Deconstructed

The war in Ukraine was supposed to be a short conflict. But it has been three years since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, killing hundreds of thousands of people and destroying huge portions of the country. Now, the Trump administration has signaled that it wants to end the war in Ukraine, but there are significant questions and deep concerns about Trump’s plans for how to end the fighting. The Tr...

During a recent press briefing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump floated an idea for the U.S. to take ownership of the Gaza Strip, while expelling the surviving Palestinian population from the territory. While outlandish, Trump’s statement emboldened many on the Israeli right who continue to dream of eliminating the Palestinian population of the land throu...

Joe Biden has just weeks left in his presidency. Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza is continuing at full force. In Lebanon, the so-called ceasefire was one-sided by U.S. design, meant to require only Hezbollah to cease its fire. A U.N. peacekeeping force official told CNN Tuesday that Israel had committed roughly 100 violations of the ceasefire, including gradually intensifying military strikes...

Israeli Prime Minister and international fugitive Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech on Tuesday encouraging his ministers to accept a ceasefire deal with Lebanon. The truce with Lebanon, Netanyahu said, would allow Israel to rearm itself and focus on the war against Hamas and Iran. He also claimed that the U.S. had assured Israel that it would be permitted to resume its military attacks on Leba...

On this week's Deconstructed, the Drop Site News team gathered to discuss what we know about how Donald Trump might handle Israel and what that will mean for war with Iran; who might lead the State Department; and the broader dynamics of the Middle East. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're sharing a special bonus episode of The Lever's flagship podcast,  Lever Time , founder David Sirota and award-winning screenwriter and director Adam McKay discuss Democrats’ bid to win over GOP voters by repeatedly touting endorsements from former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney.  Critics say the move could alie...

This week we’re sharing an excerpt of the first episode of The Lever's new investigative series Master Plan , which was recently named a must-listen by The Guardian and Apple Podcasts. In each episode of Master Plan , The Lever’s David Sirota and his team of journalists expose the secret scheme that legalized corruption for the wealthy. With the help of never-before-reported documents, they look b...

More than 50 years ago, lawyer Lewis Powell penned a letter to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce arguing that the American business community must take political power and must use it "aggressively and with determination — without embarrassment and without the reluctance." President Richard Nixon would go on to appoint Powell to the U.S. Supreme Court. This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim speaks to Da...

On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a speech in North Carolina outlining her economic platform, including a federal ban on price gouging, expanded tax credits, and more. The proposal to tackle corporate price gouging has sparked significant pushback from both the establishment wing of the Democratic Party and various factions within the Republican Party. About a year ago, we spoke wi...

On June 28, 2009, democratically elected Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by a military coup. In response to Zelaya's push for a poll to gauge public interest in constitutional changes, the Honduran Supreme Court ordered the military to arrest him. He was then sent to Costa Rica in his pajamas. The coup led to nearly 13 years of right-wing rule, marked by collusion with drug trafficking...

On Thursday evening, Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president of the United States. As he accepted the nomination, the crowd erupted in chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump!” This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim speaks to Emily Jashinsky, his co-host on “Counter Points,” on Thursday afternoon, before Trump’s acceptance speech. Jashinsky joins from the Republican Na...

Dmitri Mehlhorn is among the most powerful Democratic funders and operatives working inside what can roughly be called the party’s establishment. He’s also been one of the most ardent defenders of Joe Biden as the best Democratic nominee to beat Donald Trump in November. This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim speaks to Mehlhorn about why he’s committed to Biden at a moment when more are callin...

At the end of July, Venezuelans head to the polls to elect a new president, with Nicolás Maduro seeking another six-year term. This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim speaks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto, who was in New York for a U.N. debate on unilateral sanctions. Fresh from visits to China and Russia, where he engaged with BRICS alliance leaders, Pinto discusses Venezuela's bid...

