The Middle - UNPLUGGED with Anthony Weiner

It's officially a trend. Trump “wins” a primary and looks weaker for doing it. Anthony takes a look at a gathering body of evidence that every time Americans do that voting thing, they reveal that the Republicans and their leader are unpopular. They've shown it in three presidential primaries, a bunch of special elections and in 7 statewide referenda. In Ask Anthony Anything, the Republican phony...

It's been so long, we sort of forgot about the Trump/Stormy Daniels hush money case. Anthony is here for us with an explainer about what makes the case unusual; what makes the case very usual and why the main witness is unusually suspect.  Why now? Because finally, at long last, one of the criminal cases and 34 of the indictments is going to go to trial  in just over a month. We are so ready!  In...

A bit of an ongoing series here. Let's call it a serial perhaps. Or is that name taken? Anthony returns to things that the former President said and treats them like something uttered by a maybe future president. Inviting Russia to attack NATO?  A tax on everything imported into our country?  Not jokes and not joking matters. Taking Donald Trump seriously and literally again…still.  Also, in Ask A...

Did you know Anthony wasn’t a lawyer?  Did you know that was a story?  That’s how we start this week but it leads us into a conversation about the competing imperatives that the criminal justice system has - don’t delay but follow the rules which create delays.  Donald Trump, with the help of $76 million his supporters have given him, is doing everything possible to delay the many legal cases he f...

Maybe it happens every election cycle, but this year there seems to be so much idle chatter about who “the real” candidates for president will be. Michelle Obama?  Oprah? Dick Cheney? Ok, that last one maybe no one is really saying, but with one candidate a step away from prison and the other a misstep away from the Emergency Room, there has been more than a little speculation that maybe we won’t...

Anthony starts with breaking news from New Hampshire this week and then looks at what’s ahead in 2024’s two big stories : Who will be Trump’s running mate and when will Trump stand trial?  We have some guesses, both educated ones and the other kind.  In Ask Anthony Anything it's time for a correction/clarification.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some cold weather, cold calculations and cold facts this week as Anthony updates the unsurprising Iowa caucus and some shocking news about the haves and the have nots in Iowa and globally. Children in Iowa will be hungry this summer. And they won't be alone.  Also this week, Ask someone else about Anthony? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans cast their first votes for President this week in the Iowa Caucus. Anthony thinks the Democrats had a better idea – just cancel it.  From a novel idea, to an influential moment on the political calendar, recently the obsession with the “first in the nation” contest has now become a near laughing stock. The preview of what will happen on Monday only takes a moment, so Anthony takes the...

There will be plenty of time to talk about the top of the ticket in the year to come, so Anthony starts the us off with a look at the fight for the United States Senate.  Things look bleak for the Democrats but not hopeless. You can always hope for a miracle!  In Ask Anthony Anything, a sober look at that wacky 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...

We learned again this year that we can fight about anything.  We’re looking at you Taylor Swift.  But Anthony is puzzled that those fancy new electric cars and trucks became political fodder in 2023.  Don't we all sort of want, uh, progress?   Why can't we just all get along?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for end of year evaluations. So how’s Anthony doing? This week, he offers up a take on his best and worst takes of 2023.  Sure, he’s biased but who better to call out Weiner than… Weiner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over a decade now, Republican candidates have been promising to undo the most significant health care reform in a generation.  Yet, Obamacare lives.  This week, Anthony accepted the most recent challenge after Donald Trump issued his 17th assurance that, if reelected, he would overturn the ACA.  Biden should welcome this development.  Also, a special edition of Ask Anthony.  He appears as a gu...

Each week, Anthony hosts a radio show on 77WABC Radio in New York City - the lone progressive voice on a conservative station.  The show has been a success.  This week on the podcast, Anthony welcomes two callers from Saturdays to explore why the nation seems so divided and what we can learn by welcoming diverse voices.  Richard from Texas and Chris from Long Island, welcome to the show.  Learn mo...

The Presidential Debates are a year away, so why not a good pretend one? Anthony looks at the much hyped showdown between Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis and sees real promise.  Sure, neither one of these cats is going to be president anytime soon, but they have their reasons to want this improbable debate.  Anthony has a preview.  Also, this week Trump definitely had the more, uh, interesting Thank...

Anthony has a lot of gratitude this Thanksgiving week. So many people make the show a success. But surely we didn’t expect to see a 19th Century Canadian scientist or a 16th century British doctor make the list. Don’t fret, Swifties, your girl gets her due. Also, this week, a special Ask Anthony Anything gives us a new way to look at justice in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...

Anthony admits he didn’t take Trump seriously or literally in 2016. So this time he is taking a much closer look at the proposals for Trump 2.0. Some of them are crazy and some of them are dangerous but all of them are possible. Anthony unpacks the list. Also, what we learned, campaign 2023 edition.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A year before the Presidential Election '24 and Anthony is sweating about his candidate. Joe Biden is underwater and losing in key states. Maybe it's not his age that's the problem though. Maybe it's his voice.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans learn about geography by watching wars on TV. We learn about Congress when we almost shut down the government or fire a speaker and see it on TV. And we learn about the courts from watching big cases on TV. Anthony thinks we should watch the trial of the century on television also. USA v. Trump will not be televised unless they change the rules. If we want faith in our system, open the d...

Their posters and chants say “Free Palestine”. But do our - mostly young - friends on the left even know what they mean? Anthony looks at the tissue paper thin understanding that so many anti-Israel activists and commentators seem to have. History is complicated and solutions to the conflict are elusive, but surely we can do better than two word slogans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

From the very beginning, Israel's creation was the source of celebration for many but not for the Arab world. This week, Anthony takes a look at which counties could have been helpful to Hamas in their brutal terrorism. Also, a response to the visceral need by some to make Biden the villain of every story.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Terrorists have targeted Israel again. Now 2023 will be added to the sad list that includes 1948,1967 and 1973. Anthony looks at the history and sees some sad through lines and one thing that is very different this time - US friends of Israel turning on each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'd love to say we were surprised. The Republicans apparently didn't think their Speaker was groveling enough or something. Anthony explains what they were thinking and why they weren't all wrong. Goodbye Speaker McCarthy, we hardly knew thee. Also this week, the important stuff : Taylor Swift and fire alarms. Yay.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another Republican debate and another missed opportunity to see the leader of the pack. But Anthony has an idea. If you can't get the man, perhaps it's time to get some feedback about his proposals. Some on the stage are running for Vice President, but do they really like some of the nutty ideas Donald has been laying out there? Round up all the homeless and concentrate them in camps? Death penalt...

What's more useless than watching an interview of Donald Trump? Watching a bad interview of same. Anthony takes a look at the latest case study, this time on Meet the Press. Does it have to be this bad? Or can we shake up the "art form" a little? Also, in Ask Anthony Anything, the slow news outrages of hoodies in the Senate chambers and a Congresswoman from Colorado being unruly and hypocritical....

Every election there is one state that makes us roll our eyes, pull our hair out and make our head hurt. This time Wisconsin seems like our winner. Anthony looks at the effort by GOP lawmakers in the cheese state to impeach a newly elected judge before she has heard a single case. It's a study in chutzpah and it may be a sign of things to come. In Ask Anthony Anything, a look at the subtle art of...