Jen Rubin's Green Room

Jen dives into the Iowa caucus results driven by an unenthusiastic electorate dominated by Trump’s radical minority and welcomes ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.  They analyze the explosion of anti-semitism after the 10/7 attack and what constitutes it, the rise of hate on college campuses, and the dangers posed by the social media algorithms driving popular opinion.  Then, they emphasize the importan...

Jen contrasts the strong pro-democracy speeches of President Biden with Trump’s immunity claims, and welcomes the Brennan Center’s Michael Waldman.  They lay out the scope of corruption delegitimizing the SCOTUS, and look at term limits, court expansion, an ethics code, and regular presidential appointments as possible remedies.  Then, they discuss the progression of the DOJ’s prosecutions of Trum...

In this special New Year’s episode, Jen discusses the recent victory for judicial independence in Israel and the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, before taking your questions covering everything from the personal to the political.  Politically, she covers the impact of A.I., how we can reform the Supreme Court, the popularity of Senator Fetterman, how to persuade Trump’s voters, and...

Jen breaks down the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war and welcomes CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, Halie Soifer.  They discuss what it means to be Jewish amid the explosion of anti-semitism in the United States, and examine the interplay between Jewish values and intersectionality.  As part of their analysis, they weigh the strength of the pro-Israel response by Presiden...

Jen welcomes States United Democracy Center CEO Joanna Lydgate to sound the alarm over the war on democracy being waged by Trump and the election deniers he inspires.  They discuss the dangers their rhetoric poses to election workers, their motives for undermining our voting systems, and why we need to take them at face value.  Critically, they emphasize how protecting democracy should be the sing...

Jen welcomes legal scholar Ruth Halperin-Kaddari to raise the alarm about the violence against women perpetrated by Hamas on 10/7.  They discuss the scope of the crimes and fight back against the propaganda attempting to cover them up by laying out the evidence from video footage, first responder reports, and testimony from the hostages.  Then, they share the importance of speaking out for Israel'...

Jen welcomes ADL vice president Yael Eisenstat to discuss her experience fighting against the growing extremism on social platforms.  Drawing on Yael’s time at Facebook, they explore the complicity of companies willing to harness bigotry and partisanship for views, the danger of political lies and vote manipulation on the social platforms, and how companies are hiding behind claims that they can’t...

Jen welcomes historian and author Heather Cox Richardson to explore the historical continuum of the Right’s war on freedom and equality from before the Civil War through the rise of MAGA. They discuss how the Southern oligarchy of the Bleeding Kansas era used race to push the average citizen to vote against their interests, and lay out  how that authoritarian legacy continues to drive limitations...

Jen welcomes Rep. Eric Swalwell to examine the MAGA takeover of the Republican Party and its effect on our politics.  They lay out how their party believes in ruling rather than governance and is undermining our democracy with attacks on our voting rights, using gerrymandering and lobbying to maintain power.  They also break down how the Right has abandoned our allies and weakened our national sec...

Jen welcomes historian and democracy activist Thomas Zimmer to investigate the Right’s descent into ethno-religious authoritarianism and how to defeat it.  They break down how media bubbles have allowed the lies driving radicalism to flourish, and the ways the white christian nationalist minority is trying to gain control by using raw power to subvert our institutions.  Critically, they pivot to t...

Jen is joined by author and veteran political consultant Stuart Stevens to take a journey through the evolution of the Republican party towards authoritarianism under Trump.  They explain how it became dominated by white grievance and the religious right by forgoing policy solutions that could attract minorities, women, and young people in favor of conspiracy and control.  Jen and Stuart believe i...

Jen is joined by the co-founder of Protect Democracy Ian Bassin to explore the growing threat of authoritarianism at home and abroad by laying out the cultural, institutional, and personal forces that Trump and the MAGA Right are exploiting to undermine our democracy.  They examine how times of uncertainty allow the siren song of the strong man to encourage voters to compromise on our national val...