In a conversation he didn’t know was being recorded, embattled Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito shared his private belief that his movement’s battle with secular forces in the country was a zero-sum contest of irreconcilable values.  “One side or the other is going to win,” Alito says in secretly recorded audio. Alito was speaking at a reception for the Supreme Court Historical Society last...

Canada has a vaccine injury support program that has paid out more than CA$11 million to claimants; Ross Wightman was among its first recipients. This week on Deconstructed, Wightman shares his story with Ryan Grim. Days after receiving an AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in 2021, Wightman began to experience pains unlike he had ever experienced before. He was eventually diagnosed with Guillain-Barré...

In the weeks after October 7, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee took aim at members of Congress who expressed vocal opposition to Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Focusing on the so-called Squad, the Israel lobby is spending millions to push out members of Congress they view as a threat to the U.S.–Israel relationship. But Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., among the Squad members who called for an early...

“There were kids in the ICU that had bullet wounds to the chest or bullet wounds to the head,” Dr. Mohammed "Adeel" Khaleel recounts the harrowing scenes from his recent medical mission in Gaza to Ryan Grim on Deconstructed this week. An orthopedic spine surgeon hailing from Dallas, Texas, Khaleel witnessed firsthand the crushing toll on human life amid the rubble of decimated hospital infrastruct...

Today, we’re sharing the re-launch of The Lever’s flagship podcast Lever Time . In this week’s episode, David Sirota and senior podcast producer Arjun Singh discuss the 2024 presidential election, and the Democratic Party’s efforts to prevent a primary challenge to President Biden. Since 2008, Democratic Party leadership have worked to suppress primary challengers and support incumbent politicians...

“None of us benefit from a burning planet,” says activist and documentarian Astra Taylor on this week’s Deconstructed. Taylor and Leah Hunt-Hendrix join Ryan Grim to discuss their new book, “ Solidarity: The Past, Present, And Future of a World-Changing Idea .” Delving into the philosophical depths of solidarity, they trace its origins back to ancient Rome and explore its relevance in today's inte...

A recent Gallup poll found that 29 percent of respondents said neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden are fit for the job. To unpack how voters are feeling about the two candidates , this week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim is joined by Anat Shenker-Osorio, a returning guest , messaging expert, and host of the podcast “Words to Win By.” Together they dig into what she's been hearing from voters in s...

Meta — Facebook and Instagram's parent company — refuses to provide evidence refuting widespread reports that it's censoring Gaza-related content on its platforms. This week on Deconstructed, technology reporter Sam Biddle joins Ryan Grim to discuss his recent reporting on the efforts of Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to press Meta for specifics. Grim and Biddle dig in...

Chanting “power and food,” demonstrators have filled Cuba’s streets in recent days. This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim delves into the complexities of Cuba’s current economic crisis with Andrés Pertierra, a historian of Latin America and the Caribbean. They discuss the various factors deepening the crisis and driving people to the streets, from the half-century-long U.S. embargo on the island,...

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been compelled to resign as armed gangs tighten their grip on the nation's capital, seizing control of police stations, the main international airport, and freeing thousands of prisoners. This week on Deconstructed, researcher and writer Jake Johnston, who has spent more than a decade reporting on Haiti, joins Ryan Grim to discuss the latest wave of violence...

The U.S. State Department this week congratulated Pakistan's new prime minister on assuming power, following elections that were marred by widespread allegations of rigging, voter suppression, and violence targeting supporters of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan. On a special crossover episode of Intercepted and Deconstructed, hosts Murtaza Hussain and Ryan Grim discuss the aftermath of...

In 1960, the Congo gained independence from Belgium. Patrice Lumumba was elected prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu president. Within a year, Lumumba was deposed and assassinated. This week on Deconstructed, executive editor of Foreign Affairs and author Stuart Reid joins Ryan Grim to discuss U.S. Cold War paranoia and the plot to assassinate Lumumba. “The great tragedy of these events,” says Reid...