle of Citizenship: How Schools Can Help Save Our Democracy.” Traub describes the year he spent reporting in K-12 classrooms across the country; the fierce culture wars after the Covid-19 pandemic in many school systems around race, gender, curricula, and library collections; the debate […]