Jen welcomes creator of The 1619 Project Nicole Hannah-Jones to illuminate how she has used the Black experience to revolutionize our understanding of our history across multiple mediums.  While explaining her process, they discuss the power of the personal story to connect to the past, how The 1619 Project uses the collective to take back control of our past from elites and those in power.  They...

Jen is joined by legal maven and ethics expert Norm Eisen to review the pending cases against Trump and his associates.  They discuss how he is his own worst enemy, why we should put our faith in the juries, the effect of his potential testimony, and the legal strategies he will likely use.  Further, they examine the impact of the 2024 election, the evidence against him and his co-conspirators, an...

Jen is joined by the authors of “Tyranny of the Minority”, Professors Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky, to discuss how Republicans are wielding minority power to undermine our democracy.  They explore the constitutional mechanisms enabling them, spanning the electoral college, unbalanced representation in the Senate, and the adoption of the filibuster.  Then they lay out their proposals to fix t...

Jen is joined by Reed Galen and Rick Wilson of the Lincoln Project to discuss the fight to take down Trump. A fight they’ve waged since he revealed his authoritarian tendencies.  They explain why he can’t be fought like a normal candidate, how the media gets played by conservatives, and argue that defeating him is a battle for democracy that goes beyond party divisions.  Together, they explore how...

Jen is joined by Pulitzer Prize winning author Diane McWhorter to discuss the civil rights movement in the South that arose to defeat the fascistic alliance between industrialists, the wealthy, and their enforcers in the Klan.  They lay out how Black activists, labor unions, and their allies put aside their differences to overcome them and make civil rights a national issue.  During the conversati...

Jen is joined by Rep. Jamie Raskin to lay out the case against Trump and examine the legal issues that should keep him out of the presidency.  They cover the potential of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to keep him out of office for his role in the January 6th insurrection, why his incitement against the election is not protected by the Constitution, and how he attacked our voting rights and press...

Jen is joined by master political strategist Simon Rosenberg to discuss why polling vastly overestimated the non-existent so-called Red Wave in 2022 and how the results of the special elections since then demonstrate that the electorate is continuing to punish Republicans.  They explore how the Dobbs decision, Supreme Court radicalism, Trump and his party’s attempts to overturn the election, the p...

Jen is joined by finance expert and human rights campaigner Bill Browder for an inside look at the corruption and oppression in Putin’s Russia that directly targeted Bill’s company and friends.  In their conversation they cover Putin’s massive theft from businesses operating there, how he uses torture and violence against his political enemies, and why defeating him in Ukraine is essential to prot...

Jen talks with champion of voting rights Marc Elias to review developments in the court cases facing Trump relating to aggressive actions by his lawyers, his threatening behavior, and the attempts to move Georgia cases to federal court.  Then, they lay out the Republican war on voting rights through their efforts to influence elections by gerrymandering, the rogue legislatures like Alabama’s ignor...

Jen is joined by Amb. Dennis Ross to explore the recent developments shaking up middle eastern politics.  They cover the cross demographic and widespread protests in Israel against attempts by hard liners to take control of the judiciary and what it means for the country’s future.  Then, they dive into Netanyahu’s efforts to create a breakthrough deal to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, even...

With Trump racking up another indictment in Georgia, Jen sits down with legal maven Rep. Dan Goldman to dive into the charges he faces.  During their conversation they explore how RICO prosecutions work to bring down criminal enterprises and why it strengthens the possibility of conviction, and explain why the jury pool won’t be corrupted by politics or wild rhetoric from Donald.  They also emphas...

Jen welcomes NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen to discuss the modern media ecosystem and how the classic both sides approach and opinion free corporate coverage is failing us with repeated coverage centered on crisis.  They also examine the pressures on journalists from institutions, and more importantly what it will take to fix things.  Will re-establishing truths over savviness with a focus on...

Jen brings on legal maven and civil rights leader Maya Wiley to take on the continuing hold white grievance has over our politics, why its complaints are dangerous and misguided, and how it influences the Republican party.  From there, they explore the pernicious leverage social media gives to outdated philosophies of hate, and how to fight back with our institutions and at the personal level.  To...